Mad Weekend

Just a couple of photos from today, to show you some of what I like to do on my days off. It was sunny and warm, and Iain and Francis and I met up in Fushimi to take advantage of the weather.

Iain and Francis, soaking up sunlight. Miracle Gro not included.

Iain, ice cream, Francis, and a Japanese F86 in front of the Nagoya Art Museum. Go figure.

Kyoto

Well, it's taken me a while, but here's the story on Kyoto - and it's a long one!

April 5th opened cool and rainy, but Francis, Jen, Kristy and I decided to risk potential colds and hopped on the local train to Kyoto. Francis and I had considered taking the Shinkansen down, saving about two and a half hours, but it would have cost about $50 each way so we scrapped the idea. I've been here ten months and I still haven't ridden the Shinkansen, that'll have to be a goal for the upcoming term, but I really do like riding the locals; especially with friends. It's like the old road-trips back home - minus the hassle of driving, bathroom breaks, and annoying states like Nebraska and Iowa; it's being able to sit and talk and look out the window at a constantly-changing landscape and being able to read and write and sometimes even sleep, all at a really relaxed pace. And three hours later, we arrive in Kyoto.

We caught the bus from Kyoto Station (which is a sight in itself, and I highly recommend) to near Kiyomizu-dera (temple), then walked up the hill towards the temple in a light rain. Kyoto is known for its traditional stylings, the streets we walked up were narrow by most Western standards - barely a Japanese car and a half wide, and the shops on both sides were filled with small shops selling touristy souvenirs, toys, overpriced playing cards, and sweets. (If one should need another reason to visit Kyoto, beyond the beautiful temples, gardens, shops, and general atmosphere, Kyoto has reknowned okashi, or sweets. The Japanese love food [i.e. TV's "Iron Chef"], and Kyoto is famous for it's sweets. Come visit, enjoy the sights, and eat.) We browsed through a few shops on the way up, and then toured the temple.

Kiyomizu-dera ("Kiyomizu" literally means "pure water") is a sprawling layout of beautiful buildings, and a functioning Hosso Buddhist temple; about twenty pilgrims were there that day despite the rain, and while I have some pictures of some of the outer buildings, I didn't want to show any disrespect by taking pictures of either the pilgrims or the golden buddha inside. Besides, the pirgrims, when they were finished praying, were kind enough to take a few picutures of us! The contrast between sacred and tourist here is strange, to say the least.

After walking through the temple grounds we walked down Kiyomizu-machi, the main road leading to the temple, and browsed through some more shops. Shop owners have come up with an ingenious way of getting you to buy their wares - free samples. We must have each bought at least two kinds of okashi.

But man cannot live by okashi alone, so we walked back to the bus stop, crammed our gaijin selves onto (or, more appropriately, into) a Japanese sardine can, headed off to Gion to wine and dine under the cherry blossoms. The rain had pretty much stopped, which was both good and bad: we could eat without too much discomfort, but we'd have to contend for a chunk of ground with an ever-incresing number of Japanese tourists. We managed to find a deserted bench under some beautiful blossoms, spread out a tarpauline, and ate a delicious lunch packed by Kristy and Jen. When you are a culinarily-challenged bachelor, it is beyond nice to have friends who can actually cook; much appreciation goes out to these lovely young ladies.

While we were eating, we noticed several large eagles, eagles, circling around. The park has healthy communities of both pigeons (which tourists feed) and crows (which tourists don't feed but they do pretty well anyways); and the pigeons, being avian squirrels, attract the eagles. The pigeons and crows have worked out an ingenious little deal: the pigeons will look "cute" and get the tourists to drop food, which the crows can also eat, if the crows will keep the eagles away. Brilliant. For ten months out of the year. The other two months are sakura/hanami parties and autumn leaf parties, when the eagles have another target: small children. Like the one holding some form of food who was standing not far from Francis. An eagle with a wingspan of no less than two meters swooped down, missed the pigeon/squirrel-looking child, and then missed Francis by about four feet. To be honest, I like nature a lot more when it's not trying to eat my friends.

