Saturday, July 19th: Finally, Kyoto!

I woke up on Saturday morning, bursting with energy and yanked back the curtains to see out the window for my first real glimpse of Kyoto. I was not disappointed and Kyoto is every bit as magical and beautiful as they say.


Before we had left, Hiroko and Mayumi had warned us that Kyoto would be very hot- much more so than Tokyo, due to the fact that it is surrounded on all sides by mountains, and doesn't get much of a breeze. (In fact, they both separately described exactly the same way at separate times, and exactly as I have above.) Kyoto's climate is interesting in that way- it is much hotter than Tokyo in summer and much colder in the winter. But the lush mountains make for such a stunning view!

Basically, we could have packed up right then and I still would have had the time of my life, just looking out the window. But we headed out the door to look for breakfast on our way to Gion.

On the way, we saw lots of Torii Gates heading away from the street, either up hill or down, to various temples. We didn't make it to the one pictured below, but you could see it from the room and I thought it was so pretty in the way it stood out from the houses and greenery.

We passed a few coffee shops on the way, but they were tiny and looked a little imposing, so despite the fact that Stefan wanted a real breakfast, we wound up at a Lawson's again- which was fine by me and had the bonus of having some outdoor seats where we could watch Kyoto stroll and drive by!

I took pictures of our convenience store meal since it is typical of what we usually eat for lunch and also SO GOOD! As you can see, I am having two rice balls- one even has ikura in it (salmon roe), which I love so much.


The noodles come with a mix-it-yourself sauce- this one has some sort of savory sauce to which you can add little scallions and ginger (I do) and sesame seeds (that I don't). Then you just dip the noodles in your sauce and eat away! I have almost managed to learn how to do noodles with chopsticks, and I am drinking a typical girl drink: Jasmine tea!

They have other noodles on offer, including one that appears to have a raw quail egg, but I haven't tried those yet. Cold noodles are so good on a hot day- and it was definitely hot, but not quite so humid as I expected- and they don't make you feel terribly heavy or full, which is good if you plan on walking all day!

The best part of our breakfast was doing some people watching. Lots of little boys in baseball uniforms were walking home, with their sports bags thrown over their shoulders. Just groups and groups of them kept passing us by, or stopping in for something to drink before heading on their way again. One little boy was giving me a wide eyed stare (I am sure because at that point, I was sitting outside by myself), and so I smiled at him. He stiffened up and turned around to hurry off, then thought the better of it, stopped, turned around and gave me a little bow. It was so sweet and charming. I think he didn't know that I saw him looking at me with my glasses on. (Melinda, you *might* recognize those particular sunglasses. Do you think they're big enough?)

Then, we were off to Gion!

Some parts of Gion are more "modern" and this is one of the spots where you can find nightlife in the forms of clubs or bars in Kyoto. We entered Gion through this part of the neighborhood (and you can see the sign that says "Kyoto Gion"). In a way, even the nightclubs honor Gion's past- as a home to many of the tea houses where geisha entertain, it has always been a center of nightlife!

Also, you can see the signs advertising different clubs and/or restaurants on the side of each building, one on top of the other in a long column.

Shortly, though, you wind up in an older, more refined Gion and this is what I have been longing to see! I was so happy to be here and to see real tea houses with my own eyes. The tea houses all looked very private with only doors and walls or windows shaded by screens facing the streets. I think many have interior courtyards. Of course, it would have been unthinkable to have anyone walking by be able to see who was being entertained and by whom. I think tea houses functioned a little bit like a private club in that you could really relax there and not worry that just anyone could find you out.

It was a really beautiful walk through Gion, with little streets passing by streams framed by what I think are willow trees, and peeking down the tiny side alleys- narrow little streets filled with more tiny restaurants and tea houses.





















We also walked by a rack of little fish set out to dry. I don't know what compelled me to take a picture, just that it was nothing I'd ever seen before and it caught my eye. We figured they must be drying to be eaten later...and so take a good look, because we were definitely right about that!

