Kyoto--Day 2
Okay, on to Part Two. This was the really, really busy day because we had the entire time to scope things out, instead of a half-day for traveling. Amazingly, we even managed to see everything on the list. And it was a long list. I took a lot of videos throughout the day, but I won't post them here, because they would probably kill older computers. If you want to watch them (and I highly recommend it), head over to my YouTube account at http://youtube.com/user/Vashangel1 I'll be posting all video clips there from now on. Onward!
DAY TWO:
The day started moderately bright and early, considering how late we had gotten in the night before. I think if we had been anywhere else, the idea of a 7:00 get-up would have sparked a mutiny, but we hadn't paid all of that money to sleep during our trip, so we reluctantly slouched into some clothes and got ready. Interesting fact: Apparently, I'm better at speaking conversational Japanese when I'm half-asleep than when I'm fully awake. I guess I made some very lucid arguments. I don't remember them.
Breakfast was a huge affair. Japanese people actually eat breakfast. Imagine that. And not a little measly plate of cold eggs and some cereal either. We're talking about a full-course meal at 8:00 and lines of people trying to push their way towards the onigiri. There were probably five or six varieties of pickled vegetables, and their main course consisted of sausage, rice, miso soup, eggs, sushi, soybeans, oatmeal, three types of bread, and a variety of miscellaneous snacks that I couldn't identify. They had three or four types of tea, and the coffee machine was equipped with espresso and cappuccino functions. Talk about spoiled. It's a good thing that I've actually been hungry in the mornings ever since coming to Japan. Normally, I don't have an appetite for anything heavy until at least ten or eleven in the morning, no matter when I last ate was. But I think the time zone shift messed with my eating habits. We all ate a lot, and then there was green tea ice cream for dessert. It's a good thing that we ate so much, too, because we didn't end up eating lunch for long, long time.
We packed up what we would be needing for the day and made an attempt at cleaning up our room. I had remembered to charge my camera battery overnight, so that wasn't something to worry about. We were probably out of there no later than 9:00 or 9:30. Kyoto seems to have a great bus system. Tokyo's all about the subway and JR lines that crisscross throughout the city, but Kyoto's elaborate bus routes were even more convenient in this case. Since we knew we would be doing a lot of traveling back and forth, we decided to buy an all-day bus pass for 500 yen instead of pay 250 yen every time we got on a bus. Saved us a fortune. As we were driving to our first stop, I got a little trigger-happy with my camera and took lots of pictures.
The heart of Gotham in the daylight hours.
As I mentioned before, Kyoto can be very dark and mysterious. And there are tons of crows! Seriously. That "caw caw" sound is practically the soundtrack of the surrounding area. And these crows were monstrous-looking things. Like something out of The Raven. Maybe they were ravens. I don't know. But they were everywhere, and they definitely added to the shadowy vibe.
Luckily, it wasn't really raining on the second day. It hadn't let up at all the day before, but we were able to carry our umbrellas at our sides this time. The only annoying was that the weather decided to be bipolar on us. It was sunny for most of the time, but then there were bursts of ten-minute showers out of nowhere that forced us to scramble for some shelter. It's an old Japanese proverb that sun showers are a sign of demons walking the sky. I wonder....
I also noticed a lot of people out and about in the beginning of the day. It was technically a workday--which was great for the more touristy attractions that we wanted to see without the crowds--so a lot of people were walking or commuting to start the day.
Businessmen on their way to work, college girls biking to class, and a shop owner opening for business.
Once we got out of the busy part of the city, however, it really started to lighten up. Visually, that is. We saw a lot more trees and flowers, and the roads weren't overshadowed as much by tall buildings. So the Western area of Kyoto was more scenic and preserved, I think.
We were on the bus for a pretty long time, but the view from the window was worth it, and it was only moderately crowded. Our first stop was the famous Zen Rock Garden at Ryoan-ji, one of the most famous Zen temples in Japan. If anyone's ever seen Karate Kid, it looks a lot like that. The area around the temple used to be a country villa for the Fujiwara family and the retirement home of a Heian-era emperor, so the grounds are really beautiful and well-groomed. It was eventually converted into a temple sometime after the Onin War in the fifteenth century. Some of the ponds and statues date way before that, though, and the whole places looks like it was preserved as a private sanctuary.
The sakura trees were also blooming during our stay in Kyoto, and the petals were especially bright at Ryoan-ji.
When we got to the main building, there were signs everywhere about removing our shoes and leaving them behind in the genkan. We walked through this very old entryway and looked at a few calligraphy paintings. Then I turned slightly to the left and the garden was just there suddenly, out of nowhere. The rock garden is basically made up of fifteen boulders in raked gravel. It's carefully arranged so that no matter what angle you look at it from, you can only see fourteen boulders at a time. Only the enlightened are supposed to see fifteen. It was pretty cool looking. The garden looks really peaceful and quiet from these photos, but there were people sitting shoulder to shoulder all the way down the line, literally inches from the gravel. I was lucky enough to find an empty space near the center and get a nice view of the whole thing. By the way, I counted fourteen.
We walked around the building a little bit more after seeing the rock garden. Everything was surrounded by forest and water, so it was definitely worth the trip. Nozomi hung out around this little fountain area on the south end for a while. Lisa and Maru realized that they had forgotten their umbrellas when it started to rain again.
With it raining enough to actually need shelter, we had to walk briskly to our next destination: Kinkaku-ji, or the Golden Pavilion. It was really close to Roan-ji, so it wasn't too big of a deal. Kinkaku-ji is probably the most famous place in Kyoto. There's memorabilia for it no matter where you go in the city. Even people native to Kyoto seem to go there a few times a year. I can see why. The top two stories are covered completely with gold leaf and sits on the edge of a small lake called the Mirror Pond. Some crazy monk burned the original temple down in 1950 and tried to commit suicide, so the one we saw was just a replica, but it was still impressive.
On the way to Kinkaku-ji, we passed through even more gardens and beautiful landscape.
Then we got to Kinkaku-ji itself. There was a long line of people wrapped around the building, but I don't know what they were waiting for. Probably some special souvenir or a photo opportunity. We just walked right in through the front door...after paying a fee, of course.
The sight of the temple itself was impressive, but I wasn't completely floored by it. I had seen so many pictures that I knew exactly what I was going to see. So the shock value wasn't there. But it was still something to behold with the bright colors and historic presence. We walked along the edge of the Mirror Pond as the rain started to let up a little. You can probably see the ripples in the water if you squint. I forgot to mention, but there were a lot of foreigners in Kyoto. Way more than I'm used to seeing in Japan. We were behind this German couple for most of the time, and Lisa was freaking out over that. She took some German in school, so she could kind of understand what they were saying.
The Mirror Pond is really pretty just by itself, too. There were koi fish swimming around under the surface, and ducks and turtles were hanging out just off shore. Even on a rainy weekday, though, the crowds were impressive, and we were gradually driven away from the Pond. The route follows a trail that wraps around a little stream behind the Pavillion. This area was also gorgeous to look at. There were a lot of waterfalls and flowers and statues dotting the way. During the Heian era, a lot of people were buried here, and their tombs are supposed to be scattered throughout the grounds, but I didn't see anything like that. At one point, we came across a little island with a log serving as a bridge. This was the Tranquility Pond, and the monument in the center is supposed to be the White Snake Mound. People used to pray there for rain during droughts because the pond never dried up.
