Monday, April 22
Today our tour encompassed three organized activities, and then we had mostly free time in the afternoon. We began by riding the bus up the hill to an area called Shogun-zuka. This is a historically significant location as the Emperor Kanmu came to this location and decided to move the capital to Kyoto in 794 AD. He also buried a statue of a Shogun. Today, there is a temple here, but the real attraction is the view. There were two different viewing platforms for admiring the city of Kyoto. The views were great, and we saw the Kyoto Tower (looks like a candle and has an observation deck and is also next to the camera store). The weather today was warm and a little humid, which impacted the clarity of the views. After admiring the views, there was a small garden to enjoy that was really lovely.
Our next stop was the Ryoanji Temple (means "dragon peace temple"). The main attraction here is one of Japan's best known Zen rock gardens. We removed our shoes to enter the temple then admired the garden. It is composed of fifteen rocks of varying sizes surrounded by raked gravel. The rocks are arranged such that all fifteen cannot be seen at the same time from any one viewpoint (a small one will be hidden behind another). The rocks symbolize mountains and the gravel is the ocean. Zen Buddhism came to Japan in the 12th century. They embraced sitting meditation and self-enlightenment. The rocks are arranged in groups of 3, 5, and 7. Those are the most favorable numbers since they are odd and prime numbers. They cannot be divided or "broken." They are also used to create Haiku poetry. A real gem of the site is the small stone basin and fountain located behind the temple used for hand washing (we can only view; closer access is off limits to tourists). In the basin is carved a unique calligraphy with four characters sharing a central square. The meaning is, "I am content with who I am." This is a Zen philosophy. We were taken with this, and Shirley found in the gift shop a lovely wall ceramic hanging with these characters.
Our third stop was the Kinkakuji temple (means "gold pavilion temple"). On the way there Mimi pointed out the "big" character on the top of one mountain. There are five mountains in a row that have this character, and they are lit up by bonfires in a "farewell" ceremony. We also took note of the lovely dogwoods all in bloom along some of the sidewalks. When we reached the temple we could see that it is entirely covered in gold leaf (200,000 pieces of gold leaf per Mimi). It was established by the third shogun in 1400 AD. Since there were no air raids in Kyoto, the ancient temple survived WWII, but was then burned in 1950. A young monk committed arson for a reason that is not known to this day. He died in prison. The author Mishima wrote a novel called "The Golden Pavilion," which created a fictional version of the events surrounding the arson. The temple was rebuilt in 1955. The grounds also feature a fir tree shaped by bonsai into the shape of a ship.
After the temple the bus took us to the north end of Kyoto's downtown shopping area, which features a very long and really nice covered arcade. Eight of us from the tour elected to depart here and make our way back to the hotel on our own. Since it was lunchtime, our first order of business was to find a place to eat. Shirley spotted a place with a beef butcher counter (including beef offered at $20 per OUNCE, no less) that may have a seating area behind it. Turns out this was not the case, but next door was the entrance to a restaurant that looked interesting. It was called Mishima Tei (Teramachi Sanjo), founded in 1873. We took a chance and went in, removing our shoes to climb up the stairs to a traditional Japanese dining room. This was a very good decision. The food here was prepared in one of four ways: sukiyaki, mizudaki, oilyaki, or mizore-nabe. We chose the oilyaki, since it was described as sliced beef and vegetables cooked on a pan (in the middle of the table) with oil to be dipped in citrus soy sauce flavored with grated radish. There was a lot of food and we ate all of it! It was that good. The beef melted in your mouth and the soy/radish sauce was the perfect complement. No disrespect to the wonderful meals and restaurants that A&K had chosen for us, but this was one of the most memorable meals of the whole two weeks. It wasn't a fast meal, but we were in no rush.
After our wonderful lunch, we perused a variety of shops in the arcade. Shirley found a great origami book for her granddaughter. Roy bought some ink stamps with Japanese themes, and Rob bought a fan for a friend. Shirley eventually wandered off on her own way. We decided to walk back to the hotel, but ended up stopping in the large and impressive department store called Takashiyama. The sixth floor had many gift and art items. We were good at resisting making any purchases until we saw a little ceramic round house that we had to have. Then it was time to leave for sure!
