Japan Series Ep. 2 - Kyoto!

Time is FLYING.

We're doing so much during the days that I keep getting back to the hotel all pooped out with no energy to write. I literally tried to write yesterday and wrote half of the previous sentence before I gave up. And the thing is, the longer I go without posting, the more intimidating it is to begin again because we do so much every day and I just want to tell you EVERYTHING! 

So, here's my journey second attempt at this Japan blog episode 2.

We're currently in Kyoto, one of the main traditional centres of Japan. But before I tell you how we achieved wabi-sabi (and what that is), let me recap our last few days in Tokyo




On our third day, we started the day off slopping in the rain on the trek over to the Tokyo National Museum. A part of me was annoyed at the rain, but after seeing cute parades of colourful umbrellas, sparkling puddles dotting the ground and less crazy crowds, it really wasn't so bad at all. The museum was a neat way to get a bit of an appreciation for the history and the culture of Japan. It's exciting (and mind-blowing) to think about how long the Japanese have been around and some of the amazing things they've achieved and created. Coming from a country that's less than 150 years old, Canada is just an infant and our history isn't nearly as rich. Nick had a fun time checking out the katana swords while I was a bigger fan of the tea ceremony pieces. Some of the art and calligraphy scrolls there were truly incredible.

Soon after, we headed to the city centre to finally meet up with Tsuyoshi! My Japanese tutor-turned-friend from Toronto is back in Japan for the summer and has graciously agreed to travel with us for a week or so and be our local tour guide! How lucky are we!? We found him surprisingly easily in the busy crowd at Tokyo station and then headed downstairs to one of the top picks on my To Do list: Tokyo Ramen Street. That's right. An entire underground mini-street of restaurants that JUST sells ramen. WOO! One thing I've noticed about the Japanese is that they tend to do ONE thing and do it right. Like an ENTIRE shop of just umbrellas. An ENTIRE shop of just fans. An ENTIRE street of ramen restaurants. Luckily for us, Tsuyoshi was able to translate what we were ordering in the super-cool-choose-your-picture Ramen machines. But honestly, I think it all would have been delicious.


After our yummy lunch, Tsuyoshi brought us around the station to see the Imperial Palace grounds. As IF someone lives there -- a beautiful park space covered in manicured grass, thousands of trees, beautiful bridges...and of course, hundreds of tourists. Didn't make it any less beautiful, though. Well...okay...but only a little.

Next on our itinerary was Tsuyoshi's favourite place in the city -- Meiji Jingu. I wasn't sure what to expect but whatever I expected, this definitely surpassed it. A breathtaking shrine Meiji Jingu is a capsule of nature in the middle of the city. Tsuyoshi showed us some shrine etiquette that we were happy to learn to set us apart from being ignorant tourists and we walked around the paths and took some nice photos of the place.

Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo

Finally, we went a bit south to Shibuya crossing, one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in the already-bustling city. It was well-worth the cost of a Starbucks drink (one you can't get in Toronto!) to get a window seat above street level and watch the masses collide. My guide book described it as a human tide breaking off the shore and it really looked like that. Every couple of minutes when the light changed.

Mango fruit drink with jelly from Starbucks! 

After that, we parted way with Tsuyoshi so he could spend some time with an old friend in the city, and Nick and I went to see the city from yet another cool perspective -- from 350m high. It seems like every big city has some sort of lookout location, and in Tokyo, it's Skytree, along the Kitajukken river. We arrived early evening and waited around for it to get dark for the full effect. See pictures below (better ones from my dslr to come eventually!).

Skytree from the ground

The ground from Skytree

In lieu of the $300CDN meal at the top of the city, we opted for a different cultural experience for our last supper in the city -- Japan's fast food chain, Mos Burger. American chains could definitely take some lessons in lettuce crispness from this place! I don't eat a lot of fast food burgers in Canada, but this was pretty yummy! As a side, instead of fries, we went for the Asakusa-famous tempura. Here, as our rickshaw driver told us, they fry the tempura in sesame oil for added flavour, making it a speciality of the area.

Mos Burger!

Asakusa tempura

Yep, we walked a LOT today!

Fast forward to the next morning, rain was teaming down as we tried (and failed) to use ponchos on our luggage to avoid it getting wet. As if it wasn't annoying enough to be wet from the rain and boiling hot from carrying a backpack, camera bag, purse, and suitcase up and down flights of stairs, all while holding an umbrella, Nick and I had some trouble navigating the train system. Leaving Tokyo a bit later than expected, we eventually made it onto our first shinkansen (bullet train) on the way to Kyoto. And as if the waiting and ticket confusion and rain and humidity and frizzy hair wasn't bad enough, in a typical klutz moment I dropped Nick's AMAZING-looking train food onto the ground, making it look less like a bento box and more like something that had gone through the washing machine. Lucky for me, he didn't hold it against me for much longer than a day.

