Leaving Jishu Shrine and going down the steps next to the main hall, you will find Otowa Falls.
There are three clear springs flowing down, which are said to symbolize health, wisdom and good marriage respectively. For this reason, many people queue up to drink from the spring water.
"I won't go there." Seeing the dense crowd in front of him, Naruse immediately gave up the idea of joining in the fun, "I already drank the spring water here when I came here before."
"How does it taste?" Hikaru Takigawa asked.
He smiled and said, "It just smells like spring water."
Several seniors insisted on queuing, so Naruse temporarily separated from them and went to visit other places in Kiyomizu Temple.
He bought a few guards near the main hall and drew lots. He stood in front of a map of the temple on the roadside for a long time, planning in his mind the route for his next visit.
At eleven o'clock, the third-grade team gathered again and prepared to set off for this morning's other destination, Heian Shrine.
Naruse and the others went out after visiting Kiyomizu Temple. They selected and bought some specialties at Kiyomizu Saka to take back as souvenirs. After returning to the hotel, they rushed there first.
Heian Shrine was built to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of Heian's move to the capital. It was modeled after the imperial palace during the Heian period. It is not ancient among the many temples and shrines in Kyoto, but it has a history of more than 120 years.
"It's so empty..."
Passing through the huge torii gate, walking along the long shrine, and entering the shrine, you will see an empty white sandy land in front of you.
Surrounded by red walls and blue tiles, it makes people feel desolate. This huge building complex together constitutes one of the largest shrines in Kyoto.
"It's so empty." Hikaru Takigawa looked around and said again, "It feels completely different from the places I went to before."
"This is probably the so-called royal weather." Naruse said.
"What?"
"It's nothing, don't worry about it."
He shook his head and pointed to the Daji Hall opposite the white sand, "Other than going there to pay homage, there is nothing special worth seeing outside the shrine. The inner garden 'Shenyuan' behind it has a nice view."
To enter the inner garden, you need to purchase a ticket.
When Takigawa Hikaru and Haisei went to the main hall to worship, Naruse bought tickets for all four of them, including Takigawa Yue who was still on the way.
After waiting for a while, the third grade bus finally arrived outside the shrine.
When Takikawa Yue came over to join them, they entered the inner garden together and wandered among the three ponds and the four sacred gardens in the east, west, south and middle.
Jingu Shrine is also a famous cherry blossom viewing spot in Kyoto. The tall weeping cherry blossoms are spread out in a row. When the flowers bloom, they are as pink as a waterfall, but it is already autumn.
Although there are no cherry blossoms to be seen, several maple trees beside the Saijinen Pond are already turning red, which is particularly eye-catching against the surrounding green leaves.
The pond is wide and shallow, reflecting the surrounding palaces and rocks in the pond. Although the autumn is getting darker, it still shows a bit of elegance.
“You can’t tell from the outside that it’s so beautiful inside.”
"Yeah."
Walking to Dongshenyuan, a covered bridge called Taiping Pavilion divides the pond into two.
Walking to the bridge, Hikaru Takigawa suddenly quickened his pace and came to a wooden box placed by the bridge.
There is a sign on it: [Carp's bait]
"You can buy fish food here...ah, it's 50 yen a pack, it's completely self-service."
As she took out the money, she looked into the pond below, "I didn't see any fish...ah, I did, it's such a big one."
With a bang, the coins fell, and Hikaru Takigawa opened the box containing fish food, picked up a pack and closed it.
Naruse looked for it and found that there was no fifty-yen coin, so he stuffed a hundred-yen coin in, took out two packages, and handed one of the packages to Haixing.
She was stunned, but still took it.
Takigawa Yue looked on from the side and had no intention of buying fish food. "Can the fish here eat so much fish food?"
"You can eat it." Takigawa Hikaru smiled, "Every fish is very fat, so the appetite should be quite big."
She gave half of the fish food to her sister, and the two threw it into the water. Several fat carp swam over as soon as they approached the water's edge.
Naruse also opened the fish food and threw it into the water, but the Takigawa sisters were so happy with the feeding that they threw away most of the package in a blink of an eye. The few pieces he dropped were not attractive at all.
He moved a few steps to the side and successfully intercepted two carp that were attracted by the movement here.
I lost two starfish, but received the same treatment as Naruse, so I gave the remaining fish food to Hikari Takigawa.
"It feels like they are eating so happily."
"You don't have to do anything to have something to eat. If it were me, I would be happy too."
"The life of a fish is so simple."
"Yes." Takigawa Hikaru smiled, but his eyes were a little straight.
"Ah!"
