Blogs from Kyoto, Japan, Asia

Out the door this morning at 8:25 to catch the 9:09 train to Saga Arashiyama Station to connect to the Sagano Romantic train. Since we left earlier than planned I thought we could get the earlier train, but after getting coffee and entering the station we had to walk quite a long way to get to our platform. We were at the front of the line as we were there 20 minutes early. We reached Saga Station around 9:30 and the Romantic Train station was right next door, so bought a few more items at Lawson for breakfast. We were booked for the 10:02 train which left right on time as usual. It's only a short 25 minute ride but we did enjoy it. It basically follows the Hozugawa River valley gorge and we could see ... read more

We decided to have the hotel buffet breakfast which was good and set off fairly late around 09:40am. It was only a short 12 minute trip on the train to the Inari Station, right opposite the temple entrance, but we hadn't counted on the number of different lines converging into Kyoto Station. Like living opposite Central Station in Sydney but much more complicated. Took us quite some time to work out where we had to go and then had a long wait in the train before it set off. Reached the temple entrance at 10:25 and proceeded to follow the hordes of tourists. Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head of all of Japan's Inari Shrines. Inari is the Shinto God of Rice. Its famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of ... read more

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

Backstreets: The Gion district of Kyoto embodies the romanticism that surrounds Japan’s ancient capital. Filled with machiya (traditional long wooden houses), it harbors several “teahouses,” where geiko — the Kyoto term for geisha – entertain their high-class guests with quick-witted conversation and skilled musical performances. Yet just north of Shijo Street, the neighborhood evolves into a very different kind of entertainment area. Narrow alleyways are filled with small bars, many of which are kyabakura, hostess clubs that sell the fantasy of female attention. It’s a pocket of Kyoto where one needs confidence or an introduction to open many a door. And it’s also hiding one of the city’s best kept ramen secrets. Mendori Hyakkei has no visible sign on the street. Instead, hungry ramen seekers must walk a few steps through a building – a ki ... read more

From Culinary Backstreets, one of my favorite web pages. Sake is considered Japan’s national drink. Its exact origins lie in the murkiness that accumulates over thousands of years, but it’s believed that rice-derived alcohol production arrived from China alongside rice cultivation at least 2,500 years ago. This rice-derived drink was then developed over the centuries, growing into a flourishing industry by the 17th century. In 1698, for example, government records list 27,251 sake brewers across Japan. Fast-forward to the turn of the 20th century, when the industry was making efforts to improve and regulate quality, leading to the establishment of the National Research Institute of Brewing (NRIB) in 1904. Over the centuries – or indeed, millennia – sake became deeply entwined with Japanese traditions, particularly Shintoism, an animistic religion centered on the respect and worship of ... read more