New Year's Eve at the Chion-in temple in Kyoto. After a 14 hour flight I had arrived in Tokyo at 4:30 pm, and a Shinkansen Nozomi bullet train got me to Kyoto by 8:00 pm. Ignoring the jet lag, I dropped off my bag at the hotel, the Kyoto Tower Hotel, and started walking to Maruyama Park.  The Chion-in temple is probably one of the best places in Japan to see the traditional bell ringing. The entrance to Chion-in is the massive San-mon gate, the largest wooden gate in Japan, built in 1619, designated a Japanese National Treasure. To catch a glimpse of the 17 Buddhist monks ringing the heaviest bell in Japan at 74 tons, is not an easy feat. There are literally thousands of people lining up to experience this amazing sight, and you have to be very, very lucky. While waiting in the sheer endless line that winds up through a tree-lined path up to the temple, people are relaxed and patiently waiting for their -not guaranteed- turn. Looking up toward the sky, you are surrounded by beautiful trees decorated with fresh snowfall.