mar's photo diary

visiting Japanese Sake breweries

2010-03-05T05:24:00.003+09:00

Sake brewing is one of the oldest industries in Japan. Some brewers have given up the business over the years, but some claim to be 400 or 500 years old. Nada in Kobe has the biggest number of breweries and the largest production of sake in Japan. Fushimi in Kyoto ranks second.

The photo is of the Gekkei-kan Brewery, one I haven’t visited.
I had read about the process of making sake a couple of times before but could never really imagine it. Looking round and hearing the explanation it became much clearer. Different kinds of sake were served after the tour and it was the first time I thought sake was nice. I also felt the smell of koji was kind of nice when I left the brewery.

Shotoku Brewery’s “Junmai Gensh Kimoto” got a trophy at International Sake Challenge. It was so nice and the one I’ve liked most so far.

I heard that this is the only time of year we can visit breweries to see sake making, many of them offering tours.
I heard from a friend who was born in Fushimi that the whole smelt of koji mold during the sake brewing season. As I got closer to the brewery I understood what she meant. It wasn’t unpleasant, but definitely distinctive.

The brewery I visited was Shotoku Brewery which was founded by the Kimura family in the central Kyoto 360 years ago.
The brewery staff worked at a hectic pace. I thought visitors like us might be nuisance for them -most probably we were- but they weren’t blunt and surprisingly they had friendly smiles. I was also surprised most of them were very young, I expected they would have been much older. This company has a female brewmaster,; a traditionally male profession until very recent years.

steaming rice at Shotoku Brewery
The chairman guided the tour and explained the process of making sake step by step while showing us around the brewery. It was a normal working day and all the machines made so much noise I could hardly hear what he said at the beginning of the tour which was frustrating but when we moved to quieter part of premises it got much better. The idea is to show the active brewery and we saw pretty much everywhere. If the premises were designed for visitors they might be comfortable but not authentic.

left: storage tanks at Shotoku Brewery/ right: storage tanks at Seibei Imanishi Brewery; all were set under mesh floor
Japanese sake is made from rice, water and koji mould. That’s the reason many brewing areas have an abundant supply of good underground water and Fushimi is no exception.
Especially at smaller breweries, at which many of the processes are done hand rather than machinery, sake is usually produced in the winter time because there’s less bacteria which means the brewer can control production more easily than at other seasons. The rice harvest is usually in the autumn which might be another reason. Sake is usually sold after being pasteurized, stored and matured, but we can have unpasteurized sake at this time of year. It tastes very different from regular sake, it is slightly fizzy with a fruity flavour. On the brewery tour we were served a small amount from storage to try and it was very, very good.

Samples rice in different stages of polishing: the bran and outer part of the kernel are removed from rice for making sake./ photo at Seibei Imanishi Brewery, Nara
While I visiting Nara I had the chance to join another brewery tour at Seibei Imanishi Brewery. They offer tours on the weekends during February (prior booking required). This brewery is also a small one and the chairman was the guide here too. I heard the Imanishi family used to be the priests of Kasuga Grand Shrine and made sake to offer to the gods. They started commercial brewing in 1884. Their main brand called “Harushika” (literally meaning spring deer) was derived from the deer that was the messenger of Kasuga god. Their tour is held on the brewery’s day off, and he even used a megaphone, so the explanation was very easily heard. It was very easy to understand this time because I already had the general idea from the previous tour. Tasting was the last part of the tour again! I of course, enjoyed it and have a little chat with sake lovers.

right: mash in a wooden barrel at Seibei Imanishi Brewery.
I rarely drink sake, and then usually only hot, but after this experience I’d very much like to try and find my favourite one. The chairman would be happy to hear that, I hope.

Shotoku Brewery Co. Ltd (English)
Seibei Imanishi Co. Ltd (English)

potted plum trees

2010-02-19T20:25:00.001+09:00

It’s about 1 hour train ride from Kyoto station to Nagahama located at the northern end Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan, in Shiga Prefecture. Just one hour ride takes us to snow-country... but it wasn’t when I went there.
At least I saw Mt. Ibuki covered with snow, it looked beautiful but it wasn’t close enough to make me feel that I had come to snow-country.

Every year at this time a “Bonbai-ten” (盆梅展), which literally means potted plum trees exhibition, is held in Nagahama. It is set in Keiun-kan (慶雲館) an old house which was built by a local businessman in 1887 for the visit of the Meiji Emperor.

Pine trees and stones are pleasantly laid out in the extensive gardens designed by Jihei Ogawa/ Ueji (7th), a noted gardener who also designed the garden at Heian Shrine and Murin-an. Actually this garden designated as “Special Places of Scenic Beauty” along with other works of Ueji.

This is the first time I visited a “Bonbai-ten” and the one in Nagahama is the oldest and biggest of its kind. I was expecting “bonsai”, but it wasn’t. The plum trees are massive, much taller than I am and very impressive. Some of them are 350 to 400 years old. (photo below)

Some of them are more like the image of “bonsai”.

The room is full of the fresh smell of the flowers and it is very pleasant. Although there are some plum fields in Kyoto, this is more like viewing art work than plants.

a snowy morning

2010-02-11T12:45:00.002+09:00

We hardly ever have snow in central Kyoto nowadays, it might lie briefly a couple of times a year. I seem to remember it used to be more often when I first started living here. Global warming? It could be.
I went out to take photos when I saw the snow on the neighbour’s roof. It wasn’t enough to cover the ground, but it gave slight colour to the scenery.

I went to Nijo Castle and Shinsen-en.

At Nijo Castle only a little snow remained.

Shinsen-en is one of my favourite places, originally the Imperial Garden when Kyoto was established, but it requires imagination to envisage the place in the past. –You may get an idea at a display in Nijojo-mae underground station.

It’s a small garden with tiny a sub-temple and shrines. I personally think it’s an interesting place and pleasing to the eye in every season.

108

2010-01-01T23:29:00.003+09:00

In the last hour of the year 2009 I visited a temple to participate in the ceremony of ringing the bell 108 times. Because of the crowds my friend and I along with the four others took our turn as groups of six were allowed to ring the bell in turn. The idea being to get rid of so-called “worldly desires” in 2009 before the start of the new year.

After that we went drinking until 5 o’clock. I’m not sure how successful I was in getting rid of “worldly desires”.

(left: a new year's ornament at Sanjusangen-do
/ right: a new year's ornament in Kyoto style)

A Happy New Year to you all.

photographs

2009-12-29T21:38:00.000+09:00

A photograph has a certain kind of power.

My father passed away sometime ago and his photo brings back memories. After he passed away, we searched for some photos to use for his funeral. I found many pictures of him which I had never seen before. On the back of one of them was written my father’s name and 17 years old. His appearance was dramatically different and that made me think of his devotion to his work, family and friends, like many other Japanese men of his age his work was his hobby.

I found this picture in his photo pile. I think this is the area I was born, but nothing like it was even in those days.

Tenryu-ji Temple

2009-10-03T04:24:00.000+09:00

Tenryu-ji Temple, Arashiyama, Kyoto
天龍寺（京都/嵐山）

I think Tenryu-ji Temple’s attraction is the garden.

It has been known as Tenryu-ji and belonged to the Rinzai Zen sect of Buddhism since its founding in 1345 by the first Ashikaga shogun, prior to that the land had been a temple and for a time a detached palace.The temple has a long history, however it has suffered fire many times and the present day structures are mostly built within the last 200 years.

The garden around the pond has never been affected by the fires and is said to closely resemble the original.

It was designed by a priest Muso Soseki, who also designed the garden of Saiho-ji, Koke-dera or Moss Temple. It is a strolling style garden but the path around the pond is closed to the public.

Nevertheless it still has an open-spaced cheerful atmosphere with a backdrop of mountains showing seasonal colours throughout the year.

