Blogs from Kyoto, Japan, Asia
May 17th 2012
Viime paivat Kiotossa ovat olleet aika taynna ohjelmaa. Kavimme katsomassa geisha-tanssia Ponto-cho Kaburenjo teatterissa. Oikeastaan ensimmainen osa ohjelmasta oli naytelma, joka sijoittui Kamakura aikakaudelle. Kilpaileviin klaaneihin kuuluva nainen ja mies rakastuvat toisiinsa. Nainen luulee miehen kuolleen ja ryhtyy nunnaksi. Mies tulee vierailemaan talonpojaksi naamioituneena. Tarina paattyy siihen, etta mies ja nainen eroavat pysyvasti. Eraanlainen japanilainen versio Romeosta ja Juliasta siis. (Taytyy tunnustaa, etta kuulimme Fumielta naytelman juonen etukateen. Emme toki ihan nain hyvin osaa muinaista japania ;) ) Naytelma oli hyvin esteettinen geishojen ja maikojen pukuloisto ja meikit ja kaikki liikkeet olivat viimeisen paalle hallittuja. Toinen osa esityksesta oli tanssia. Petra suostutteli Fumien ja muut vieraat (australialaisserkukset, Mayan ja yhden puolalaisnaisen) viet... read more
May 16th 2012
Hiro and I took the bullet train from Tokyo, and I got off in Kyoto, while he continued on home to Kyushu. Kyoto is the ancient capital of Japan, and there are hundreds of Shinto shrines, and over a thousand Buddhist temples. There are 17 UNSECO World Heritage sites in Kyoto, designated such by the UN in 1993. I took the bus from the train station to the Gion district, home of the famous Geisha. I stayed in a traditional Japanese guesthouse, and slept on tatami mats and a futon, in a tiny single room with sliding screen doors. The bathroom and showers are shared, and there are only 6 rooms or so, the place is called Guesthouse Rakuza and it cost about 45 USD per night for a single room, which is cheap compared to ... read more
May 16th 2012
The next day in Kyoto, I met a new friend, Michael, who is the owner or Osmosis spa in Freestone California, about 2 hours north of San Francisco, and one of my favorite places in all the world. They offer what is called an enzyme bath, which is cedar wood chips and rice bran in a large wooden tub, then liquid enzymes and water are put in to create a fermentation process. This process creates heat, and it can reach 140 F. It is kind of like steamroom and sauna at the same time while you are covered in wet sand or mulch. It is very detoxifying and warming, perfect precursor to a massage. Anyhow, I contacted Michael asking about enzyme baths in Japan, where they originated, and he happened to be visiting Japan at the ... read more
May 14th 2012
Hiroshimaan matkaavien "pakollisiin" nahtavyyksiin kuuluu myos Miyajimalla sijaitseva kelluva torii... Valitettavasti meidan matkamme aikana torii oli korjattavana, joten emme oikein paasseet kunnolla nakemaan toriita rakennustelineiden vuoksi. Paiva oli aurinkoinen ja meri kimmelsi, joten pienoinen pettymys ei haitannut. Menimme koysiradalla ylos lahella korkeinta huippua. Kavaisimme katsomassa jonkun buddhalaismunkin 1200 vuotta sitten syttymaa tulta. Maisemat olivat huikeat ja ymparoiva luonto todella kiinnostavan nakoista... Miyajimalla olisi ollut useit vaelluspolkuja, joita pitkin olisimme varmaan menneet, jos olisimme olleet yota saarella. Sunnuntaiaamuna reili jatkui ja suuntasimme Kiotoon. Kiotossa asuu noin 1.47 miljoonaa ihmista, vain noin 300 000 enemman kuin Hiroshimassa, mutta tama tuntuu kuitenkin huomattavasti isommalta kuin Hiroshima. Kenties hajanainen kaupunkiraken... read more
May 5th 2012
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 ... read more
FIRST TIME JAPAN 101: heated toilet seats and sento etiquettes..
Published: May 13th 2012Asia » Japan » Kyoto » Kyoto
April 26th 2012
I have to admit that one main reason I decided to go to Japan this time is the ohh so tempting straight flight from Boston to Tokyo that JAL is initiating with their brand new 787 Dreamliner planes from Boeing. In all my travels I dread layovers specially long haul flights and this will be a chance for me to be on a brand new spanking jet! Check in was a bit slow at terminal E at Logan, the check in staff always apologising ,it's the maiden voyage we are still working out the kinks, while waiting my turn I heard some commotion behind us and it was the flight stewardesses having photos taken with the Minutemen dudes all costumed up and ready for the media, I did not realize how big this event was! At ... read more
April 23rd 2012
Not too long ago, my friend, Barbara Tucker and I, took a spur of the moment trip to Kyoto. We used overnight buses from Willer Express and found an amazing hostel, Khaosan Hostel, through Hostels.com. Our hostel was located minutes away from downtown Gion. Both the overnight bus and the hostel were decently priced. We arrived in Kyoto around 7 a.m and spent the next hour or so looking for the hostel. My sense of direction terrible, so I had us going the exact opposite way for about 30 minutes. We arrived at the hostel, since we couldn’t check in till 3 at the earliest; we just dropped of our luggage ventured out. We decided to check out the National Garden, which was about a 20 minute walk from the hostel. Though it was raining a ... read more
April 19th 2012
Last weekend I took myself off to Kyoto. I'd hoped to catch the sakura season before it ended, although as it transpired I was about a week too late. There was still the odd cherry blossom here and there, but most of the trees had shed their flowers and the famous night lit trees in Kyoto parks and temples had ended the day before I got there. It rained solidly for two of the three days I was there, and I also accidentally timed my trip for the same weekend when all of the schools in the area had a weekend visit to Kyoto (including the third years at my school!). Despite all this, I still really enjoyed my visit and absolutely love Kyoto. The first morning I strolled along the Philosopher's Walk (Tetsugaku-no-michi), which is ... read more
April 16th 2012
Day 2 Japan It is 12am tuesday morning am I am in the middle of an Ashtanga primary series. The first question may be why? Well I need a stretch. Ten hours of walking can make you quite stiff. It was a fabulous day, my camera and I spent the greater part of the day strolling through various temples and their respective gardens. April is cherry blossom time in Japan. They are stunning, they are everywhere. I will forever think of Japan and cherry blossoms. The gardens are spectacular, I am especially fond of the Zen rock gardens. Everyone seems to be a gardener in Kyoto and even if they don't have a plot of dirt, there are always pots to plant.The temples were very simple, different from the ones in China and Malaysia. Where those ... read more
April 14th 2012
Two weeks holiday for Easter...Jesus I'm not usually a follower but today big man I am very thankful, keep up the good work. I needed a country that I could see a reasonable amount of in just 2 weeks, a country that was completely different to that dreary island of the UK, one that was culturally and traditionally a vast set of metaphorical miles away. I wanted new faces, places, ideas, language, sights and organised chaos, I found it in Japan. It has always been on my list of places to see,the allure of the seeming madness of Tokyo, a place where person is piled upon person, a society of manners and respect, where tradition holds strong and there is an abundance of culture to shake a stick at. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. Japan, ... read more
