Japan Part IV - Kyoto

We took the Shinkansen or bullet train to Kyoto. If you are planning a trip to Japan this is a must do activity. First, the system runs like clockwork and so you can be assured you will leave and arrive on time. Second, it is amazing to run at 200/mph and not feel as if you are on a train.  Plus the view of Mt Fuji was nice too.

Kyoto is a cultural center in Japan. Largely spared from the bombing of World War II, there are more than 2000 temples and shrines. This along with castles, gardens and museums means more sights to see than we could ever hope in one trip. We decided to try for an overview of both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples with a focus on zen architecture.

To help us find our way in Kyoto we hired a guide for the day. Mr. Takakazu Machi is a professional guide that speaks fluent English and has many years experience in the Kyoto area. He picked us up at our guest house and drove us around the entire day. Taka was one of the best guides we have ever had the pleasure of meeting. His knowledge and professionalism made our day one of a kind. He even accompanied us to a local restaurant for lunch and ensured that the staff knew that we needed to eat a gluten free meal. We would highly recommend him to anyone visiting the area. 

Mr. Takakazu Machi

We started with a beautiful Buddhist temple that was near our guest house. Komyo-in Temple was founded in 1391 in the Muromachi period.  In 1939 Shigemori Mirei laid out the dry landscape garden in front of the main building. Since it was early morning, we were alone in the temple. Taka took us from room to room and when we were settled on the tatami mats he would pull back the shoji screens to reveal the framed views of the garden. We learned to look for the triad of stones (trio) laid out in perfect sight lines as a representation of the Buddha and two attendants or disciples (bodhisattva).  The other stone elements represent mountains and the sea and colorful mosses are used to represent the land.    

Very small gate on a very quite street

Shoji screens frame the view of the garden

The perfect view point with the triad of stones

The next zen garden we saw was with water.  The Shoren-in temple garden is known as one of the five Monzeki temples of Tendal in Kyoto, whose head priests were originally from the imperial family.  Sohren-in belongs to Enryaku Temple in Mt. Hiei, the main temple of the Tendai Buddhist sect.

The addition of water really adds to the landscape

Walking path through the garden

Looking back at the temple

The Renge-ji temple is located in the Kami-Takano area where the upper stream of the Takano River runs through the temple grounds.  The temple has the Kitayama mountains behind it and commands to the east a distant view of Mt. Hiei. It was founded in 1662 in the early Edo era. We had the opportunity to experience tea service while we contemplated the garden.

The pond was home to carp and many dragonflys

In the fall, the colors of the Japanese maples must be incredible

A Zen moment for James

The Imakumono Shrine is not a large or famous Shinto shrine in Kyoto, but it does have a remarkable history. It is linked to the earliest form of Noh (classic Japanese musical drama) called Sarugaku. In 1374, the sarugaku troupe Yuzaki preformed here before the young shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. The success of this one performance and the resulting shogunal patronage lifted the art form permanently. What brought us to this shrine was the 900 year old camphor tree that is on it's grounds. It was transplanted from Kumano by retired emperor Go-Shirakawa. The tree is worshipped as the god of health and long life.

Enter through the Toreii gate to visit the tree (or god)

The straw ring guards it from wind and lightning

Shinbasi street is a traditional Kyoto street in and around the Gion district.  Many of the houses there have been preserved to look as they did in ancient Kyoto. This district since the medieval era is where men would come to dine with the Geisha (traditional female entertainers). The area is stilled filled with restaurants and tea houses. 

This regular pine tree was cut like a bonzi

The street was worn smooth

Traditional Geisha dress

The highlight of day for James came when we visited the oldest knife maker in Kyoto, Shigeharu.  The Shigeharu family were originally sword makers during the Kamakura period (1190-1329) and now they make hand tools and knives. Their products are made right in the back of the shop.  Every knife is hand made, polished and sharpened there. James had come to buy a Yanagiba (sashimi knife) but ended up also getting a Deba style blade which is for skinning and cutting fish.  After the purchase, the gentleman that made the knives hand engraves each one with his and James' names. 

Very quiet small shop

Time to catch some fish

Both names on each blade.  The maker used a hammer and chisel

Happy seller and customer

It is said that Kyoto was originally picked as the capital of Japan because it was protected by the surrounding mountains and it had a strong river running through the valley.  Also a mild climate and very good soil.  It was a magical place that we will never forget. 