Sagano Bamboo Grove

2009-09-30T23:52:00.001+09:00

The image of this path is used frequently to introduce Sagano, the Arashiyama area, sometimes as a whole Kyoto or even Japan. This little path is very, very popular not only with overseas but also domestic visitors. There are countless bamboo forests all over Japan, but this is especially favoured because of its serene atmosphere. Many people come to enjoy it, so many in fact the atmosphere is far from serene. –it might be quiet very early morning.

The sound of bamboo blowing the wind is very peaceful and pleasant, indeed.

Jojakko-ji Temple

2009-09-22T18:02:00.001+09:00

Jojakko-ji Temple, Sagano, Kyoto
常寂光寺（京都/嵯峨野）

Spring and autumn are the best seasons to visit Kyoto. Some places are well known for cherry blossom and some for Japanese maples. This temple is a popular place for Japanese maples. It is notably praised for its picturesque hillside setting amongst the blazing reds of autumn.

Jojakko-ji Temple was originally the retirement place of a renowned monk. The land was said to be donated by a successful merchant and the structures were donated or transferred from a castle and temple. It shows how influential and respected he was.

The temple has a pretty cypress bark roofed Taho-to tower, a thatched Nio-mon gate and a small quiet garden. It may worth trying to visit during the maple season.

Gio-ji Temple

2009-09-19T06:52:00.001+09:00

Gio-ji Temple, Sagano, Kyoto
祇王寺（京都/嵯峨野）

Sagano has been known as a beautifully scenic place since the beginning of Kyoto’s history. It used to be a popular location for the Imperial family and aristocrats to own second homes and for anyone seeking seclusion, some still-active temples were founded a long time ago for that reason. Gio-ji Temple was one of those and is known for two historical figures who became nuns and spent the rest of their lives there. The temple is named after one of them.

The precinct is surprisingly small, but the temple is in bamboo forest and the garden is covered with moss, it’s very pretty and cosy.

Adashino-Nenbutsu-ji Temple

2009-09-14T08:38:00.002+09:00

Adashino-Nenbutsu-ji Temple, Kyoto
化野念仏寺（京都）

The other day I took guests to Arashiyama and Sagano areas. We started at Adashino-Nenbutsu-ji Temple in Kiyotaki.

It is located in north east Kyoto and takes 40 minutes by bus from the city centre. Nowadays it’s easily accessible from the city but until 40 or 50 years ago it was a very quiet backwater.

According to the temple record a monk, Kukai, founded the temple about 1,100 years ago to repose deceased souls in the area. The custom had been to leave bodies randomly in the open without burial and this area was the designated area for leaving the bodies. Later burial became the common practice for disposal of the deceased but there were still no cemeteries and graves were scattered throughout the area. Over the years the graves were abandoned because there were no relatives or descendants to look after them. These abandoned, scattered tombstones (in this case pagoda-shaped or jizo statues rather than the western idea of tombstones) were gathered together in around 1903 and set in the temple in order to help the souls of those buried and forgotten throughout the area. The temple’s uniqueness is due to the resulting huge number of aligned stone statues and pagodas there –it is said over 8,000 of them .

On the 23rd and 24th of August a festival takes place in the temple called “Sento-Kuyo (千灯供養)”. “sen(thousand) to(light) kuyo (repose of deceased souls)”. The candle lights offered in front of the statues are to pray for the souls of the deceased who are now unknown.

The temple is located on a mountain and viewing cherry blossom in spring and autumn colours is enjoyable there. The place reminds us life and death are connected and like the changing colours of the seasons nothing is eternal.

Adashino-Nenbutsu-ji (Official/ Japanese)

Shimogamo Shrine (2)

2009-09-12T07:44:00.001+09:00

Shimogamo Shrine, Kyoto
下鴨神社（京都）

I’ve lived in Kyoto city nearly 10 years. Since I got involved in guiding overseas visitors, I’ve been to many places guiding and for research. There are more than 3,000 temples and shrines, many of them are not open to the public, it is impossible to visit them all, not that I intended to try it anyway.

Perhaps it’s surprising that in that time I’ve never visited such a well known shrine as Shimogamo. I always associate it with the Aoi (holyhock) festival which takes place in May and is one of the three major festivals in Kyoto along with Gion-Matsuri in July and Jidai-Matsuri in October. Though I thought it a must-see-place my daily routine makes it difficult to pop in. Anyway, it can be seen as a good example both of grandiose-scale shrine architecture and Shinto ritual practice.

I’ll tell you a little about Shimogamo Shrine.

The origin is unknown but it is one of the oldest shrines in the city and existed before the formation of Kyoto as a family shrine of indigenous Kyoto clan, Kamo. The official name is Kamomioya-Jinja (jinja means Shinto shrine), but nobody calls it that and uses the familiar name, Shimogamo-Jinja. Although the shrine is located in the centre of the city it still has a decent amount of woodland around it creating a pleasant atmosphere, enough to forget you are in the city centre. It is designated a World Heritage Site along with other temples and shrines in Kyoto.

A summer rite at Shimogamo Shrine –Shimogamo Shrine (1)

2009-09-11T08:00:00.001+09:00

The Mitarashi festival at Shimogamo Shrine, Kyoto
下鴨神社/みたらし祭(京都)

It’s already September. The worst of the unbearable heat and humidity is passing, it’s getting milder. Before summer is gone I want to leave one more Kyoto summer.

I was requested to guide at Shimogamo Shrine and went to do a little pre-guiding research.

The day I went there was a festival taking place - Kyoto has so many festivals there’s one almost everyday somewhere in town. This festival is called The Mitarashi festival and involves ritual foot bathing in the water of Mitarashi pond (actually a stone-lined pool) in front of Mitarashi Shrine, part of the Shimogamo complex. The ritual is based on the belief that those who bathe their feet in the pond will be blessed by the god Mitarashi, bringing good health, curing plague and removing misfortune. There was a long queue I didn’t join waiting to follow the ritual. I had a look but wasn’t impressed…

I took my guests to the shrine and asked if they would like to have a look at the pool in which the ritual is conducted. It was terribly hot and we were almost dried up having been out in the strong sunshine all morning. There were only few people there. We approached the steps into the water and I couldn’t resist bathing my feet in the clear-looking water and took off my shoes, slowly walked in. The water wasn’t deep, coming to just below the knee and kind of chilly, but very pleasant and refreshing in the centre of the pool, until then I hadn’t realized it was spring water. I felt the water was not only cool but also blessing. No wonder there had been a long queue on my previous visit. Seeing is believing so I recommend you try it if you visit the shrine on a hot summer day.

I think spring water has ability to add something extra to things and feelings, which reminds me of this from my childhood. When ever I visited my grandmother in summer she always offered fruit which she cooled in a little stream by a paddy field. In my memory those home grown water melons and oriental melons were the best I’ve ever eaten.

if they run after a hare

2009-09-09T22:10:00.000+09:00

The day we went to Ichinohe we started by first driving to Shirakami-sanchi. I must say my plan wasn’t neat, it meant a long drive but it wasn’t without reward. The route from Shirakami-Sanchi to Ichinohe was long, taking us through the mountains sometimes on unsurfaced roads, we saw a Mountain Hawk Eagle swoop down on an unfortunate Japanese Hare that was already being chased up the road towards us by a Japanese Marten. The eagle pulled up at the last second, perhaps because of our presence, and perched in a dead tree next to our car. Both of us were thrilled to see the scene. The Hare was at a loss, with the Marten following up the road, us ahead and the Eagle perched above it walked in circles in the middle of the road. Finally it hopped into the forest and the other players soon disappeared too leaving just us sitting in our car on the empty road. It was like a show and though it might happen all the time we thanked for our luck that we could witness the performance.

We were so astonished to see the scene and couldn’t take off our eyes from it. This was the only photo we could take… the Marten, last to depart, sniffing around on the road contemplating its lost meal.

(enlarged)

Gosyono Jomon Site -Japanese Stone Age sites (4)

2009-09-09T16:29:00.003+09:00

Gosyono Jomon Site, Ichinohe town, Iwate Pref.
御所野縄文遺跡(岩手/一戸町)

Before I went on the Tohoku trip I collected information by internet and found this archaeological site. I contacted them to arrange a visit with the resident volunteer guide. They answered my e-mail very promptly and apologised for being unable to provide us with an English-speaking guide, but arranged guiding in Japanese.