As tonight was the final night of the tour, our farewell dinner was at a very nice traditional Japanese restaurant called Saami, located in Maruyama Park. Tonight's food was in the Shabu Shabu style: thinly sliced beef and vegetables that get boiled in a broth. Truthfully, our lunch today was better. We did enjoy a special performance by two woman: one a geisha (called geiko in Kyoto) and the other a maiko, a young woman under twenty, who was an apprentice geisha or geiko. Each performed a dance and answered a few questions. It was educational, but the concept is a little odd to a westerner.
After dinner, we returned to the hotel and said our good-byes, exchanging contact information. We, however, with Shirley, stopped at the hotel bar for "eine for the strasse."
Our next stop was the Ryoanji Temple (means "dragon peace temple"). The main attraction here is one of Japan's best known Zen rock gardens. We removed our shoes to enter the temple then admired the garden. It is composed of fifteen rocks of varying sizes surrounded by raked gravel. The rocks are arranged such that all fifteen cannot be seen at the same time from any one viewpoint (a small one will be hidden behind another). The rocks symbolize mountains and the gravel is the ocean. Zen Buddhism came to Japan in the 12th century. They embraced sitting meditation and self-enlightenment. The rocks are arranged in groups of 3, 5, and 7. Those are the most favorable numbers since they are odd and prime numbers. They cannot be divided or "broken." They are also used to create Haiku poetry. A real gem of the site is the small stone basin and fountain located behind the temple used for hand washing (we can only view; closer access is off limits to tourists). In the basin is carved a unique calligraphy with four characters sharing a central square. The meaning is, "I am content with who I am." This is a Zen philosophy. We were taken with this, and Shirley found in the gift shop a lovely wall ceramic hanging with these characters.
Our third stop was the Kinkakuji temple (means "gold pavilion temple"). On the way there Mimi pointed out the "big" character on the top of one mountain. There are five mountains in a row that have this character, and they are lit up by bonfires in a "farewell" ceremony. We also took note of the lovely dogwoods all in bloom along some of the sidewalks. When we reached the temple we could see that it is entirely covered in gold leaf (200,000 pieces of gold leaf per Mimi). It was established by the third shogun in 1400 AD. Since there were no air raids in Kyoto, the ancient temple survived WWII, but was then burned in 1950. A young monk committed arson for a reason that is not known to this day. He died in prison. The author Mishima wrote a novel called "The Golden Pavilion," which created a fictional version of the events surrounding the arson. The temple was rebuilt in 1955. The grounds also feature a fir tree shaped by bonsai into the shape of a ship.
After the temple the bus took us to the north end of Kyoto's downtown shopping area, which features a very long and really nice covered arcade. Eight of us from the tour elected to depart here and make our way back to the hotel on our own. Since it was lunchtime, our first order of business was to find a place to eat. Shirley spotted a place with a beef butcher counter (including beef offered at $20 per OUNCE, no less) that may have a seating area behind it. Turns out this was not the case, but next door was the entrance to a restaurant that looked interesting. It was called Mishima Tei (Teramachi Sanjo), founded in 1873. We took a chance and went in, removing our shoes to climb up the stairs to a traditional Japanese dining room. This was a very good decision. The food here was prepared in one of four ways: sukiyaki, mizudaki, oilyaki, or mizore-nabe. We chose the oilyaki, since it was described as sliced beef and vegetables cooked on a pan (in the middle of the table) with oil to be dipped in citrus soy sauce flavored with grated radish. There was a lot of food and we ate all of it! It was that good. The beef melted in your mouth and the soy/radish sauce was the perfect complement. No disrespect to the wonderful meals and restaurants that A&K had chosen for us, but this was one of the most memorable meals of the whole two weeks. It wasn't a fast meal, but we were in no rush.
As tonight was the final night of the tour, our farewell dinner was at a very nice traditional Japanese restaurant called Saami, located in Maruyama Park. Tonight's food was in the Shabu Shabu style: thinly sliced beef and vegetables that get boiled in a broth. Truthfully, our lunch today was better. We did enjoy a special performance by two woman: one a geisha (called geiko in Kyoto) and the other a maiko, a young woman under twenty, who was an apprentice geisha or geiko. Each performed a dance and answered a few questions. It was educational, but the concept is a little odd to a westerner.
After dinner, we returned to the hotel and said our good-byes, exchanging contact information. We, however, with Shirley, stopped at the hotel bar for "eine for the strasse."
Comments
Post a Comment