Komi Komi Literature Club!

Chapter 42: The First Day At Kyoto

The first stop of the trip: the Ryoanji Temple.

The theme of this place was clear: perspective. The beautiful scenery, the serene rock garden displays, and the well-constructed yet quietly humble structures all lent themselves to this concept in all its aspects.

"Guys! They say that there's supposed to be 15 rocks here, and no matter where you sit, you can't see all 15 rocks!" Sayori relayed to the others.

"Really? That's neat." Monika giggled.

"How did they even figure that out? Who has that kind of time?" Natsuki wondered aloud with a faint chuckle afterwards.

"They say that only those who have achieved enlightenment can see the 15th rock." Yuri noted.

"We gotta try it! I wanna see if I've got the light!" Sayori said, pulling on Yuri's sleeve.

"Wuh-hey! Calm down, Sayori. There isn't any rush." Yuri said.

"I know how to see all 15 rocks. It's literally so easy." Alex said with a chuckle. He hadn't even said what his suggestion was yet, and already the other girls were beginning to shake their heads.

"If it's a short joke, I swear..." Natsuki threatened him.

"I didn't even think of that but that would be funny too. Nah, just get a top-down view." Alex said, making a square with his fingers to show that he was talking about looking at the rock garden from above.

"No, Alex! That's cheating! You're supposed to be achieving enlightenment!" Sayori chastised him, nudging against him with her shoulder.

"I don't know about achieving enlightenment but I can climb a ladder." Alex said with a laugh.

"You are such a dork, you know that?" Natsuki shook her head at him again.

"Hey! It's innovative! That's pretty enlightening." Alex argued with a snicker...

The second stop of the trip: the Kinkaku Temple.

Known as the Golden Pavilion, this impressive temple overlooking a large pond has its two top floors completely covered in gold leaf. Apparently it was supposed to be some guy's retirement home at one point.

Everybody in the group agreed that they wouldn't mind having this place as their retirement home too, especially with all the gold leaf around.

"Think about how shiny it will look during the sunrise!" Sayori commented with a giggle.

"It would look beautiful, wouldn't it?" Komi agreed.

"I would like to see it myself." Yuri said with a nod.

"Is gold leaf like actual gold, or is it just like...fake gold? It's gotta be worth something, right?" Natsuki guessed.

"I don't think that's what the monks had in mind when they built it." Monika giggled.

"I could totally film a music video in there." Alex laughed.

"Oh my god." Monika shook her head with an amused scoff.

"What? I could! Flash my yen up at the camera." He kept the joke going.

"Shut up, Alex." Natsuki punched his arm.

The third stop of the trip: the Nishi Honganji Temple.

This was definitely the most artistic temple so far. It was full of adorned hallways and gates, paintings and carvings and statues. It was like a traditional Japanese showcase – a living art museum.

"It's so amazing to see that people are willing to go through such crazy lengths to preserve history and tradition." Monika observed with a bright smile.