Kyoto Bar

Rakan Butsuzo

During Golden Week this year, I went back to what I consider to be the best temple in all of Japan. It’s called Otagi-Nenbutsu-ji, and it’s located in the Arashiyama district of Kyoto. The temple is filled with over a thousand bizarre Buddha statues called Rakkan (disciples of Buddha). For more information about the temple, click here.

Cute Buddhas

During Golden Week this year, I went back to what I consider to be the best temple in all of Japan. It’s called Otagi-Nenbutsu-ji, and it’s located in the Arashiyama district of Kyoto. The temple is filled with over a thousand bizarre Buddha statues called Rakkan (disciples of Buddha). The temple grounds were full of flowers, making it even more magical than usual. For more information about the temple, click here.

Japanese Inn

Old Japanese inn in the Arashiyama district of Kyoto. The stickers are called Senja fuda, which means “one thousand shrine card” and they are often put on the gates of both temples and shrines by visitors to leave a record of their visit.

Aoi-so Inn

If you’re traveling to Kyoto and are looking for a conveniently-located, reasonably priced place to stay, I highly recommend the Aoi-so Inn. I stayed there this Golden Week, and was really impressed for several reasons. First, I was able to book a room just two weeks before my trip, when every other hotel in Kyoto seemed to be booked solid (Of course, maybe I just got lucky). Second, it was just 6500 yen for two people. Third, the owner has done an amazing job of creating a foreigner-friendly place to stay. When we checked in, he presented us with a huge pile of brochures and pamphlets in English, and gave us lots of advice about sight-seeing in Kyoto. He had also done a lot of research and found restaurants in the area with English menus, and spoke excellent English. It was quite clean, and although it’s a little old, is very comfortable and relaxing. The Aoi-so’s website is here.