Rambling in Japan and Cruising Across the Pacific 2005

Kyoto - Saturday

Fernie trotted across to the station about 7 am and came back with some Japanese confections from a self-serve bakery. With tea that we made in our room, they made a delectable and cheap breakfast.

By 8:00 am we were out the door. We bought daypasses for the bus and subway. They were only 600 yen each, so it made sense to buy them. The subway is fairly easy to master - there are only two lines crossing each other in central Kyoto at right angles. Each station is numbered so Karusuma Line stations are K1 and up - north to south and Tozai line stations are T1 and up - east to west.

We got off the Tozai near the Konchi-in at Nanzen-ji temple (ji means temple, so a bit of redundancy here for clarity). Nestled in the eastern mountain side it was so picturesque. It was quiet, perhaps because it wasn't even 9 am yet, as we strolled north along the Philosopher's Path visiting temples and gardens along the way. The canal beside the walkway was lined with an abundance of cherry trees that were nearing the end of their blossoming but still glorious and fragrant. Soft breezes blew the petals like snow, landing in the canal and floating swiftly above the huge black and orange carp that inhabited the stream.

Families strolled; the women with umbrellas to shade them from the sun, children nibbling on green tea ice cream cones and the men taking photos of the blossoms and their families. An elderly gentleman with a sketch book and pastels crouched on the bank drawing the pink-hued scene.

At kiosks along the way, we sampled many delicacies: sugared chestnuts, red bean cakes in the shape of fish, green tea ice cream and cubes of what we think were tofu rolled in a cocoa like powder and served in a bowl with 2 sharp sticks to spear them. I had a bottle of the best lemonade I've ever tasted - "C C - Made with 70 lemons" and a local favourite "Pocari Sweat" a light grapefruity water. The walk is 2 to 3 km long but with the side jaunts up the hills to the temples, the mileage is quadrupled at least. We stopped for lunch halfway to rest our aching feet and we immediately ordered what was to become a regular thing for us - a large bottle (630ml) of Kirin or Ashi beer and two glasses. We were fortunate that the cafe catered to both our tastes by serving sushi and noodles so I had some tasty futo-maki and tofu pockets stuffed with rice -Yummy! while Fernie had tempura with soba noodles in broth - also delish.

We ambled a bit slower after our repast and the sun seemed to have burned off the smog. It was very warm - actually about 20 degrees C and it felt hotter than that with all the climbing up to the temples.

We took a bus over to the Imperial Palace and gardens - so nice to sit down and the bus is so easy to use - enter from the back, leave from the front with buzzers near every 2nd seat and we just inserted our day passes as we got off. The Imperial Palace gardens are vast but they were surprisingly quiet for a Saturday afternoon. The palace was not open - I wonder if it ever is. An electronic beeping, a bit like the beeping of a walk signal, caught our notice. It denoted public restrooms - so clever. I later noticed even on the city streets that the toilets were always beeping to let you know they were there. The floor-mounted receptacles were interesting and their use a skill well-learned if staying in Japan for a while. I think they are probably more sanitary than Western toilets. Tissue is seldom provided but luckily all over town, hawkers hand out packages of facial tissues with advertising on them and they sure come in handy.

A few blocks walk took us to the subway and we tunelled over to Gion, Kyoto's geisha quarter. How lovely to see the maiko's (apprentice geishas) trotting along in tiny prancing steps on their tall wooden thong sandals, faces pasty white, hair bejewelled and with such colourful kimonas and obis. There were many young women dressed in lovely kimonas with obis (sashes) but clean of makeup and little adornment. I'm not sure what their status was.

Just across the Kamo River is 'Pontocho Alley' reclaimed land from a former sandbar dating back to the 17th century. It is lined with tea houses where Geishas entertain their clients and is also the gay quarter and has quaint but pricey restaurants overlooking the river.

It was 6 pm now and exhaustion was setting in, leg muscles wer quivering, feet were pounding and Fernie's hernia was aching - we had been on our feet for 10 hours less maybe one hour for lunch - no wonder! So we took the subway back to Kyoto Station and had dinner at a small station-side restaurant that made Japanese Pizza - actually an omelet topped with a choice of fillings - in my case 'shrimp and green onions' and topped with another omelet. Fernie, the noodle monster, had Udon noodles with kimchee - they were fabulous. And..of course, two large bottles of beer.

We limped back to our hotel where we sat on the edge of the bathtub with our feel soaking in warm soapy water, sipping hot roasted Japanese tea. Once again, we said 'we won't go to sleep until 10pm' but Fernie was breathing heavy by 9pm while I recorded our day. Window open - cool and fresh air, we slept like logs.

posted by O'Leary @ 9:00 PM