Shaylynn went Kansai

For this blog post, we were required to study the local public transportation system. Specifically the Keihan Train Line. Each person got separate train stations along the line. The train station I was in charge of investigating was Chuushojima Eki (Train station). On the Keihan Line you can go either toward Osaka or toward Kyoto. Chuushojima is in the direction of Kyoto.

The billboard displaying the station's name.

I guessed when picking what line I would do, since I didn’t know but a couple of stops along the Keihan Line. Most of the lines I have gotten to know are in the direction of Osaka, so it was really refreshing and nice to be able to visit Kyoto’s side. I was surprised that the Eki I chose was luckily a very interesting place. I found out when I was on the way that it was actually one of the bigger stops along the Keihan Line, where most train cars stop (all the way from express to all local stops). The train station itself is quite quaint though; almost as though it’s mostly just a port for people to change trains at, maybe go back a stop or forward to local stops.

The Chuushojima area is closely knit with the Fushimi area. The two are practically one and the same. After hearing a little bit about the train station from the guides in the Chuushojima Eki office area, we set out and after walking a distance arrived in Fushimi. The area was quite interesting. The place we stopped to look around at specifically was a river next to a temple. The river was very long, and roof boats seemed to be taking people on tours down along it. On an informational guide to Chuushojima, given to us by the train station workers, we saw that there were many light events set-up along the river at night at various times throughout the year. I believe my friend told me that there had been one just a couple months ago in August. From the pictures in the guide, these night light tours look to be dazzling. In the spring, there are also Cherry Blossom trees that bloom along the banks of the river which make for a completely different setting for the boat tour.

One of the many roof boats that give tours up the river.

The temple we stopped in at was called Choken-ji Temple. It is a lovely place. Most of the temple seemed to be inactive at that time. I don’t know whether to the time of day, or the time of year, or just that stuff only goes on at certain times or festivals, but they didn’t have a main area where you could throw money and ask for wishes. I later learned that this temple is apparently dedicated to Benzaiten, the goddess of beauty and arts. She is the only female deity among the Japanese gods of good fortune, and closely related to the Hindu god, Sarasvati.

Sayaka praying at the temple center.

After looking around in the temple, we looked at a map to get a quick idea of the area. Apparantly if you cross the tiny Benten Bridge and head further into the area, you find that Fushima is littered with Sake houses. Since Kyoto is apparently the sake capitol of Japan, Fushima holds this up by featuring sake warehouses where sake is made and contained. There’s many shops that sell sake around the area to visit if you want to take the time to bar hop Japanese style.

There was actually a lot of interesting points about Chuushojima/Fushima, but since this post is already getting long, I’ll leave it to you to discover the rest and take some time out to visit this wonderful spot in Japan.

Sources and additional information in regards to Chuushojima/Fushima area: http://www.kyotoguide.com/ver2/walking/walking-fushimi-.htm

~ by Shaylynn on .