We stayed there for a little longer. Along the path were these urns for throwing money into. Kind of like those carnival games that everyone knows are rigged, but they try to win at anyway. Everyone emptied out their pockets and did their best to toss something inside. Very tricky. I'm assuming that if you make it in, you'll get good luck or something. On my first try, a five yen piece almost made it, but then it bounced off. Oh well. Lisa dragged me away before I could blow my bus fare in the pursuit of revenge. The gift shops and souvenir stores scattered throughout the grounds were better than most. They actually had affordable, reasonable things, instead of calligraphy fans for fifty bucks. I picked up quite a few things there and sampled a plate of "free" mochi. Lisa and the tutors also helped themselves to ice cream.
After Kinkaku-ji, we decided to take a bus over to the Botanical Gardens. This was my choice. Japan's beautiful by itself without any upkeep, so I could only imagine how beautiful a well-tended garden would be. The bus took a while to get to the stop, and a lot of people wanted to get on and off for Kinkaku-ji, but we finally made it on. The bus took us to an underground transportation center and dropped us off there. We had to change routes and find another bus to take us the direction of the Gardens. As we were waiting there, I looked over my shoulder and saw these two monks completely decked out in bright saffron robes, traditional footwear, and...carrying groceries. I did a double-take. They weren't very old--maybe late twenties or early thirties, and they were chatting and laughing together as they waited with us. Their heads were shaven, but they were wearing modern glasses. I thought it was kind of cool and surreal to see them out doing errands like everyone else. I wish we had stuff like that in America. I almost took a picture. I was zoomed in and everything, but then I was worried about upsetting them or doing something disrespectful, so I chickened out in the end. But they seemed very nice, and I was disappointed when they got off at a different stop.
We had to walk a few blocks to get to the Gardens from the bus stop, and we passed a lot of scenic areas on the way. Venders were out in the streets selling meat buns and senbei, college students were walking along the river and looking at the cherry blossoms, and bicyclists were riding under bridges down below. Very pretty. In a park area just before the entrance, a team was starting up a baseball game and were going through a series of elaborate stretches. It would've been awesome to play baseball in a place like that. Cherry blossoms were literally floating into the infield. I would've gotten hit in the face playing there because I would've been looking around instead of paying attention to the game.
Once we got to the Botanical Gardens, it was getting into the afternoon. I didn't want to say anything, but I was getting hungry. Luckily, we would end up eating inside eventually. Once we got inside, the tutors talked to this young guy at the entrance and filled out a bunch of paperwork. Lisa and I didn't know what it was for, but the tutors were more than excited and threw some papers at us, too. We filled them out with difficulty, and then the guy handed us this strange watch thing to wear on our wrists. I think it was a GPS tracking device. And it was heavy. I eventually stashed mine in my bag. Then they handed us headphones and this little portable tape recorder. I guess it was a self-guided tour thing. It's supposed to respond to your location and then rattle off a list of facts about the things you're looking at. Pretty nifty. But the English version was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing. The nice guy programmed ours so that we would understand the tour, but the grammar was absolutely horrible. Like, "Going to direction, you watch this place and with omnipresent vision look towards greenhouse and run to." Made absolutely no sense. Nozomi and Maru couldn't figure out why I was laughing at odd points. Lisa wasn't faring much better. I eventually muted mine and then accidentally switched it Japanese permanently. So I gave up and put it my bag. It's better to just look at things without knowing the genus and species of everything. Here are some shots of the entrance area and conservatory:
The greenhouse was huge and had whole rooms devoted to various types of flowers. I could've easily gone crazy with the pictures, but I had to watch my memory card and save room for later. We all got separated inside and had to wait for everyone to wander outside. By this point, it was raining off and on again, and I was getting tired of taking my umbrella out. We walked around the grounds randomly for quite some time. There was a cherry blossom grove, an old shrine, a bamboo garden, a path devoted to coniferous trees, and dozens of other areas that revolved around certain themes. We didn't get to go everywhere, but here are some of the places that we got to see.
The Gardens were huge, so we eventually had to wander back to the entrance area. Everyone else was ready to move on and go to the next place, but I demanded food. Sure, we had a huge breakfast, but it was at least two o' clock by this point, and I was starving. It was wearing on my mood with all of the walking and rain bursts. So they caved, and we went to this little restaurant off to the side of the entrance. It had some really good food. I was satisfied and much happier after it. Here's what I ordered.
Tempura Soba
After that, we left the Gardens and hopped on a train for the next destination: Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, the shrine devoted to students. Young people go there all the time to pray for success in exams and stuff. We figured it couldn't hurt, even if we were currently on vacation. The shrine itself was built in 947 to appease the angry spirit of exiled scholar, poet, and bureaucrat Sugawara no Michizane. Some of his political enemies had forced him out of court, and the shrine was created to make amends.
We got off the bus near the shrine and were nearly blown over by the wind. A huge burst of rain came down right at the entrance, and we had to stop and take shelter for a few moments under my umbrella. Once it stopped and we were able to go in, we crossed under the huge stone torii up front and approached a long line of statues.
The main area of the shrine itself had a bunch of minor paths branching out in opposite directions. The place seemed designed for hundreds of people to pray at the same time. Just go up to any random area, pull on the rope, and clap to send out a prayer. Very efficient and easy. There were some shrines set aside for younger children, too, judging by their small sizes. There were also a lot of plum trees around, since that was Michizane's favorite tree, but it wasn't the blooming season when we got there.
Oh, and more of those red flowers.
We stayed there for a little while. I really liked that shrine--it wasn't as crowded or touristy as some of the other ones that we went to. One thing that was kind of interesting was the cow statue. There were a few statues of cows leading up to the main shrine, and I just kind of shrugged it off as an artistic choice, but then Nozomi and Maru started petting one of them. "Ushi-san," or Mr. Cow, is one of the demi-gods of the shrine and he's supposed to pass on requests to Michizane. If you rub his head, you'll supposedly receive a little more intelligence. I thought it was really cute. These cows were obviously well-loved by visitors, and all of them were completely worn down to a polish after so many people had pet them. Most of them were festooned with colorful bibs or collars. I rubbed a few of them on the head, and I feel smarter already.
Ushi-san
I would've liked to have stayed there some more, but we had a schedule to keep and a few more places to stop at that day. It was getting into late afternoon, and the sky was starting to turn orange. On that note, we headed over to Gosho, the old Imperial Palace of Kyoto. In case you didn't know, Kyoto used to be the capital of Japan until the end of the Tokugawa Era in 1868. That's when the emperor and the capital was moved to Tokyo (or Edo). So we got on yet another bus and rode over there.