This was the third site we visited taking advantage of their guides. They asked us how long we would like the tour to be, 30 minutes or an hour, and whether we’d like to visit the visitor centre. We found out later not everyone bothers with the centre.

The award winning building is impressive, it blends seamlessly into the environment and the exhibition was well-organized. I must say it’s well worth paying for the admission fee.

We excited to see so many unearthed artefacts from the many Jomon sites in the town. They were very good condition, far better than those we’d seen elsewhere, so much so we asked if they were copies, and we were amazed to see the quality of workmanship. They are stunning.

This mask is a replica - but that doesn’t detract from its striking appearance. The original was shipped to the British Museum for a special exhibition. It is pity we weren’t able to see the real thing.

We started out with one guide and ended with three of them. All are local people who support the activities of the site, they are enthusiastic and really hospitable. The best thing is we could hear the local people’s point of view about having an archaeological site on the doorstep and told us so many interesting stories.

The site had long been known to locals but it wasn’t until the local government were planning to build an industrial park to bring jobs to the area that it was brought to wider public attention. Whether to conserve the site or develop local industry was a controversial issue but ultimately residents choose to protect the regions history. I suppose the local government offered a replacement location for industrial development.

The site is more like a park in that people can visit free. There seems to be lots going on, experiments and activities not just restricted to scholars but also involving the local community.

We enjoyed it so much we spent more than two hours with our guides. Even at closing time they were kind enough to ask the place to stay open a little longer so they could finish showing us everything.

Sannai-Maruyama Site -Japanese Stone Age sites (3)

2009-09-06T07:43:00.012+09:00

Sannai-Maruyama Site, Aomori, Aomori Pref.
三内丸山遺跡(青森)

While I was travelling Akita I met a group of old women from various parts of Japan who seemed to be on a reunion trip and we had a chat about own towns. One of them came from Aomori and recommended I should visit Sannai-Maruyama Site. According to her the site was well-organized and worth the long journey to get there. I said “Yes, I will.” The next month my husband and I decided to go Aomori, so I put the site on top of my places-to-see list and arranged for the resident English-speaking volunteer guide to help.

That day we started on the east coastline of Aomori Prefecture to see birds then drove along the north coastline back to Aomori city. I had arranged the guide for
the last available tour time and we arrived at the last minute, as it took more than 3 hours to get there.

The site, looking like a large park, is located just beyond the outskirts of Aomori city and it is entered through a large, extremely modern art museum seeming to connect old and new or past and present.

This Jomon site was discovered in 1993 and has been gradually excavated ever since, but it might take long, long time to be completed and reveal its full extent. I’ve posted about two archaeological sites so far, both of them were stone circles intended as ritual sites, this on the other hand was a large thriving village of the Jomon period. As it’s not a stone site, all the original wooden structures have gone leaving only holes and wooden stumps of what were once great pillars in the case of the larger structures as well as many ornaments and fragments of pottery. We can learn a lot from this evidence.

When we visited Oyu stone circle, our guide answered our questions and told us that we can only learn the location and purpose of the buildings, not what the structure itself would have looked like. The wooden structures displayed are not replicas but are built on the actual sites using a combination of research and imagination.

Yes, of course… but I didn’t realize till it was pointed out.

To come back to the Sannai-Maruyama site, it has structures in different styles, all possible variations based on what has been discovered, whereas unearthed artefacts speak for themselves. Objects made from a variety of stone not found the area is evidence of Jomon trade with others. Evidence uncovered so far tells us so many things about the past and it is now said that the Jomon people were much more advanced than we had previously thought.

The site is very well-organized, in a way very modern and park-like. Though it might not look as it did in Jomon times it is nevertheless an enjoyable and pleasant place to visit.

Sannai-Maruyama Site (Official/English)
The Group of Jomon Sites in Aomori Prefecture (Official/English)

Isedotai Stone Circle -Japanese Stone Age sites (2)

2009-09-03T21:32:00.013+09:00

Isedotai Stone Circle, Kita'akita, Akita Pref.
伊勢堂岱遺跡 (秋田/北秋田市)

I was informed about a Jomon archaeological site in Akita when I had visited Oyu Stone Circle. I drove, drove and drove to the west. Located near Odate-Noshiro Airport(Akita Kita Airport) the site was discovered in the early stages of preparation to build the airport 14 years ago.

According to the information board, the site was used for ceremonies and four stone circles have been found so far. It is open to the public, but doesn’t have any facilities like the other sites and it’s difficult for me to image what the place was like as I don’t have enough archaeological knowledge.

It might be further excavated and better organized to receive visitors sometime in the future. It may well look completely different the next time I visit as this along with all the other sites in the area have jointly applied for World Heritage Site designation.

Isedotai Archaeological site (Japanese)
Isedotai Stone Circle (Japanese)

大きな地図で見る

Oyu Stone Circle -Japanese Stone Age sites (1)

2009-08-30T06:08:00.008+09:00

Oyu Stone Circle, Kazuno, Akita Pref.
大湯環状列石 (秋田/鹿角市)

While I was staying at Akita, I found several stone circle symbols on the map and as I had enjoyed visiting megalithic monuments, sites and ruins in Britain, I went to see Oyu Stone Circle(大湯環状列石) to find out what a Japanese site was like.

Compared to Stonehenge or The Ring of Brodgar, it was on a much, much smaller scale but nevertheless unexpectedly interesting. I didn’t know anything about Japanese archaeological sites and what I heard and saw was beyond my expectation.

I went there twice during the summer. The first time I casually visited the site and enjoyed it but wanted know more so I asked to be accompanied by a volunteer guide on the second visit. He seemed to be an archaeologist rather than just a guide and his explanations were enthusiastic and informative. My husband and I visited two more sites afterwards the things he told us were of great help to understand more deeply the overall picture of life in northern Japan at that time.

The site was discovered in 1931 when the land was being cultivated, many stones were discovered. Fortunately someone who had some knowledge of stone circles learned about it and through his efforts the site was saved.

The site belongs to the Jomon period (16,500-3,000BC), graves have been found and also it is considered that the site was used for conducting ceremonies. The site is still under excavation from time to time, as funding allows, and there are still many unanswered questions.

I strongly recommended arranging a guide if you have a chance to visit it. Unfortunately they are not able to provide an English speaking volunteer guide so it may be necessary to ask someone who speaks Japanese to help. –They may be able to provide an English speaking guide in the future.

Official website (Japanese)

Aomori Nebuta Festival

2009-08-27T08:08:00.006+09:00

Aomori Nebuta Festival, Aomori
青森ねぶた祭 (青森/青森市)

August is the season for festivals. There are thousands of festivals throughout Japan. Aomori Nebuta festival is the one of the best-known and the crowds get bigger every year. I had wanted to see it for a long time and we happened to be near the site on the main day, so we grab the chance to see it.

Nebuta is famous for its floats which are carried around the centre of Aomori city. They are made from paper, wire and electric bulbs. They are beautiful to see in day light, but it absolutely stunning and breathtaking at night when they are lit from within. Each float is accompanied by its own band (hayashi-kata) and troop of “haneto” dancers.

It’s worth seeing if you are travelling in Japan in the first week of August.

There is an English website run by the festival committee and you can see the floats being carried through the streets on YouTube or other video sites.

a festival for children

2009-08-25T21:34:00.006+09:00

Jizo-bon festival, Kyoto
地蔵盆

I live in central Kyoto surrounded by old wooden houses. If you ever walk in Kyoto city, you might have noticed the little shrines here and there on the street. They are shrines for Jizo and each community has own shrine. Jizo is a guardian of travellers and people, especially children.

Every 24th of the month is the day for Jizo and around the 24th of August many communities have a festival(Jizo-bon 地蔵盆) for the neighbourhood children. The number of children in my area has decreased and nowadays grandchildren who don’t live in the neighbourhood are allowed to join the festival.

