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Friday, March 26
[Kyoto]posted by pete at 20:45I want to keep the superlatives under control, but Kyoto really is an amazing city. From the ultra-postmodern railway station and central urban areas to the timber fronted tea houses of Gion with their lanterns glowing eerily at dusk, this city really does grab and twist one's senses. And of course the countless temples and shrines (with their budget-chewing entry fees) nestled in manicured grounds do their bit for the place – beautiful World Heritage listed structures that have somehow survived the ages and the wars and the shuddering of the earth.
Anyway, a rough overview then? Sonia and I made our way to this lovely city by Shinkansen, the speed of which lulled us both to sleep rather rapidly. Our accommodation was lovely and centrally located, which was fortunate because Kyoto's public transport does seem a little inconvenient to those of us who are used to Tokyo's rather efficient services. Anyway, we hit the temple trail, knowing full well that we would soon tire of it and explore shops instead. Which is of course what happened. But Kyoto's shops are not merely department stores; of these it has its fair share, but what we visited were the tiny specialist establishments that line the back alleys, canals and narrow streets. Exhausted, we collapsed into a tiny cafe of dark timber and were served the richest most decadent hot chocolate ever, made with water from a sacred and ancient well.
Oh, I don't have the energy for this account – the place was so damn good that maybe I'll just list some highlights.
- Old places. Ancient paths. Behind the temple compound was a path leading to an aquaduct. Parallel to the aquaduct ran another path which led up to the subtemple. Behind the subtemple an even narrower path became stairs which led up and up past mysterious gravity-fed water features (an inappropriate term I know) to a tiny mountain glen with a waterfall. Deserted. At dusk. In the rain.
- Cherry Blossoms. Sakura. Hanami. We were there just a few days too early, but the first scatterings of white were bursting out in the groves. Stunning, particularly on the most ancient trees.
- The Zen Garden. As in, THE Zen Garden that you see in all the Zen gardening books written by people who aren't from Japan. Fifteen large stones, carefully positioned. An old wall rendered with clay boiled in oil that has created unique textures as the oil seeped out. White gravel, raked into painstaking designs. Actually a little over-rated but nice to see.
- Geishas. In the backstreets of Gion, at dusk. Sonia chased them like butterflies... she was strangely entranced by the sightings. It does feel a little bit like you've fallen into a storybook when you see them tottering over the cobbled bridges.
- Dinner at a tiny vegetarian restaurant run by a Buddhist nun. We sat around a very small bar which functioned as an eating and drinking place, and struck up conversation with a university lecturer who specialises in minority groups. Chatted to others too. Lovely.
- Last but not least, the Kyoto Museum for World Peace. I went there today after I'd shipped Sonia off to Hiroshima. This amazing exhibition covers all the processes of war and doesn't gloss over the involvement of any nation. Nor does it gloss over the atrocities. It's a horribly harrowing experience, but everything is channeled towards a hope for the realisation of world peace.
I caught the Shinkansen home a couple of hours ago. Again I fell asleep and awoke just as the clouds were glowing orange like the neon beneath.
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[Potential]posted by pete at 10:09OK so we've booked accommodation in Kyoto for the 24th and the 25th of this month, but as this is likely to be exactly hanami season and university break time I'm starting to worry about whether we'll be able to get a seat on the Shinkansen. Of course it's possible to make reservations but given that we are going there the day after Sonia arrives and she will have a JR rail pass and I won't, it makes the whole process difficult if not impossible. (Try explaining that situation in fragmented Jinglish...)
Hmmm.
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[At last]posted by pete at 09:21Yes! I am finally getting out of the Tokyo area on March 24... Sonia is visiting for about 11 days and for three of them we will be in the Kansai region. Bring on Kyoto, Osaka and maybe Kobe! But it's still not fully organised and I've just realised that it is, in fact, peak travel season due to the abundance of hanami (cherry blossoms)...
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