My train food (yeah right, eh?!) Too embarrassed to ask Nick
to take a picture of his. He was so mad! 

Our day was almost gone by the time we figured out accommodations for the rest of our stay here but fortunately, Tsuyoshi --in all of his Japanese politeness -- was impossibly patient with us. We walked our stress away in the beautiful streets of Gion (an area in Kyoto), lined by cutesy couples along the river, beautiful traditional Japanese housing, and even a chance geisha sighting!! It was so fast I couldn't snap a picture, but I assure you she was incredibly beautiful.

en route to Kyoto!

Best part of having a real Japanese friend and tour guide? We get the inside scoop on Japanese restaurants! T brought us to an old 50's-style izakaya (bar) where the average cost of an order was aboud $1 CDN. On top of that, all-you-can-drink was just $15 for men and $12 for women! We stuffed our faces with the most amazing-flavoured food. I had everything from frog legs to chicken liver to fish fins you cook yourself, to the long-awaited okonomiyaki (kind of like a Japanese pancake). All were exceptionally delicious, except for the wasabi-flavoured dish I couldn't handle for the taste. 

Bellies full, an evening stroll back through Gion -- much less busy at night -- was a perfect ending to our day.

Gion at night

Our first morning in Kyoto was started with another one of my top picks. Kyoto's famous Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is perhaps the most picturesque thing I've seen thus far. Bamboo lining both sides of a pedestrian path and surrounding gardens made for a some breathtaking pictures and a moment for some serious introspection. In the same area was a city bridge, cute souvenir shops and delicious matcha ice cream. Not to mention the ADORABLE MONKEY PARK! After climbing a small mountain (no joke!), we were greeted by a troupe of furry friends.

These monkeys were right somewhere in between tamed and wild and were crazy-cute. We bought some apples to feed them and they were happy to accept our offer. 

After we got back to the city, there wasn't enough time to head over to the Kinkaku Temple, so we headed back to Kyoto Station area for another izakaya meal, this time with T's best friend, Noriko, and her fiance, Kohei. They treated us to such a good time! This time the menu included everything from yummy horse sashimi (!), sake, and kimchi octopus to a crazy Russian Roulette-style habanero/wasabi rolls (I was the only one who didn't get caught either time!). In true Japanese style, we ended the night with some legitimate Japanese karaoke! This place had all-you-can-drink, private rooms, and let's just say I learned a lot of Asian pop songs (as well as Japanese versions of Let it Go and other Disney favourites).


That brings us to today. I couldn't decide whether to theme today by matcha or enlightenment, so I've coined a new term, "Matchanlightenment". Basically, we went to a lot of temples and nature-based areas for introspection, and I bought a LOT of matcha things. (see below).


First was a vending-machine-ordered breakfast of yummy cold/spicy udon noodles and a matcha pudding with Tsuyoshi and his friends. We then started the day at a temple called Kiyomizu-dera, literally "Pure Water Temple". Besides the picturesque landscape, the highlight was washing our hands and drinking from spring water representing one of three aspects: study, love, and health.

Nick "Drinking to good health" - hehe

Temple walks galore

Tsuyoshi and his friends then brought us to a local hole-in-the-wall restaurant specializing in udon curry. With no English being spoken and no English menu and zero other tourists in the tiny place, we knew it must be good. Tsuyoshi explained that it was on the edge of a part of town that's very expensive to rent property. What this means is that if a place doesn't quickly get a clientele and keep it, it'll be out of business within a few months. As soon as the food came, conversation died in favour of slurping and patting our foreheads from curry-induced sweat. But BOY was it good.

Best. Udon. EVER!

After lunch, we headed west a bit to the famous Buddhist temple, Kinkaku-ji ("Gold Pavilion"). Again, having the time to calm down, walk in quiet, pray a bit, and reflect in nature was a soothing sort of personal getaway I so rarely achieve in my day-to-day life. It was here that we were able to have an amazing tea-drinking experience. Some real matcha and a small snack on some tatami mats in an almost ceremonial cultural experience for both the mind and the tastebuds.

We ended the day with a visit to nearby Ryoan-ji -- a temple belonging to the Rinzai school of zen. And man, when I say zen, I mean ZEN. But you know, not in a yelling way...because that would not be zen. I'm talking rock gardens that almost speak to you. Trees and breezes that tickle your senses. Peace and balance and quiet and wood and ZEN. Noriko told us after of a Japanese term called "Wabi Sabi" meaning just the feeling of 'good' and 'balanced'. Kind of like the way you feel after a deep breath. When your whole body and mind are peaceful and happy.

Peaceful end to the day at Ryoan-ji 

We were all pretty quiet by the end of the day, in the most wonderful way. We finished our day at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant and then came back to the hotel early enough to write this blog before heading to bed.

Apologies for the saga. I have an idea for a more riveting post coming up next. Plus! A guest writer (guess who...) has something he'd like to share with you.


Until next time!


Kon Ban Wa,


Becky