What happens at the festival varies form place to place. Where I live the Jizo statue, usually displayed in the small shrine on the street, is displayed in one of the neighbourhood homes, a different one each year, and while a parish monk visits and chants the sutra in front of Jizo the children sit in a circle holding a big rosary that they pass through their hands because they are too young to read the sutra. In my home town the festival is held at a local temple and involves traditional bon-dancing (bon-odori 盆踊り) and some stalls selling food and the traditional game of catching goldfish with a paper scoop.

the basic rules of taking Japanese bath

2009-08-22T19:40:00.003+09:00

Most Japanese families have a bath (generally bath tub and space next to it to wash). In general bath and toilet are in separated rooms. A long time ago most families, especially in the city, didn’t have their own bath and people went to a public bath(sento/銭湯). In the country more family had baths, usually a detached building next to the toilet in the garden.

Let’s talk about the present day.

Japanese baths can generally be divided into 3 types: the private family bath, the public bath(sento/銭湯) and the hot spring bath(Onsen/温泉).
In all three types people share the same bath tub water, unlike a western bath, therefore you wash yourself before jumping into the water. Considering others and trying not to make the water dirty for those taking a bath later is very, very important. So the bath tub is not a place to wash your body but to soak and relax after getting clean.

Public baths and hot spring baths are usually bigger and communal. Some might even look like pool to you, but I advise you not to swim or splash unless you are all alone in the bath. I also advise not to wear swim suites even if you are embarrassed to be naked with strangers – the others are naked as well. Most baths are separated by gender. Unfortunately only a Japanese sign indicates which is which in most places, 男(male) usually blue or a dark colour sign and 女(female) usually red or pink.

Usually take a small towel or flannel to wash your body before getting into the bath, avoid dipping it into bath water, especially at hot springs, because it causes the water to get cloudy.

There might be other rules that I can’t think of right now because I take them for granted. I would be very happy if you let me know anything you think I’ve forgotten or ought to mention as well as anything you’d like to check or find out about.

The variety of Onsen(hot springs)

2009-08-22T12:21:00.010+09:00

It is said that the Japanese love hot springs, Onsen(温泉). Hot springs are probably the most popular domestic travel destination. There are more than a thousand hot springs dotted around the country, but Kyoto is unusual in having very few. In recent years drilling to tap into geothermally heated underground water has become very, very popular and because of advanced technology we have so-called hot springs in the very central of big cities but personally I don’t consider these real onsens because they aren’t natural springs. They are more like sentos(銭湯) which I’ll explain in more detail in another post.

Tamagawa Onsen, Akita Pref.
People in my area think of going to hot springs as a fun way to spend a couple of days but elsewhere attitudes can be different. One of the biggest differences is self-catering accommodation. Many onsens run both hotels and very basic self-catering facilities in Tohoku and people may stay a week, a month or even longer for medical reasons. This style is called “Tohji(湯治)”, literally meaning “hot water curing”. I had traveled to Tohoku before and was familiar with this kind of accommodation having stayed at some of the Tohji-yu (湯治湯 a hot spring for Tohji) but my husband was surprised to see our accommodation when we stayed Sukayu-Onsen(酸ヶ湯温泉) and whispered me that the place was more like a hospital than a hotel. –Actually the hotel looked like my wooden old elementary school building to me.

Sukayu Onsen, Aomori
Many of big Japanese hot spring ryokan/hotels open their baths to non-residents during the day. Visitors pay admission to take their bath which is often called “higaeri-nyuyoku(日帰り入浴)” which means day-return, thus we can visit many hot springs without staying in expensive hotels. Although part of the experience of staying at the hotel is the food as well.

Thuta Onsen, Aomori
There is a huge range of Japanese hot springs, from free outdoor hot springs to exclusive ryokans(Japanese inn) with 5-star cuisine; it depends on what you are looking for but there’s something to fit all tastes.

Yuze Onsen, Akita Pref.
-I’ll tell you the very basic rules of how to take a Japanese bath next time.

Kuroyu Onsen, Nyuto Onsen-go, Akita Pref.

Travel to the North

2009-08-19T23:44:00.008+09:00

Tohoku/ northern Honshu
東北地方

The last two months I had opportunities to travel around the north of Japan. I stayed at a hot spring in Akita in July and travelled around Akita and Aomori this month. The weather was much cooler and more pleasant than here, this is partly because I stayed mainly in the highlands but the climate is clearly cooler and less humid than that where I live.

It’s about 1,200 km from Kyoto to Aomori and it takes about 15 hours non-stop driving on the highway. I’ve done the drive north four times and am familiar with the route. I choose to take the highway to Niigata which takes 6 hours and general roads along Japan Sea to Akita. I had told my husband how much I’d enjoyed the trip north last time and we decided to go together so I wasn’t alone this time and he could share the driving. We both like driving in the countryside, without the stress and frustration of traffic jams or lights. We both had to work on the day we left Kyoto so we didn’t get away until 10 p.m. and arrived at the north of Akita at 3p.m. next day. Although it was tiring, I could enjoy the sunrise and the fresh air.

We drove through mountains and fields, saw falls and forests, visited 6 hot springs, saw a festival and fireworks, visited 3 archaeological sites and enjoyed local food, in total we drove a little over 3,200 km in 6 days.

The last part of Gion Matsuri festival

2009-08-14T14:52:00.008+09:00

Kanko-sai/ Gion festival, Kyoto
祇園祭環幸祭 (京都)

I apologize again to anyone who follows my blog for not posting a while. Since I last posted I twice travelled to the north again. As I haven’t even posted my journey in June my photo folder has been getting bigger and bigger. I don’t know where to start …

In the last posting I explain about Gion Matsuri festival which runs the whole month of July and I want to add one more festival event, which takes place on the 24th of July around my area.

The float parade of the festival is far better known. I didn’t know about other events until I moved into the parish of my local shrine. In brief the festival is divided in two parts: float related events and portable shrine related events.
All the floats are built between the 10th and 13th and the procession takes place on the 17th. Where as the portable shrines are washed and cleansed in the Kamo river, which runs through the centre of the city, on the 10th. (Mikoshi-arai shiki) On the evening of procession the portable shrines leave Yasaka shrine carried by many men and parade through the city, they reside temporarily at Shijo Otabisho which is on the Shijo street near Shinkyogoku and Teramachi shopping arcades until the 24th. You can see the portable shrines placed in the middle of the high street for only those 2 weeks. On the 24th is the return parade to Yasaka shrine.

Unlike the other Kyoto city festivals this parade is noisy and lively. Year by year I’m becoming more familiar with this event and I’m looking forward to seeing the arrival of the shrines in my neighbourhood next year.

bits of Gion Matsuri festival

2009-07-18T21:32:00.004+09:00

Gion festival, Kyoto
祇園祭(京都)

Gion Matsuri is the biggest festival in Kyoto. It runs during the whole month of July during which a variety of ceremonies and processions are conducted. It originated at the time plague attacked not only the city but swept through the whole country in the 9th century. People’s only defense was prayer.

They were convinced that the plague had been caused by a curse of the god Gozu-daiou and attended the Yasaka Shrine, where the god is enshrined, to pray for deliverance from the disaster. 66 halberd or hoko were stood at Shinsen-en garden to honour of the god of Yasaka and portable shrines were carried as well. It was called “Goryo-e” and was the origin of the festival. 66 floats each with a spear (hence the term hoko also applying to the float itself) were built, to represent the number of countries in those days and it was believed that hoko, which have sharp ends, would be suitable dwelling places for the spirits. Although there were breaks during the Onin War(1467-1477) and Second World War, it has otherwise been held annually for over 1,000 years.

