Steve here, reporting live from the K's House lounge. What to tell you?
As Mom and Bob were being pampered at the ryokan, Susie, Ted, Mae, Kelsey, and I were living the austere life at a temple in northern Kyoto. Sort of austere, anyway. They did give us tea and cookies, but only after we'd spent some time meditating in a slightly less than comfy pose. So there.
But dinner was interesting. The temple reverend who greeted us had gone to school in the US and had an American-born wife, so his English was pretty sublime. We asked him for a dinner recommendation, and he pointed us toward Kitchen Raku Raku, as I believe it was called. We found it -- a brightly painted establishment, like something you'd find in Santa Cruz -- and peeked inside the door with much trepidation, which is pretty-much my default mental state whenever trying a new restaurant in Japan.
The immediate inside looked much like somebody's house, so I backed off pretty quickly. Then a moment later a smiling lady invited us in, and we sat at a long bar while she and a friendly fellow with a hat (possibly her husband?) cooked us tempura, salad, and a sort of Italian-ish, eggplant-and-potato-with-cheese-and-tomato sauce kinda thing. The guy introduced himself as Akira (as in Kurosawa), and had English maybe a bit better than my Japanese, so we had us a broken-as-hell conversation about where we were from, how long we'd been in Japan, etc. He also showed us a video starring himself and a plastic flamingo having various adventures, mostly involving guitars and skateboards. (That flamingo has him some sweet moves. If I were more up on my skater lingo, I'd insert some here. Given my ignorance, please insert your own.)
After cooking us a fine dinner -- during which I successfully ordered hot sake for Ted using my new (and apparently fairly accurate) phrase for hot sake: "nihonshu atsukan de" -- they recommended us a place for breakfast. After getting Susie, Ted, and Mae safely back to the temple...well, that's not quite true. Understand that the temple where we were staying was just one small temple in a huge complex of other temples, so you'll forgive me when I report that I was trying to open the door of the wrong temple when a friendly passerby (whom I suspect was the reverend's American wife) pointed out that our temple was further down. So then Susie, Ted, and Mae were safely back at the correct temple, and Kelsey and I went scouting for Akira's recommendation for breakfast.
The complex of temples was quite lovely, even in the darkling light. (And yes, if Tolkien can use the word "darkling," then so can I, dammit.) So we found the other way out of the temple complex and wandered in the dark for awhile, sampling vending-machine "milk teas" 'long the way, and eventually found our breakfast spot. Then it was back to our austere accommodations for a night listening to some violent winds batter our little guesthouse. Next morning, the reverend casually mentioned the typhoon that had come through. Oh, is that all?
So, after a rushed breakfast so that we could get back to the temple for 9am zazen (that's sitting meditation in the Zen tradition, all you who aren't up on your Buddhist vocab), we sat in much serenity in the temple meditation room. During this I requested a whack from the "stick of compassion," which is what you get whacked with if you're falling asleep or otherwise losing concentration during meditation and would like a wake-up. Apparently it's supposed to hit pressure-points in the upper back to both relax and wake one up. It didn't hurt as much as I'd thought it would, though I suspect he was going easy on me.
Then it was a quick tour of the temple, which has some interesting paintings that use forced perspective (just like in the Lord of the Rings films!) and a Catholic church bell (made in 1577, by current accounts) that was protected by the temple during WWII when the Japanese military was melting down lots of metal artifacts to make munitions. Apparently the then-head of the temple (the grandfather of our reverend, I believe) had a friend who was a Baptist pastor, and put the temple in some danger by hiding that bell. So now you know. Ponder this well.
After getting back to K's, we hit the Moss Temple (as Bob has already told you about), and also Sagano bamboo forest, which was pretty impressive. Totally like that scene in House of Flying Daggers, 'cept without the superhuman Chinese dudes and the blind girl who wasn't really blind.
Which just about brings us to today, which involved Kiyomizudera, a temple full of school kids. Bob got interviewed by some kids who had apparently been assigned to find an English-speaking Westerner and ask him/her some simple questions (e.g., "What's your favorite Japanese food?"). When Kelsey and I were walking around, we both swear we heard some kids behind us say something like "Jakku S'paro!" So it's possible I still bear a resemblance to a certain Johnny Depp role.
And shopping! Oh, the shopping. Okay, Kelsey and I didn't really do that much, but the other folks had bags a-bursting with souvenirs. Also saw Heian Jingu, a lovely shrine with amazing gardens, which contained both koi and turtles, who occasionally clashed over the bits of bread thrown them by the shrine visitors. Didn't see any herons like we saw two years ago, but we did see a duck. He was brown.
