Spring, the season of cherry blossoms, is a big hype in Japan. I also love the soft, delicate landscape painted by blossoms, and yet I find myself much more mesmerized by the alluring red of fall.
Kyoto, I believe, is home to some of the most beautiful autumn scenery in Japan. Kyoto, is also the place that seduced me and my attention on autumn over spring.
And out of all the autumn viewing spots, Rurikouin 「瑠璃光院」, wins by far.
My brother happened to be visiting Kyoto and he was determined to go to all the famous sight-seeing spots, most of which I had no interest as:
1. I hate crowds
2. I’ve already been to these place several times.
However, when he mentioned the autumn exhibition ‘Rurikouin’ (瑠璃光院), all the way up north at a place called Yase-Hiezan (八瀬比叡山), I was immediately intrigued.
Truth to be told, I wasn’t that interested in the exhibition itself as it was extremely pricey at 2000 yen per person. But it is always exciting to go to a new place and with Yase-Hiezan being located far away, I naturally assumed there would be less people
...but I was soon to be proven wrong.
Turns out, this exhibition was extremely popular as it was limited time only. We arrived at 12:00, and the earliest entry tickets being sold was for the round at 3:20 pm.
Devastation summed it all up. But there was no way we were going to turn back after travelling all the way here. So, we reluctantly handed over 4000 yen and started to contemplate over how to spend the next 3 hours.
Ironically, the reason I fell in love with Hiezan was due to this exact buffering time that followed. The calming mountain scenery just forces you to forget about following a schedule, to just drop everything and relax.
There were no good cafes around, something that started out as an inconvenience but later became a blessing. We got some dango (sweet soy sauce dumplings) and zenzai (mochi in sweet red bean soup), climbed down the banks of the river, sat on the stones and just let nature overcome us.
It was a moment of realisation for me.
Although I always went on about the benefits of independent travel, I realised I was still too caught up with efficiency and practicality. As a result, I tend to find myself quite tired at the end of every day, leading to my laziness to even go anywhere. But as I sat on beside the gentle river, watching the maple leaves dance in the air, and sipping on my cup of hot, sweet, comfort, I was reminded of why I loved to travel.
The three hours did not pass by in a flash, but it was a break I needed. We lined up for our round half an hour early, and to be honest, by this point I was satisfied. I knew that whatever this exhibition was, it wouldn’t be enough to justify its price. But I didn’t mind because just being able to relax in the serenity of the mountains was enough.
...and I would soon find out that I was wrong once again.
(Continued)