The festivals are divided into 4 major parts: processions, bearing portable shrines, dedication rituals and ceremonies of the shrine. The most well-known part of the festival is a procession of hoko or floats which is held on the 17th of July. There are two types of hoko floats; one, hoko or halberd is larger and represents the original hoko used in the original ritual, the other, yama is smaller in size and usually carry historical figures and some carry figures based on mythology. Floats are built between the 10th and 13th of July and they are displayed on the street in the community each belongs to.

For three nights preceding the procession through central Kyoto the floats are decorated and hung with large numbers of lighted lanterns. People throng the streets strolling from float to float enjoying the festive atmosphere, playing games and eating at many stalls set up along streets during this time.

Especially the night before the procession, many of marchants' houses are open-fronted and display their treasure in the front room. It’s also called "Byobu Matsuri", literally meaning a folding screen festival. That is one of the great pleasures of the festival, to see the treasure and fine merchants' houses normally hidden.

(written with the big help of my friend)

Gion Matsuri festival

2009-07-17T23:59:00.006+09:00

Gion festival, Kyoto
祇園祭(京都)

I apologize to anyone who follows my blog for not posting a while. I was away travelling around northern Japan. It was very pleasant, much cooler than here though there were many rainy days. I’d like to tell you about the places I visited, but I’ll do it soon when I sort out my photos. Instead I’ll tell you about my city’s biggest festival today.

The city has lots of festivals here and there, some are significant and some are not. The most loved and biggest in scale is Gion-matsuri festival, it runs almost the whole month of July. The best known part, and highlight, of the festival is the procession which was conducted today.

The last 3 nights the central area of the city was closed to all traffic and lots of stalls selling snacks line all the streets. I read that 100,000 people visited the city, many wearing yukata, the cotton kimono for summer, strolling in the massive crowds to enjoy the festival.

I didn’t go this year, but I live near by and the area is on my way to work so I saw the crowds gathering from early evening. It looked very packed as usual.

I most like the early morning scene with the big yamaboko floats resting peacefully in the quiet streets before the heat of the day builds up.

Heian Shrine Shin-en garden

2009-06-28T14:10:00.011+09:00

Shin-en garden, Heian Jingu Shrine, Okazaki Park, Kyoto
平安神宮神苑(京都/岡崎公園)

I sometimes take guests to Heian (Jingu) shrine, but there aren’t many occasions we visit the garden partly because there’s an admission fee but mainly because of a lack of time.

Today I’ll show you its garden. The second week of June I was requested to take guests to the garden even though they had been to the shrine on a bus tour. I heard that they didn’t enjoy the shrine and it didn’t make any sense wishing to go there again.

When we arrived I finally understood they wanted to see its garden, not the shrine itself.

Japanese iris was almost in full-bloom and water lilies were just coming into bloom. The garden was breathtakingly beautiful.
I’ve been there many times and didn’t appreciate it much. The visit changed my opinion. The garden is transformed by the flowers. It is also a popular destination for cherry blossom viewing which should be lovely as well.

Those two buildings were transferred from the Imperial Palace when the garden was built in 1912 by a prominent gardener Ogawa Jihei, the pioneer of the modern Japanese garden.

Official site/The Garden (English)
Official site/Access (English)

A Thatching Village, Miyama

2009-06-26T21:06:00.005+09:00

A Thatching Village, Miyama, Kyoto Pref.
京都美山かやぶきの里北村

It was 15:30 when I finish visiting Kozan-ji and decided to go further north along a meandering mountain road to Miyama, it was already 17:30 when I arrived.

Miyama is located in the central part of Kyoto prefecture, surrounded by mountains, actually the name Miyama means “beautiful mountains”.

The area is well-preserved and is as beautiful as the name suggests. I saw many of the thatched roofed houses the area is famed for and in particular the preserved area called “Kayabuki-no-sato” (Thatching Village). Out of around 50 of the village houses, 38 are thatched. 38 out of about 50 houses in this thriving village are thatched and most were built between the mid to late Edo period(1603-1867). To many visitors from around the country the place evokes the world of old Japanese stories. –Actually I thought of settling down when I visited the Shetland Islands. I might be easily fascinated with natural landscapes.

I was briefly tempted by the idea of living here too but realistically life without trains would be impossible at present.

It is undoubtedly an idyllic landscape, beautiful and peaceful.

access (Japanese)

Kozan-ji temple in Togano'o

2009-06-25T18:32:00.004+09:00

Kozan-ji Temple, Togano'o, Kyoto
高山寺 (京都/栂尾)

Unexpectedly I had a car available I went to Togano-o area. Togano-o is north west of Kyoto city and might take more than 1 hour bus ride from Kyoto station. -I took 40 minutes by car.

I didn’t have much time to visit, so I picked Kozan-ji temple to visit this time.

The temple used to have many structures, but only a few are left. The sub-temple “Sekisui-in” is the only one left from the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and designated as a National Treasure.

One of the reasons making Kozan-ji so popular is this series of drawings. “Choju-jinbutsu-giga” (Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Humans) is said to be the first “manga” and the motifs are still very very popular, and can be seen on various products. –Actually my rice bowl has this motif. A replica is on show. It consists of 4 volumes and the originals are kept by Tokyo and Kyoto National Museums, each with two volumes.

A stunning view from Sekisui-in. Though renowned for it’s autumn colours the early summer green, in Japanese called the season of “Shinryoku” (new green), is every bit as beautiful.

I wanted to see this tea field, said to be the oldest in Japan. The stone sign on the below makes this claim.

Entry is prohibited but as I was born in a tea producing area and tea and paddy fields were my childhood landscape I was interested in seeing what the oldest is like. As expected the field is nothing special…

The Kozan-ji is registered as a “World Heritage Site”.

The neighbouring mountains have two other well-known temples and usually visitors visit all three temples in one trip. The whole area is one of the most popular destinations for autumn colours, particularly Japanese maples. It must be utterly stunning. Most of the maples I saw there were very tall and much bigger than the ones in the city. I imagine that the temples would be covered with blazing red colours.

a canal runs in a temple

2009-06-25T07:44:00.003+09:00

Lake Biwa Canal at Nanzen-ji Temple, Kyoto
南禅寺の琵琶湖疎水(京都)

Lake Biwa Canal runs in Nanzen-ji Temple.
The site is frequently used at a location of Japanese dramas.

Gardens at Nanzen-ji Hojo Abbot’s Quarters (6)

2009-06-25T07:31:00.003+09:00

Gardens at Nanzen-ji Hojo Abbot’s Quarters, Kyoto
南禅寺方丈(京都)

"還源庭" (Kangen-tei Garden) literally means “back to origin”.

Gardens at Nanzen-ji Hojo Abbot’s Quarters (5)

2009-06-24T18:30:00.003+09:00

Gardens at Nanzen-ji Hojo Abbot’s Quarters, Kyoto
南禅寺方丈 (京都)

Roji tea garden

“龍吟庭” (Ryugin?-tei Garden) literally means “Dragon growling”.

”涵龍池” (Kanryu-chi? Pond) literally means “Dragon soaking”.

Gardens at Nanzen-ji Hojo Abbot’s Quarters (4)

2009-06-24T18:16:00.003+09:00

Gardens at Nanzen-ji Hojo Abbot’s Quarters, Kyoto
南禅寺方丈 (京都)

“華厳の庭” (Kegon Garden)
According to the notice board of the garden; the word “Kegon” means “flower decoration” and is the core idea of Kegon sutra.

Gardens at Nanzen-ji Hojo Abbot’s Quarters (3)

2009-06-24T06:43:00.003+09:00

Gardens at Nanzen-ji Hojo Abbot’s Quarters, Kyoto
南禅寺方丈 (京都)

“六道庭” (Roku-do garden)
In contrast to the former garden, this represents six realms in Buddhist cosmology.

Gardens at Nanzen-ji Hojo Abbot’s Quarters (2)

2009-06-24T06:28:00.002+09:00

Gardens at Nanzen-ji Hojo Abbot’s Quarters, Kyoto
南禅寺方丈 (京都)

“如心庭” literally means “as the mind”. The stones are laid out in the form of the letter mind and the garden represents the state of enlightenment.

