Gold, Tigers and Bamboo

We left “Osaka” bright and early on Friday. Within an hour, we were closing in on Kyoto again. We picked up our luggage from the lockers at the Okie Dokie station and managed to get the hotel to hold them until we checked in that evening. Our mission that morning: Kinkakuji and Ryoanji.

We caught a bus outside the hotel and arrived in the hills of western Kyoto by 10:30. Already, the streets were tight with pedestrians and creative taxi drivers. The weather was looking a bit shady, and my concerns only grew as I looked out the window at a woman bringing some of her souvenirs into her shop and putting an awning up outside. 

But we were lucky: it didn’t rain on us at all! Once in a while, we actually got a little sunshine breaking through the clouds. That was especially nice once we were in the park and stood across the pond from Kinkakuji itself!

Golden Pavilion by name, Kinkakuji stands on the edge of a lotus pond. It sits so passively and isolated from all these people, frantically taking pictures. It was like being at the zoo, gazing into into a swan’s enclosure. I don’t know why I imagined it would be smaller, so I was surprised. But it was just as beautiful as I had hoped. 

The park has more than just the Golden Pavilion. Nobody ever mentions the tea houses on the site, one of which offers tea and snacks under a red parasol. They also never mention the small clutch of stone Buddhas on a little hill along the trail. Between them are two bowls: a large stone bowl and a smaller metal one. 

People can toss money offerings into the little group. You hope to land in one of the little bowls so your prayer or wish will be answered. If you hit the metal bowl, you’re rewarded with a full-bodied but high and pretty sound. 

I, however, got the stone bowl. Tink. It still counts. It seemed greedy to keep trying after landing in one bowl or the other so I took my win and let it ride.

The next stop was Ryoanji. For those unfamiliar, think of those little sand and pebble zen gardens you can pick up at Sharper Image or Barnes and Noble. Not think of that only life sized and immaculately groomed. 

These rock gardens are called karesansui and they’re supposed to reflect an aesthetic or natural pattern. 

Ryoanji’s karesansui is famous for a couple of reasons.

1.   The way the rocks are positioned, it’s supposed to reflect a tiger leading her cub across a river.

2.   Legend says there are 16 rocks, but the unenlightened person sees just 15. 

Ever in search of the sixteenth rock, people pad out onto the wooden porch and gaze at the rocks, meditating on the zen qualities. It’s simplicity and nature, confined and still organic. 

By the time we left Ryoanji, it was past noon. Mom and Dad wanted to see Ginkakuji (the Silver Temple, more famous for its sand gardens than its un-gilded walls) and the Philosopher’s Walk. But I had other plans. I wanted to see Arashiyama, site of the famous bamboo grove and of course, Gion. I still hadn’t gotten in any geisha-spotting and I was running out of time!

So we went our separate ways, promising to meet again after 5pm at the hotel. I walked through a quiet little neighborhood and caught the trolley to Arashiyama. The place was incredibly lively, more so than I’d expected! I thought the only draw was the bamboo grove, but I was very very wrong. There are beer gardens, shops, restaurants, and legends about ghosts-aplenty. But my mission was clear: find that bamboo forest and gape until my jaw fell off my face. 

I didn’t get off to such a hot start. The bamboo grove isn’t clearly marked on maps: it’s just a part of a very large park full of hills, paths, look outs and nature trails. I took every one of these until I found someone who could tell me how to get to the grove. 

I did enjoy my weird little detour, though. I walked along the river and found a little restaurant backed against the hills. 

My friends from back in the states who are familiar with my childhood neighborhood have heard me describe the road leading to my house as a “tree tunnel.” 

“Oh, just keep driving on Town Point Road. You’ll enter a tree tunnel,” I’d say. It’s pretty self-explanatory to me: a tunnel, only more tree-y. 

Arashiyama has a bamboo-tunnel and it is just as beautiful and grand as you’d expect from enormous, slender and graceful bamboo. The bamboo forest is so dense, light filters in blue and green. And it would be silent if not for the large crowd. But you’re not here for the crowd: don’t focus on the scalp in front of you. 

Look up! 

There’s nothing like being stunted in size and presence by something vast and old and lovely whether it’s Todaiji or a bamboo grove.

Before I left, I bought a little deer shaped incense burner to remind me of Nara and a few woven and lacquered bamboo coasters. Sure, you can probably get those anywhere, but after seeing them made in the Kyoto craftsmanship museum, I developed a whole new respect for them.

Photo-rific!

Senn, Senn, Sen-tokun

Remember what I said about maps in Japan? Address are just as crazy sometimes.

After an interesting and decent by weather standards night in Kyoto, we had to emigrate temporarily south back to Osaka for a night. But I'll get to that. First, critters and crackers and inari, oh my!

Come morning, we came up with a rather clever game plan. Well, I'll be fair and credit my mother. She suggested we just take what we needed for the day and night with us to Osaka and leave everything else in lockers at the subway. The woman is brilliant, people. Instead of lugging around our luggage (aptly named, no? Do you think there was some sadistic foresight that went into that name?) we shoved everything, including the omiyage cookies I bought for teachers, into a couple lockers and we were suddenly, blissfully free!

Our main objective for the day was the great temple city of Nara! But first, I wanted to make a stop at the famous inari shrine: a winding trail of short orange torii gates meandering up a forested hill. Yeah, that one. I felt bad about hijacking part of the day, so I assured my parents the shrine was on the way, it was going to be beautiful and it was, most importantly, right next to the station.

