Kyoto

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A few days ago, we left the rural southwest of Japan and headed for Kyoto, second of the three big cities we’ll visit. I’m coming to the conclusion that visiting only Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo would be the Japanese equivalent of coming to the US and just visiting Boston, New York City, and Washington, DC – lots of culture and history in these three big cities, but they’re not America. By giving us the opportunity to spend most of our time in Shikoku, Tom added the equivalent of Tennessee. If someone were to spend most of their US trip time in Tennessee, we’d ask them why, and would understand that by doing so, they were looking to understand the real America, not just the big cities.

We took a small “people only” ferry from Naoshima to a town called Uno, along with commuters and students who travel this way every day. After a short ride on a local train, we got on the Shinkansen, the “bullet train” that can go 180 miles an hour. I don’t know if we reached top speed, but we did move as smoothly as silk through the countryside on elevated tracks. We talked most of the way about why American is so wedded to our expensive and inefficient cars and highways that we can’t build a decent passenger rail system. My personal belief: money, oil, and auto lobbyists, along with legislators’ desires to send highway pork home hinder any efforts. It’s one of my “don’t get me started” subjects.

Our lodging in Kyoto has been the best yet. It’s called Ryokan Izuyasu (www.izuyasu.com) and opened to guests in 1893. It’s built around an interior garden, and we had two beautiful tatami-mat rooms and were cared for by two women who came in to make our futon beds, came in to put them away before they served us breakfast in our living room, laundered our yakutas (kimono) daily, and who took great care to make our stay a treat. We also enjoyed the private (small, single sex) Japanese baths, though mine was SO hot that I couldn’t even put my foot in.

So far, we’ve continued our practice of eating raw fish at least twice a day, including a wonderful lunch at a restaurant called Yanagiya Honten (www.gojoryoin.gr.jp/yanagiya), which has been open since 1925. Our sushi chef is the third generation in his family to run the restaurant, but he believes that he’s the last – his 8 year old daughter is really not interested.

We’ve continued our walking tour of Asia with visits to the huge and gaudy Higashi-Honganji Temple, a beautiful compound of buildings, some of which were severely damaged by the March 2011 earthquake, and the Shosei-en Garden, followed by the Fushimi-Inari Shrine, full of worshipers, and the Gion neighborhood. Gion is famous for being the place where geishas have worked and lived for hundreds of years. Apparently, only a couple hundred women still pursue this occupation. We spend a little time each day just wandering around, since our knowledge of Japanese is non-existent. I’ve even resorted to stopping passersby and asking them to speak the words on some signs, just to see if the sound matches the way I imagine the letters I’m looking at sound. I also get a kick out of signs that clearly (and in English) say “INFORMATION” at the top – and then the whole rest of the sign is in Japanese.

Today, we went to the town of Nara, which is famous for its large park and many temples and shrines. It’s also famous for its 1200 deer that live in the park and mooch food from the tourists – last night’s sushi chef called Nara “Bambi-land”. Since it’s Satuday of Golden Week (big spring holiday) the deer will all go to bed full tonight. Tonight is our last night in Kyoto, and we hope to go back to Gion to walk the small streets in the evening, and then to board another bullet train for Tokyo tomorrow.

Only one more blog entry! (I hope – who knows what adventures we’ll encounter on the way home?)

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Photos

Tori Gates
I loved the color of these gates!

14 Bar Owner, Yuko Ono
One of Jack's best customers and friends, Naoshima, Japan

Information
Nice of them to put "Information" in English at the top, but not much help below.

Okayama, Japan
This small canal ran through downtown. We enjoyed walking through the gardens along the canal during our layover in Okayama.

Typical Charm
Okayama is one of the places where you'd see homes still maintained in a district of high -rise buildings.

Shinkansen
The famous bullet train. I got ready to take a photo of the front, but it left too quickly!

Puzzles
At most lodging, the air conditioner is run by a remote, always (of course) labeled completely in Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese ...

Our Living Room
Each traditional Japanese room has a niche with a shrine or just an object that's worth viewing and contemplating.

Our Bedroom
Yep, no beds. They're taken out of cupboards and made up for you each night. Control firmness of your bed by the number of futons (thin mattresses) you use.

Dining Room
In the living room -- I remember having a dining room table like this back in 1970.

Closet
I took this photo because it's a great idea: two ladder-like racks, hinged together. Ours had both hooks and rails. I want to make one for our loft.

OK, here's one ...
Of me, in a yakuta.

Here's Tom
Taken after a couple of beers and some clams. I have other photos suitable for blackmail purposes.

Higashi-Honganji Temple
One of the largest wood buildings in the world. The white metal building in the back protects a building being repaired since the March 2011 earthquake.

Shosei-en Garden
Beautiful, well maintain garden with a small lake in the center of a residential neighborhood. I'd love to live in one of the apartments that overlook the park.

Shosei-en Garden
Built in the 1640s by a lord, and maintained since.

Fushimi-Inari Shrine
Beautiful Shinto shrine with many worshipers. We were able to watch services and walk on the paths through the shrine area.

Tori Gates
There are thousands of these gates along the baths of the Fushimi-Inari Shrine.

Nara Park
Having goats helped us NOT be afraid of feeding the deer. Most were more worried about the tiny dogs some people brought with them.