Gardens at Nanzen-ji Hojo Abbot’s Quarters (1)

2009-06-23T22:20:00.005+09:00

Gardens at Nanzen-ji Hojo Abbot’s Quarters, Kyoto
南禅寺方丈 (京都)

Hojo, the Abbot's Quarters, of Nanzen-ji temple has some gardens.

This is the oldest one and it is said to be the work of Kobori Enshu during the Edo period.

Nanzen-ji Temple

2009-06-23T20:23:00.006+09:00

Nanzen-ji Temple, Kyoto
南禅寺(京都)

Nanzen-ji (南禅寺) temple is one of headquarters of the Nanzen-ji school of Rinzai zen sect. Originally a retired emperor's detached palace turned into a Zen temple. Like other old temples of Japan, the temple has lost original structures due to fire and war. The temple was restored by donation and the transfer of structures and many paintings from the Imperial Palace and Fushimi Castle which doesn’t exist anymore.

This is San-mon(三門) the main gate of the temple.
It is very familiar to Japanese
because of a Kabuki play about a thief.

"Hatto Hall"
where all the official rites are conducted.

"Kuri" where we enter Hojo.

Next to Kuri there is a gate
only opened for official occasions.

Go into Hojo Abbots' Quarters.

You can enjoy a bowl of green tea
in a room overlooking a pleasant garden.

This is an accompanying sweet with the temple name shown on it.
It doesn’t look good but it tastes much better than it looks.
It was yummy.

A yudofu set meal at Nanzenji Temple

2009-06-07T05:31:00.009+09:00

Okutan Nanzenji branch, Nanzen-ji, Kyoto
奥丹南禅寺店

When I say I come from Kyoto, some say that I am lucky to live Kyoto and they start talk of temples, gardens and YUDOFU(湯豆腐). Yudofu is a very simple dish, tofu in konbu kelp broth cooked in a large pot then dipped into sauce with chopped spring onion.

Where to eat Yudofu? Yudofu is home cooking for me. Once a couple told me they came to Kyoto all the way from Hiroshima, 500km to the west, just to have yudofu.

What?! Were they crazy?

It seems like yudofu must be something different from what I know. It must be, otherwise nobody would pay for simple tofu at a very expensive restaurant. I went with a friend, who likes tofu and had had yudofu at restaurants before, to an old restaurant which claims to be the oldest yudofu restaurant, Okutan(奥丹).

There’re many restaurants which serve yudofu around Nanzen-ji temple. We picked Okutan because the menu, actually only one set menu, seems to be more basic. –Some places serve it with sashimi and other things.

First of all sesame tofu and grated yamaimo,
similar to Japanese yam with wasabi, are served.

Then skewered baked tofu
coated with Japanese pepper, sansyo, miso.
They are lovely!

Then Shojin-age vegetable tempra.

Then yudofu boiled tofu.
Tofu test like real rich soy beans flavour,
which means I usually eat the one isn’t good quality…

Finally a bowl of rice and pickles.
Their boild rice is lovely!!
-I asked if I could have another serving,
which charged extra 200yen,
but I was so full after having the whole meal
and couldn’t ask another.

Unexpectedly the meal was filling and I had to skip dinner. The atmosphere was great and food was good. I think it was worth paying for eating out yudofu now, but not often…

-Okutan also has another restaurant at Kiyomizu-zaka near Kiyomizu temple.

O'otoyo Shrine

2009-06-06T06:50:00.008+09:00

Otoyo Shrine, off Philosopher’s Path, Kyoto
大豊神社(京都)

Otoyo shrine (大豊神社) is a tiny shrine, near Eikan-do (永観堂) temple, along Philosopher’s Path. It’s popular among Japanese for its statues of guardians. Generally shrine’s guardians are vicious looking Koma-inu (literally means Korean dogs), however this shrine has lovely version of its kind. It attracts Japanese visitors even though the shrine isn’t especially significant.

Anraku-ji Temple

2009-06-04T18:36:00.007+09:00

Anraku-ji Temple, off Philosopher’s Path, Kyoto
安楽寺(京都)

There’s another pretty temple near by Honen-in(法然院). The temple is only open for several days a year. It has a similar humble hut style gate. Whereas the Honen-in gate is overshadowed with trees and rather dark, this gate has a brighter atmosphere.

There’re many temples named Anraku-ji(安楽寺) throughout Japan. Briefly “anraku(安楽)” means rest or comfort and many of them are named after the word. This temple is named after a monk Anraku(安楽) who was a disciple of Honen (法然) and was executed along with Juren(住連). –Actually the official name of this temple is Juren-san Anraku-ji (住連山安楽寺), having both monks names.

The temple was built to ease their souls near where they had preached. In their days Pure Land Buddhism was new and considered a cult and suppressed by established Buddhism, especially Enryaku-ji(延暦寺). They were charged of seduction and mesmerism by two court ladies, who later became nuns, and executed by the order of the Emperor.

A monk, probably in charge of the temple, explained the history. He answered all my questions with diligence and humbleness.

The temple has a small but pretty front garden with lots of trimmed azalea bushes. It was the last day of the spring opening and the azaleas, though passed their best, still gave colour to the garden.

There’s another garden between the main hall(本堂) and study room(書院). It is a composition of big stones and trees, but the trees have outgrown the garden and the balance is lost.

Contrary, the study’s garden has been well looked after. The tiny garden with trimmed azalea bushes is facing the mountains and we can sit on an engawa(縁側) floor to enjoy the scene. It’s not a big garden but it gives the feeling of space due to its layout with bushes gradually stepped up hillside. The two stone lanterns, stepping stones and a little stone bridge add charm to the garden.

Honen-in Temple

2009-06-03T18:30:00.011+09:00

Honen-in Temple, off Philosopher’s Path, Kyoto
法然院(京都)

The temple is located off the Philosopher’s path. It’s only 15 to 20 minutes by bus from the city centre, but the environment is quiet and refreshing. There are some pretty temples and shrines along the path. They are not grandiose like Hian-jungu shrine or Kiyomizu temple, but they stand at the foot of mountain surrounding by thick trees and they make us forget we are in the city.

Honen-in(法然院) is a quiet small temple surrounded by trees with a pretty humble hut style gate. The gate is very charming and photogenic, most visitors keen to take photos of it.

The temple’s named after the founder of the Pure Land sect (浄土宗) of Buddhism. The temple wasn’t actually founded by him, but was built much later in the place where he used to conduct sutra chanting with his disciples in the Kamakura period.

The precinct is open to the public from 4 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, but the main hall is only open on several days a year. Actually I’ve never been. I read that 25 flowers are placed on the wooden floor in front of the main image. 25 accords to the number of followers of Amida Buddha. The floor is varnished and shines like a mirror. Isn’t it a beautiful site? I think it must be.

The other characteristic thing is the sand platforms which are periodically raked to create designs. The one on the right is the seasonal motif and on the left is the Buddhist motif. Unfortunately the images weren’t in perfect condition due to the rain, when I went there though to compensate the green was glowing and gave them a pretty backdrop instead.

There’s an old style 10-storey stone pagoda which was built during the Taisho period.

Philosopher’s Path

2009-06-02T20:03:00.004+09:00

Philosopher’s Path, Kyoto
哲学の道(京都)

Philosopher’s Path (哲学の道) is the path that runs along the Biwako canal, very popular with both domestic and overseas visitors.

Along the path there’re hundreds of cherry trees originally donated by a wife of Japanese painter Hashimoto Kansetsu and are called Kansetsu sakura (Kansetsu cherry trees): the present trees are not original ones which were planted nearly 100 years ago and they are carefully looked after and bloom every sakura season.

It’s easy to imagine how stunningly beautiful they must be in the cherry blossom season but I’ve never visited at that time myself. I don’t dare jump into the crowds. I may try to visit there at dusk next time.

The path is named after a philosophy professor Nishida Kitaro walked it regularly, hence its name which became officially adopted in 1972.