I don't think Inari let any of us down. It was cloudy and humid, promising rain, but still the shrine was very busy. We had our picture taken by an enthusiastic fellow tourist, and then we continued with our own shutter-bugging.

Here's the simple breakdown: Inari is the god of harvest, primarily rice. Japan being one of the biggest producers of rice, have a lot of stock in a happy and generous Inari. The god is symbolized by the white fox, and they are everywhere at the temple. In statue form, unfortunately, but they're still very impressive.

Every fox either carried a sheaf of rice or an energy ball. The temple complex itself is beautiful and sprawling. It goes far up the hill and deep into the trees, but the most popular and visually stunning is the torii gate trail.

Summer being the big tourist season for most Japanese cities, it's hard to get a scenic picture without a cameo. Rather than making yourself a nuisance by holding up traffic, sometimes you have to get creative. Or you just deal with it and let it become a part of your experience. You're not alone at this landmark, why should it look like it?

After Inari, we were off to Nara. What, temples again? you say. You know nothing, John Snow. Nara is home to some of the most spectacular and awesome (in its purest sense of the word) temples and Buddhas, but also the deer!

Messengers on break

Deer, especially white ones, are messengers of the gods. And deer have been around Nara for a few centuries, so they are given a lot of license in the town. They wander freely in the streets and parks and around temples. Sometimes they walk right into open air cafes and restaurants looking for freebies.

Not like they're going hungry. During the summer, if you buy a stack of crackers from one of the dozens of local vendors, you'll never be rid of the adorable little pests.

But be warned: deer are smarter than people give them credit. They know what crowds mean (food) and what children mean (easy food). Some have even learned tricks to get more food like "bowing."

Some, however, would rather look for shortcuts rather than learn a trick and instead, resort to violence. Signs posted around Nara warn tourists of deer violence that read like a woman's self-defense class: Push, Kick, Butt, Bite.

I got to experience Butt and Bite.

Deer swarm!

So Nara, like I said, is a huge temple complex. Right now, a few of the temples are being restored, but the vast majority are still in their unbelievable prime. Our first temple introduced us to the 12 demi-god generals that act as warriors for the Buddha. They're terrifying to look at, but that's the point, isn't it? I wouldn't want some baby-faced cherub as my general. I'd want someone with a basilisk face like these generals!

Wait for it....

For me, the most amazing part of Nara was Todaiji. As you approach the "Giant Temple" ie (one of?) the largest wooden structures in Japan, you can't see the temple itself. You walk between two columns of food stands, weaving between people and deer and cross a bridge. You find yourself in front of a high, long wall. To get in, you have to go left and wind around a corner and buy your ticket. Walking down the stone and wood hall, you see the left side opens into the temple grounds.

But it's not until you walk a few more steps and pass a few bushes when Todaiji reveals itself. Audible gasp! It's immense! It towers over everyone and everything and it's just beautiful. Inside is a Buddha that takes up most of the space, whose head brushes the ceiling. There are some more imposing generals standing guard, too.

After more deer-feeding and temple gazing, we hit the tracks for Osaka.

And here's where my map-point comes in. Our hotel for the night listed "Osaka Castle" in it's address. Looking it up on my phone, I thought I found the right place, and the website seemed to place it within a few blocks of Osaka Station.

Ha ha ha nope! The hotel was about 30 minutes or more by train northeast on the outskirts way out in the Osaka boonies. After getting off the train, we weren't even sure what direction to head for the hotel. We found a map, but after a few confusing minutes, we realized the map was "upside down!" If we'd gone in the direction I thought we were supposed to take, we'd be on the other side of a river and heading farther north!

We finally found our hotel, cleaned up, breathed a few therapeutic breaths and went staggering into the night in search of food. Okonomiyaki saved the night. Thankfully, we were heading back for "familiar" territory in Kyoto the next day, so we were tired, a little flustered, but fed and happy.

Is there any better way to be?

Kyoto: The Return

After the typhoon fiasco at the beginning of the week, I was really looking forward to getting back to Kyoto and seeing the place in a much sunnier, less-typhoony light. And I wasn't disappointed.

The folks and I arrived back in Kyoto after our Himeji detour. We checked into our hotel, and went out for dinner. After eating, we stumbled upon this antique bookstore. Downstairs were a few pricey ukioe prints and some other souvenir kitsch. But when you walked upstairs, a cluttered world of books, papers and framed fans simultaneously opened up and enveloped you.

We spent a considerable amount of time flipping through the prints in this store. I got an orange and black print of flowers and butterflies.

Later, as we were walking back up the main street, my parents decided they were going to head off to the hotel again. I was still feeling a little restless, though, and wanted to poke around a few shops. Maybe see a little of the night time street life.

I distinguish this differently from "night life" because the latter calls up images of dance halls, host clubs and other sketchy and wonderful adventures my mother would drag me away from by my ears.

Instead, I promised to stay on the main street and to be back to the hotel shortly. I picked up a couple wooden chopstick rests then strolled a bit. I still saw plenty of the street life.

Some highlights:

A couple of hosts on their way to work. There's something about a willowy Japanese man with shaggy red hair and long pointed Italian shoes.

A girl wearing platform shoes almost taller than she was wide.

A 50,000 yen parfait that could eat you like a sugary Audrey 2. Seriously, this wasn't just a few scoops of matcha soft serve and some agar cubes. Whole and halved slices of fruit. Dollops of whipped cream. Chestnut cakes. Wedges of waffles. Ladles of sauces.

After a night in town, we had to leave again the next morning. A lot of sporting events for students were in full swing, so places were packed and we had to resort to staying in Osaka the next night.

Or should I say, "Osaka-my-ass!"