Leaf Crazy

I don't have school on Fridays, just koto lessons in the afternoon and pottery in the evening. So I usually spend my morning running errands, and then head out to koto lessons a little early to stop by some of the temples in the area on the way. Last week I went to Tofukuji, a famous Zen temple, and this week I wandered around Senryuji, a Shingon temple. Unfortunately, I picked a horrible time to do temple touring. It is leaf season.

Kouyou, or "pretty fall colored leaves," season is one of the two largest tourist seasons in Kyoto. The other is sakura, cherry blossoms, in the spring. In the autumn, thousands of nature loving Japanese and foreigners congregate in Kyoto to take pictures of the brilliant red momiji (Japanese maple) leaves. They travel in hordes aboard tour buses led by flag-waving guides. They disrupt the quiet of the temple grounds by beckoning to their friends in loud voices, "Kochi kochi! Mite!! Sugui wa!" (Over here, over here! Look! So wonderful!) And they stop every three meters to take pictures. Drawn in by posters of red leaves, and tempted by Light Ups of Kiyomizudera, Eikando, and other famous places, they scurry all over Kyoto trying to see the best of the best of the fall colors.

All of these extra people in Kyoto make it very difficult for residents to get anywhere in a timely or uncrowded fashion. The buses are packed, the trains are full, and I can't walk down the street at a decent pace. Unfortunately for both them and me, the leaves were slow in changing this year. So although the leaves are peaking just right about now, people have been flocking to Kyoto for about a month already.

I can't say that I also am not excited by the beautiful red of the tiny little momiji leaves. I do my share of picture taking when I see an especially nice autumn scene. But except for going to Eikando when my friends were here, and my two Friday wanderings, I have tried to stay away from the popular temples. It just isn't worth being mauled by little obaasans (grandmothers) on the train, or swarmed by tour groups on winding roads. I'll just watch the chaos from a distance and try to find some quiet little hidden temple that no one takes the time to see.