Kyoto Part 2

We felt like veterans getting our train tickets to Kyoto and finding our reserved seats on the train (after only one day in Japan.)  That is, until we arrived in Kyoto station.

The mad dash of commuters and tourists around us made us feel like we were moving in slow motion.  The building was overwhelming, the size of a large airport terminal, but much more confusing in its multi-purpose intent.

We had been advised to take the all reserved Bullet Train from Kyoto to Osaka airport: a quick, 30 minute ride; and to buy our ticket in advance.  Since we knew that most of the places of interest to us in Kyoto were not near the train station, we thought it best to buy our tickets immediately.  We also knew we needed a better map than the ones I'd printed out from Google Maps.

We decided to first find the English language tourist help center, something we had the opportunity to do at Osaka Airport and regretted not doing.  Elbowing our way (politely, as the Japanese do) to the second floor location, we could barely get into the small tourist office.  The line to actually get help was way too long for consideration, so we browsed the brochures looking for any kind of decent map.  No luck.

So, to the ticket office, which we had thought we had seen back on the first floor.  Signage wasn't clear, it was mainly machines, and once again, the ticket agent didn't understand English very well.

"Bullet Train?"

"Yes, yes, ticket here."

"Schedule?"

She wrote down the numbers and it seemed a much longer trip than we had expected, 90 minutes, not 30 minutes.

"Fast train?"

"Yes, yes, ticket here."

We got the tickets, they were reserved seats.  But we found out later we had bought tickets for the "Haruka Train", not the fast train.  But it didn't matter.

There was no way, with the rain having moved back in, that we were going to try to walk to Tamahan, our Ryokan.  We found the taxi line instead, which was long, but moved fast.  I pulled my printed Google maps out, knowing that the taxi driver was unlikely to speak English and would also not likely know exactly where our very small Ryokan was situated.

The driver was polite and patient.  He studied my maps for a while, looking puzzled, but after exchanged gestures, he pulled out confidently and we began our journey on the wet streets of Kyoto.

Traffic was heavy in spots, but our driver maneuvered expertly, finding well worn short cuts as necessary - narrow streets that looked like they should have been pedestrian only, but were filled with lines of taxis taking the same route.  We found ourselves on a beautiful old narrow street, filled with people, lined with stylish shops, and a fantastic gate to one of the shrine complexes just in front of us.  We looked around for some sign of our Ryokan, but couldn't see anything obvious.  Our driver requested one of our maps again and got out to question anyone on the street who might know exactly where was our Tamahan.

He returned and took off confidently.  We soon found ourselves on a similar narrow street and this time we spotted the sign for Tamahan before our driver did and gestured him urgently to pull over.  We got out, pointed to the sign, retrieved our luggage, and paid our fare: less than $20, even with the heavy traffic and the time spent lost. 

Below - one of two entrances to Tamahan at night:

Once again, we were early and wet.  We entered the narrow alley leading to the courtyard and immediately were transported to a different world.  Seeing the shoes before the stone threshold, we knew to take ours off before entering and extending our greeting, "Konichiwa!"

We were met immediately by our gracious hostess who spoke enough English to communicate to us clearly.  We acknowledged we were early for the requisite 3PM check-in and, although we asked only to leave our bags, she politely led us to our room and allowed us to settle in.

The warmth of the woven mats on the floor, the paper screens, the elegant woodwork, and expansive views of the meticulous rock, tree, and water garden put us immediately at ease.  There was one small table and two chairs to sit at, but otherwise, one sits, eats, and sleeps on the floor.  Two of the paper screens hid closets, one for hanging clothes, the other held our futons and bedding, which would be prepared for us after our Kaiseki dinner. 

Below, one of the seven courses from our dinner.  The picture just can't do justice to the food:

 Parts of our room at Tamahan - note the garden in the background: 

We asked our hostess if she could provide us with a map of the surrounding area so we could plan our afternoon excursion and she did even better: she gave us a book that a previous guest had left, the magnificent "Kyoto: 29 Walks in Japan's Ancient Capital", by John H. Martin and Phyllis G. Martin (publisher: Tuttle, 2010), which included a detailed map in the back.  The next day, when we checked out, when we tried to return the book, our hostess insisted we keep it.  It proved a valuable companion for the rest of our trip to Kyoto and we HIGHLY recommend buying this book if you are planning a visit to Kyoto.  It covers all the key shrines and history in detail as well as providing an excellent approach to exploring Kyoto.  It does NOT provide either hotel or dining advice, but that's easily found from other sources.  One of the key sources for us, was a terrific website that provides great food and lodging advice, as well as suggested tours and more information about Kyoto than I could ever put in a blog.  I would use this website rather than Trip Advisor for hotel suggestions:

http://www.insidekyoto.com/

I will not attempt to do in this blog what the guidebook and the above website do much better: provide a comprehensive overview of Kyoto and its world heritage sites.  Instead, to give a general impression, I will quote from the back cover of the Martins' book:

"Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital and modern-day center of tourism and traditional culture, is one of the world's most beautiful and historic cities.  Founded nearly 1,300 years ago and undamaged by war, Kyoto today is the home of over 1,600 Buddhist temples, 400 Shinto shrines, countless national treasures and 17 World Heritage sites....

"To experience the essence of Kyoto, you must walk its avenues and streets, its alleys and byways.  Only in this way can you appreciate the true spirit of the place - it's quiet lanes and bustling main thoroughfares, and the juxtaposition of traditional and modern houses and shops, serene gardens and holy temples and shrines."

The streetscape of Kyoto, on the surface, feels like a dense, modern Japanese metropolis.  Except, as you wander, perhaps in a quiet, modern, business district, you might suddenly find yourself at the gate of an ancient castle complex, or outside the high wall of an unknown Shinto or Buddhist shrine.  Main thoroughfares lead to narrow pedestrian streets (often with cars impossibly trying to squeeze by), or long, covered streets lit brightly at night, lined with curious shops (such as one shop where you pay 1000 Yen, or $10, to get a bubble tea and sit in a room full of cats and pet them for half an hour), galleries, restaurants, bars, gentlemen clubs, not just on the ground floor, but often vertically four or five or six stories.  The main part of Kyoto sits on a flat plain between two ranges of low mountains where many of the most beautiful shrines and gardens lie.  On the east side, the streets become narrow, steep, granite surfaced pedestrian ways lined with green tea ice cream shops, ceramics shops, shops with hand painted paper fans, and other classic souvenir stores.  Tearooms and noodle shops often sit behind hidden courtyards or above busy stores. 

At one such upstairs noodle shop, we took the elevator at lunch to the crowded waiting area and were seated politely after only a ten-minute wait.  The picture menu (an English version available because we were in a main tourist area) made the food look delicious, and it was.  But we sat patiently waiting for wait staff to attend to us and were puzzled as table after table, many seated after us, had their orders taken and food quickly presented. 

"Do you think they are discriminating against us, because we're the only westerners in here?"

"No, that can't be; and we're not the only westerners."

"But the others are with Japanese friends."

Finally, we caught the waiter's attention and he came over puzzled.  We indicated the menu and pointed to what we wanted and he, in turn, indicated the buzzer on the table that we were supposed to push when we were ready to order!  A lesson learned, that we were able to apply at other restaurants later in the visit. 

(Press the button, silly tourist!)

Some practical advice for Kyoto:

·      Wear good walking shoes and prepare to walk and walk and walk.  I'm a runner, and in good shape, but the street surfaces are hard and the paths in and around the temples are often steep and uneven.  We walked a good five or six miles every day and I felt it at night.  Luckily, our hotel had a wonderful soaking tub and I used it every night.

·      Get a good map and study, study, study!  Kyoto is a great city to get lost in, and it's general geography is quite easy with a river dividing the east and west halves of the city and wide, well marked, grid like boulevards.  But finding specific addresses, restaurants, and shops is a challenge without careful pre-planning; actually, even with careful pre-planning!

·      If and when you get lost and/or tired, taxicabs are plentiful, reliable, and very inexpensive.  However, most cab drivers don't speak English, so if you have something written with your intended destination, give it to the driver.  For instance, we always kept the little folder with our hotel key, which had the hotel name and location in both English and Japanese, with us.  Thus, we could just hand that to the driver to get back to our hotel.

