Blogs from Gion, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan, Asia

If there’s one thing Kyoto is famous for, it’s geisha (or geiko – which is the Kyoto dialect for geisha). If you’ve seen any pictures promoting Kyoto, you’ll undoubtedly have seen a woman wearing beautiful kimono, traditional hairstyles and her face painted in unique oshiroi make-up.Geisha roughly translates to “woman of the arts”. Their job includes performing traditional tea ceremonies while entertaining their guests by singing, playing traditional instruments (like the samisen), having conversations with them or even playing drinking games together. Becoming a geisha takes a lot of dedication and practice. The training of a maiko (apprentice geisha) usually starts when they’re 15 years old, and can last around five years. While they were much more popular in the past, there are still geishas in Japan today. Most of them live and work in Kyoto. ... read more

We were up early and after breakfast went down to meet our guide for the day, Hiroko Inaba. 'Hiro' had spent two years in Finchley, north London and Lesley and she swapped stories. Hiro said that she misses London. However, the friendship could have become rivalry when she said that her sons support Arsenal Football Club - great rivals to Lesley’s team Tottenham Hotspur. However, that was not the reason Hiro immediately told us that she changed our guided tour schedule. Rather it was that the Imperial Palace was closed because of the Aoi festival (see yesterday’s blog). But as we had at least seen part of the palace grounds already, we were happy to adopt Hiro's amended tour plan. We caught the local train to our first stop Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. This is the ... read more

1. Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine Der Fuchs wird als Bote, manchmal auch als Inkarnation, von Inari angesehen, der Gott, der fürs Getreide zuständig ist. Der Schlüssel, den der Fuchs oft im Maul hat, ist der Schlüssel zum Reisspeicher. Füchse sind in Japan oft heilig und geheimnisvoll. Sie können vom Menschen Besitz nehmen, wobei sie vorzugsweise unter den Fingernägeln durchschlüpfen und so in den Menschen eindringen. 2. Kiyomizu dera Wird leider gerade renoviert 3. Ryozen Ein Tempel der an den unbekannten Soldaten aus dem Zweiten Weltkrieg erinnert mit einer riesigen Kean on = Kannon. 4. Kodai-ji Der schönste Tempel meiner Meinung nach, mit exquisiten Garten. Und zum Schluss noch was lustiges.... read more

The day started with rain, lots of rain and continued with more rain. I just don't know how rain can keep raining so much without running out of rain. I really don't. Looking out of the window this morning, my heart sank a little as it was raining as hard as rain can. Never mind, I said, a bit of rain won't stop us seeing Kyoto - we've come a long way and as always, no time to waste. But it wasn't just a bit of rain. Kyoto Station is pretty awesome and gets a few paragraphs (a futuristic entry into Japan's old imperial capital, etc) and a photo in my guidebook which proved to me that this was a station to see - although I'd already seen much of it. It has many floors, shops ... read more

This was it! The cultural heart and soul of Japan. All that wide-eyed foreigners imagine when the country's name is evoked -- centuries-old temples set against perfectly manicured gardens, lantern-lined quaint alleys, white-faced geishas shuffling along in clogs...Welcome to Kyoto, another ancient capital of Japan, and culturally probably its most important. From small town Nara it was barely an hour's train ride to Kyoto, but what a difference an hour makes. Kyoto is like Nara on steroids in terms of temples and shrines. Throw in some serious nightlife and shopping malls, and maybe half of all tourists currently in the country (the other half probably being in Tokyo), and you've got yourself a real city! And to top it all off, I arrived coincidentally the week of the festival of Gozan Okuribi, a very popular week ... read more