kyoto -four-
Dec/051
day four had an itenerary that took us all over kyoto. half the stuff we wanted to see and do was far to the west side of the city, and the other half was in the eastern part. as it was our last day to really see kyoto, we had to mop up all the things we hadn’t seen yet in one very busy day.
first on the list was something that a few of us had really, really been looking forward to: the monkey park in western kyoto. the cab ride over took quite a while, and we talked mostly about western food on the way. amazingly enough, several of us had already had awesome hamburgers here in japan – mine was at a place called gusto and it had a fried egg on it. the western edge of the city looked very rural, and very beautiful. there was a river that meandered through the valleys created by the mountains that flanked the city.
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kyoto -three-
Dec/051
the plan for day three was threefold: the imperial palace, kinkakuji (the golden pavillion, one of kyoto’s most famous structures), and fushimi inari shrine. unfortunately, when we arrived at the imperial palace (you have to apply for entrance with your passport and wait several hours while they run checks on you), we found it was closed for the duration of our stay in kyoto (like us, they were observing the national holiday). here’s a locked gate.. yay!
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kyoto -two-
Dec/050
first up on the agenda for day two in kyoto was kiyomizudera – a holy spring water temple. a monk went in search of a holy place to build a temple and found the spring where kiyomizudera now resides. on the way there, we found this really important temple that was the final resting place of the founder of a fairly major sect of japanese buddhism (sorry, i forget which one). surrounding the temple was a massive cemetery that was simply breathtaking.
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kyoto -one-
Dec/050
kyoto was, as i knew it would be, absolutely breathtaking. the city was, well, a city. i’ve seen cities. the temples, though, were amazing. never in my life have i seen areas like i did in kyoto. i say “areas” instead of “buildings” because the temples and shrines are much more than just structures. there’s a feeling you get when you see these places that i’m not a good enough writer to explain. it’s just.. beautiful.
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merry xmas
Dec/051
what an amazing christmas day i had…
around 4pm a friend named shiho came and picked me up. the drive out to asana’s house was long enough that it would have taken me all day to walk – so i was very thankful for the ride. we passed this lake on our left that had the most beautiful little islands dropped into it here and there – many of which had temple or shrine type buildings at their crest.
here’s a picture of the living room in asana’s house.
this is her parent’s house – it’s a traditional house built the way that their ancestors built houses. the main room had no tattami, but sleeping rooms did. beautiful hardwood floors, and the main structure of the house was amazingly put together with no nails at all. they use whole tree trunks, and cut through the handcarved beams to fit each piece with the others. it was truly beautiful. there was a “small house” in the rafters for the land god who resides in the area where they built the house. they asked permission of their land god before they began building the house, and as it neared completion, they built a place for him to stay comfortably since they were merely guests in his area.
the ladies hard at work cooking (left to right: ryoko, shiho, amanda, asana)
stuffing the bird (the stuffing was amazing!)
cheese and crackers (an appropriate christmas appetizer)
the spectacular finished chicken:
asana and amanda:
clockwise from bottom left: ryoko, asana, shiho, shiho’s husband (sorry, can’t remember names!), asana’s father (hilarious, wonderful man), asana’s mother (very, very nice!), luigi (a newer J.E.T. that came over – click here to learn about J.E.T.!), and me.
asana’s father, me, and shiho’s husband spent a good hour or so killing a bottle of sake while they asked questions and told stories. asana’s father told me some wonderful stories about fishing techniques, like this one where they take this duck-like bird who catches a certain type of fish very well, tie it up and let it go feed in the river. since it swallows the fish whole, after a while they just pull the bird back in and force it to vomit up the fish. resourceful, but odd! another way to catch the same type of fish is called “friendship fishing”, and it’s where they use one live fish to catch many more. these fish are very territorial – so one live fish is directed into the territory of other fish (but it’s a trap! the fish has a line of hooks trailing behind it). when they attack, they get caught in the hooks. apparently, it works much better than you’d think it would (or at least, that i’d think it would). he told me an ancient chinese proverb: “if you want to be happy for a day, eat a good meal. if you want to be happy for a year, get married. if you want to be happy for your whole life, learn to fish.” i thought it was wonderful. =)
merry christmas, and a happy new year! i’m leaving for kyoto in 2 days, so i might not have a post for a while. be patient!