Kyoto 京都
Tuesday 30th September - Friday 3rd October
Arrival and day one in Tokyo
Normally, I find, you catch an early flavour of the country that you are visiting when you travel from the airport to the first place of stay. Arrival in Osaka seemed different though and apart from an airport terminal that was run with unassuming slick efficiency and a taxi driver who was extremely polite and obviously proud of the many cameras and digital displays that adorned his dashboard, the place felt like it could be anywhere in the world. in spite of getting a lot more sleep on the second flight compared to the first, we were both really tired and with smooth roads and a carful driver, I drifted in and out of consciousness for the duration of the hour and a half journey to Kyoto. At 5.30 in the evening It was already dark and time I drifted back into life the limited view through the window was the same, a flyover through industrial city suburbs and a queue of traffic.
As we got nearer to The Royal Park Hotel Kyoto Sanyo the surroundings suddenly changed as we arrived into the throng of a very busy city centre. It was great to finally arrive after over 24 hours of travel and the temptation to crash and burn was high but with our body clock still set in UK time at about lunchtime, we decided that we had to push on and get out to explore our hood a little.
The corner of our block
When we stepped back outside it was raining lightly but the cooling nature of this actually made the walking more pleasant and also, a lot of the pavements were covered anyway. The streets were packed and the first thing that we noticed at the intersection on the corner of our block was that everyone stood and patiently waited for the green walking man before stepping foot onto the road. We learn later that jaywalking is strictly prohibited which, in a society that is seemly preoccupied with conforming, means that nobody crosses the road until they have been given a clear signal that it is safe to do so!
Take the last two noughts off and divide by two to get GBP price.
After ambling aimlessly for half an hour or so our stomachs told us it was time to eat. The options seemed endless and as we were low on energy, we weren’t inclined to spend too much time on fussing with trip advisor scores, we landed on what looked local and busy.
Oodles of noodles in our ramen dishes and a huge amount of food with beer came to less than £10 each. A great start to our culinary experience and we returned to the hotel happy, full and very tired but also excited to have arrived in Japan for the start of our adventure.
Whilst out I was totally amazed that I could pick up a few words of spoken Japanese. Unsurprisingly though, when it came to speaking anything in this new language, I was all at sea and quickly resorted to pointing and mumbling the odd ‘konichiwa’ (hello) and ‘kudasai’ (please). Must try harder.
We awoke on what we thought might be Wednesday but couldn’t be sure in our heads as we had slept so well it could easily have been Thursday already.
We had two free days before the group tour started but our tour guide, Patrick was already in the hotel prepping for the trip and greeting his new entourage of keen campers as they trickled in from various pre tour stopping points. He was waiting in the lobby for us in the morning. First impressions count for a lot and these were some of ours; putting camp into Kampai, pink Tamagochi🐹, Thai / American, a bit of a rabbit in headlights looking like he is in a hurry to move on. He soon relaxed and we chatted through the options for our first few days in Kyoto.
We opted for a local bus ride out to the northwest of the city to the golden temple which is one of the 17 UNESCO world heritage sites located in this ancient capital. (Kyoto translates directly to capital (Kyo) city (to) which this place was from its foundation in 784 AD through to the middle of the 19th century).
The 205 bus arrived soon after we got to the stop which was only a couple of minutes walk from our hotel. The instructions that Patrick had given us were straightforward; get on at the back, get off at the front whilst chucking the designated flat fare rate of 230 Yen (£1.15) into the bucket.
The bus was packed for most of the 30 minute journey and I had plenty of opportunities to mutter sumimasen (excuse me) in unison with the oh so polite locals as they squeezed on and off. The announcements for each stop were delivered in Japanese and English which was very helpful both to understand where we were and to compare words for each language.
On arrival at Kingkaku-ji, it was very clear from the hoards of tourists which way we needed to go to get to the entrance of the temple complex. It did feel as though we were joining more than a fair share of the 40 million tourists that visit the city each year. There was a high contingent of groups of very polite Japanese school children that delighted in calling out ‘hello’ to all Westerners that they passed which included a fair proportion of not so polite French tourists that were looking pretty grumpy at not being addressed with ‘Bonjour’.