In order to go inside the palace, we needed to have a reservation made months in advance, so we ended up just walking around outside. The grounds are enormous. Seriously. It's hard to tell by the pictures how far each wall stretched, but it probably took fifteen to twenty minutes just to walk down one side of the palace. I imagine it's similar to how Tianamen Square would look. It makes sense that the walls were so large and guarded because the Imperial Family used to live inside. Kind of the Japanese equivalent of the Forbidden City. Like I said, I didn't get to go inside, but there are supposedly different buildings for the Empress, the aging Emperor, the high nobility, and multiple rooms for the Emperor himself. It's also where they kept the Chrysanthemum Throne, where the Emperor was screened from view on a huge dais. I would've loved to have seen that, but alas, it was not meant to be.
We did manage to see the Grounds, though, which has been converted into a park for the public. With the fading light turning into twilight, it was really quite beautiful.
I thought this was kind of funny. As I walking along the immensely long stretch of wall and taking in the presence of such a historic building, I saw this:
I guess they don't want you tampering with anything or trying to get in over the wall. Makes sense, I guess, but I was still amused by the concept. It almost made me want to try something just to spite the surveillance people--give them something to do during their boring day. I guess one of the other groups that went to Kyoto did manage to get scolded by security (or politely shooed, as we're in Japan) because they leaned over the waterway separating the building from the main path to take a picture. You must never, ever, cross the water! For shame!
This was also kind of cool. On our left-hand side, as we were continuing our walk, I saw a crowd of people gathered around a seemingly random fallen log. Kind of weird. So I went over to see what the fuss was all about. This is what they were looking at:
It's a cherry tree that was struck by lighting, fell over a long time ago, and then served as the roots for multiple other cherry trees. That's not completely out of the ordinary, I suppose, but it was sort of interesting, and I thought that some people (*cough*formerforesters*cough*) would appreciate me including it.
As we neared the end of one side, the sun started to set. I got a great video of it framed against one of the palace gates. We also passed the building used for state ceremonies, the imperial library, and the Court Room. Pretty impressive. It was a nice, relaxing walk towards the end of a long day. After looking at so many things that day, it was kind of a relief to just wander in one direction for a while.
Affter Gosho, we had a little time to kill. Our last event of the evening was a scheduled affair for eight o' clock in Gion, so we had a few hours to get there. The problem was that Lisa's camera was dying. I had told her to charge it the night before, like I did, but she seemed to think that the battery would last. It didn't. It died sometime around the Botanical Gardens. So instead of wandering around Gion and shopping, we had to go back to the ryokan first and plug that into the wall for a few hours so that it would have enough charge by eight. I was a little annoyed at that, because we could have been out doing other things at the same time and lost a lot of ground by having to go back. But I won't dwell on it. It looked like we weren't going to be able to have dinner beforehand, either, because of that, but we did manage to get a few things along the way. I think we stopped in a quick and inexpensive burger joint since we were low on time.
With about an hour left, we hit the streets of Gion and did some browsing of the shops. I don't have any pictures of this, because it was too dark for my flash. My camera is incredibly awesome and I love it to death, but it's not much good after dark. But I'd already learned that from Kiyomizu. So we walked around a bit. I didn't get anything because I didn't want to carry it back, and I needed to save some money, but some of the places sold some interesting things. We looked at kimonos and punk rock clothes and a toy shop all in the same general area.
But then 7:30 rolled around and we had to head back--Maru had called a taxi and it was due to pick us up in front of the ryokan. It was already waiting for us when we got there, but then Nozomi and Lisa had to run in and get stuff. Lisa had to get her camera and Nozomi...I don't remember. But they took forever. I kept looking at my watch and worrying that we were going to be late. Maru seemed similarly stressed. At about ten to eight, they finally came out and we didn't even wait for them to sit down before driving off. As it was, we barely made it in time, and we didn't get the best seats because everyone else had gotten there early. I was tempted to take away Lisa's camera just to teach her a lesson.
The place that we needed to get to was called Gion Corner, and it's a large, theater-like building in the heart of the district. I'm under the impression that the people put on one show a night for foreigners, tourists, and Japanese people who are interested in Japanese culture. It was a series of shows, ranging from traditional music to flower arranging. It was kind of pricey (in the 2000--3000 yen range), but I had to remind myself that it was something that I would remember for a long time and would enjoy seeing. They had lots of things directed towards foreigners, so it was very easy to understand. I probably would have understood the general idea of it anyways, but they went out of their way to make sure everyone understood what they were seeing with pamphlets in a dozen different languages, and there was an option of buying some headphones and an audio guide with the program. Considering the experience with the Botanical Gardens, I decided to pass on that.
We took our seats, and of course I was behind a woman with massive hair. There's always a lady with big hair when you go to show. There should be a height restriction or something--like at carnival rides, only in reverse. Whenever they introduced certain parts of the program, they first said it in Japanese, and then they repeated it in English...complete with a British accent. I don't know if I mentioned this in the last post, but everything English in Kyoto is pronounced in a British voice, while Tokyo has a decidedly American dialect. I'm not sure why.
The first act of the show was a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. They asked for a volunteer from the crowd to act as the customer for the ceremony. A Japanese woman towards the front raised her hand and went over to the far side of the room. Then, an older woman (probably in her fifties or so) sat at a table in full kimono garb and started the very complicated process of making the tea. A voice-over explained what she was doing at the same time. First, she used a chakin (a white cloth) to clean the cup, and set about whisking the tea (or matcha) into a green, foamy broth with powder, hot water, and a chasen (tea whisk). Everything was seeped with protocol and tradition. All of the tools had to be set down in a certain order, and everything was performed in a very ritualistic way. When the tea was finally presented to the guest, they bowed to each other, and then the guest had to rotate the cup and drink from the back. It was all very complex and interesting to watch. The actual cup was presented to the guest by a younger woman, probably an apprentice, who came out in the middle to help the first woman.
Tea Ceremony
Next up was a performance of the koto, a Japanese stringed instrument that kind of resembles a harp. It derived from China during the seventh and eighth centuries, and then made its way over to Japan. It was originally played before the royal court, but now it's used in everything from jazz to rock bands. It sounds similar to a shamisen, but it has more of a Middle Eastern vibe to it. Two women came out to play them--one taking the melody and the other taking the bass parts. It was a very pretty sound to hear, but I didn't recognize any particular tune or rhythm to it. It must be a continuously flowing thing.
Koto Music
Next was a demonstration of Ikebana, or flower arrangement. As the koto players performed on the same stage, a young woman came out with an empty bowl and some cut flowers. In the course of a few minutes, she managed to put them together and arrange them into a spiraling design at the center of the container. It started out as a funeral ritual of offering flowers to the dead, and has since turned into a major Japanese art form. There are various techniques and methods behind it, but I have no way of telling the difference. I tried my hand at making one back before the vacation period, and I was fairly happy with how it turned out. This woman, however, pulled off something way better than my attempt in the course of one song.
Ikebana, or Flower Arranging
The next act was another musical performance. This time it was a Gagaku dance performed by a man in an elaborate, brightly-colored costume and mask. Gagaku music dates back to the eight century and is considered court music. It's a very elegant dance style that involves a lot of slow, coordinated movements and the use of a wand for emphasis. Off to the side, a group of musicians were playing live music on drums and flutes. The actual dance is called "Bugaku." "Gagaku" refers to the music alone. I thought it was very interesting to watch, and it definitely seemed like something from another era.
