Chapter 173: Kyoto Sightseeing
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 173: Kyoto Sightseeing
We left Satoru on the mountainside and made our way up to Kiyomizu-dera at a near run.
Since Ryuji's and my stamina far surpassed that of a normal person, we still had energy to spare even after reaching the temple entrance.
"Maybe because it's so high up, but the air feels great."
"Yeah. It feels like my head is clearing up."
Ryuji casually agreed with me, leaning against a guardian lion statue near the temple entrance.
"I wonder what Satoru's up to right now."
"Knowing him, he probably gave up running a long time ago and is just walking up," Ryuji said with a chuckle, then stuck his hands in his pockets and glanced behind us.
"It's been a while since I've been here."
"You've been here before?"
"Yeah, in elementary school. What about you, Yoo-Sung? Is this your first time?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
As I shyly scratched the back of my head, Chiaki, who was floating next to Ryuji, looked up at the temple and spoke.
「This is the place I came to with you before.」
"You remember?"
「It was the last trip I ever took.」
Ah, ahh…
With her talent for chilling the mood, she seemed to realize her mistake a moment too late and hastily apologized with an "Ah-".
「I just said it because I was feeling nostalgic, so don't worry about it too much. I guess since it was the last trip I took with Ryuji, I got lost in sentiment without realizing it.」
That was even harder to just brush off, but I tried my best not to show it and asked Ryuji, "So, what now? Should we wait for Satoru to get here, or go look around first?"
Ryuji gave a bitter smile and waved his hand dismissively.
"If we go on ahead, Satoru will get super pouty. I'd rather wait than have to deal with that for three days."
"True."
I didn't need a crystal ball to see how things would play out if we ditched him a second time.
He can be surprisingly petty.
"I'll text him then."
I sent Satoru a message saying we'd wait at the temple gate, then followed Ryuji to find a decent place to lean.
"It's crowded for a weekday."
"Well, it's one of the top five tourist spots in Kyoto, so it can't be helped."
Tourists usually flock to places on weekends rather than weekdays.
But Kiyomizu-dera was so packed with visitors that such common sense didn't seem to apply.
Elementary, middle, and high school students on school trips like us, foreigners of various nationalities, and ordinary domestic tourists all mingled together, creating a bustling crowd.
Mahes, who had been observing the temple on the stairs with his arms crossed, spoke up.
「The temples of the East are quite different in form from those of Egypt. If they are made entirely of wood, would that not make them far less durable?」
"Ah, that's not a problem. They're constantly undergoing restoration work. The current building has actually been damaged and restored multiple times."
There's a theory originating from the world-famous Greco-Roman myths known as the Ship of Theseus.
It starts with the question: is Theseus's ship, which had all its parts except the keel replaced during its voyage, the same ship it was at the start? In this context, it had something in common with the current Kiyomizu-dera.
In short, even if the original is long gone, it has no problem fulfilling its role as a symbol.
After all, to those who don't know any better, there's not much difference between the real thing and a replica.
"Hey! You bastards!! You really ditched me just for a little joke?!"
As the three of us were chatting, Satoru's voice, yelling at the top of his lungs, echoed from the distance. He had finally arrived.
He got up here pretty fast for him, though.
Looks like he ran part of the way.
"You're here?"
When Ryuji waved with a nonchalant expression, Satoru looked even more pissed off, but his fierce demeanor faltered as he reached us.
He'd been fuming, but it seemed he was belatedly reminded of our physical abilities.
I clapped him on the shoulder and said, "We were wondering when you'd show up. You'd be pouting for the whole school trip if we went on without you, right?"
"..."
As if I'd hit the nail on the head, Satoru averted his gaze and clamped his mouth shut.
"Anyway, we were both in the wrong, so let's just call it even this time. That's better for you too, right?"
I held out my right hand. Satoru looked like he was having an internal conflict for a moment, but he eventually extended his own right hand and shook mine.
"Sorry for leaving you behind."
"As long as you know."
Trying to get the last word in until the very end. This guy is really something else.
I thought, letting out a dry laugh.