Smartly dressed police officers directed the sea of people at each road crossing keeping us safe from the traffic that surely could only bring using this route because the drivers liked waiting for the blue man to tell them to go.
The entrance fee was 500 Yen (£2.50 but you must be getting the hang of this by now) which seemed very reasonable. We walked the worn path on a highly controlled route around the complex of gardens stopping at the prescribed ‘photo opportunity’ points where we waited our turn to take the obligatory selfie shot with the mirror lake and temple behind.
There they all are taking ‘the’ shot
The building was impressive but no entry was allowed and any of the other structures were swamped with tourists so by the time we had completed the circuit we were a little underwhelmed. Pauline consoled herself with an ice cream which, like every other, was photographed for Instagram in the designated selfie spot!
We moved on and continued the 205 circular bus route and alighted at Kyoto main station. A strange choice maybe but this is the location of the much acclaimed piece of architecture by Hiroshi Hara built in 1997. We entered at street level into the vast ten storey high atrium the wings of which contain a huge all encompassing department store. We rode the escalators that rose out of the western end of the tremendous space to the sky garden at the 11th floor to take in the spectacular city views and read the archibollocks about the building’s concept.
Kyoto station concourse level with a view to the escalators going ever up to the sky garden
Archibollocks
Back down we go
Returning to street level we headed back north towards the hotel and started to feel a little more tuned into the city layout and feel.
Organised since its founding in a grid pattern the tightly packed streets, where cultures ancient and modern nestle together in balanced harmony, are divided into wide boulevards with shops and offices up to ten storeys high then narrower side streets, that are often covered, of two to three storey shops and houses and lastly there are narrow alleyways lined with small buildings whose roofs kiss into each other to form a perpetual twilight zone. Almost without exception all of the main roads and many of the side streets are a bustling melee of people and cars purposely moving along in organised chaos. We are beginning to love it.
Very shortly after leaving the station we came across a vast complex of temples that barely received a mention in the Lonely Planet but to us were way more impressive than the Golden Temple. As much as anything, this had a lot to do with the fact that very few other people were visiting and so we were free to wander at will and able to wonder at the marvels at our own pace.
The building complex of Higasi Hongan - Ji was rebuilt at the end of the nineteenth century after a devastating fire had wiped out the previous medieval wooden structures. In spite of the previous carnage, the new buildings are in timber and the main hall with its elaborately decorated interior boasts being the second largest in Japan.
Reassured that we would, after all, be taken with the beauty of Kyoto we criss crossed the grid of streets in a Northeastern direction and back to the hotel.
Standard homogeneous brand names were aplenty on the high street but alongside them other shops were genuinely local. We know already
that when we return home, our bags are going to be a lot fatter than when we arrived
Old and new sit side by side
By the time that we got back to the hotel it was dark again and also time to go out and eat after a freshen up. Our energy was sapped though and it wasn’t long before we just picked the next restaurant that we saw and chanced our luck. We were! The Japanese tapas that we had hit the spot perfectly as small plate after small plate hit the table and were quickly consumed along with some local beer.
It should have been enough to guarantee a good night’s sleep but jet lag kicked in for me at around 2.00am and it was not until around 5.30 that I managed to get back to a deep sleep.
Day two before meeting the tour group
It was 10.00am before we woke and we had missed breakfast. Fortunately the hotel allowed the voucher to be swapped out for lunch so we ate brunch at 11.30 before heading out. The difference in the spread of food was only discernible by the absence of granola and dried out croissant so all was good.
Mixing it up a bit and testing our navigational skills, we decided to take on the train system. We did pretty well once we had worked out that the local train station across the river was in fact an underground line and did not have an overground option as we had understood from TLP (The Lonely Planet). I would like to be able to claim that I worked out the Japanese on the ticket machine but I couldn’t so just pressed the button that said ‘English’.
For Fushimi Onari take the blue, orange or black train. Simples!
In the Southeastern corner of Kyoto Fushimi Onari is a vast complex of paths and shrines that run 4km up the slopes of the mountains that surround the city. Across the paths there are seemingly endless arcades of vermilion Torii gates that have been donated over hundreds of years by patrons wishing to gain favour from the gods.