Bugaku Dancing and Gagaku Music
After the dance was concluded, they announced the start of an old Japanese play. I think the style might have been "kyogen," but I'm not sure. It was basically a light-hearted comedy about a master and his two incompetent servants. The master needs to go into town on business, but he's afraid that his servants will drink all of his sake while he's gone, so he ties them up to keep them out of trouble. Hilarity ensues. Towards the end, despite being tied up, they manage to get drunk and are enjoying themselves when he returns home. He leans over them in anger and they continue talking, unaware of his presence. Then one of them sees his reflection in the sake cup and remarks that the lord is trying to haunt them with his stern visage. At the end, the lord chases them off the stage with a stick. It was pretty entertaining. I happened to see the exact same play for International Playhouse in Santa Cruz, so I knew exactly what was going on. I didn't mind seeing it again at all.
A Japanese Comedy
The next act was my personal favorite--a Geisha dance. Two girls in full make-up and kimono dress came out, looking very graceful and delicate. Those kimonos probably cost thousands of dollars and have multiple layers underneath, but they still looked like tiny dolls. Traditionally, these dances were performed in cramped teahouses for paying customers, so the movements are designed for limited space and dancing on a single tatami mat. All of the moves were very graceful and practiced. The simple action of lifting up the sleeve at the wrist, turning to the side, and taking one step was done so elegantly that you know that they rehearsed each moment studiously. The one in the light gray kimono was Maiko Takahiro and the other one was named Yukako. I really enjoyed their performance. It was very cool to watch in person.
Geisha Dancers, and massive hair.
The last act of the program was a bunraku play about two lovers who are forbidden from being together--kind of like Romeo and Juliet, but with a happier ending. Bunraku plays are old Japanese puppet shows, with three or four marionettes dressed in black manipulating the puppet to move. It was pretty impressive how realistic it looked. I tried to ignore the guys in black and pretend that it was moving by itself. At the same time, cherry petals (or at least colored paper) fell from the ceiling, gongs chimed, and priests chanted in the background. When it got to her lines, her voice was done in a very strange dialect and probably voiced by a man. I couldn't understand a word of it, but it was very musical to hear. The play ended with her climbing the bell tower to warn her lover of a trap to have him killed.
A Bunraku puppet play
And that was the end of the show. We filed out and talked a bit about it on the way home. I think it was worth the expensive entry fee, considering all of the things that were jam-packed into the program. We decided not to take a cab home since it was within half an hour's walk from the ryokan. Gion District is a sight to behold at night. Geisha and women in kimonos walk along the dimly-lit streets arm-in-arm with businessmen in suits, and some pose demurely for photos from tourists. All of the streets are narrow and ancient in appearance--kind of like walking through a period film sometimes. There were several times when the four of us made a turn off the main road and went down a back alley that no one else was using. And that wasn't creepy or dangerous at all. Despite being so shadowy and mysterious, I never go the sense of shady business or crime going on. Everything seemed very safe and open. I enjoyed the walk back a lot. I could've explored around there for hours, but we were pretty exhausted after our day.
By sheer luck, we managed to stumble onto something amazing, though. In the lobby of the ryokan, I had noticed a flyer advertising a light-up cherry blossom show somewhere in Gion, but since I had no idea where that certain street was, I had shaken it off. We somehow found our way their by accident and saw the most amazing display of sakura lights. I was leading the group, and just as we were passing over a stone bridge, I turned my head and saw this avenue of cherry trees festooned with lights and lanterns. People were milling around underneath, taking pictures and watching the petals fall into the river below. It was the most beautiful sight. I'm so glad that we happened to find it by coincidence.
There were a lot of geisha there, too, and it's a shame that I couldn't get a picture of them. By the time we got back to the ryokan, we were still on a high from the events of the evening. But there was one more thing that we planned to do: drink.
I was perfectly fine with crashing face-first into my cot back at the ryokan, but Nozomi and Maru threw out the suggestion of going out for yakitori (fried chicken). I think, under normal circumstances, I would've been less enthusiastic about it, but I was in the moment, and the night was young, so why not? We went to a Lawson's convenience store first and picked up some snacks. Then they found this tiny little hole-in-the-wall bars just a block from the ryokan. This place was seriously low-key. It was type of place where you would walk by it and never see it unless you were looking for it. All it had was a faded sign out front.
We went in and were treated to a completely non-tourist y atmosphere. The room consisted of a smoke-filled bar with locals nursing a beer, and pictures of former customers plastered all over the walls. We took a table in the back, off to the side, and a disinterested guy, probably the owner, came by with some menus. It was all in kanji that I couldn't read, so Lisa and I left the decision-making up to Maru and Nozomi. We figured that chicken was chicken--what could they possibly mess up with that? Oh, we were so wrong.
Drinks came, and I ordered a simple orange juice. Yeah, I'm four. But I didn't really feel like drinking much because I knew that it would make it harder to wake up in the morning. I sat there and chugged half of it in one go, while Lisa ordered some sort of blended drink. I forget what Maru and Nozomi drank--maybe some beer.
Then the food arrived. It looked very suspicious. I could tell that it was meat, but it looked to dark and...purple to be normal chicken. With great wariness, I asked the tutors what they had ordered. They said a word, but Lisa and I didn't recognize it, so they typed it up in the electronic dictionary. Then they turned the screen around to face us: LIVER. Great. They ordered chicken liver. I decided to pass on that and wait for the next course, because they ordered several platters.
The next plate came and I was as dubious about this one as the last plate. This course turned out to be "Chicken Heart." Once again: pass. Lisa and I stared at it with open revulsion, and the tutors couldn't figure out why we weren't eating. We explained that we generally just eat the wings, breast, and legs in America. We generally don't eat the insides. They were stunned by that.
The third platter came and it was the worst of all: gristle. Gristle. Who eats gristle just by itself?! It was literally fat on a stick. And fried. That was the last straw. I decided that I was hungry, and the courses were getting progressively worse, so I tried one heart and one liver. There, I did it. I can say that I ate that now. Don't ask me what they tasted like, though. I just chewed and swallowed as fast as I could. Lisa did me one better and ate some gristle. She said it tasted like she had accidentally speared a piece of meat that she had cut off and meant to throw away. Ugh.
Finally, some normal meat came by--I think they were legs. I grabbed one of those and ate away at that. I'm not a big chicken fan in general, so even that was a bit of a challenge to get through.
The last plate was the most ridiculous. Lisa and I already knew that it was something horrible the moment it was set down. With great reluctance, we asked what it was. SPARROW. Yes, fried sparrow. It was horrible. It looked like they had literally plucked the poor thing and thrown it into a vat of oil, head and feet still attached and everything. I hope that it was already dead beforehand, because the face was frozen in a death cry. It was so sad to look at--like someone's pet being served as dinner. Luckily, they had only ordered two of those, so we were spared the option of trying one. Lisa and I didn't even hesitate before pushing them towards the tutors. All yours. Enjoy.
And that was basically the night. The downside of the bar was that we had to pay for food that we barely touched at all. They ordered all of that food, and it came down to about ten bucks a person. I was kind of peeved about that, but they had no way of knowing that we wouldn't like that kind of stuff. Oh well. After that, we went straight upstairs and got ready for bed. They went to the onsen again, and I opted for the private bath option once again. I was out like a light before they got back.
