Buddhist Garden and Tea Ceremony

Amazing what a little sunshine, gardens, buddhist monks, tea ceremonies and rainbows can do for ones perception of the world. Suddenly Kyoto is a beautiful place to be. It was summer time warm and when we got to the Buddhist temple there was a camera crew shooting a documentary. We worked around them and incorporated the monks into some of our images. The colour in the garden was wonderful and the rain just made them better. We couldn't shoot in the dry rock garden but a famous monk just happened to be there and was signing his books and other writings.

When we finished there we went to a tea ceremony done by a Swiss immigrant who challenged all of my assumptions about the ceremony and what it was about.  We all left feeling touched by the experience and calm. Back to the temple for an unexpectedly tasty vegetarian lunch during which a beautiful rainbow came out over the roofs of the temple. All too much.

It was mid afternoon when I got back. Asked my hotel if they had room for me after the tour which they did and then I went exploring to find the royen I had reserved to see if I could cancel it. With help from a young guy on a bicycle I found the place.  It would have been fine in the spring but too out of the way to easily find my way around in the dark.  The manager was good about it and I was free to explore the river walk close by. There were lots of young people, families and musicians playing.  This is a university town and has all the energy that goes with that.  Back in time to go to dinner with Liza and Mary then catch up with my other favourites for dessert and debriefing at a great French bakery.

Kyoto The Imperial Palace, Fish Market and Museums

I don't think I like Kyoto. It rained most of the day which didn't matter except it was dull and uninspiring. When we went to the Imperial Palace there is only natural light so it just looked old and dark.  To top it off it was like a conga line going through. Beatrice did her best to be thorough but with everyone around us I just wanted to get out of there. The architecture was interesting. the building was made in a flying geese pattern to maximize light, give privacy, protect from fire and slow the progress of invaders.  I can imagine in the olden days that each room would be lovely looking over the gardens. They had gravel all around the house so no one could sneak up without being heard and the floors were built to squeak for the same reason.  They only had one small charcoal pot to warm the room and access to natural hot springs in winter was important to help stay warm.

At any rate I was glad to move onto the fish market. There were lots of different kinds of crabs, (some $65 each), huge snails and fish I had never seen before.  We went to a small sushi diner that was a marvel of conveyor belt organization.  We were the only white people there and everyone was good about helping us figure out how it all worked.  It was the freshest and best sushi any of us had ever had. It re invigorated us to go onto the Noh Museum to see the masks.  We could get dressed up in the actors costumes to see and feel how it is for them to move around the stage. It was great fun.

Then onto the  Museum of Contemporary Art. There were installations from 14 artists from different countries. I couldn't take pictures which was too bad because some of them were really colourful and entertaining.  It took us quite a while to get through it and we needed a tea break afterwards.  Met up with others at a tea shop overlooking the gallery garden with Judy Collins playing in the background on a great stereo system.  By the time we left it was getting dark. All the stores on the way had their Christmas decorations up.  I'm not ready for them. There was hardly time before we took taxies to an all you could eat american style buffet. The food was ok and there were lots of young Japanese families around. Ted also brought his daughter. Good way to end the day.

Kanazawa Day two

Breakfast was a buffet feast on the top floor overlooking the city and palace gardens. We waddled out and it was a good thing we had a walking day. We started at the Shogun's castle garden one of the three best gardens in Japan. We have noticed the pines have had large centre posts with big ropes tied to them, often not very attractively. In this garden they are so symmetrical they create a beauty of their own. They tie up the branches in the fall so they won't be broken by the snow and then take them down in the spring. Huge amount of work. There were also gardeners in the water sweeping clean the rocks under water and picking out the falling leaves. 

We walked around the walls of the palace to the fish market and had a sushi lunch at a diner type bar with a conveyor belt for food and underneath one for dishes . It was the best, freshest sushi ever.  We were the only westerners.

We were on our own after that. Liza and I went exploring and found the Noh museum. Part of the experience was that the staff would dress us up in costumes and masks to give us a feel of how the actors fell and can see to move around. Very much fun. Then went to Museum of Contemporary Art to see installations from artists from around the world. Took a long time to see it all and we came out with sore backs and feet. Met up with Ruth and Alger and took a break in a lovely tea shop over looking the gallery garden. We walked back in the dark, Christmas lights and decorations up everywhere. To finish off the evening we had a wonderful French dinner at the top of the hotel. Service was slow and our talk long making for a great evening. 

Kanazawa Day One

Another's great day, is there no end to it?  We got up early to go to one of the most authentic markets still left. I got persimmons and presents from lovely ladies who took time to wrap them. I can't get over how kind and helpful everyone is to people who can't speak the language.  

Ted gave us another surprise stop   at an endless sand beach. We got ice cream and saw some creative sand sculptures. The most fun and unexpected part was about a 7 mile drive on the sand along the edge of the sea. There is a designated sand road with almost no cars on it much less a full size bus but it was fun and next best thing to having the time to walk it.  When we finished Ted and the bust driver got big claps.   

When we got into Kanasawa we went straight to the geisha district. The area isn't so interesting because all the windows are covered in thin slats for privacy,even when they are just restaurants. Lots of tourists and the only 'geishas' are young women dressed up as such, some with greater, more often lesser, success. They made it more fun for us. For 8 dollars I could get a soft ice cream cone covered in gold I opted for the 4.50 one with gold 
sprinkles. 

One role model

Or another

Everything was golden

Including our group

And the ice cream

n the next neighbourhood was the old Samurai district. We went to an original home, the best part of which was the garden. The city looks very clean, well cared for and prosperous. We walked back to our hotel past every international high end store. Our hotel is nice accessible to lots of things but not as high end as some of the stores leading up to it. We had one of the best, highest quality dinners since we got her and that finished a long and satisfying day.

The Samurai House