Found a new shrine on the way to the Philosopher's Walk -- a new shrine with bunnies! Rabbits are apparently the servants of the kami enshrined there, and I wanted to buy a charm as a souvenir, but there were no English labels and I feared accidentally buying a fertility charm or something.
Our attempt at the Philosopher's Walk met with only some success. It began with the gate of Eikan-Do (a Pure Land Buddhist temple) putting out their "Closed" sign exactly as we were approaching. Whether it was an odor thing, we can't say for sure. But both Honen-In and Ginkakuji, two temples I'd wanted to show Kelsey, were both closed by the time we arrived. So we might try again on Thursday. Though the weather (for a change) was lovely, and it was a very nice walk, despite the closed temples.
Just got a late dinner at Bob's very favoritest yakitori place, and tomorrow we might be headed for Nara (to see the massive bronze Buddha) and Fushimi (to see the Inari shrine with innumerable torii gates).
And that's the way it is.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Temples, and How!
Bob here. It's early and the monks will start chanting in an hour or so. It's the 750th anniversary of the Shinran Buddhist sect founding, so it's a big year here. 750 years! Buddhism took 1000 years to reach Japan, but it took very strong hold...
This is our third day in Kyoto. Today it's temples and shopping. I found our yakitori place on my walk this morning, so maybe I'll find some takers tonight.
We found a guide via Chris Rowthorn, since I thought there were a couple of places a native speaker would really be an asset. Her name is Mayumi Morooka and she has been wonderful. The first night here she took us through the Geisha quarter, where we had a sublime tempura dinner. Yesterday she took us to Saiho-ji, also known as the Moss Temple and Kokedera by the locals. It's closed to the public, so she paved the way for us with the abbot. We traced a sutra with an inkstone and brush while a Zen monk chanted. The repetition (sp?) of the chant and our brush strokes was transporting in an interesting way. The gardens there are some of the best in Kyoto. As you might imagine, there was moss everywhere, along with water and one waterfall that was designed not to have water (very Zen). Beautiful place, it reminded me of the rain forest in Puerto Rico.
K's House has been great again; I think Cathy's coping with the tatami/futon sleeping arrangement. Keeping her caffeine habit supplied with breakfast at 8 am has been hard. I picked up a cold somewhere along the way, and blowing your nose in public is NOT done, so I'm doing a lot of sniveling.
This is our third day in Kyoto. Today it's temples and shopping. I found our yakitori place on my walk this morning, so maybe I'll find some takers tonight.
We found a guide via Chris Rowthorn, since I thought there were a couple of places a native speaker would really be an asset. Her name is Mayumi Morooka and she has been wonderful. The first night here she took us through the Geisha quarter, where we had a sublime tempura dinner. Yesterday she took us to Saiho-ji, also known as the Moss Temple and Kokedera by the locals. It's closed to the public, so she paved the way for us with the abbot. We traced a sutra with an inkstone and brush while a Zen monk chanted. The repetition (sp?) of the chant and our brush strokes was transporting in an interesting way. The gardens there are some of the best in Kyoto. As you might imagine, there was moss everywhere, along with water and one waterfall that was designed not to have water (very Zen). Beautiful place, it reminded me of the rain forest in Puerto Rico.
K's House has been great again; I think Cathy's coping with the tatami/futon sleeping arrangement. Keeping her caffeine habit supplied with breakfast at 8 am has been hard. I picked up a cold somewhere along the way, and blowing your nose in public is NOT done, so I'm doing a lot of sniveling.
Ryokan Ruminations
This is Cathy. Tonight is Monday. I'm so tired, just coming up with that info was a struggle. Bob and I spent last night at a ryokan, a hotsy-totsy, classy Japanese-style inn. We were welcomed, and of course given different shoes for the stay. The man at the desk confirmed our reservation for a kaiseki dinner that night and breakfast in the morning, and then the hostess took us to our room and seated us at the table in the middle. She was down on her knees to speak with us immediately, but we, having a different kind of knees, lowered ourselves with some care and as much grace as we could muster.
She then said that since we would not be having dinner, she would like to schedule our bath and breakfast. Bob, ever the diplomat, said that since we wouldn't be having breakfast, we would be especially hungry and would like the earliest breakfast. She put us down for 7:30. Ah but when would we like our bath? Well, that would depend on when we'd eaten. The conversation took one of those Japanese merry-go-rounds, with nobody saying that there was a problem, that we really had already paid for dinner and we'd been expecting it, but of course that was difficult because we weren't going to have dinner.