The Bar
So that was Day Two. The next one should be up sooner, since it's shorter. Congrats on making it through this epic post!
DAY TWO:
The day started moderately bright and early, considering how late we had gotten in the night before. I think if we had been anywhere else, the idea of a 7:00 get-up would have sparked a mutiny, but we hadn't paid all of that money to sleep during our trip, so we reluctantly slouched into some clothes and got ready. Interesting fact: Apparently, I'm better at speaking conversational Japanese when I'm half-asleep than when I'm fully awake. I guess I made some very lucid arguments. I don't remember them.
Breakfast was a huge affair. Japanese people actually eat breakfast. Imagine that. And not a little measly plate of cold eggs and some cereal either. We're talking about a full-course meal at 8:00 and lines of people trying to push their way towards the onigiri. There were probably five or six varieties of pickled vegetables, and their main course consisted of sausage, rice, miso soup, eggs, sushi, soybeans, oatmeal, three types of bread, and a variety of miscellaneous snacks that I couldn't identify. They had three or four types of tea, and the coffee machine was equipped with espresso and cappuccino functions. Talk about spoiled. It's a good thing that I've actually been hungry in the mornings ever since coming to Japan. Normally, I don't have an appetite for anything heavy until at least ten or eleven in the morning, no matter when I last ate was. But I think the time zone shift messed with my eating habits. We all ate a lot, and then there was green tea ice cream for dessert. It's a good thing that we ate so much, too, because we didn't end up eating lunch for long, long time.
We packed up what we would be needing for the day and made an attempt at cleaning up our room. I had remembered to charge my camera battery overnight, so that wasn't something to worry about. We were probably out of there no later than 9:00 or 9:30. Kyoto seems to have a great bus system. Tokyo's all about the subway and JR lines that crisscross throughout the city, but Kyoto's elaborate bus routes were even more convenient in this case. Since we knew we would be doing a lot of traveling back and forth, we decided to buy an all-day bus pass for 500 yen instead of pay 250 yen every time we got on a bus. Saved us a fortune. As we were driving to our first stop, I got a little trigger-happy with my camera and took lots of pictures.
The heart of Gotham in the daylight hours.
As I mentioned before, Kyoto can be very dark and mysterious. And there are tons of crows! Seriously. That "caw caw" sound is practically the soundtrack of the surrounding area. And these crows were monstrous-looking things. Like something out of The Raven. Maybe they were ravens. I don't know. But they were everywhere, and they definitely added to the shadowy vibe.
Luckily, it wasn't really raining on the second day. It hadn't let up at all the day before, but we were able to carry our umbrellas at our sides this time. The only annoying was that the weather decided to be bipolar on us. It was sunny for most of the time, but then there were bursts of ten-minute showers out of nowhere that forced us to scramble for some shelter. It's an old Japanese proverb that sun showers are a sign of demons walking the sky. I wonder....
I also noticed a lot of people out and about in the beginning of the day. It was technically a workday--which was great for the more touristy attractions that we wanted to see without the crowds--so a lot of people were walking or commuting to start the day.
Businessmen on their way to work, college girls biking to class, and a shop owner opening for business.
Once we got out of the busy part of the city, however, it really started to lighten up. Visually, that is. We saw a lot more trees and flowers, and the roads weren't overshadowed as much by tall buildings. So the Western area of Kyoto was more scenic and preserved, I think.
We were on the bus for a pretty long time, but the view from the window was worth it, and it was only moderately crowded. Our first stop was the famous Zen Rock Garden at Ryoan-ji, one of the most famous Zen temples in Japan. If anyone's ever seen Karate Kid, it looks a lot like that. The area around the temple used to be a country villa for the Fujiwara family and the retirement home of a Heian-era emperor, so the grounds are really beautiful and well-groomed. It was eventually converted into a temple sometime after the Onin War in the fifteenth century. Some of the ponds and statues date way before that, though, and the whole places looks like it was preserved as a private sanctuary.
The sakura trees were also blooming during our stay in Kyoto, and the petals were especially bright at Ryoan-ji.
When we got to the main building, there were signs everywhere about removing our shoes and leaving them behind in the genkan. We walked through this very old entryway and looked at a few calligraphy paintings. Then I turned slightly to the left and the garden was just there suddenly, out of nowhere. The rock garden is basically made up of fifteen boulders in raked gravel. It's carefully arranged so that no matter what angle you look at it from, you can only see fourteen boulders at a time. Only the enlightened are supposed to see fifteen. It was pretty cool looking. The garden looks really peaceful and quiet from these photos, but there were people sitting shoulder to shoulder all the way down the line, literally inches from the gravel. I was lucky enough to find an empty space near the center and get a nice view of the whole thing. By the way, I counted fourteen.
We walked around the building a little bit more after seeing the rock garden. Everything was surrounded by forest and water, so it was definitely worth the trip. Nozomi hung out around this little fountain area on the south end for a while. Lisa and Maru realized that they had forgotten their umbrellas when it started to rain again.
With it raining enough to actually need shelter, we had to walk briskly to our next destination: Kinkaku-ji, or the Golden Pavilion. It was really close to Roan-ji, so it wasn't too big of a deal. Kinkaku-ji is probably the most famous place in Kyoto. There's memorabilia for it no matter where you go in the city. Even people native to Kyoto seem to go there a few times a year. I can see why. The top two stories are covered completely with gold leaf and sits on the edge of a small lake called the Mirror Pond. Some crazy monk burned the original temple down in 1950 and tried to commit suicide, so the one we saw was just a replica, but it was still impressive.
On the way to Kinkaku-ji, we passed through even more gardens and beautiful landscape.
Then we got to Kinkaku-ji itself. There was a long line of people wrapped around the building, but I don't know what they were waiting for. Probably some special souvenir or a photo opportunity. We just walked right in through the front door...after paying a fee, of course.
The sight of the temple itself was impressive, but I wasn't completely floored by it. I had seen so many pictures that I knew exactly what I was going to see. So the shock value wasn't there. But it was still something to behold with the bright colors and historic presence. We walked along the edge of the Mirror Pond as the rain started to let up a little. You can probably see the ripples in the water if you squint. I forgot to mention, but there were a lot of foreigners in Kyoto. Way more than I'm used to seeing in Japan. We were behind this German couple for most of the time, and Lisa was freaking out over that. She took some German in school, so she could kind of understand what they were saying.
The Mirror Pond is really pretty just by itself, too. There were koi fish swimming around under the surface, and ducks and turtles were hanging out just off shore. Even on a rainy weekday, though, the crowds were impressive, and we were gradually driven away from the Pond. The route follows a trail that wraps around a little stream behind the Pavillion. This area was also gorgeous to look at. There were a lot of waterfalls and flowers and statues dotting the way. During the Heian era, a lot of people were buried here, and their tombs are supposed to be scattered throughout the grounds, but I didn't see anything like that. At one point, we came across a little island with a log serving as a bridge. This was the Tranquility Pond, and the monument in the center is supposed to be the White Snake Mound. People used to pray there for rain during droughts because the pond never dried up.
