Kyoto
Kyoto has been overcast and rainy everyday. Like every samurai movie I've seen. So it is feeling like I've always imagined it. Also the rain has been nice to fall asleep to each night. Everyday was rainy and cool in each city (temps low 50s to low 60s) we go to except the day we leave/arrive. To us right now, the weather is perfect.
Some locations are sprints and some locations are marathons.
Sprints: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Bangkok, Hanoi
Marathon: Koh Chang Island, Chiang Mai
As you can see, we are a couple cities behind on the blog.
Sunday April 7th Arrived
Riding the bullet train 2 and a half hours at 200mph from Tokyo to Kyoto was epic. I met a Canadian Engineer at one of the public baths in Japan and we talked about how it’s a marvel and we need them in North America. We took the public bus to the ninja-themed hotel, well known in the suburbs of Kyoto as Ninja Black Hotel to get settled by 5pm.
The vibes in that part of town were very quiet, calm, tranquil, with narrow, empty streets. Very different from the bustling streets of Tokyo filled with 10 story lights, unlimited people in every direction, and subways running throughout the city on rapid schedules. We were in a seemingly small town now. Once considered the Capital before Tokyo, Kyoto is filled with the ancient castles the size of 10 x 10 blocks, Buddhist Shrines, and so many nature sites. You may have noticed that Tokyo and Kyoto are anagrams for each other. Kyoto was the capital of Japan from 794 to 1868. “Kyo'' means capital. Tokyo has been the capital ever since and means East Capital.
The first evening was quiet. We needed a quiet evening.
Day 2: Bamboo Forests, Monkeys, Exploration
Kyoto initially struck me as a dimmer, more ancient version of Tokyo, and a suburban town with no buildings over 8 stories and very few people out and about, but I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
Isn’t this the truth everywhere we go as humanity? We sometimes make judgments about our surroundings having little, if no context for where we are, its significance, and if this area really reflects the place we are. We learned in this moment to keep more open minds about where we are: accepting that we are new here, we know very little, and the best is always yet to come.
First thing in the morning, we took the public bus to a bamboo forest on the outskirts of town in the rain known as Arashiyama. The state of the buses gave me the impression that they were 50 years behind those in Tokyo. They were a roughly faded white color or better yet, the color was a 1970s beige. They didn't have digital displays like the Tokyo buses, but they had the same rules: if any of the following four are on board, give them your seat: Elderly people, pregnant women, people with mental disabilities, people with physical disabilities. We enjoyed the respectful nature of Japanese citizens everywhere we went.
It was about a 45 minute bus ride out to the bamboo forests at Arashiyama, but allowed us to see more of Kyoto. The thing about traveling is that, well, you are actually in transit much of the time. You must enjoy being in transit if you are moving as much as Abby and I are (a new city every 2-4 days) which we do and are learning to love it more every day. So we make our way through these 40 ft tall bamboo forests in wonder. Only stopping to take pictures as we are prompted by the scale and beauty.
The park at Arashiyama is quite large with many paths of bamboo forests winding around the mountain. There was more to the park you could pay to see, but as budget travelers, we opted for the free option- a hike to the near top of the mountain with views of the city. Surrounded by greenery and purple flowers we ascended up the mountain. Hiking is one of our favorite things to do. It doesn't take a lot to make us happy. At home with all the amenities: the TV, phone, computer, iPad, the couch, the AC, etc. there is enough to keep us occupied and distracted for a lifetime, but in reality we are happy with very little. It’s amazing how little we miss tv.
I digress. Where were we? Kyoto, that’s right!
There is much that makes us happy
Hiking, traveling, recognizing the fingerprints of an intelligent God in creation, art, wonder in nature, relationships, community, routine, and at the same time novelty, affection, love, physical touch, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, gift giving outside normal holidays, service to others, dogs with their heads out the windows of moving cars, the smell of a recently extinguished candle flame, mountains, beaches, rain and shine. The list goes on and most of those things don’t cost a thing.
We went into town.
We walked to the bottom and walked along the river until we reached town. The Kyoto River water of which we walked over is very fresh and full of minerals. We grabbed coffee at a coffee shop just across the bridge at Arashiyama Daiichi. There we met a Maria Victoria, a vivacious 20 something woman from Vicenza, Italy. Vicenza is on our list for this trip as it’s where Abby first felt at home in Italy when she did a study abroad. In this way, I will be learning more about my woman which is always an exciting opportunity. We had a nice chat with her. She recommended a couple places we intend to try while in Vicenza. She told us she works in utilities for an electric company, nothing exciting, and travels as often as she can.