Saiho-ji Temple a.k.a. Koke-dera, Moss Temple

2009-05-30T18:51:00.008+09:00

Saiho-ji Temple(Koke-dera/Moss Temple), Katsura, Kyoto
西芳寺/苔寺(京都/桂)

A friend had applied for permission to visit Saiho-ji(西芳寺) temple and asked me to join him. Saiho-ji or Koke-dera has long been top of my wish list of places to visit. I had never taken the trouble to apply even my interest was high, because the temple only accepts visitors after a written application. It sounded a lot of bother to go through.

Of course I said I would go.

It costs 3,000yen to visit. Some think it’s outrageous, but I don’t. In fact, I like the attitude. They accept visitors as a religious occasion. The visitors have to do syakyo(写経), copying Hannyashinnkyo(般若心経) Heart Sutra, which consists of 260 or more Kanji, Chinese characters, with Indian ink and a brush. Before that we chant the sutra 3 times with monks. –Though it doesn’t have to be done perfectly. Then we are free to walk around the garden.

People mostly go there to see the garden.

But it provides a good opportunity to experience things like that. As I concentrated copying characters, I didn’t think of anything and just focused on characters, although sitting with folded legs was killing me with pins and needles.

The temple is more familiarly called Koke-dera, because the garden is covered with moss.

The moss looks like green velvet carpets.

It’s recorded that it wasn’t covered with moss when the garden was created. With passing time moss has grown and covered the ground to give a much prettier, calm atmosphere to the garden which can’t be created by hand, requiring natural help to make the site just perfect.

Nishijin: a kimono district

2009-05-29T04:25:00.006+09:00

Nishijin district, Kyoto
西陣(京都)

My Ikebana flower arrangement class mate sent me an invitation to her company’s open day exhibition. Her company is a long running Nishiji weaver of many generations and she designs obi sash there. Till I visited I only knew she designed obi at a workshop and didn’t expect it was this kind of company she worked for.

Although I hardly ever wear one I love kimonos, both to look at and wear. Actually my family’s business is part of Nishijin industry, processing yearns. I see only row material at home, not the glamorous, beautiful finished products she sees.

Nishijin or Kimono industry is generally divided into lots of specialized processes and Kimono or obi sashes are completed by assembling the various component parts. After that they distribute through lots of wholesalers to reach us. It still relies on the old distribution route system.

I sometimes ask how much kimonos cost. It isn’t easy to guess the price because it all depends on the quality of each item, there’s no general price. Some are extremely expensive and others more moderately priced. How much you spend might depend on how much you appreciate them of course.

Anyway, her works are utterly beautiful - stunning. The best way to develop an appreciation for kimono is to see good quality as much as possible. I thank for her for giving me such an opportunity. Generally it’s difficult to pop in kimono shops to see them and ask the prices unless you know someone with the connection.

She also showed me her workshop.

This is the design room full of reference books. There’s another room just for storing the books.

In this room both walls are covered with yarns which are selected to match the colour needed according to the pattern produced in the design room, rather like painting by numbers.

This room is producing trials. Her company makes many different kinds of obi sash from cotton to silk and each of the looms are designed to weave in 3 or 4 different ways. The products are checked and then the designs are sent to the factory.

I asked her how many pieces were made with each design. The maximum is two with very expensive ones and five with moderately priced ones. If the design sells well, it would be produced with different colour combinations. These numbers are surprisingly small compared to most other garments.

She creates beautiful things, requiring so much of work. She rightly loves her job. It is very very good.

Visiting may be possible but will need advanced arrangement.

Kitano-Tenmangu Shrine

2009-05-28T08:12:00.011+09:00

Kitano-Tenmangu Shrine, Kyoto
北野天満宮(京都)

This shrine is a popular destination for students, because enshrined there is the god of wisdom or study, Sugawara-no-Michizane(菅原道真) known as Tenjin-san(天神さん).

He was a prominent bureaucrat in the Heian period who advised the Emperor to terminate Imperial Japanese embassies to China which had been taking place for over 260 years since A.D.630. Later he was plotted against by an envious rival and exiled to Kyushu where he died in despair. There are many stories and legends about him and he is a popular figure in mystery stories of the city along with Onmyoji(陰陽師) Abe no Seimei(安倍晴明) and the Emperor Sutoku(崇徳天皇).

The other aspect of the shrine is a flea market held on the 25th of every month and the precinct is full of market traders selling kimono, antiques, crafts, plants and so on.

The Ryoan-ji gardens

2009-05-27T07:24:00.012+09:00

Ryoan-ji Temple, Kyoto
竜安寺(京都)

If anyone thinks of visiting Kyoto, Ryoan-ji(竜安寺) might be an automatic choice to visit. The “must see” reputation means everyone goes and the temple is always busy from morning to evening. The main attraction, the dry rock garden, is far from tranquil viewed from amongst the crowds.

What attracts so many people? It’s the mystery of the garden.
Almost no historical records remain and both the designer and the concept behind it are still unknown. Many scholars and researchers have given their reasons, but it is still been a controversial issue.

Forget about all the fuss and simply enjoy the garden seems to be the best way.

The roof of the Abbot quarter in front of the garden is being restored right now. That the view of the garden is different from usual because of the scaffolding and a temporary extended stage might seem to detract from it but it also means we can approach much closer to the stones and the different view might not be so bad after all for those who have visited previously.

The dry rock garden is what is most associated with this temple but it has a pleasant and much larger garden to stroll around. The precinct was originally the second house of an aristocratic family in the Heian period and retains some of the character of a private home. We can enjoy the two different styles of Japanese garden, a Zen rock garden and an aristocratic strolling garden.

The pond might have been used for a boating party by aristocrats who probably enjoyed the Moon Viewing there as well.

The garden of Toji-in Temple

2009-05-26T23:03:00.008+09:00

the garden, Toji-in Temple, Kyoto
等持院(京都)

I love the Japanese garden. I like how it looks, but I love the idea and symbolism behind it. The more I get to know the details, more I like it.

One of my favourite gardens is Toji-in(等持院) garden near Kinkaku-ji and Ryoan-ji. Those two temples are always busy, by comparison Toji-in is very quiet and calm and the least known to visitors.

Toji-in used to have a much bigger precinct, but most of the land has been sold; it’s difficult to imagine how glorious the old days must have been now. In the past Mt.Kinugasa was incorporated as part of it’s totality as “borrowed scenery”(借景), sadly a university expanded its premises between the two destroying the effect.

Look on the bright side.

This garden was designed for viewing different scenes while walking along the meandering path encompassing the ponds, it is in the Strolling garden style(回遊式庭園). The layout is carefully arranged and makes us feel it’s much more spacious than it actually is.

Inside the tea house.
The platform was where the shogun was seated.
The temple was founded by Ashikaga Takauji, the first shogun of Muromachi shogunate, and grandfather of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu who founded Kinkaku-ji temple, and Ashikaga Yoshimasa who founded Ginkaku-ji was his great great grandson.

Takauji asked Muso Soseki, a prominent monk and garden designer for guidance. It later became the Ashikaga dynasty’s funeral temple and all their shogun were buried here and their statues are kept at Reiho-den.

The first time I went there, Reiho-den was very dark and surrounded by 15 Ashikaga shoguns’ statues with their crystal eyes was kind of spooky and I hurried out genuinely afraid. Nowadays the statues are back-lit and are behind glass for protection, there’s even an alarm in place now. I guess so many statues and ornaments have been stolen from temples and shrines recently that sadly it’s a necessary precaution.

Azaleas have just finished.
The garden would be pretty with azalea in spring
and Japanese Maples in autumn.

Masks have disappeared from shelves lately

2009-05-25T23:08:00.001+09:00

People all over the world worried about the news of the recent swine flu. The first patient, a 10 years old boy, in Kyoto was found last week. Disposable masks have disappeared from shelves sometime ago. I heard that it almost impossible to buy them anywhere around here. I personally rather doubt whether they are effective against the flu, but precaution might be a wise man’s thought.

a day out to Fushimi: Fushimi-Inari Shrine

2009-05-15T05:38:00.024+09:00

Fushimi-Inari Shrine, Kyoto
伏見稲荷大社(京都/伏見)

Then, we moved to Fushimi-Inari Shine(伏見稲荷大社) which is well-known for its 1,000 torii gates.