We stayed there for a little longer. Along the path were these urns for throwing money into. Kind of like those carnival games that everyone knows are rigged, but they try to win at anyway. Everyone emptied out their pockets and did their best to toss something inside. Very tricky. I'm assuming that if you make it in, you'll get good luck or something. On my first try, a five yen piece almost made it, but then it bounced off. Oh well. Lisa dragged me away before I could blow my bus fare in the pursuit of revenge. The gift shops and souvenir stores scattered throughout the grounds were better than most. They actually had affordable, reasonable things, instead of calligraphy fans for fifty bucks. I picked up quite a few things there and sampled a plate of "free" mochi. Lisa and the tutors also helped themselves to ice cream.
After Kinkaku-ji, we decided to take a bus over to the Botanical Gardens. This was my choice. Japan's beautiful by itself without any upkeep, so I could only imagine how beautiful a well-tended garden would be. The bus took a while to get to the stop, and a lot of people wanted to get on and off for Kinkaku-ji, but we finally made it on. The bus took us to an underground transportation center and dropped us off there. We had to change routes and find another bus to take us the direction of the Gardens. As we were waiting there, I looked over my shoulder and saw these two monks completely decked out in bright saffron robes, traditional footwear, and...carrying groceries. I did a double-take. They weren't very old--maybe late twenties or early thirties, and they were chatting and laughing together as they waited with us. Their heads were shaven, but they were wearing modern glasses. I thought it was kind of cool and surreal to see them out doing errands like everyone else. I wish we had stuff like that in America. I almost took a picture. I was zoomed in and everything, but then I was worried about upsetting them or doing something disrespectful, so I chickened out in the end. But they seemed very nice, and I was disappointed when they got off at a different stop.
We had to walk a few blocks to get to the Gardens from the bus stop, and we passed a lot of scenic areas on the way. Venders were out in the streets selling meat buns and senbei, college students were walking along the river and looking at the cherry blossoms, and bicyclists were riding under bridges down below. Very pretty. In a park area just before the entrance, a team was starting up a baseball game and were going through a series of elaborate stretches. It would've been awesome to play baseball in a place like that. Cherry blossoms were literally floating into the infield. I would've gotten hit in the face playing there because I would've been looking around instead of paying attention to the game.
Once we got to the Botanical Gardens, it was getting into the afternoon. I didn't want to say anything, but I was getting hungry. Luckily, we would end up eating inside eventually. Once we got inside, the tutors talked to this young guy at the entrance and filled out a bunch of paperwork. Lisa and I didn't know what it was for, but the tutors were more than excited and threw some papers at us, too. We filled them out with difficulty, and then the guy handed us this strange watch thing to wear on our wrists. I think it was a GPS tracking device. And it was heavy. I eventually stashed mine in my bag. Then they handed us headphones and this little portable tape recorder. I guess it was a self-guided tour thing. It's supposed to respond to your location and then rattle off a list of facts about the things you're looking at. Pretty nifty. But the English version was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing. The nice guy programmed ours so that we would understand the tour, but the grammar was absolutely horrible. Like, "Going to direction, you watch this place and with omnipresent vision look towards greenhouse and run to." Made absolutely no sense. Nozomi and Maru couldn't figure out why I was laughing at odd points. Lisa wasn't faring much better. I eventually muted mine and then accidentally switched it Japanese permanently. So I gave up and put it my bag. It's better to just look at things without knowing the genus and species of everything. Here are some shots of the entrance area and conservatory:
The greenhouse was huge and had whole rooms devoted to various types of flowers. I could've easily gone crazy with the pictures, but I had to watch my memory card and save room for later. We all got separated inside and had to wait for everyone to wander outside. By this point, it was raining off and on again, and I was getting tired of taking my umbrella out. We walked around the grounds randomly for quite some time. There was a cherry blossom grove, an old shrine, a bamboo garden, a path devoted to coniferous trees, and dozens of other areas that revolved around certain themes. We didn't get to go everywhere, but here are some of the places that we got to see.
The Gardens were huge, so we eventually had to wander back to the entrance area. Everyone else was ready to move on and go to the next place, but I demanded food. Sure, we had a huge breakfast, but it was at least two o' clock by this point, and I was starving. It was wearing on my mood with all of the walking and rain bursts. So they caved, and we went to this little restaurant off to the side of the entrance. It had some really good food. I was satisfied and much happier after it. Here's what I ordered.
Tempura Soba
After that, we left the Gardens and hopped on a train for the next destination: Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, the shrine devoted to students. Young people go there all the time to pray for success in exams and stuff. We figured it couldn't hurt, even if we were currently on vacation. The shrine itself was built in 947 to appease the angry spirit of exiled scholar, poet, and bureaucrat Sugawara no Michizane. Some of his political enemies had forced him out of court, and the shrine was created to make amends.
We got off the bus near the shrine and were nearly blown over by the wind. A huge burst of rain came down right at the entrance, and we had to stop and take shelter for a few moments under my umbrella. Once it stopped and we were able to go in, we crossed under the huge stone torii up front and approached a long line of statues.
The main area of the shrine itself had a bunch of minor paths branching out in opposite directions. The place seemed designed for hundreds of people to pray at the same time. Just go up to any random area, pull on the rope, and clap to send out a prayer. Very efficient and easy. There were some shrines set aside for younger children, too, judging by their small sizes. There were also a lot of plum trees around, since that was Michizane's favorite tree, but it wasn't the blooming season when we got there.
Oh, and more of those red flowers.
We stayed there for a little while. I really liked that shrine--it wasn't as crowded or touristy as some of the other ones that we went to. One thing that was kind of interesting was the cow statue. There were a few statues of cows leading up to the main shrine, and I just kind of shrugged it off as an artistic choice, but then Nozomi and Maru started petting one of them. "Ushi-san," or Mr. Cow, is one of the demi-gods of the shrine and he's supposed to pass on requests to Michizane. If you rub his head, you'll supposedly receive a little more intelligence. I thought it was really cute. These cows were obviously well-loved by visitors, and all of them were completely worn down to a polish after so many people had pet them. Most of them were festooned with colorful bibs or collars. I rubbed a few of them on the head, and I feel smarter already.
Ushi-san
I would've liked to have stayed there some more, but we had a schedule to keep and a few more places to stop at that day. It was getting into late afternoon, and the sky was starting to turn orange. On that note, we headed over to Gosho, the old Imperial Palace of Kyoto. In case you didn't know, Kyoto used to be the capital of Japan until the end of the Tokugawa Era in 1868. That's when the emperor and the capital was moved to Tokyo (or Edo). So we got on yet another bus and rode over there.
In order to go inside the palace, we needed to have a reservation made months in advance, so we ended up just walking around outside. The grounds are enormous. Seriously. It's hard to tell by the pictures how far each wall stretched, but it probably took fifteen to twenty minutes just to walk down one side of the palace. I imagine it's similar to how Tianamen Square would look. It makes sense that the walls were so large and guarded because the Imperial Family used to live inside. Kind of the Japanese equivalent of the Forbidden City. Like I said, I didn't get to go inside, but there are supposedly different buildings for the Empress, the aging Emperor, the high nobility, and multiple rooms for the Emperor himself. It's also where they kept the Chrysanthemum Throne, where the Emperor was screened from view on a huge dais. I would've loved to have seen that, but alas, it was not meant to be.