After lunch/dinner (it was midafternoon), we wandered around the park/temple grounds admiring the magnificent trees. There were tons of food stalls along the road; one of which served an amazing beef stew-like dish with green onions. I ate most of it, and I wasn't even hungry to begin with.

We ended up walking quite a ways back to Kyoto station; which was more than okay, since it gave me time to burn off some of my gluttony and to talk with Kristy about writing and life and future plans. I think we'll both end up writing books someday; me because I need some way to put all these adventures down on paper to remember them, and Kristy because she's a helluva lot smarter than I am.

We caught the train back to Nagoya right about the same time everyone on the south end of Honshu did - it was quite packed, and Francis and I stood about halfway back to Maibara. (I think it was Maibara; it could have been Ogaki, but I'm leaning towards the former. It's a terrible thing to get old, kids; don't do it.) But we ended up talking about the war in Iraq and it's effects. It was really nice to be able to have an intellegent conversation on a relevant topic, especially after months of teaching "Do you know how to get to the supermarket?" to highschoolers and housewives.

I can't remember what time we got back into Nagoya; there may have been more to the story, more adventures; but frankly I can't remember. I'll consult my fellow adventurers and see what they remember, for they are all younger and their memories are much stronger than mine. I really need to start keeping a journal; but then, wasn't that what this was supposed to be?

Maybe someday...

Love from here,
thom in japan


PS - Good photos here; enjoy them! If you want more, leave me comments; otherwise I'll just assume I'm boring you. Nah.

Road to Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto. The blend of old and new, with a curry shop on the right and the ubiquitous delivery vans lining the streets overshadowed by temples and misty mountains.
Japan is amazing.

Gate outside Kiyomizu-dera.

Rain on sakura equals tranquility.

Francis, Jen, and Kristy outside Kiyomizu-dera.

Another part of Kiyomizu-dera, with sakura.

This, right here, is why I love Japan.

Temples rise from the mist like ancient ghosts, to guard mountains older than time.

Kiyomizu-dera - At least Kristy's looking. sigh.

Japan in a glance: beautiful gardens, tranquil ponds, awe-inspiring mountains, mysterious temples, tourists.

Hanami #1 - Beneath the Sakura.
Kristy and Jen.

Hanami #2 - Diners Club.
Francis, Kristy, and Jen.

Sakura and pines.

Perspective.

Torii.

River in Kyoto.

Hanami

Imagine, a warm spring day, about 65 degrees F, mostly cloudy but no real threat of rain; the perfect day for a ball game or a picnic lunch.

The Japanese have a perfect answer for these kind of days: Hanami - party under the blossoms.

Hanami are hugely popular in Japan; the opportunity to join friends for a picnic lunch or dinner and a traditional bottle of sake under the delicate canopy of sakura (cherry blossoms), to relax and bask in the majesty of Spring with friends and family, is the perfect way to spend a beautiful spring evening. And according to a recent article I found on Yahoo News, predicting the exact days of peak viewing is becoming more and more important as business people try to pick the best days to take off from work.

And today was a great day to take off. It is no wonder why the Japanese have adopted the sakura as a national symbol.

I only spent a couple of hours in Tsurumai Park in Nagoya today, but it was more than enough to gather the feeling of relaxation and festivity that filled the park along with the crowd. Stretched out under the trees everywhere were blue plastic tarpaulines to stake a claim on prime viewing/dining spots for those coming later. Children played baseball and soccer in a nearby field, or threw stones into a fountain. Older kids played frisbee. Adults lounged under the trees talking and joking and eating. Dozens of food stands lined the pathways, selling delicious takoyaki, okonomiyaki, grilled corn-on-the-cob, and squid-on-a-stick.

And above them were the beautiful white blossoms, clumped together like snow in winter, from literally hundreds of trees. It was a unbelievable sight. The closest thing I can relate it to, the whole experience I mean, is maybe a spring picnic, or maybe a cool Fourth of July, minus the blaring music. These three pictures are just a representation of the sixty I took today. "Amazing" doesn't even begin to describe it.

The best part: I'm going to Kyoto tomorrow to do the same thing again. Rock on.