cycling around Kyoto

I rented a bike and cycled around Kyoto yesterday. Somehow I find that cycling in a new city is one of the most enjoyable activities when I travel. It enables you to explore and get the feel of a place in a different way than walking, which I also love to do. I feel less like a tourist and more like one of the residents (and with my helmet and dark glasses, who knows I'm a tourist??). Who am I kidding? It's precisely because I'm wearing a helmet (and a dorky one at that- thank you Kris!- red, and covered in stickers) that I stand out, since the Japanese generally don't wear helmets. As it is, I had a slight accident when I rode into the bushes on the side of the cycling path, but only sustained minor scratches on my leg. Here, they drive on the left so that gets some getting used to and they are very reluctant to use their little bells when they go past pedestrians, although to me it seems cyclists ride precariously near the walkers. Kris say the reason they don't use their bells is they're shy!! Kyoto is a cycling friendly city and you can ride along the river and go up and down little alleys and canals lined with charming old homes, and some modern ones too, all with little gardens or at the least, pots of beautiful flowers. I can now see why people find Kyoto so attractive.

I have seen geishas walking on the street, although whether they are are 'real' geishas or simply girls who are 'trying out' the experience for the day, I'm not sure.

I visited another wonderful temple and watched a ceremony of purple clad Buddhist monks chanting and filing in and out of the shrine area. There was a lot of gold in the alter area, but the overall effect was beautifully balanced with the dark wood of the architecture, not gaudy at all, as I've seen in some temples in China.

Some other observations: I saw a restaurant that advertised an 'a ra carte' menu- that cracked me up. The trains here are quite impressive...very clean and very comfortable. Everyone lines up on the platform at designated spots to board in a civilized manner. At the end of the line , the conductor pushes a button and all the backs of the seats flip to face the other direction so that passengers are facing the direction of their travel. And finally, I saw a woman wearing a uniform carrying a flat oblong shaped thing with a handle, who was waiting at the front of the line- when the train stopped and the doors opened, she snapped open her package and it unfolded to become a platform she put on the ground, so that a passenger in a wheelchair could easily roll herself down. Quite impressive!

visit to Osaka

Yesterday we took the train and then a subway ride into Osaka and explored the very busy shopping area called Shinsaibashi. Parts were gaudy and 'downscale' while other streets were full of very expensive stores. The atmosphere on the street reminded me a little of parts of Shanghai....busy consumerism. Kris took me into a store which caters to all kinds of dancers and I saw young Japanese girls standing on point, testing out new pink silk ballet shoes...on another floor we ogled and fingered the most garish of ballroom dance costumes costing thousands of dollars. Back on the street, again I was amazed at the number of women wearing black leggings, lacy black pantyhose, ruffly skirts and very high heels...Kris says disparagingly, "very fashionable.... back in 1983!" Even women on bikes are sporting these high heels. I bought some hand-painted cards from one of the few stores selling traditional Japanese textiles and paper fans. Most of the stores were selling cheaply made clothes, probably from China, for too much money. I took pictures of a couple of girls dressed in little Bo Peep type costumes-apparently this is a fashion here among some girls. (I hope to post some pics soon as soon as I can buy the connecting device to download my camera to Kris' computer). We watched a Japanese band playing very authentic Scottish and Irish music on a street corner to an appreciative audience and then went into El Pancho to meet Kris' expat friends over traditional Japanese burritos, enchiladas, nachos and yuzu margharitas. (Yuzu is a Japanese fruit and I must say it makes a damn good margharita.)

Today Kris hosted the monthly meeting of her book club. We had an interesting discussion of a Japanese novel called "The Doctor's Wife", set in the 18th century, based on the true story of the first doctor who experimented with and developed the use of anesthetic during surgery. In the story both his wife and mother, who have a difficult relationship, vie to be the first human subjects of his experiments (he had previously experimented on dogs). It seems that the mother/daughter-in-law relationship is tricky no matter where in the world one is from, according to the experience of Kris' Japanese and foreign friends! Although the translation was considered skillful, according to the Japanese readers, many details and subtlety was missing from the English version. We had a feast of Turkish and Indian dishes, homemade bread, guava paste someone brought from Mexico and Kris' delicious honey pecan oatmeal bars washed down by Japanese beer.....or the special tea someone brought.