She was on a long trip. She had already been to Nepal and India, and was headed to Hong Kong next. We told her we were going to see the monkeys and at this point she seemed over the monkeys. We’ll never be over the animals.
Next we trekked up the mountain to the Monkey Park. It was a 20 minute semi-strenuous hike. For all intents and purposes, we were in the enclosure. With 30 monkeys running around with their families, picking bugs off each other, cleaning, and cuddling each other; we never wanted to leave. We spent a lot of time up there capturing their movements on camera, not to mention the view of the whole city and all the mountains was breathtaking. Between the monkeys and the view we were not ready to leave.
We would highly recommend coming to this area and spending at least a half day wandering around.
Pontocho
That night we went out and discovered the busy side of Kyoto with major streets and multilevel department stores and malls in every direction. Here we discovered a place known as Pontocho which is a hidden narrow corridor of alleyways behind all the modernity, between it and the river.
This hidden, traditional, romantic path had hundreds of restaurants and bars. The long corridor leads to lines of Cherry Blossom trees along canals and rivers. We found it busy every day of the week at least until 9pm. It was beautiful.
Then Ponchocto Alley is a very cool alley with a plethora of bars and restaurants literally each 3-5 feet from each other. These places are not ADA compliant. I was too tall for most, but we still had a lot of fun exploring the alleyways and streets. While walking through the alleys of Pontocho, we ran into 2 girls who were on our walking tour in Tokyo. We talked about meeting in Osaka for dinner. One girl was from Pennsylvania and one was from Ohio but lives in Bangkok now.
We got home at 1010pm with 23,299 steps, Abby had 25,000. We were beat but happy. These are the sprint days. Sometimes it’s not even intentional and we don’t plan a whole lot, everything is just so fascinating and beautiful here.
Day 3 in Kyoto: Local Celebs, Ancient Temples, and Pigs
First stop of the morning, Cafeyel with local Kenpo celebrity, Kumamoto. He excelled in gymnastics and baseball but mostly Kenpo where he eventually became an instructor. Before getting married, he joined the Japanese equivalent to Peace Corps and served 2 years in Zambia teaching Kenpo to students and policemen. When he returned he became a teacher of Kenpo, and after retiring from teaching started a Cafe. He is the friendliest man with good English. He appreciated my Japanese. They had 3 items on the menu- all variations of Texas toast, egg, and yogurt. It was the most delightful neighborhood cafe. We walked out even happier than when we walked in.
Higashiyama was our first official stop on Day 3. 
Higashiyama is a picturesque district nestled in the heart of Kyoto, Japan, renowned for its timeless beauty and rich cultural heritage. As you wander through its narrow cobblestone streets, you'll be transported back in time to the days of ancient Japan. Traditional wooden machiya houses line the streets, housing quaint shops, charming tea houses, and artisanal crafts. At every turn, you'll encounter historic temples and shrines, such as the iconic Kiyomizu-dera (Pure Water Temple) and Yasaka Shrine, each exuding an aura of serenity and spirituality. Higashiyama is not just a place to visit; it's an immersive experience that captures the essence of Japan's past and present in perfect harmony
Higashiyama had beautifully colored shrines with gorgeous views of the world. Abby found a self-guided tour online that we were following to understand the significance of where we were.
On our way home, we made 2 stops: 1. St. Francis Xavier Cathedral aka Kawaramachi Church,
2. Go’o Pig Shrine. 
The Cathedral is currently under construction but we were able to enter under the scaffolding. We love going to churches around the world. This church had a prime location in the downtown part of Kyoto, just north of Pontocho. Being inside will bring peace to anyone who recognizes they are in a house of worship. We spent time praying inside. Here are some pictures
We visited the Go’o Shrine with a seeming obsession with pigs. Turns out that in the late 700s the advisor to Emperor Kanmu named Wake No Kiyomaru was exiled and attacked causing a leg injury on his way, but legend tells of 300 boars that came to his rescue and protected him as he traveled the rest of the way. The boars are seen even to this day to be protectors.
That night we went back to Pontocho for dinner and drinks. We found the Kyoto Arashiyama Brewery near the Catholic Kawaramachi Church we visited earlier that day.
Comments
Post a Comment