Haixing suddenly shouted, attracting both her and Naruse's eyes. Following her line of sight, both of them also saw the uninvited guest in the pool.
"Duck!"
A gray duck swam over from the other side of the bridge and unceremoniously joined the fight for fish food, but the carp in the water had nothing to do with it.
"There are two turtles here!" Takigawa Yue also made a new discovery.
The turtle swimming in the water showed agility and speed that was completely different from that on land, and soon joined the fight.
After staring for a while, Takigawa Hikari couldn't stand it anymore, "The duck is too bullying."
Regardless of their size differences, carps and turtles can only move underwater. They cannot fully compete with each other because they can float on the water and free up their duck paws to drive away competing ducks.
She looked around, looking like she was planning to do something.
"Are there no dead branches or anything like that here?"
"The inner garden is taken care of every day, so where are the dead branches? Are you trying to drive away the ducks?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm."
"The spring sea is pulling me up, and I scare it away with my feet."
"...Stop making trouble."
After staying here for a while, I finished feeding all three bags of fish food. Gradually more and more third-grade students wandered here, and they all started feeding the fish.
There was too much fish food thrown away, and the "bully" on the water could not take care of it. The carp and turtle at the bottom finally got a share of the fish food, and Takigawa Hikaru was reluctantly satisfied.
"Go and look elsewhere."
After leaving Taiping Pavilion, we have almost visited the East God Garden and even the entire inner garden of the shrine.
Takigawa Yue was dragged along by other classmates during the trip, and Naruse and the other three came out after shopping around and stood at the exit of the inner garden for a while.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Takigawa Hikari raising her hands. Naruse turned her head and saw that she was smelling her fingers, the tip of her nose twitching slightly.
"I feel like the fish food just now smells a bit delicious... No wonder the duck keeps grabbing for food."
"..."
She is probably hungry.
After all, it was already noon when he walked from Kiyomizudera Temple to Heian Shrine, and Naruse felt that his stomach was empty.
"Sister Yue and the others have to go back to the hotel later, let's find a place to have lunch ourselves."
"Okay."
After leaving Heian Shrine and not walking too far, Naruse saw a ramen shop on the other side of the road. After asking the two for their opinions, he walked there.
Before they even reached the ramen shop, Hikaru Takigawa was attracted by a sign on the roadside and stopped them.
"It says, keep going forward and there will be a sushi restaurant near the next intersection."
Naruse looked at the sign, "Would you rather eat sushi?"
"Where are the spring sea and starfish?"
"I can do it." Haixing said.
Naruse also said it didn't matter, so the three of them walked to the sushi restaurant.
There were not many people in the store at this time, so when he found a seat and sat down, Naruse ordered a sushi platter and eel rice bowl.
Takigawa Hikaru looked at the menu, "We have to go to Shin Kyogoku and Ginkakuji Temple in the afternoon. It's very convenient for Yue, but it's a little troublesome for us... It's a strange arrangement. Why not arrange Shin Kyogoku at
In the morning, why not arrange the Heian Shrine in the afternoon?"
Shinkyogoku is near Kawaramachi, while Ginkakuji Temple is far away at the foot of Higashiyama. You have to take a half-day bus ride there, and it's not easy to get back.
"Because they can take the bus, it's easy to go wherever they want."
Naruse glanced at her and said, "Are you going to Ginkakuji Temple this afternoon?"
"I have to follow Yue." She nodded immediately and smiled slightly, "'Since we are going on a long trip together, we must take good care of Yue.' This is what my parents told me before going out."
"Sister Yue has been entrusted to Guang's hands?"
"After all, I am a sister, and I should take care of my sister."
"It's the other way around."
She smiled, put down the menu, told the shop owner what she wanted, and then said:
"Yue started to rely on me a long time ago, and I am used to her dependence.
Although others may think it's a little strange for a younger sister to take care of her older sister, I don't think so. On the contrary, I like this feeling of being relied on."
She raised her arms and naturally put them on the shoulders of Starfish next to her, hugging her.
"Everyone can rely on me, including Haixing. Just rely on me."
"Ah...ok."
Naruse was silent, vaguely understanding why she always liked to hang out with girls and deliberately tried to please them - it was this feeling of dependence that she pursued.
While waiting for lunch, Hikaru Takigawa looked at the starfish he was holding in his arms, looked at him again, and suddenly sighed.
"It would be great if Shangzi could rely on me."
Naruse glanced at her, "Isn't it enough that so many girls rely on you?"
She shook her head.
"When I stay with Naoko, I feel safe and relaxed, as if I don't have to think about anything. I like this feeling. But..."
She looked at him, "Shangzi only relies on Harumi."