We did manage to see the Grounds, though, which has been converted into a park for the public. With the fading light turning into twilight, it was really quite beautiful.
I thought this was kind of funny. As I walking along the immensely long stretch of wall and taking in the presence of such a historic building, I saw this:
I guess they don't want you tampering with anything or trying to get in over the wall. Makes sense, I guess, but I was still amused by the concept. It almost made me want to try something just to spite the surveillance people--give them something to do during their boring day. I guess one of the other groups that went to Kyoto did manage to get scolded by security (or politely shooed, as we're in Japan) because they leaned over the waterway separating the building from the main path to take a picture. You must never, ever, cross the water! For shame!
This was also kind of cool. On our left-hand side, as we were continuing our walk, I saw a crowd of people gathered around a seemingly random fallen log. Kind of weird. So I went over to see what the fuss was all about. This is what they were looking at:
It's a cherry tree that was struck by lighting, fell over a long time ago, and then served as the roots for multiple other cherry trees. That's not completely out of the ordinary, I suppose, but it was sort of interesting, and I thought that some people (*cough*formerforesters*cough*) would appreciate me including it.
As we neared the end of one side, the sun started to set. I got a great video of it framed against one of the palace gates. We also passed the building used for state ceremonies, the imperial library, and the Court Room. Pretty impressive. It was a nice, relaxing walk towards the end of a long day. After looking at so many things that day, it was kind of a relief to just wander in one direction for a while.
Affter Gosho, we had a little time to kill. Our last event of the evening was a scheduled affair for eight o' clock in Gion, so we had a few hours to get there. The problem was that Lisa's camera was dying. I had told her to charge it the night before, like I did, but she seemed to think that the battery would last. It didn't. It died sometime around the Botanical Gardens. So instead of wandering around Gion and shopping, we had to go back to the ryokan first and plug that into the wall for a few hours so that it would have enough charge by eight. I was a little annoyed at that, because we could have been out doing other things at the same time and lost a lot of ground by having to go back. But I won't dwell on it. It looked like we weren't going to be able to have dinner beforehand, either, because of that, but we did manage to get a few things along the way. I think we stopped in a quick and inexpensive burger joint since we were low on time.
With about an hour left, we hit the streets of Gion and did some browsing of the shops. I don't have any pictures of this, because it was too dark for my flash. My camera is incredibly awesome and I love it to death, but it's not much good after dark. But I'd already learned that from Kiyomizu. So we walked around a bit. I didn't get anything because I didn't want to carry it back, and I needed to save some money, but some of the places sold some interesting things. We looked at kimonos and punk rock clothes and a toy shop all in the same general area.
But then 7:30 rolled around and we had to head back--Maru had called a taxi and it was due to pick us up in front of the ryokan. It was already waiting for us when we got there, but then Nozomi and Lisa had to run in and get stuff. Lisa had to get her camera and Nozomi...I don't remember. But they took forever. I kept looking at my watch and worrying that we were going to be late. Maru seemed similarly stressed. At about ten to eight, they finally came out and we didn't even wait for them to sit down before driving off. As it was, we barely made it in time, and we didn't get the best seats because everyone else had gotten there early. I was tempted to take away Lisa's camera just to teach her a lesson.
The place that we needed to get to was called Gion Corner, and it's a large, theater-like building in the heart of the district. I'm under the impression that the people put on one show a night for foreigners, tourists, and Japanese people who are interested in Japanese culture. It was a series of shows, ranging from traditional music to flower arranging. It was kind of pricey (in the 2000--3000 yen range), but I had to remind myself that it was something that I would remember for a long time and would enjoy seeing. They had lots of things directed towards foreigners, so it was very easy to understand. I probably would have understood the general idea of it anyways, but they went out of their way to make sure everyone understood what they were seeing with pamphlets in a dozen different languages, and there was an option of buying some headphones and an audio guide with the program. Considering the experience with the Botanical Gardens, I decided to pass on that.
We took our seats, and of course I was behind a woman with massive hair. There's always a lady with big hair when you go to show. There should be a height restriction or something--like at carnival rides, only in reverse. Whenever they introduced certain parts of the program, they first said it in Japanese, and then they repeated it in English...complete with a British accent. I don't know if I mentioned this in the last post, but everything English in Kyoto is pronounced in a British voice, while Tokyo has a decidedly American dialect. I'm not sure why.
The first act of the show was a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. They asked for a volunteer from the crowd to act as the customer for the ceremony. A Japanese woman towards the front raised her hand and went over to the far side of the room. Then, an older woman (probably in her fifties or so) sat at a table in full kimono garb and started the very complicated process of making the tea. A voice-over explained what she was doing at the same time. First, she used a chakin (a white cloth) to clean the cup, and set about whisking the tea (or matcha) into a green, foamy broth with powder, hot water, and a chasen (tea whisk). Everything was seeped with protocol and tradition. All of the tools had to be set down in a certain order, and everything was performed in a very ritualistic way. When the tea was finally presented to the guest, they bowed to each other, and then the guest had to rotate the cup and drink from the back. It was all very complex and interesting to watch. The actual cup was presented to the guest by a younger woman, probably an apprentice, who came out in the middle to help the first woman.
Tea Ceremony
Next up was a performance of the koto, a Japanese stringed instrument that kind of resembles a harp. It derived from China during the seventh and eighth centuries, and then made its way over to Japan. It was originally played before the royal court, but now it's used in everything from jazz to rock bands. It sounds similar to a shamisen, but it has more of a Middle Eastern vibe to it. Two women came out to play them--one taking the melody and the other taking the bass parts. It was a very pretty sound to hear, but I didn't recognize any particular tune or rhythm to it. It must be a continuously flowing thing.
Koto Music
Next was a demonstration of Ikebana, or flower arrangement. As the koto players performed on the same stage, a young woman came out with an empty bowl and some cut flowers. In the course of a few minutes, she managed to put them together and arrange them into a spiraling design at the center of the container. It started out as a funeral ritual of offering flowers to the dead, and has since turned into a major Japanese art form. There are various techniques and methods behind it, but I have no way of telling the difference. I tried my hand at making one back before the vacation period, and I was fairly happy with how it turned out. This woman, however, pulled off something way better than my attempt in the course of one song.
Ikebana, or Flower Arranging
The next act was another musical performance. This time it was a Gagaku dance performed by a man in an elaborate, brightly-colored costume and mask. Gagaku music dates back to the eight century and is considered court music. It's a very elegant dance style that involves a lot of slow, coordinated movements and the use of a wand for emphasis. Off to the side, a group of musicians were playing live music on drums and flutes. The actual dance is called "Bugaku." "Gagaku" refers to the music alone. I thought it was very interesting to watch, and it definitely seemed like something from another era.