Kyoto is at 34.93E, 135.76N. The days were in the mid 70's and sunny.

This ends our overview of Japan. It is also the last stop on our around the world adventure.  Next post will be our final thoughts on the trip and some travel recommendations from our time away.

Cheers,
P&J

Japan Part III - Sumo

Sumo wrestling originated in Japan more than 1500 years ago and today is the national sport. We just happened to be in town for the May Grand Tournament. It is a 15 day run that starts at 8 am with the newer, less experienced men going first. At 4 pm, the big boys hit the sand and the stadium is sold out with 11,000 fans. The seating starts at ring side, then box seats, then the second floor up. We were up in the "nose bleeds" but still had a great view of the action. And just like a baseball game, there were people keeping score on little cards and in books.   
 

Some of the art around the arena

The roots of Sumo are in Shinto and Samurai ritual

It starts with all of the wrestlers coming up on the dohyo (ring) and posing for the crowd while wearing their kesho-mawashi (long loin cloth).  When the match starts the wrestlers face each other and put both their hands on the sand at the same time. Then they fight until someone is pushed out of the ring or touches the sand with their hands.  Most matches are over very quickly but a few lasted around 2 minutes.There are no classes or weight limits. The wrestlers are grouped by their experience and win-loss records.      

Getting ready

Starting position

Fight

Most people showed up for the last 20 matches to see their favorite wrestler to include the current Grand Champions. Girls would yell their names and people were waiting outside the arena to get a picture. It was a very unique experience and we were glad we got to see it.   

11,000 in attendance

Next up is our trip to Kyoto.

Cheers
P&J

Japan Part II - The Happiest Place on Earth

About an hour by train from our hotel was Tokyo Disneyland. It is split into two parks similar to Disneyland California.  Since we are old school Disney lovers, we went with the Magic Kingdom side. The weather that day was warm but the winds were 25 knots gusting to 35 knots. At least it didn't rain.

The castle is a little smaller than Orlando

We did all of our favorite rides:  Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and the Steam Train.  Something new and unique to Tokyo was Pooh's Honey Pot, that turned out to be the coolest ride of the day. 

The crowds were small

Thunder Mountain looked fun

Pat's favorite show, PhilharMagic in Japanese was great

The steam train was smaller but fun

As we were leaving, we took a selfie at the front of Main Street and totally got photo bombed by one of the three pigs.  I think he is the one with the brick house. Hilarious.

Best photobomb ever

We can check off another Disney castle

We headed back to the train and spotted this bus in the parking lot.  Now that would be a sweet ride to call our own.

Our next RV

Get ready for Sumo wrestling in Part III.

Cheers,
P&J

Japan Part 1 - The Old and the New

On a dark and stormy night, two weary travelers found themselves in the land of the Rising Sun.  They didn't know the language.  They had no currency. "All they needed was a photo opportunity, a shot at redemption."  And an ATM would be helpful too.  Luckily, they found one and traveled into the metropolis that is Tokyo. 

Photo shamelessly taken from the Web

We made our way to the New Sanno Hotel, which is a military recreation facility near the Roppongi District. After a good nights rest we headed out to take in a few sites. First, something old and sacred.  Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the divine souls of Emperor Meiji and his consort Empress Shoken.  It is surrounded by 170 acres of forest consisting of 365 different species of evergreen trees. Shinto is Japan's ancient original religion. It has no founder, no holy book, and no concept of religious conversion. It values harmony with nature and virtues such as "Magokoro (sincere heart)" and "Kami (divine spirit)" which can be found in everything such as nature, humans beings and in mythology. The entry to each shrine is defined by a Torii gate and the one at Meiji Jingu was massive. Shinto coexists with Buddhism in Japan and there are even Shinto shrines inside Buddhist temples to provide protection. Shinto is also the primary religion for the Japanese to celebrate birth and marriage. We had the opportunity to witness the marriage procession of a couple and their families to receive blessings at the shrine.