*
Having regrouped at the temple gate, the three of us began to explore Kiyomizu-dera in earnest.
The first place that comes to mind when you think of Kiyomizu-dera is the stage (舞台) on the main hall.
The spacious terrace, which overlooks the mountain scenery, was originally a place for performing dances and plays dedicated to the Bodhisattva Kannon, but it was now always open to the general public.
"Whoa, it's high."
Being a traditional temple, there were no special safety features aside from the original railing. The view of Kyoto city from the stage was both beautiful and dizzying.
"You know the famous legend about the 'stage' of Kiyomizu-dera, right? They say if you survive a fall from this railing, your wish will come true."
"What kind of legend is that? What if you die?"
"They say if you die, you pass on peacefully. That's why this place was once a famous suicide spot."
"That's grim."
Risking your life for something that might not even happen… I could never bring myself to do that.
After looking around the stage like everyone else, we went to drink from the three streams of water that flowed from the Otowa Waterfall.
According to the guide's explanation, the three streams symbolized health, love, and academics, respectively, but honestly, I thought it was total bullshit.
The water didn't taste bad, though.
It felt like drinking from a local mineral spring.
As with most tourist spots, once we'd seen all the main attractions, there wasn't much else to do, so we decided to head back down the mountain.
Our remaining time was quite tight if we wanted to stop by the souvenir shops on the way back.
*
Our next destination after Kiyomizu-dera was the Heian Shrine.
It was about a ten-minute bus ride away. Despite its magnificent appearance, it was only built about 100 years ago.
So, while it had little historical value, the splendor and scale of the buildings were comparable to any major cultural asset, making it enjoyable to look at.
We took a casual stroll through the garden, drew an Omikuji (paper fortune) for fun, and then immediately headed to our next destination, Kinkaku-ji.
It might have seemed like we were rushing, but most tourist sites in Kyoto close between 4 and 5 PM, so we had no choice.
"Wow, it's so dazzling."
Kinkaku-ji (The Golden Pavilion).
Its original name is Rokuon-ji, but it's more famous by its nickname, Kinkaku-ji, because of the gold leaf decorating the building's exterior.
It was originally built as a villa by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, but it's said to have become a temple after his death.
"Did you know? This also burned down once and was restored in 1950, but they say they used a bit too much gold leaf compared to the original."
Now that he mentioned it, it did feel a little artificial.
I'd thought it was in remarkably good condition for such an old building, but I never would have guessed there was a story like that behind it.
After seeing Kinkaku-ji, we continued on to see Ginkaku-ji, which you could call part of a set menu.
Unlike Kinkaku-ji, which was literally covered in gold, Ginkaku-ji was just an ordinary temple.
However, unlike the one-trick pony Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji had more to see on the side, so it seemed more popular as a tourist destination and cultural site.
By the time we had seen both Kinkaku-ji and Ginkaku-ji, it was already past 5 PM, so we took the bus back to our inn.
"Alright! You have free time until dinner! I know you're excited about the school trip, but always be mindful of your safety!"
""Okay~""
"Dismissed!"
At the dismissal order from our homeroom teacher, Matsuda, the students noisily flocked into the inn.
Everyone looked quite happy, probably because they could finally relieve the fatigue that had built up from walking all day.
"Everyone's going back to their rooms to rest, right?"
At the question from the class president, who was the de facto leader of our group, we all nodded without exception.
"See you at the dining hall in a bit, then."
With that decided, we dispersed on the first floor of the inn.
Dragging my tired body back to the room, I saw that, unlike before, futons were now laid out on the floor.
I wanted nothing more than to dive into that fluffy futon and fall into a deep sleep, but I needed to wash up first, so I grabbed my toiletries and a change of clothes.
"Going to take a shower?"
It was Satoru, who was stuck to the floor like a piece of gum the moment he entered the room.
"Yeah. I feel gross staying like this."
"Then get me a GariGari-kun on your way back."
"...Go buy it yourself, dude."
"Agh!"
With that, I lightly stepped on Satoru's side and headed to the shower room to quickly wash up.