Fast forward--we called the desk and got it straight, and everybody was very nice about the whole thing. So there we were, seated across the table from each other, each of us in our yukatas, folded properly left-over-right, because otherwise we would have been considered dead people, and of course we wouldn't need dinner in that case. I'm sorry I can't remember each of the courses. There were about 13 dishes, 2-3 of them served at once. There was soup at the end of the meal, miso. There were assorted pickles. There were 3 pieces of Kobe beef that we cooked in little ceramic grills, along with some sweet onions and something that had a muscular texture and made me suspicious it was octopus. I ate mine, but I wouldn't choose to do that again. Bob ate half of his, and then dropped the other half on the floor, a wise move on his part. But he DID eat the entire dish that was gloppy and stringy, like raw egg white. We were never sure exactly what that was, but I was SO impressed with my spouse, because I knew he was appalled at the textures going down his throat. There was sashimi (raw fish), and grilled fish and fried fish. There was one little delightfully braided piece of fish that was braided in a raw state and then cooked. There were vegetables I've never ever met before, and others that were close relatives to some I have met.
I have to say that I cannot remember how long it's been since Bob and I have spent 90 minutes eating together, just the two of us. Well, we're old, and memories fail. Dessert came, after the rice, and that was poached apples with some whipped cream garnish that was supposed to look like a couple of cherries, deep fried pasta for the stems. Not really Asian, but like everything else, presented with care and a sense of balance and eye appeal. Really, it was art.
Well, I'm afraid this computer is going to run out of time. Breakfast--and we DID ask for the Western breakfast--was cornflakes and a fried egg and ham and an orange slice. We are too timid to eat fish for breakfast. Call us faint of heart. We can take it. Oh, I forgot to tell you about the bath!! Well, you sit on a little wooden stool to clean yourself, and then rinse, and ease into an enormous hot tub. I have to tell you Bob was great at that, but he could sit. If I'd've sat in that thing, I'd drown, and you'd not get this letter. And I'd've not needed that dinner, come to think. Perhaps they DID know more than we did! Will we do this again? Nope, but it was groovy fun, and a hoot. Goodnight to you all. I REALLY have to get some sleep now!!
She then said that since we would not be having dinner, she would like to schedule our bath and breakfast. Bob, ever the diplomat, said that since we wouldn't be having breakfast, we would be especially hungry and would like the earliest breakfast. She put us down for 7:30. Ah but when would we like our bath? Well, that would depend on when we'd eaten. The conversation took one of those Japanese merry-go-rounds, with nobody saying that there was a problem, that we really had already paid for dinner and we'd been expecting it, but of course that was difficult because we weren't going to have dinner.
Fast forward--we called the desk and got it straight, and everybody was very nice about the whole thing. So there we were, seated across the table from each other, each of us in our yukatas, folded properly left-over-right, because otherwise we would have been considered dead people, and of course we wouldn't need dinner in that case. I'm sorry I can't remember each of the courses. There were about 13 dishes, 2-3 of them served at once. There was soup at the end of the meal, miso. There were assorted pickles. There were 3 pieces of Kobe beef that we cooked in little ceramic grills, along with some sweet onions and something that had a muscular texture and made me suspicious it was octopus. I ate mine, but I wouldn't choose to do that again. Bob ate half of his, and then dropped the other half on the floor, a wise move on his part. But he DID eat the entire dish that was gloppy and stringy, like raw egg white. We were never sure exactly what that was, but I was SO impressed with my spouse, because I knew he was appalled at the textures going down his throat. There was sashimi (raw fish), and grilled fish and fried fish. There was one little delightfully braided piece of fish that was braided in a raw state and then cooked. There were vegetables I've never ever met before, and others that were close relatives to some I have met.
I have to say that I cannot remember how long it's been since Bob and I have spent 90 minutes eating together, just the two of us. Well, we're old, and memories fail. Dessert came, after the rice, and that was poached apples with some whipped cream garnish that was supposed to look like a couple of cherries, deep fried pasta for the stems. Not really Asian, but like everything else, presented with care and a sense of balance and eye appeal. Really, it was art.
Well, I'm afraid this computer is going to run out of time. Breakfast--and we DID ask for the Western breakfast--was cornflakes and a fried egg and ham and an orange slice. We are too timid to eat fish for breakfast. Call us faint of heart. We can take it. Oh, I forgot to tell you about the bath!! Well, you sit on a little wooden stool to clean yourself, and then rinse, and ease into an enormous hot tub. I have to tell you Bob was great at that, but he could sit. If I'd've sat in that thing, I'd drown, and you'd not get this letter. And I'd've not needed that dinner, come to think. Perhaps they DID know more than we did! Will we do this again? Nope, but it was groovy fun, and a hoot. Goodnight to you all. I REALLY have to get some sleep now!!