·      Speaking of hotels, Kyoto has several beautiful Ryokans like Tamahan, but they are expensive and usually include dinner and breakfast, and there are so many good culinary options in Kyoto, that I recommend staying just one night in one for the experience.  Frankly, sleeping on a futon on the floor is fine when you're in college and for one night, but for, ah, older travelers like myself, one night is plenty.  The other two types of hotels in Kyoto are "Japanese Boutique" hotels, and western chains.  The western hotels tend to be filled with conventions and/or businessmen and generally have small bathrooms.  The boutique hotels are not fancy, but they are very comfortable, with spacious bathrooms (ours had two showers and a soaking tub; in Japan, you wash in one of the showers before getting into the tub - bathtubs are not for washing) and very helpful and attentive staff.  I would highly, highly recommend our hotel, the Hotel Sunline Kyoto Gion Shijo, which was perfectly located in the midst of the Gion district, the most pedestrian friendly area of Kyoto, and easy walking distance to many of the most impressive shrines.  Below, the view from our sixth floor hotel window - we were very lucky - not all the rooms had views.

·      Go out at night.  The streets are lined with lanterns, many shops, restaurants, and shrines are open, and the nightlife areas near the river are impressive.  The Japanese are not uncomfortable with gentlemen's clubs that cater to many, ah, habits of gentlemen.  They are mixed in with jazz clubs, elegant restaurants, bars, all you can eat shabu-shabu places (sort of Japanese fondue), and strange shops.

·      Toilets are varied and interesting in Japan.  You will find in most hotels and upper end restaurants, bidet toilet seats that wash you - but the controls aren't in English usually, so prepare to experiment.  Public washrooms are sometimes stoop-type toilets and rarely have towels to dry your hands and often don't have toilet paper: you either buy some or bring your own.  The Japanese usually also travel with a small cloth towel to dry their hands after washing.  In general, Japanese public toilets, although often spartan, are also usually quite clean.

I will at this point, let the pictures do my talking.  I'll caption as best I can, but please forgive mistakes in advance.  We covered a great deal of ground in four days, and, although we got to almost all of our top choice destinations, there would be plenty to see and eat on a second trip.  Also, Kyoto is nothing short of spectacular when in full blossom and we were definitely a couple of weeks early, although the third week in March could have been peak blossom; just not this year.

Kyoto is filled with artists, some traditional, some, well, maybe a bit eccentric?

Only in Japan - how convenient.  We had been warned that Japanese were heavy smokers and drinkers, but, truthfully, at least in Kyoto, where we hung out, the scene seemed pretty moderate.  As in the US, more young people than old people smoked.  And, Japan hasn't yet embraced the idea of no-smoking in restaurants.

A typical view on the narrow streets up the hills on the east side.  The neighborhoods around the west side shrines are quieter, with fewer shops and tourist areas.  However, we did find a beautiful artist's shop selling wood block prints at very reasonable prices on the west side.

Flower arranging is still an art form in Japan.  This is from a contest where all of the entries were lit at night and the lighting was part of the judging for the competition.

Young Geishas, probably in training.

Giant bronze bells are part of most of the major Buddhist shrines.  Ringing them is meant to get Buddha's attention so that he will listen to your prayers.

A light fixture in one of the smaller Buddhist retreats we visited.  Frank Lloyd Wright was greatly influenced by Japanese design and art.  Here, you can see the direct connection to Wright's Prairie School style.

Sanjusangen-do - this is a MUST destination for a visit to Kyoto.  Inside, where no photos are allowed (and I followed the rules for a change), are 1000 intricately carved golden wooden guardians (yes, 1000) surrounding Buddha.  It is mind-boggling.  Here is a picture of the statues, not taken by me, that a friend found on the internet:

The dragon ceiling, done in modern times, in the Chinese style, at one of the ancient shrines.

Sacred waters.  Almost all Buddhist shrines have sacred waters for ritual cleansing and drinking.  At the main shrines, the line can be quite long to partake.

Nijugo, one of many fabulous Zen gardens in Kyoto; this one, modeled after a very famous painting - see the second photo for a full explanation.  By the way, explanatory signage in English is not all that common at many of the shrines, thus the Kyoto guidebook we recommend is essential.

Shohogi (I think?)

The massive San-Mon Gate to the Chion-in Temple.  This gate is also beautifully lit at night.

The Golden Pavilion.  This is actually a fairly recent reconstruction of an ancient pavilion, in a spectacular, original setting.

An ancient, hand painted screen.  These are common in ceremonial and reception rooms in the temples, as are Zen gardens.

The Philosopher's path, a great walking path near the Silver Temple lined with expensive houses and inexpensive, interesting shops and small eateries. 

A modern house, with a traditional entrance, on the path.  The rumor is that David Bowie lived or lives in Kyoto - maybe this is his house?

Zen gardens.  The last two at one of the best, where you can't see all 13 stones in the garden at once.  But it's well worth sitting and contemplating for a long time.  Peace, peaceful....