Kyoto!

SATURDAY, AUGUST 14

Facemasks seen: 3

Set my alarm and was exhausted when it went off. Elizabeth and I were heading to Kyoto for the day! I rolled out of my futon and put on a nice summer dress. It's good, because Elizabeth had also ended up dressing up. In the end, my little sandals were not nearly as dressy as the platform stilettos that many girls wear around here, but they were still about as nice as I had.

I'm lucky I had Elizabeth because getting to Gion in Kyoto required three trains and much of it was in Kanji. I just followed along and tried not to get lost. In Kyoto station, which is gorgeous and confusing, we were suddenly surround by multitudes of other foreigners from all over Europe. Most looked very lost. We stopped off at a Belgian waffle shop called Mannekein and picked up a belgian waffle. Now, having had the real thing in Brussels three years ago, I can say it wasn't quite the same (they elegantly pressed mine in chocolate, rather than pouring gobs of it over my waffle, as in Belgium. It was also not quite as crunchy with sugar as the Belgian one) but it was still quite tasty. I was also able to tell her that the name is derived from a statue in Brussels (which I've seen) of Mannekein de Pis, a famous fountain of a little boy (Mannekein) well, um... pissing.

Once in Gion, we headed off toward the temples. Kyoto is just crammed with temples (with little tourist shops tucked into the cracks.) We ducked into the first temple we saw, Kenin-ji, and wandered around the garden. Kenin-ji was founded in 1202 by a monk named Eisai and is the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto. The garden was quite pretty and we wandered around some (reaching a dead-end at one point.) We decided not to pay the 500 yen to get into the temple itself.

Next, we ended up climbing up quite a hike, lined with tourist shops. I found out later that this is called Chawan-zaka (Teapot lane). Elizabeth checked out every softe-creame place for black sesame, which, when she did find it, she let me try. It was quite good. We hung out in that sweet shop for a while, soaking in the air conditioning, as it was quite hot outside. We also tried their free samples.

Then we headed back on up. At the top we could finally see Kiyomizu-dera. This temple was built in 798 but the current building was reconstructed in 1633. It is one of the most famous landmarks in the city. We climbed up the steps, taking pictures all the way of the brightly colored pagodas. The main hall, which we paid 300 yen to enter) is a huge verandah that is supported by hundreds of pillars and sits over the hillside. From here, you have a fantastic view of the mountain hillside (green trees) the temple is nestled into and also the Tokyo skyline, in the distance.

Many shrines (and temples) have little water troughs called choozuya. They will have hishaku (long handled ladles) resting on them. These are for purifying yourself before entering the sacred regions of the shrine. You use the ladle to pour water on your hands (and sometimes higher on your arms, it seems when the day is hot) then some people take some in their mouths, spitting it out outside the choozuya. I never did this step. With the weather so hot, Elizabeth and I were careful to insure that we always remained purified.

We waited in line to get into the temple itself from the observation deck. At the front, we slip out of our shoes, which we are handed in bags, and walk barefoot inside. On the ground was a thin mat covering what felt like uneven stone underneath. The darkly lit room had various gods, I assume, and lots of candle racks. People could buy a candle, write their wish on it, then light it. Elizabeth translated a few of the wishes that were currently burning, including one for world peace and one for safe travel. This room was quite hot from all of the flames.

Back outside, we handed back our bags and put our shoes back on. We headed up the path onto the hillside, enjoying the view. The hillside was filled with little wooden signs written in kanji. I'm not sure what they were as I have seen cemeteries before. We stopped for a rest under the trees on a little stone bench and did some people watching. T-shirts written in English are common, so we enjoyed the string of Engrish as it came past us. Finally, we headed off again.

At the base of the hillside, underneath the main verandah, is a small waterfall called Otowa-no-taki. I had expected something more natural, but it is actually now directed into three spouts coming over a bright building. The line was long-ish, but we waited anyway. Once we got to the front, we removed a long handled (5 foot, perhaps) cup from an ultra-violet sanitizer (I swear, it's original!) and reached out over the rail to catch the falling water in our cups. Once my cup was filled, and I was careful to fill it completely, I drank the whole thing. Then put it back out again and got a little more to pour over my arms and hands, as many other people did. The waters are believed to be sacred and have therapeutic properties. It tasted delicious on a hot day.

Finally we wrapped around and were heading back out again. I checked my travel book (to which we owe all historical facts in this entry) which listed one more thing to do, so we doubled back up the steps again toward the main verandah, and waited in line for the tainai-meguri, which my book mentions, but not in great detail, merely hinting that entering the tainai-meguri is symbolic of entering the womb of the female bodhisattva. Intrigued, we headed in. Stone stairs take you down underground and the man who took our entry fee spoke enough English to warn us to hold the hand rail. Inside, there was no light and soon, it was complete blackness. We kept our hands on the walls to guide us, and I, following Elizabeth, called out every once in a while to make sure I wasn't too far behind. There was a lot of bumping between everyone. We rounded a corner at last and came to a bigger chamber with a stone in the center, lit overhead. We spun the stone (which was on a pedestal of some sort) and made our wish and headed back out into sunlight. This chamber was one of my favorite parts of the day.