Torii gate of Meiji Jingu shrine

Gift of sake barrels to the shrine

Courtyard and Main Shrine

Yet another great door

I thought this crow might talk to me

Traditional Shinto wedding

Procession to receive marriage blessings

Next we checked out Nakano Broadway which is famous for its many stores selling anime, manga and idol collectibles. Think of a flea market atmosphere of small shops filled with new and second hand toys, comics, super hero figures, old movie paraphernalia and more. If you need a life size metal statue of the monster from the movie Aliens , they had it. In the surrounding streets are hundreds of small restaurants and bars, some with only a few seats.

Four stories of geek heaven

Take me to your leader

Mask anyone?

A very good work shirt

Alleys filled with restaurants and bars

After we mastered the subway system (NOT), we managed to order lunch using hand gestures and made our way back home while walking on the wrong side of the sidewalks.  We obviously have a little learning to do here.  Next up is Disneyland and you know we are excited about that!  Stay tuned.

Jaa ne, (see ya)
P&J

Singapore Sling

We boarded Singapore Air in Amsterdam at 11am and settled in for our 12+ hours of coach travel. The airlines reputation for service and comfort was well deserved. The entertainment system came via a personal view screen in every seat with over 260 movies, television shows, documentaries and a learning channel that taught James how to count to 100 in Japanese.  Between the two of us we watched 8 movies, 5 shows and James is now fluent in Swahili.  The only thing that made the flight attendants stop cruising the isles was the nearly constant turbulence that keep the seat belt sign on for a total of 6 hours of the flight. It was a surprisingly easy 12 hours and 40 minutes. Singapore Air ROCKS!!!!     

When we landed at 5 am, we saw a tee shirt in the airport that said Singapore was moist, hot, hotter, hottest and really expensive.  It also said that the spicy crab was the national dish and eating was the national pastime.  We didn't buy the shirt but it turned out to be pretty close to the truth.  We walked out of the airport and were hit with 96 degrees and 100% humidity.  Welcome to the Equator.

Picture of the modern skyline courtesy of Wikipedia

We stayed near Chinatown at the Amoy Hotel which was across the street from the subway and within walking distance of many of the sites we wanted to see.  There were over 100 restaurants in a 4 block radius. Singapore is an expensive city, for example a beer goes for around $14 or a mixed drink can be $20 to $30.  Needless to say, James had one beer the whole time we were in town.

In the center of Chinatown is the Buddha's Tooth Relic Temple. It was built to house the tooth relic of the historical Buddha. On the day we toured it was surrounded by the Chinatown street market where everything was for sale including electronics, household goods, toys and food. The market didn't slow down the crowd coming to the temple for there was a constant flow of worshipers arriving to say a prayer or light a candle. 

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

The first floor interior was a series of rooms set up for offerings and prayers with thousands of shrines called gau. The figures of Buddha were everywhere from the size of your hand to more than 15 feet tall.

The largest Buddha in the central room of the temple

Individual shrines all with offerings

James was born in the Year of the Dragon

At the end of the Chinatown markets was what James nicknamed "Old Guy Park".  There were dozens of gentleman enjoying the shade and playing Go. We figured their wives were home enjoying the air conditioning.

Nice shady spot

That is a lot of air conditioners

Chinatown street market with the city as a backdrop

Need a tiger backpack?

Durian is sometimes referred to as the King of Fruit in Southeast Asia.  It has a sickly sweet odor that has been described as smelling like turpentine, raw sewage, or rotten onions. It has been banned in some hotels and on the public transportation in the city.  It was sold everywhere and there was even a open air restaurant serving only durian dishes. We could smell it from 20 feet away. 

The "King of Fruit"

From the subway overhead - No durians welcome!

We noticed this gentleman and his Honda motorcycle ice cream scooter cart. Now that is a good idea.

We're watching the want ads

Eating lunch and dinner was very expensive in a restaurant, but you could reduce your cost and get a sense of the local flavor via the takeaway food found around the city. The government has brought all the street food venders together under many large covered areas and regulates them for health and cleanliness.  These Hawker Centers have some of the best food and you can get a large meal for around 6 Singapore dollars.

Singapore is a strange combination of old traditions surrounded by modern commerce. The city is looking to the future with new architecture and transportation systems. They have kept some of their history in neighborhoods like Chinatown.

Singapore is at 1.33N, 103.91E. The average high during our stay was 94 degrees with 100% humidity.

Next stop is Tokyo, Japan, but first another long flight.

Cheers,
P&J