On Tuesday, November 3rd Wali, Maria, Courtney and I went to Kyoto with Wali's class to attend a fire ceremony at temple built on Tanukidanisan. It was so amazing and I took some of my most favorite pictures that day. We arrived in Kyoto and it was the coldest day I have experienced in Japan so far. It was very sunny outside, but still freezing. We took a taxi to the mountain where we saw several monks wearing ceremonial garb at the bottom of the mountain. Their outfits were very detailed with fur pelts and all. We started the walk up the mountain and the scenery was spectacular. It was misty and felt magical as we walked up. We saw many tanuki statues all over the place.
We made it to the temple that was even more elevated from the mountain. There were colorful flags flying and it was definitely the least commercialized temple I have seen. We ascended towards the temple up stairs along a stone wall. We waited for a little while until the ceremony started. They had several teapots full of hot tea for everyone to drink. That tea really saved my life in that cold weather. They also gave out mochi treats that were dusted with cinnamon. They were delicious. The ceremony started inside the temple, but it was hard for us see what was going on, but we did see the first flame of the day lit in the big room. The monks lined up and slowly made their way down the stairs where a large dome shaped pile of green leaves waited. The high priest was adorned in bright orange and another monk held a beautiful red umbrella over him as he walked down the stairs. The ceremony was filled with continuous drumming and with a really awesome beat. The monks acted out many things, but my favorite was one of them shooting arrows into the forest with a bow and arrow. Eventually, two men wielding large sticks lit the mound of leaves on fire. It went up in a blaze! Smoke started billowing out the top and soon the entire dome was engulfed in flames revealing its wooden skeletal core. With the sound of the drumming and ashes flying through the air hitting the sunlight, it was truly breathtaking. We decided to walk down to get closed to the fire and I guess because I was so mesmerized by the ceremony I didn't realize my feet were completely numb. It started to drizzle so we went back up to the temple and Maria huddled together for warmth. After a little more time passed the ceremony came to a close. They started taking down the bamboo that had fenced off the ceremonial area and threw it into the fire also. The bamboo will make a very loud popping noise as each compartment in the stalk explodes due to the heat. It also releases a white goo, it is pretty cool to hear and see. We thanked the monks and left the temple. We hung out with Wali's class for a little longer and then Maria, Courtney, and I left to explore Kyoto. We were in search of a good meal and boy did we find it. We stumbled upon a Brazilian Churrascuria that faced a pretty canal. They didn't open until later so we did a little shopping and headed back. We were starving by the time we got back. The setup they had that wasn't even the meat was amazing. They had all the things we were missing living in Japan like beans with stewed pork, potatoes, mixed green salads, and verde cream sauces. All the meat they carved for us was delicious also. We had a mix of mouthwatering pork, beef, chicken, and sausage. We sat by the window and watched the sun set on Kyoto. It was a beautiful day.
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