Having a lazy evening...oh it's so wonderful to have nothing particular to do, especially no grading!!!!

Kyoto trip

Took the train to Kyoto yesterday from Hirakata, the neighborhood where Kris lives, a short trip from Osaka city. I wasn't really sure how to find the train station so used my Point It book for the first time (thank you, Amy!) The Point It book is an extremely useful booklet crammed with photos of every possible item you could need, from foods to hotel rooms to transportation vehicles to different types of medicines,medical conditions, hardware tools, sewing needs...you name it, it's in there. Found a picture of your standard train, not the shinkansen, the fast speed 'bullet' train, and sure enough was directed to the train station.

This is a largely above ground commuter train, very civilized, with well behaved travelers sitting sedately in their upholstered seats, quietly reading their manga (Japanese comic books), or having discreet conversations with their neighbors. Cell phones are officially forbidden and it's very rare to hear one ring. The announcements may be in English as well as Japanese at each station, but sometimes, as I discovered coming home yesterday, only in Japanese. I had to pay close attention to the map so that I got off at the right stop.

I chose to explore the Southern Higashiyama district of Kyoto, recommended as one of the richest in sightseeing areas. There are many different districts and I will be taking, I think, several more day trips to explore other neighborhoods. Unlike my somewhat romanticized vision of Kyoto as a charming old world throwback to the days of geishas flitting along winding narrow alleys lined with charming old architecture (as in Memoirs of a Geisha), my first impression was that it looked like any other place with sections that do indeed have the old homes with shingled sloping roofs and beautiful temple architecture. I came upon Sangusangen-do, a temple mobbed by hordes of Japanese school-kids in uniform, in which there are 1001 almost identical gold covered wooden statues of Kannon, theBuddhist goddess of mercy, each with 40 arms. The 40 arms are the symbolic representation of 1000 arms because each one is supposed to save 25 worlds. Quite impressive...I lit some incense and made a wish. After this I tried to find another temple complex, set into the mountain with multiple shrines and many places selling good luck charms for various functions: long life, conception, good exam results, healthy baby....... this was also full of school groups and the Japanese tourist far outnumbered the foreign ones. People generally ignored me (in a good way) but were helpful and very courteous if I asked them to shoot a picture of me, or I needed directions.

From the temple area, there were great views of dense greenery on the mountain slopes and a good view of Kyoto city. The weather is unusually cool and it couldn't have been pleasanter to meander around. Those young girls who weren't in school uniform, favor an interesting style of dressing: lots of black tights, leggings, high heeled platform shoes and sandals, ruffly short skirts or baggy smocks, lots of dyed reddish brown hair.....a great place to people watch.

On the way down the hill, there were many little shops selling ceramic tea cups, bowls and plates and I was considering one or two, thinking that the prices were quite reasonable, when I realized once again, I was mentally putting the decimal point in the wrong position when converting to dollars- so that a mug which I thought was a good deal for $5 was actually $50. Oh well. We will be going to a dollar store later today in Osaka!

first day in Japan!

It's more than 36 hours and I'm still exclaiming every time I sit down on Kris' heated toilet seat. It's still a bit chilly here, not the heatwave she prepared me for, so it's a pleasant sensation. Yes, I know, a funny way to start blogging, but I can't get over the multiple settings, even in the airport and restaurants' 'ladies rooms' for 'flush sound' (to mask the sounds of bodily functions), and 2 different ways to have water spray your private parts.....

Had my first lunch in an okonomiyaki restaurant. This is a concoction of chopped cabbage, egg, bonito fish flakes, a special tasty sauce and noodles cooked on a griddle right at your table...it was yummy and not too pricey. Kris actually was saying that we should go to an Italian restaurant for lunch (I kid you not!!) but I protested. My first real meal in Japan made with tomato sauce and cheese- no way!

We traveled into Kyoto yesterday, a comfortable 40 minute ride on a train and walked around a little. I am going back today on my own to explore one of the neighborhoods that make up this old capital of Japan. Kris is working. Should be an adventure...