Bugaku Dancing and Gagaku Music
After the dance was concluded, they announced the start of an old Japanese play. I think the style might have been "kyogen," but I'm not sure. It was basically a light-hearted comedy about a master and his two incompetent servants. The master needs to go into town on business, but he's afraid that his servants will drink all of his sake while he's gone, so he ties them up to keep them out of trouble. Hilarity ensues. Towards the end, despite being tied up, they manage to get drunk and are enjoying themselves when he returns home. He leans over them in anger and they continue talking, unaware of his presence. Then one of them sees his reflection in the sake cup and remarks that the lord is trying to haunt them with his stern visage. At the end, the lord chases them off the stage with a stick. It was pretty entertaining. I happened to see the exact same play for International Playhouse in Santa Cruz, so I knew exactly what was going on. I didn't mind seeing it again at all.
A Japanese Comedy
The next act was my personal favorite--a Geisha dance. Two girls in full make-up and kimono dress came out, looking very graceful and delicate. Those kimonos probably cost thousands of dollars and have multiple layers underneath, but they still looked like tiny dolls. Traditionally, these dances were performed in cramped teahouses for paying customers, so the movements are designed for limited space and dancing on a single tatami mat. All of the moves were very graceful and practiced. The simple action of lifting up the sleeve at the wrist, turning to the side, and taking one step was done so elegantly that you know that they rehearsed each moment studiously. The one in the light gray kimono was Maiko Takahiro and the other one was named Yukako. I really enjoyed their performance. It was very cool to watch in person.
Geisha Dancers, and massive hair.
The last act of the program was a bunraku play about two lovers who are forbidden from being together--kind of like Romeo and Juliet, but with a happier ending. Bunraku plays are old Japanese puppet shows, with three or four marionettes dressed in black manipulating the puppet to move. It was pretty impressive how realistic it looked. I tried to ignore the guys in black and pretend that it was moving by itself. At the same time, cherry petals (or at least colored paper) fell from the ceiling, gongs chimed, and priests chanted in the background. When it got to her lines, her voice was done in a very strange dialect and probably voiced by a man. I couldn't understand a word of it, but it was very musical to hear. The play ended with her climbing the bell tower to warn her lover of a trap to have him killed.
A Bunraku puppet play
And that was the end of the show. We filed out and talked a bit about it on the way home. I think it was worth the expensive entry fee, considering all of the things that were jam-packed into the program. We decided not to take a cab home since it was within half an hour's walk from the ryokan. Gion District is a sight to behold at night. Geisha and women in kimonos walk along the dimly-lit streets arm-in-arm with businessmen in suits, and some pose demurely for photos from tourists. All of the streets are narrow and ancient in appearance--kind of like walking through a period film sometimes. There were several times when the four of us made a turn off the main road and went down a back alley that no one else was using. And that wasn't creepy or dangerous at all. Despite being so shadowy and mysterious, I never go the sense of shady business or crime going on. Everything seemed very safe and open. I enjoyed the walk back a lot. I could've explored around there for hours, but we were pretty exhausted after our day.
By sheer luck, we managed to stumble onto something amazing, though. In the lobby of the ryokan, I had noticed a flyer advertising a light-up cherry blossom show somewhere in Gion, but since I had no idea where that certain street was, I had shaken it off. We somehow found our way their by accident and saw the most amazing display of sakura lights. I was leading the group, and just as we were passing over a stone bridge, I turned my head and saw this avenue of cherry trees festooned with lights and lanterns. People were milling around underneath, taking pictures and watching the petals fall into the river below. It was the most beautiful sight. I'm so glad that we happened to find it by coincidence.
There were a lot of geisha there, too, and it's a shame that I couldn't get a picture of them. By the time we got back to the ryokan, we were still on a high from the events of the evening. But there was one more thing that we planned to do: drink.
I was perfectly fine with crashing face-first into my cot back at the ryokan, but Nozomi and Maru threw out the suggestion of going out for yakitori (fried chicken). I think, under normal circumstances, I would've been less enthusiastic about it, but I was in the moment, and the night was young, so why not? We went to a Lawson's convenience store first and picked up some snacks. Then they found this tiny little hole-in-the-wall bars just a block from the ryokan. This place was seriously low-key. It was type of place where you would walk by it and never see it unless you were looking for it. All it had was a faded sign out front.
We went in and were treated to a completely non-tourist y atmosphere. The room consisted of a smoke-filled bar with locals nursing a beer, and pictures of former customers plastered all over the walls. We took a table in the back, off to the side, and a disinterested guy, probably the owner, came by with some menus. It was all in kanji that I couldn't read, so Lisa and I left the decision-making up to Maru and Nozomi. We figured that chicken was chicken--what could they possibly mess up with that? Oh, we were so wrong.
Drinks came, and I ordered a simple orange juice. Yeah, I'm four. But I didn't really feel like drinking much because I knew that it would make it harder to wake up in the morning. I sat there and chugged half of it in one go, while Lisa ordered some sort of blended drink. I forget what Maru and Nozomi drank--maybe some beer.
Then the food arrived. It looked very suspicious. I could tell that it was meat, but it looked to dark and...purple to be normal chicken. With great wariness, I asked the tutors what they had ordered. They said a word, but Lisa and I didn't recognize it, so they typed it up in the electronic dictionary. Then they turned the screen around to face us: LIVER. Great. They ordered chicken liver. I decided to pass on that and wait for the next course, because they ordered several platters.
The next plate came and I was as dubious about this one as the last plate. This course turned out to be "Chicken Heart." Once again: pass. Lisa and I stared at it with open revulsion, and the tutors couldn't figure out why we weren't eating. We explained that we generally just eat the wings, breast, and legs in America. We generally don't eat the insides. They were stunned by that.
The third platter came and it was the worst of all: gristle. Gristle. Who eats gristle just by itself?! It was literally fat on a stick. And fried. That was the last straw. I decided that I was hungry, and the courses were getting progressively worse, so I tried one heart and one liver. There, I did it. I can say that I ate that now. Don't ask me what they tasted like, though. I just chewed and swallowed as fast as I could. Lisa did me one better and ate some gristle. She said it tasted like she had accidentally speared a piece of meat that she had cut off and meant to throw away. Ugh.
Finally, some normal meat came by--I think they were legs. I grabbed one of those and ate away at that. I'm not a big chicken fan in general, so even that was a bit of a challenge to get through.
The last plate was the most ridiculous. Lisa and I already knew that it was something horrible the moment it was set down. With great reluctance, we asked what it was. SPARROW. Yes, fried sparrow. It was horrible. It looked like they had literally plucked the poor thing and thrown it into a vat of oil, head and feet still attached and everything. I hope that it was already dead beforehand, because the face was frozen in a death cry. It was so sad to look at--like someone's pet being served as dinner. Luckily, they had only ordered two of those, so we were spared the option of trying one. Lisa and I didn't even hesitate before pushing them towards the tutors. All yours. Enjoy.
And that was basically the night. The downside of the bar was that we had to pay for food that we barely touched at all. They ordered all of that food, and it came down to about ten bucks a person. I was kind of peeved about that, but they had no way of knowing that we wouldn't like that kind of stuff. Oh well. After that, we went straight upstairs and got ready for bed. They went to the onsen again, and I opted for the private bath option once again. I was out like a light before they got back.
The Bar
So that was Day Two. The next one should be up sooner, since it's shorter. Congrats on making it through this epic post!