What is This? 11

Spotted: An unidentifiable animal statue on the Eastern Temple of the Enryaku-ji complex. Enryaku-ji was an important center for Buddhism until it was destroyed by Oda Nobunaga because of its political power. It looks to me like it was also home to a mythical squirrel-lizard-turtle-dog?


Answer: I'm not sure exactly what it is supposed to be, perhaps an ancient Chinese interpretation of a turtle? In any case, I found it interesting looking. It has a sign on its back that I think might mark a tomb or something, but again, I'm not entirely sure about it.


View from Mt. Hiei with a bit of Kyoto in the distance and surrounding mountains

I went up to Mt. Hie last weekend to see some of the Koyo (changing leaves) season. The view from up there was beautiful as you could see all across Kyoto and to the surrounding mountains that were peppered with the reds and oranges of autumn. There were a lot of temples up there as well and I spent a good amount of time walking around and getting some nice photos. It was really really cold up there though, perhaps a good 4 degree difference from downtown Kyoto where I rode my bike in a T-shirt to get to Melissa's house. Her host family drove us to the base of the mountain where we boarded the ropeway going to the top. There was also a really big bell at the temple that people could ring, so I gave it a good whack and listened as the sound echoed through the temple and down the mountainside.


Autumn leaves with the main hall of the Eastern Complex of Enryaku-ji