As with the Golden Temple yesterday the direction of travel to get to the shrine complex was very evident from the volume of tourists heading that way.
Torii gates are used extensively in the Shinto religion that was predominant in Japan before Buddhism and represent a gateway between the mundane and the sacred world where deities (referred to as Kami) reside. Worshipers should bow before going through and turn to bow again once on the other side. Mortals should stay close to the edges as the middle of the path is reserved for Kami.
With so many gates so close together the practicality of carrying out the ritual bowing was pretty much impossible to follow. It seemed that the mentality is that if your going to break one rule then, what the hell, you might as well go the whole hog and march right up through the middle of each and every one of the gates that you come to.
The crowds thin out more as the higher we go and whilst it is hard work, we have a great afternoon walking around.
Statues of foxes are everywhere and we learn that they represent messengers of the rice and sake god Inari. He clearly has a lot to say !
We returned back to the station via another entrance and back to the hotel for a short rest before meeting the tour group.
Fifteen shades of grey
Well here we are (apart from the Maiko in the centre of the picture. The photo is from a visit to a Geisha training house that we went to the next day)
We met in the lobby and then went straight out for a meal that was included within our package. A chance to acquaint ourselves with our fellow travelers for the next two weeks. It was quickly clear that the tactic of paying premium and looking for a tour that was more off the beaten track had attracted a bunch of like minded people. We were not, it seemed, going to have to endure bargain basement seekers nor the perpetually unimpressed nor, judging by the age demographic, were we going to have to excuse ourselves from an enthusiasm for seeking out adventure in a Kareoke bar.
Mostly retired, the party of 14 plus our tour leader are split in nationality between 7 Brits (including us) 1 Aussie and 6 Yanks. The thing that we all share is some shade of grey hair! (Some dyed and in the case of Max, the 25 year old son of the couple from Manchester, blond fleck highlights that look like they could be grey from a distance). The other things that a vast majority of us have in common is a long list of aching a decrepit body parts with the most common being knackered knees.
The women outnumber the men by 9 to 5 and two of those have left their husbands at home.
The meal at the next door restaurant went well even with the slightly cringy moment of standing up in turn to introduce ourselves. Amazingly, I think that we might all get on!
Kyoto day three - the tour begins
The new day brought with it the start of a new regime of action packed activities and by 8.30 we were already breakfasted and in taxis on our way northwest to Ginkaku-Ji otherwise known as the Silver Pavilion. A bit confusing as you can see from the picture above it’s white with a brown roof🧐 Turns out that shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa ran out of cash and couldn’t afford to cover it in silver after he built it in 1492.
The building and the setting were beautiful. This was our first taste of a proper Japanese landscape and it was stunning. The only problem now is that I am now continually racking my brain to work out where in my garden I can fit in a bit of brushed sand, a series of ponds, moss banks and a large number of ornamental trees!
I want that one
The itinerary was full on as we left the Silver Pavilion to walk the path of the philosopher that meandered through a quiet residential area along the side of a canal.
Some 30minutes later, we arrived at another impressive villa, this time built by Emperor Go-Mizuno in the 1650s (I thought that was a name of a golf club manufacturer but perhaps this guy knocked those out as well).
Nobody gets past me
Serenity
Every detail is remarkable in the craft and care taken to create it.
More taxis followed and we were whisked to the market for lunch. Tourist central and mega busy but the gyoza we had were really good!
The last stop of the day was at the Geisha house to have an audience and tea ceremony with a trainee Maiko (trainee Geisha that is 20 years old or under). Before going we thought that the whole thing maybe a bit staged and dumbed down for the tourist market but all of the way through it felt very genuine from the house to the performance, and the way that she dealt with questions were all authentic and left us feeling privileged to see into another way of life.
The humble abode in the geisha district
By the time we had been out to dinner at an udon restaurant we were truly pooped and ready for bed. I had forgotten how much you can fit in with a group tour and how little time is left over to read about where you have been and what you are doing next let alone finding time for writing a tome like this blog!