Kyoto, a city of almost one and a half million people, is the capital of the Kansai region of Japan and is part of the huge metropolitan area that unites three large cities, Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, with a metro population of over 19 million people.
Kyoto is known as the Thousand Year Capital because it was the capital city and emperor's residence of Japan from 794 to 1868. It is also known as the City of Ten Thousand Shrines, because it is home to roughly one quarter of Japan's national treasures, countless shrines and temples, and seventeen sites recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Kyoto has gained popularity for its stunning beauty, carefully tended gardens and in season (unfortunately not this season) to amazing cherry blossoms in spring and breathtaking colours in autumn.
Because it is impossible for us to shoot the spring and autumn pics, I have downloaded these from the web to share with you the natural beauty of Kyoto.
It is home to wonderful artisans in the area of fabrics, ceramics, and other such handicrafts.
In Kyoto we were staying at an Airbnb apartment in what was described as a fairly "new mansion" near the historic Gion section of the city. Well, when we arrived, we began to understand what people had been describing as small Japanese accommodations. The apartment in Tokyo we thought was small and fairly basic was what we started with in Japan; we then moved to a beautiful expansive hotel room in Hiroshima and now we were in an apartment that could not have been over 250 square feet, which is not too bad in terms of a hotel room, but this included kitchen, bathroom, toilet room and very narrow hallway.
We always said that we wanted to experience a real Japanese bed; a base called the tatami and the cover called the futon. Well, we were now going to live like real Japanese people.
The good news about everything that we have experienced in Japan is their preoccupation with cleanliness. The apartments are immaculate. And they are quite well equipped for the kosher traveller; almost all have microwave ovens, most have gas stove tops, they have fridges, regular keys (non electronic), ....and then they have the Japanese beds. Well, after trying them in both Kyoto and Kobe, we can tell you that we will stick with our Sealy Porturpedic any day!!!!
We had arranged that our two days in Kyoto would be spent with two free tour guides. We had written earlier about the amazing free English tour guide organizations that exist in various places in Japan. Most of these are either retirees or students who have two basic purposes in guiding; a) to practice their English and b) to share their love of Japan and its culture while at the same time learning about other cultures. When we say free, it really is. We have now completed four days (including Kyoto) of these services and in each case, we tried to give our guide a tip or gratuity at the end, and it was totally refused as insulting. What we have now learned to do is to present the guide with a simple gift, candies, chocolates etc., at the end as a show of our appreciation. While it is not expected or required, it is accepted and appreciated.
On Wednesday, our first full day in Kyoto, we were scheduled to do a walking tour of a section of Kyoto that includes ancient temples and shrines and the Gion old shopping district of the city. We met our guide Nobuko at the Kyoto Central station.
Because there are thousands of people traversing the station at all hours of the day, we decided to send, in advance, a picture of ourselves and asked the guide to do the same, so that we could pick each other out of a crowd. We also asked for a meeting point. We recognized Nobuko from her picture.
Nobuko is a 72 year old lady, who retired at 62 from her job as a bank teller. At that point, she began to study English and now is a member of a women-only guiding club and English club that meets on a monthly basis to practice their English and to exchange ideas on guiding.
We got on a local bus and purchased three passes. The day pass was roughly $5 each and is good for unlimited bus travel for a day in Kyoto. We got off in a section of town not far from our apartment and began walking down a very narrow street. At the end of the street we could see the five roofed pagoda of the Yasaka Shrine and we were headed in its direction.
All along the way, Nobuko shared with us explanations of the various shrines (Shinto) and temples (Bhuddist) and what all the symbols mean. It was quite fascinating. When we asked her what religion she followed, she responded as most Japanese people we have met have told us "I follow parts of both". The way we understand it, Bhuddism is a religion of good ethics with the idol of Bhudda representing their god, and Shintoism is the religion of nature, with parts of nature (water, animals, plants etc) representing various gods that each have meaning and good luck symbols.
There is no central place of worship in either religion, there are shrines and temples all over the place and you can even erect a small shrine in your home. There are no specific times for prayer, and there is no liturgy.
In Bhuddism, there are large bells at the temple that one can ring to wake up the gods because "they are very busy, there are so many people seeking their attention", so when entering, you ring the bell to make sure god is listening. In Shintoism, when entering the shrine, you clap twice and bow twice to get the gods attention.
In either case, it is very different from Judaism's concept of one God who is Shomaya Tefillah (whose Omnipitence allows Him to listen to all prayers at all times).
There is an admission cost to enter the temples and shrines and this sustains the operation. If you are wearing a kimono or a yakuta (for men), the admission fee is waived. So near the major shrine areas of Kyoto, there are kimono rental places and we saw many people in full traditional Japanese attire. Many were locals, but a large number were Taiwanese and Chinese tourists.
It is not inexpensive to rent the traditional dress as it includes full hairdos and makeup to give the customer the fully authentic Japanese experience. So it is done more for the experience than to simply save the price of admission.
We seized the opportunity to photograph ourselves with many traditionally dressed people and were even lucky enough to meet and pose with a bride and groom who had come on their wedding day to pray at the temple.
David with 4 local friends
Mazal Tov! Fran with the Chatan and Kallah
Gion is also the centre for Geisha training in Japan and we were fortunate to see two young ladies in full makeup and attire and obviously we took pictures with them.
Take a look at the their elaborate makeup and hairdos and in the picture below, the backs of their outfits.
Whenever we asked locals if we could pose with them, our requests were cheerfully granted with a smile and full cooperation.
We had explained to Nobuko that our tradition is that we do not enter the sanctuaries of other religions but that we did wish to see the areas around the buildings and she was very good at respecting our wishes. She was very good at explaining all aspects of what we were seeing and for someone who only began to speak English at 62, was very clear and easy to understand. She also had a very good disposition and a good sense of humour.
How is this for blending an ancient culture with modern technology?
The walk then took us to Higashiyama temple and eventually to the Inari Shrine, the shrine with one thousand Torii gates, one of the most famous and most photographed spots in Japan.
Along the way, we stopped for lunch and even though we had emailed Nobuko to explain that we could not eat at local eateries, but that we would be pleased to purchase her meal for her, out of respect for our lifestyle, she brought with her own lunch and we sat outside and ate together.
It was now about 2 PM and we had been walking since 9 AM. At 72, she was very energetic and spry. She said goodbye as she had to go to an English class and she made sure to explain clearly to us how to get back to our apartment. We were on our own and we decided to walk through Kyoto and enjoy the local colour.
By the time we returned to our apartment at close to 6 PM, we had been walking for close to 9 hours on this beautiful day in Kyoto. We were exhausted, but this has been the basic recipe since we arrived here in Japan....lots of walking in order to take in as much as we can of the local colour and tradition.
Next post will be our free walking tour of the Arashiyama district of Kyoto on Thursday
All the best
Fran and David
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