Kyoto

There's an old Wayne and Shuster routine about Julius Caesar and the Ides of March, where his grieving widow says "I told him:  Julie don't go!" (about half way through the youtube link).
I kept thinking about that routine (apologies to the non-Canadians and younger generation who unfortunately missed W&S) as Jeff and I boarded the plane to Osaka a few weeks ago.  Many of our friends and family (especially my dad) had tried to convince us that due to the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster Japan should be off-limits.  Cathay Pacific also phoned to offer a full refund.  We deferred to Julie (not Caesar), who, with her scientific knowledge and common sense, told us it was safe to go, as well as the Canadian Dept. of Foreign Affairs, which only advised avoiding northern Honshu.
Fortunately, our trip went well, and we experienced no adversities.  On the other hand, it was a great time to travel, since there were very few tourists, other than Japanese school groups and seniors.

Our first day in Kyoto we awoke to blue skies and cool weather.  The nice concierge at the Westin Miyako directed us to the bus stop nearby and told us where to alight (a Britishism that we've picked up living in HK) for the southern Higashiyama walking tour (courtesy of Lonely Planet Japan).  Unlike HK, which is so tourist-friendly, we found Kyoto a challenging experience.  When we got off the bus, there were no signs pointing to Kiyomizu-dera, a UNESCO World Heritage temple.  Thank goodness we noticed groups of high schoolers walking up the hill - we followed them straight to the temple's entrance.  (And we continued to follow school groups all weekend.)

Japanese temples are magnificent wooden structures, many built on hillsides, with spectacular views of the surrounding hills and the modern city.  Because they are built of wood, they tend to burn down every few hundred years, so the oldest structures we saw only dated back to the 17th century.  I love the simplicity of the temples - very little glitz and ornamentation.

While we were walking around the Kiyomizu-dera grounds, we noticed a shaded area with small stupas (gravestones) decorated with weather-worn aprons.  We are still scratching our heads at the significance of these structures, since there was no explanation in any language; nor was there an English-speaking person in sight.
Welcome to Japan!  Lots of smiles, no English!  Speaking of no English, five teenagers in school uniforms approached us and handed us a letter from their teacher.  They were encouraged to practise speaking English with Western tourists.  They gave us peace poems as well as their names and addresses.  We had an interesting chat, and promised to write to them (one of these days ...)

We continued our walk through lovely streets with old wooden houses, stopping to look at a few other temples along the way.  Most of the attractions charge hefty admissions, so, being cheap, templed-out tourists, we took photos at the entrances and moved on down the road.  When we arrived at Chion-in, a beautiful Buddhist centre, there was a spiritual convention taking place.  Thousands of devotees filled the main hall.   As they prayed together, they rang small, individual bells.  It was mesmerizing.

Outside the prayer hall, calligraphers were very busy writing scrolls (Marion would've watched them all day!), and along the corridors monks rang enormous bells.

Further highlights of our first morning:  spotting our first Japanese Buddhist monk (and remitting a few yen for the privilege of taking his photo), and our first geishas (well, sort of - they were models being photographed in front of a shop!)

After lunch we visited To-ji temple.  As luck would have it, we were there in time for the monthly Kobo-san market.  Lots of mystery foods, bonsai trees, and assorted tchotchkas.  The street food looked yummy, especially the fish-shaped waffles!

Unfortunately, the sunshine only lasted one day.  We awoke to steady rain and cold (12C) for the next three days.  It didn't stop us!  We bought a day pass for the MRT (subway), and began at the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji), another temple on the UNESCO list.  In 1950, a crazy monk burned down the original (14th century) building.  The present structure was rebuilt in 1955.  I was disappointed that we could not go into the building, but merely take pictures of it across the pond!  The temple grounds are magnificent, and the flowers looked even more vibrant with raindrops on them.  That afternoon we made our way to the Imperial Palace.  As we started following the guide, I realized that the tour was strictly outside - and it was pouring - and I was wearing sandals - and my feet were cold and wet!  So I hobbled back to the reception area, and waited for Jeff to complete the tour.

It continued to rain heavily the next day, but we were more prepared (i.e. I was wearing proper shoes and socks -  although around noon I stopped to buy a dry pair!).  Thanks to the Bills' suggestion, we went to Arashiyama, a very charming suburb in the hills overlooking Kyoto.  The Tenryu-ji temple is set in a gorgeous Zen garden.

After leaving the temple grounds, we walked through the bamboo grove to Okochi Sanso, the villa built by a famous silent-screen actor.  At the entrance to the villa and its gardens, there's a lovely tea house where we enjoyed a bowl of tea and a small green cake.  After touring the gardens, we strolled through the village, and ended up buying a hand-painted cherry blossom wall-hanging at a local shop.  The artist was sitting in the back of the shop, busily painting umbrellas.  His artwork adorned all of the walls, and there were also racks of painted raincoats.

The rain let up temporarily the next morning, giving us enough time to enjoy Nijo Castle.  Three pretty girls dressed in traditional kimonos let me take their picture (they were carrying designer handbags!).
We headed to the colourful, upscale, and very pricey Nishiki Market for lunch and window-shopping.  Egg tarts cost three times as much as HK.  There's even a specialty knife shop called Aritsugu, with the best (and most expensive) kitchen knives in the world.

Other than tempura and yakitori, Japanese food continues to disinterest me.  A bowl of soba noodles with vegetables and beef (Japanese version of Chinese dumpling soup) cost $10CDN - about four times the price of the HK equivalent.  I know, I know - it's beautifully presented, and served on lacquered dishes, but other than Kobe beef, most ingredients are local, readily available, and cheap.  So why are restaurants so costly?  My other beefs (pardon the pun) with Japanese food are that most of it is green, much of it smells like seaweed, and most of it leaves a fishy aftertaste.  My clothes even smelled like seaweed.



And speaking of green - the Kit Kat chocolate bars are green tea flavoured!

On our second evening in Kyoto, we walked around Gion, the charming entertainment district filled with  restaurants in old wooden houses along the river.  We had dinner at Ozawa, where the tempura was served one vegetable or prawn at a time!  The fellow sitting next to Jeff was from Paris, so we spent an hour chatting in French.  He's a Japanophile, and his wife sent him to Kyoto as a birthday present.  (Hint for Jeff - send me to Bhutan for my next birthday).

Some other observations:  Young children travel unescorted (but usually in groups) on the metro to and from school.  Unlike HK, where the domestic helpers carry both the backpacks and the kids, the young Japanese were refreshingly independent.  They reminded us of the little girls in Bemelmans' Madeline books.

And speaking of the metro, it was very easy to navigate - especially since there were bilingual signs, as well as announcements in English and Japanese.  No food or drink is allowed on HK buses or subways.  Japan goes one step further: no cellphones.

Another observation:  I know that Frank Lloyd Wright had an impact on Japanese architecture (and vice versa), but I wasn't aware of the Japanese influence on other artists, for example Piet Mondrian or the cubists.  The photo on the left was taken at one of the palaces.

It's been a while since I've included strange signs in my blogs, but I couldn't resist these.  The one on the right sums up how confused we were some of the time!





We came home from Japan.  We are not glowing in the dark, but we are glowing with wonderful memories, and look forward to a return visit.