2026 Japan exploration

A Thousand Buddhas, Crowded Streets and a Journey into Darkness

We took advantage of another beautiful day in Kyoto to explore the historic Higashiyama district on foot. What started as a walk to a few temples turned into a 7½-hour adventure covering 9 miles and nearly 1,000 feet of climbing. As usual, there were plenty of interesting distractions along the way!

Our first stop was Sanjūsangen-dō, an extraordinary Buddhist temple famous for its 1,001 statues of Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. The enormous wooden hall, rebuilt in 1266, stretches about 120 meters and contains 1,000 standing figures arranged in long rows around a magnificent seated Kannon. Most of the statues date from the 13th century, and each has subtly different facial features. They look like bronze but are actually carved wood covered in gold leaf. Seeing so many figures together was remarkable. We couldn’t help wondering what would happen to them during a major earthquake. Would they fall like dominoes?

From there, we made our way uphill through Kyoto’s old neighborhoods toward Kiyomizu-dera, one of Japan’s most celebrated temples and part of the UNESCO World Heritage designation for Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto. Founded in 778, the temple is famous for its enormous wooden stage projecting out over the hillside, supported by a remarkable framework of timber pillars.

The approach through the narrow streets of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka was packed with visitors. Traditional wooden buildings, souvenir shops, food stalls and people dressed in beautiful kimonos made the whole neighborhood feel like a festival. It was crowded, but also colorful and entertaining. We enjoyed watching people pose for photographs against the temple buildings and surrounding mountains.

One of the most unusual experiences of the day was Tainai Meguri, a short underground passage beneath Zuigudō Hall at Kiyomizu-dera. The passage is completely dark, symbolizing a journey into a mother’s womb and spiritual rebirth. We descended the stairs and followed a rope of wooden prayer beads along the wall, unable to see anything at all. At the center, we reached an illuminated sacred stone, which visitors turn while making a wish.

It was a little unsettling, especially when the passage turned a corner and we had no sense of where we were going. But we enjoyed the experience. A woman behind us emerged extremely upset and actually crying. We don’t know what she experienced, but it was a reminder of how differently people can respond to the same ritual. Outside, thousands of tourists were taking photographs and shopping; inside, we had briefly entered a world of absolute darkness.

As we’ve discovered throughout Japan, the people we meet are often as memorable as the places themselves. Today we enjoyed conversations with two women from Canada and a couple from Malaysia. These spontaneous encounters have become one of our favorite parts of traveling.

We continued wandering through the old streets, taking detours whenever something caught our attention. Cindy has a remarkable ability to discover interesting shops and places that require further investigation, so progress was not always rapid!

As daylight faded, we reached Yasaka Shrine, its rows of illuminated lanterns glowing against the evening sky. The shrine has been an important center of worship in Kyoto for more than a thousand years and is closely associated with the famous Gion Matsuri festival, which originated in the ninth century as prayers for protection against epidemics.

By the time we returned to our hotel, we had walked 9 miles over seven and a half hours. Another long but rewarding day.

Kyoto certainly has its crowds, and at times the historic streets feel almost overwhelmed by tourism. Yet behind all the activity are centuries of history, extraordinary craftsmanship and religious traditions that remain very much alive.

And sometimes the most memorable experience isn’t the spectacular view from a temple, but a few minutes in complete darkness, feeling your way along a wall and wondering what lies around the next corner.Read more