Launch The Lanterns

Ellie, Sue, and I traveled from Mt. Fuji to Kyoto via Yokohama. The scenic train for a famous view of the mountain was not so scenic due to the rain. Fortunately, the morning had been clear, and our view of Fujisan from our hotel balcony had been extraordinary.

We switched trains, and Sue ended up sitting next to a cute little grandma with her groceries in her lap. The two of them chatted as best they could without real  knowledge of the other's language.  Before she knew it, Sue was gifted a ramen package in spite of her protests.

We transferred to the Shinkansen bullet train in Yokohama to get to Kyoto. We used our Suica cards, which by now we were pros with, to take our final subway to the station near our hotel, Kabin Kyoto.

The sun was setting, and they were closing the gate at the Bukko-ji Buddhist temple a few blocks from our hotel. Kabin Kyoto was familiar, as I had stayed there a year and a half before when I had visited with my nieces. It was clean and modern and was the perfect spot to stay while we were in Kyoto.

The Nishiki market was a short walk away, and we went there hoping to try a few different foods from the vendors there. I'm not sure if it was because of the Obon festival or not, but most of the stalls on the long promenade were closing as we arrived.

We managed to spot a Wagyu beef vendor followed by a short alley of various foods to stave off hunger for the night. It was good food and a fun experience. Tempura, gyoza, meat-on-a-stick, and beer from three different vendors covered a few cravings.

The next morning we made our way to Senbon Torii (thousand gates) on the other side of the river. Torii gates are the markers for the entrances to Shinto shrines. Here, these orange and black doorways had been placed so close together along a path that they created a tunnel. There were thousands of people, and the sun was bearing down even though it was only nine o'clock in the morning. Ellie had her rainbow umbrella out for some relief, but the sweat was unavoidable.

Climbing the first of many steps, we came to the shrine, which had a pair of giant stone dogs on either side of the entrance. One was holding a large key in its mouth, and the other a ball. Beside was the wooden box with slats on top where coins could be tossed and wishes or prayers made. We had seen this in Tokyo and knew what to do.  But with no coins in our pockets, our wishes would have to be made without the help of the Shinto shrine.

The three of us worked our way up the hill along with the shuffling crowd, trying to stay out of the way of selfies and wannabe models posing for their boyfriends. At one point the crowd had either thinned or was blocked from behind us, and Sue offered to get a shot of Ellie and I in the tunnel of gates. As she took the shot, we had a little kiss. It seems that the next person who came along was inspired to video the two tall Westerners and whipped out her phone.

On the way back down the hill, we came across a lovely little bridge with no one on it. By the time I got my phone out, a couple of kids came dashing in front of me. I was sure the scene would be clear again soon. Several minutes passed before I got another moment of calm on the bridge. It took me several minutes to catch up with the girls.

We decided to go to Nijo Castle and would use the subway again. Before we got back to the station, I noticed a couple of young girls in kimonos stopping across the street to take a picture. The cute advertisement and vending machines made their old-style dress so much more dramatic by contrast.

Nijo Castle is a royal residence surrounded by fortress walls, which are surrounded by a moat. In every sense, it is a castle in the middle of a mammoth city. It is also a world heritage site. It is also very hot in August.

We made our way through the castle walls, then the decorative inner walls surrounding the royal residence. The floorboards creaked as we stepped on them. They called them nightingale floors, and some said it was to detect intruders, but it was really just a result of the construction techniques used on them during installation. The rooms were huge and bright, but unfurnished. In a couple, they had used mannequins to illustrate visits by nobles to hold court with the emperor. No photos were allowed inside the royal residence.

The heat was getting oppressive by the time we finished in the main structure, and Ellie took a break to find somewhere to sit out of the sun.

Sue and I went through most of the rest of the castle before rejoining Ellie near the entrance. After six bottles of water, we went for lunch near our hotel. On the way, we managed to stop into Bukko-ji Buddhist temple, which was just closing when we passed the day before. It was just as impressive inside as it looked from the outside.

We took a little time to refresh ourselves in the hotel and check the weather. It appeared the heat was coming to an end and the chance of rain was diminishing. With this information in hand, we opted to leave our umbrellas behind and catch the train to the other side of town.

The Obon Festival would end tonight with the floating of lanterns with prayers on the river, sending the ancestors back to the spirit world, as well as the bonfire characters written on the surrounding hills. This was a big deal, not just for us, but for most citizens in Japan.

Getting off the train, the unforcasted torrential rain was coming to an end as we disembarked. So much for leaving our umbrellas at the hotel. There was a river of people headed towards the bridge that would overlook the release of the floating lanterns at Arashiyama Park.

We started to walk towards the bridge and asked a traffic director where would be best to watch the lanterns, she indicated a spot along the river and we headed that way. There were dozens of tents set up as if we were at a fair. Vendors were selling food and drinks. Others were selling the little paper lanterns and writing the prayers that would go inside. There were Buddhist monks among the throngs of people preparing the lanterns to be set afloat on the river.

There were dozens of huge pallets holding square boards the size of the footprint of the paper bag that would be the lantern once a candle was put inside. The number of individual lanterns on each pallet was 6x12, or seventy-two prayers being set afloat to commemorate the end of Obon.

We set down a large, colorful wrap that Ellie had brought along and sat as if we were waiting for fireworks on the fourth of July. The clouds on the horizon began to build and darken in promise of a wet send-off for those prayers.

By the time the sun had set, a number of boats had gathered upstream from us with lanterns all their own dangling along their length. Unfortunately, it also began to rain. Not much at first, but it began to pour in waves as the thunderstorms built over the mountains with lightning and thunder to emphasize the drama of our first Obon festival.

The rain slackened a bit, and the boards filled with 72 lanterns each were carried one by one to a launching platform, lighted, and set adrift in the river. There was still enough rain to snuff out most of the candles before they had gotten very far. The locals had their umbrellas up, and we had tried putting Ellie's little wrap over our heads, but still got soaked. 

As the launching of the lanterns got underway, the crowds pushed forward, and it began to feel a bit uncomfortable. We moved from our selected viewing position away from the riverside and towards the bridge as the rain soaked into our clothes. I was starting to feel like giving up on the whole thing when Ellie spotted a nice location to see the spot where the lanterns were being launched into the water. Photos of the lanterns and our drenched selves ensued.

By this point, we had given up on staying dry and were just enjoying the show. We continued onto the bridge, as we had been told that this was the best spot to see the bonfires in the shape of Japanese characters lighted on the surrounding hills.

We chatted with some locals, and they took pity on us, putting their umbrellas over our heads. The fires were somehow lit in the soggy hills, and bright orange images showed in the night. We were able to see two of the five fires from our location. Here is the description:

The Kyoto Gozan no Okuribi bonfire festival features five distinct characters and shapes: Daimonji (大, large), Myōhō (妙・法, wondrous dharma), Funagata (船形, boat), Hidari Daimonji (左大文字, left large), and Toriigata (鳥居形, shrine gate). These fires are lit on mountains surrounding Kyoto on August 16th to guide ancestral spirits safely back to the spirit world at the end of the Obon festival. 

We were able to see the characters "large" and "shrine gate".

Walking from the bridge, we saw the elegant lighted boats that we had seen earlier as they returned to shore. With the finale launched, we made our way back to the train and dripped most of the way to the hotel.

Our next stop would be Osaka for the World's Fair. But on our journey out of Kyoto, we made a stop at the bamboo forest near the bridge we were at the night before. I do love the feel of a bamboo forest, and it had been on the list for Ellie from the beginning of our Japan overland trip.