Friday, May 27, 2011
A Bittersweet Landing in Narita
Steve here, with some important breaking news: Everyone, raise a glass. The ramen shop that so delighted us a year ago with the drunken man of many vigorous crotch gestures...is no more. As far as we can tell, it's now a laudromat.
(*SOB!*)
More on our top story in a minute. In other news, the flight 'cross the Pacific was long and gruelling but uneventful. (I mean, what 10-hour plane flight isn't long and gruelling?) No issues in immigration or baggage claim or customs, and we're now safely ensconced in the Radisson hotel in Narita.
Now that the mudane stuff is out of the way, back to our top story:
While Cathy, Susie, and Jane got up to some mystery doings at the hotel, Bob, Kelsey, Mae, Ted, and I embarked on a jaunt by to find our beloved ramen shop from a year ago. After finding nothing (except that laudromat whose storefront looked so very awfully familiar), we finally asked a couple of gas station attendants, who pointed us toward a different ramen place called "Rokkii." Some more jaunting and eventually we found it, and most of us ordered some plain ol' ramen. The joke, however, was that each order of ramen came in a vessel the size of a helmet. A helmet designed for a hippo. And that was just the regular size. I, feeling extra peckish, made the mistake of ordering the "jamboo" (jumbo) size, which was a bowl approximately the size of your average truck tire. We all made efforts nothing short of Herculean, but none of us managed to drain our bowls. Our first night in Japan, and already we've paid monstrous insult.
So I guess we'll see if our breakfast is poisoned tomorrow. Let's hope the local kami (indigenous spirits and gods) give us a bit of murder-avoiding luck, due to our frank and sincere admiration of Narita's very charming manhole covers. They got baby horses on 'em. Everybody go awwwwwww.
Tomorrow, it's off to the shinkansen ("The powerful locomotive that's faster than a speeding bullet!") to take us to Kyoto, and then I think we've got a tour scheduled soon after we arrive. And we thought this trip was going to be relaxing.
Until later, dearly beloveds.
(*SOB!*)
More on our top story in a minute. In other news, the flight 'cross the Pacific was long and gruelling but uneventful. (I mean, what 10-hour plane flight isn't long and gruelling?) No issues in immigration or baggage claim or customs, and we're now safely ensconced in the Radisson hotel in Narita.
Now that the mudane stuff is out of the way, back to our top story:
While Cathy, Susie, and Jane got up to some mystery doings at the hotel, Bob, Kelsey, Mae, Ted, and I embarked on a jaunt by to find our beloved ramen shop from a year ago. After finding nothing (except that laudromat whose storefront looked so very awfully familiar), we finally asked a couple of gas station attendants, who pointed us toward a different ramen place called "Rokkii." Some more jaunting and eventually we found it, and most of us ordered some plain ol' ramen. The joke, however, was that each order of ramen came in a vessel the size of a helmet. A helmet designed for a hippo. And that was just the regular size. I, feeling extra peckish, made the mistake of ordering the "jamboo" (jumbo) size, which was a bowl approximately the size of your average truck tire. We all made efforts nothing short of Herculean, but none of us managed to drain our bowls. Our first night in Japan, and already we've paid monstrous insult.
So I guess we'll see if our breakfast is poisoned tomorrow. Let's hope the local kami (indigenous spirits and gods) give us a bit of murder-avoiding luck, due to our frank and sincere admiration of Narita's very charming manhole covers. They got baby horses on 'em. Everybody go awwwwwww.
Tomorrow, it's off to the shinkansen ("The powerful locomotive that's faster than a speeding bullet!") to take us to Kyoto, and then I think we've got a tour scheduled soon after we arrive. And we thought this trip was going to be relaxing.
Until later, dearly beloveds.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Gearing Up for Another Trip...
G'day all!
This is a preliminary post for another upcoming trip to Japan, which will include Bob & Cathy, Susie & Ted, Kelsey & Steve, Jane, and Mae. Just so's you know you're at the right place.
Very soon, to the skies!
(And the usual airline aggravation that entails.)
This is a preliminary post for another upcoming trip to Japan, which will include Bob & Cathy, Susie & Ted, Kelsey & Steve, Jane, and Mae. Just so's you know you're at the right place.
Very soon, to the skies!
(And the usual airline aggravation that entails.)
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