I began the day by meeting up with someone with whom I connected via Couch Surfing, a really great site for people traveling to meet others and even find inexpensive/free places to stay, at the Kyoto rail station. After an initial navigation problem on my part - there are at least three different "information" centers within the station for the railroad, the building, and for Kyoto - we set off for Kiyomizu Temple in eastern Kyoto.
"Temple" doesn't really accurately describe it since typically I think of a temple being a single (or in Beth Elohim's case, two) buildings. Kiyomizu is better described as a temple complex, spread over many acres and consisting of dozens of buildings, shrines, and other structures. 
And even though the weather was overcast it was still a beautiful sight to take in, with lush green vegetation punctuated by the almost ubiquitous pink cherry blossoms. We spent quite some time wandering throughout the site with the thousands of other tourists - both foreigner and Japanese, some of who were traditionally dressed for the occasion.
But the highlight of the visit has to have been the journey into the womb of the Buddha. It was toward the entrance of the temple - in fact before you actually paid the admission fee to enter the temple grounds - and was little more than a set of steps leading down into darkness overseen by a pair of elderly Japanese women who handed over a bag to carry our shoes, took our ¥100 donation, and instructed us to walk slowly with our left hand on the handrail. We descended into absolute darkness, the likes of which I've never before experienced. Completely enveloping; as if light never existed in this place. The stairs ended and the banister became a rope with over-sized Buddha beads that guided our way. Eyes opened or close it was indistinguishable, there was nothing but black all around and nothing but the rustling sounds of our footsteps. It is the thing that at first can be a but scary, but as I gave myself over to the experience, I found my mind clearing and focusing only on my breath. Turning a corner suddenly there was the womb glowing in the darkness. A round, marble-looking stone engraved with a Buddhist (I presume) symbol, the belief is that if you make a wish and touch it at the same time your wish will be granted. There was a light shining down on it from above, but what was remarkable about it was that not a single bit of light illuminated anything around it. Even standing right in front of the shaft of light my hands only revealed themselves from the darkness as I placed them upon the stone and disappearing just as completely when removed. It was as if the womb kept even a single bit of light energy from escaping; there was no ambient light surrounding it at all. Continuing on the path ascended back to the surface, returning us to the same elderly women. I've no idea how long the actual path was or the time it took us to walk it, but it was an experience that transcended space and time. I've only scratched the surface about what it is like and encourage anyone who might come to Kyoto to be sure to seek it out.
We continued to wander the path through Kiyomizu, visiting the dozens of individual shrines. From there we ambled along the twisting streets of the Gion district, eventually finding our way to the Yasaka Shrine, which sits in the Gion district just at the beginning of Maruyama Park. Much smaller and with fewer buildings than Kiyomizu, Yasaka Shrine was notable for it brilliant orange arches and buildings (again, I think Christo and Jeanne-Claude almost certainly visited Kyoto before conceiving The Gates).
But enough about the temples....bring on the food reports. We tried a whole bunch of things, all more tasty than the one before.
First were small, pearl shaped rice balls skewered and grilled over a hibachi then coated with a sweet, soy-based sauce. For a starter or small bite to tide one over while walking around a multi-acre Buddhist temple nothing could be beat. Next we found ourselves in what could best be described at the front room of a family's house at the top of Maruyama Park - yes, they had a menu out front so it wasn't like we just barged into thee lives unwelcome. With only pictures of odd-looking foods, we ordered two items. One we were able to discern from our hostess was going to be sweet, the other was a mystery but involved rice. First, however, we sipped a black tea that had a distinctive and appealing cigar aroma, almost as if it had been steeped with tobacco leaves. 
The dishes, when they arrived, did not disappoint. The one on the right was a type of gelatin rice (think Jello in consistency), covering red beans and topped with a sweetened seaweed puree. It might sound unappetizing, but I assure it was quite pleasant and refreshing. The other was a pair of rice cakes wrapped with nori. One turned out to have a sort of sweet jelly-like fruit filling whereas the other had small cooked shrimp like fish that I'd seen throughout the Nishiki market. Sitting in the small, open air balcony overlooking this family's manicured garden it felt like we were living a hundred years ago.More walking led us back to the Nishiki market and a fest of octopus. First was the baby octopus stuffed with a quail egg and served lollipop-style. Really, I couldn't make this sort of thing up.
I mean, honestly, how cool do they look? And the taste? Amazing. 
While octopus can sometimes be chewy and difficult to eat, this was succulent and tender with a hint of sweetness (again from a soy-based sauce I think it was cooked in.) The quail egg, which was stuffed in the head of the octopus, added a richness that made the experience that much more tasty. It might have seemed a bit like an Andrew Zimmerman moment, I can assure you the taste was WELL worth taking the plunge and ordering them. I can see baby-octopus pop shops opening up throughout America....okay, maybe not. We completed out Octopus eating with an order of takoyaki, a kind of fried octopus fritter served with sliced green onions and the syrupy soy sauce I've been seeing used over and over again, to delicious affect! As with anything fried, I envisioned hordes of post-bar hopping Japanese flocking to this little stand to indulge on plates upon plates of these in the light-night/early-morning hours. And I can assure you that if they were given a name without reference to octopus, the stands would be just as popular in college towns across the States.
Finally it was time for a drink and what better than a nice, cold glass of sake dispensed from a vending machine?
It should be noted that we broke one, unwritten rule about Japanese culture with the sake: we walked and drank at the same time. We later heard from a Swiss guy with whom we had sushi later in the evening, that it is considered impolite to walk and eat or drink. Indeed, as I thought back on the day and my time here so far I can recall seeing not a single Japanese person doing this. So live and learn for the next time, but the sake was very tasty and a great way to end a great tour.
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