We wandered next door and were taken in by the sight of a gigantic Buddha. We paid 200 yen to get in which also got us a stick of incense. We wandered around, and spent a long time sitting next to the carp. Elizabeth picked out a favorite with “lots of personality.” We think this was part of th Kodai-ji temple complex, but my book doesn't mention this giant Buddha at all. If it is the Kodai-ji temple, it was founded in 1605 by Kita-no Mandokoro in memory of her late husband. The grounds and tea houses were designed by masters of landscape and the tea ceremony, respectively.

Inside the temple, a monk was chanting, so we watched him chant, and beat a drum for a while. It was very calming. To one side were little cases holding small identical statues of Buddha, each with a child in arms and another one, bare-bum out, pulling on his robes. Brightly colored pinwheels were in front of the cases, which were numbered up to 5,000 Buddhas. Each Buddha had a small kanji inscription which differed. I don't know what they were, but my completely uneducated and random guess is that they're a memorial to dead children.

From here, we wandered out to get some water. Fool that I am, I'd forgotten my water bottle in the freezer at home, so I sucked it up and bought water. Drinking fountains don't exist around here and everyone relies on bottled water or vending machines to survive the hot weather. I made that bottle last.

Next we climbed up into Yasaka-jinja shrine, which is considered the guardian shrine for the neighboring Gion. It is sometimes referred to endearingly as “Gion-san.” We chose a spot under a shaded area to sit and have lunch. While sitting, Elizabeth, who is terrified of bugs, was greeted by a praying mantis, who elicited a large reaction from Elizabeth. That got the attention of a nearby Japanese couple, and the wife came over and chatted with Elizabeth in Japanese while I used a stick to remove the (admittedly very large) bug off her bag.

At one point the praying mantis climbed off the ground where we had knocked it to and started climbing the woman's dress. Elizabeth and I were both jabbering like idiots, neither of us able to get the right words. Finally, and much longer than it should have later, the woman noticed, let out a shriek, and shook her dress in a dramatic show. The praying mantis was moved into a neighboring shrubbery where she declared it would be much happier.

Elizabeth and I headed to the other end of the temple, purified ourselves and used the bathrooms, as we didn't know when we'd next see free ones. It was my first time using a squat toilet, which are quite common in Japan. Outside was a second sink/water spigot. When Elizabeth said there were no signs that said “not for drinking” as there had been at Kiyomizu-dera, I filled my water bottle, downed it all, then refilled it for the rest of the day. I will continue to think, until I've been prove otherwise, that I have my father's hardy stomach. And, in truth, I have not gotten sick yet.

By this point, it was getting late in the evening, so we headed down into Gion. We headed to Shimbashi, which is one of Kyoto's most beautiful streets, and some even claim the most beautiful in all of Asia. The hanami-koji is the main avenue of Gion and part of it is lined with 17th-century restaurants and tea houses many of which are exclusive establishments for geisha entertainment. We were hoping to see a geisha or maiko (apprentice geisha) but none were walking around. So, we snapped some pictures.

We met up with an American man outside a little wine shop, and he chatted with us some. His wife eventually came down with the dog and they gave us some insider hints into Kyoto at night, including directing us to a nice Irish pub called The Gael. Elizabeth admired the wine inside (as she is a wine-fan) while I admired the price tags, finding the most expensive (110,000 yen, or over $1,100.)

Back on the street, we took more pictures, now the dusk had fallen and were heading out when it happened. We were crossing a street around a taxi when Elizabeth pointed out that there was a geisha in the back of the taxi. It was true! She had her face painted, the serpant's tongue design on the back, and wore the back of her kimono collar low, as the nape is considered very sexy in Japanese culture. It was dark and I couldn't see much, but I can now claim to have seen a geisha.

We headed to The Gael, where Elizabeth was immediately engaged in a conversation with a California expat. I looked through the menu. Each of us eventually splurged and ordered food. We were also approached by a Japanese man who chatted with us in good English. He runs a conversation group, which we were invited to but probably won't make due to the time (later on Sunday nights.) He led us in an interesting discussion of whaling and other topics that we would never broach with a Japanese person otherwise. Finally, at 9:30 or so, it was time to head out.

We took our many trains back and I stumbled in – exhausted. I finished “Memoirs of a Geisha.” I took a nice warm bath and probably would have fallen asleep there, if I hadn't ordered myself to move.