Then we popped out of Gion onto a larger street, Shijo-Dori, at the base of which sits Yasaka Shrine.


Yasaka Shrine's deities protect from illness, and we did get to see a few people ringing the bells. S tells me that ringing the bells summons the spirits and your ancestors. I took a video because the effect is so much more when you can hear the bells yourself.




Then it was back into Gion, past the famous Ichiriki Teahouse, which plays a role in Memoirs of a Geisha (which I reread- for about the tenth time- expressly before we came to Kyoto to help me get even more excited).
This part of Gion is a historically preserved zone, and is extremely clean and well maintained. There was even a sign stating that if you littered, you would be fined $30,000 yen regardless of your status or nationality. (Ahem.) Walking through this part of Gion, you feel as though you have stepped back in time, or if you are me, stepped right into the pages of one of my favorite books. Stefan thought it would be charming to take a video of me walking through the streets of Gion, and it is so cute, although perhaps it might be more so if I wasn't hidden behind another couple. I guess I fail at acting. However, I present it to you here- can you believe how peaceful and quiet it is?




So, you can see we did a little bit of shopping, but I can't tell you what it is- it's a little something for Mom straight from Gion!

We even saw a geisha. I think she is an apprentice geisha, based on the red showing in her bun (called a maiko in Japanese). If I recall correctly, only apprentice geisha wear the red. (Stefan likes to tease me because he knows how excited I am to see a real geisha, and so every woman who walks by in kimono, he nudges me and says, "Look! A Geisha!". Well, lots of women wear kimono out- more than I expected would- but only geishas have these elaborate hair styles and the dramatic white makeup. We had a few false alarms.) I took a picture of her from the back, mainly because I couldn't bear to just take a picture of her so brazenly in the face! Still, she was hauntingly beautiful and elegant- and this I think even her back portrays.

I think we were lucky to see a geisha out and about in the afternoon heat! Because, although it was much drier than Tokyo, it was very, very hot.

We only saw her because we paused in a side street to visit a vending machine...


We're both very grateful at the way vending machines are everywhere.

We also walked past the Minamiza, a well known theater where Kabuki and traditional dances by geisha were performed. This was also on my own private "Memoirs of a Geisha" tour of Kyoto.



Right across from the Minamiza, we boarded the subway for Nijo Castle.



There is a large outer wall where the Ninomaru complex sits. They don't allow pictures in this formal reception hall, but I did take a photo of the description if you care to read it.


Inside, there were beautifully painted screens depicting tigers and leopards, and some that depict cherry trees. They had a room set up with mannequins so you could have an idea of what it was like when the feudal lords (daimyo) came to pay a visit. What was most interesting about this room, to me, was the almost hidden doors in the wall, distinguished by only red tassels for handles. Apparently, the shogun's bodyguards would wait in a little room behind the doors in case they were needed. Another fascinating feature was the nightingale floors. First, we had to remove our shoes to even enter the palace. So, you walk barefoot along the hallways but you can hear as you walk these tiny squeaks- it sounds like little birds. That would be the security system from the late sixteenth century. The floors were designed to give a little bit as you walked, so that the nails and clamps below the floorboards would rub against each other and squeak or chirp a little so that no one could sneak in at night.

Outside, past the interior walls (below)...

...you were able to walk around the gardens surrounding the castle buildings and see the outside of the castle.


There was also a Zen rock garden, which was so peaceful to look at and walk through, even as tired as we were. I had read that these types of gardens are designed to give you a new view with each step, and now know what they mean. I've included one view, but if anyone would like the other two pictures I took, I'll post all three on facebook, rather than subject you all to every picture of everything.



And finally, after a wonderfully long day of sightseeing, we were ready to head home and check out the garden at the pool, designed by "the greatest garden designer of this century", Jihei Ogawa. Apparently, using water in motion was one of his signatures, and so I leave you with this last picture of the waterfall in the hotel's own special garden.

Time to freshen up before Kaiseki dinner!