The shrine is also one of the most popular to visit for the first shrine visit at New Year in the Kansai area. I had only visited at that time and could hardly see anything but people, consequently the whole site felt surprisingly spacious this time.

Fushimi-Inari Shrine is the head quarter of all the Inari shrines through out Japan. The main god “Inari”, is the god of business. You can easily identify Inari shrines by a pair of fox guardian statues with a torii gate. The fox is considered Inari god’s massager.

Around the shrine are many shops selling this Shinto sect’s products such as miniature red torii gates, statues of foxes, family alters and the like.

Walking towards the mountain, we reach what are said to be “1,000 torii gates”, but in fact the actual number is slightly less than 1,000 now. The path covered with the gates leads up and down the mountain and the route takes 2 hours to walk according to the map.

We were too tired and I preferred not to go this time. Some of us have been along the path before and I put off till the next visit.

a day out to Uji: Tea

2009-05-15T05:05:00.017+09:00

Taiho-an Tea House, Uji, Kyoto Pref.
対鳳庵(京都/宇治)

The city of Uji has a tea house, Taiho-an(対鳳庵), open to the public to experience tea ceremony for 500yen.

It literary means
"a hut opposite phoenix hall"
meaning that
it was located the opposite
Byodo-in Phoenix Hall.

It has a small
but decent "roji" garden.

It was built in 1993
and meant to be suitable
for any school of tea ceremony,
include ryurei(立礼), a bench seated, style.

15 of us were
in an 8 and half
tatami-mat size room.

Usually a sweet is served with tea
and corresponds with to the season,
or suited the theme of the tea ceremony.

The sweet had a Kakitsubata iris(杜若) motif
and later a tea was served in a bowl
with a matching motif.
The day I went was a Sunday and many people were waiting. 15 of us were squeezed into a room and the door could hardly be closed. It wasn’t the serene atmosphere needed to appreciate tea ceremony I must say. I recommend that you visit during weekdays or off-season to enjoy a better atmosphere.

You can also enjoy a boat trip on the Uji River.

Since Uji is an important tea producing area, you may see various kinds of green tea flavoured foods.

Green tea flavoured noodles(茶蕎麦) are one of the local specialities.

Cha-dango(茶団子), sweet green tea flavoured sticky rice cakes, are my favourite.

a day out to Uji: Byodo-in Temple

2009-05-13T07:48:00.008+09:00

Byodo-in Temple, Uji, Kyoto Pref.
平等院(京都/宇治)

I visited Byodo-in(平等院) temple and Fushimi-Inari Shrine(伏見稲荷) with friends.

Byodo-in is in Uji(宇治), about 15 minutes south of Kyoto by JR train from Kyoto Station.

Uji is one of the main tea producing areas in Japan though it isn’t always recognized as such elsewhere in Japan. Indeed it might be the oldest active tea producing area in the country, it goes back to the Kamakura period(1185-1333). It’s easy to imagine how prosperous the business was in the past judging by the size of the many old tea merchant houses remaining today.

The photo shows the Kanbayashi(上林) residence, one of the oldest tea merchant family homes, which is now open to public as a museum.

The area’s main attraction is Byodo-in temple which was designated as a World National Heritage Site in 1994. Since then the number of visitors dramatically increased, it is rather a pity that it has lost its layed-back atmosphere as a temple in the country. At the same time my local pride is pleased with the appreciation of its value.

Byodo-in’s Phoenix Hall(鳳凰堂) is one of only a few surviving examples of Heian period (794-1185) architecture. Most of the period’s structures have been lost to fire or war. It is a fine example from the era. The hall is praised for its symmetrical beauty and can be seen on the tail of 10 yen coins.

In the past visitors could casually walk in the hall, but now we must be guided in groups of 50 people, so inside is always full. There’s good side to it, we can benefit from the guides knowledge which helps us appreciate its value. –Unfortunately guided tours are only in Japanese.

Where the old treasure house stood The Byodo-in Museum(平等院鳳翔館) was built in 2001. Architect Akira Kuryu(栗生明) won an award for its design. It is a very modern but discreet building and doesn’t distract from the view of the temple.

a day trip to Shiga: a party with local specialities

2009-05-12T00:19:00.004+09:00

Our original plan was having a barbecue at our friend’s garden and later visiting Kaigake-dani(鎌掛谷) which is a valley full of rhododendron(ホンシャクナゲ). Unfortunately the weather didn’t let us follow our plan, it started raining.

We had to put off visiting Kaigake-dani till next year and instead of having had barbecue in her garden we enjoyed local foods inside.

The old name of Shiga prefecture is “Omi” (近江). The region neighbours Kyoto and its population has increased as the commuting time to Osaka and Kyoto has decreased. Some of the area is still heavily cultivated and is the home of “Omi beef” (近江牛) which is one of the best known brands of marbled beef as well as “Omi-mai” a well-known type of rice.

I’m personally not a fan of beef, especially the marbled beef which I think too fatty, but I thought I should try what the locals recommended, usually they know best. Unexpectedly the beef was good and made me realise that it isn’t as bad as I thought. This area is also well-know for pork. We had miso marinated pork grilled on a charcoal fire, which was delicious.

Our friend had served us many local delicacies. This is one of them. This is a once a year festival dish from her area, but she was kind enough to have made it especially for us out of season. The fish is a sea bream with “somen”, thin noodles. We have somen in my area, but it’s never served with seafood.

We also had a pork “shabu-shabu” hot pot. I don’t know how we managed to finish it all.

"Gochisosama-deshita."

a day trip to Shiga: a serene boat tour

2009-05-12T00:15:00.008+09:00

Omihachiman, Shiga Pref.
近江八幡水郷めぐり(滋賀/近江八幡)

During the holiday I went on a boat ride tour at Omihachiman in Shiga prefecture with friends.

The boat is long and narrow, only 8 seats with a boatman. There are 3 or 4 companies run similar tours and some use boats with engine, which I imagine might be rather noisy.We were recommended to take an old style boat tour by someone who knows the area pretty well and we were thankful we did.

The tour took 90 minutes and started on a canal. The boat soon went into a river which skirts Omihachiman. The river broadened in front of us and we could only hear the sound of nature, frogs, birds, wind and water. It was absolutely calm and pleasant.

The town is only 40 minutes train ride from Kyoto and what we experienced was very different from Kyoto. This space and quietness is hard to find in this area. It was a very good day-out.

He is our boatman, in his 70’s, and had started the job after his retirement and is surprisingly fit for his age. He told us the tour runs all year round showing the seasonal changes. Planting rice has just finished and the water from paddy fields made the river water muddy and unclear this time of the year. The river and canal used to be the area’s major artery and families had their own boats in the past.

Although some of us would have liked to visit the well-known old merchant town of Omihachiman, we had to leave without doing so due to our barbecue party planned for the afternoon.

a house with the flag

2009-05-09T22:00:00.008+09:00

”Golden Week” has gone.

(the photo was taken in 2006)

I don’t know what is “golden” about it, wherever I go I have to see crowds. Of course, there are lots of events going on and it will make things a little more interesting.

I read the term Golden Week originally comes from a film distributor’s campaign in the 1950’s.

During Golden Week I saw the Japanese flag flying in front of someone’s house and it caught my attention because it’s something I haven’t seen for a long long time. When I was little it was easy to know when it was a national holiday as every house used to fly a flag. The custom has all but died out and it’s hardly seen nowadays.

a special open week of Kyoto Imperial Palace

2009-04-26T14:38:00.015+09:00

Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kyoto
京都御所一般参観(京都)

Kyoto Imperial Palace(京都御所),open to the public on weekdays,
needs pre-enrolment on a guided tour
run by the Imperial Household Agency’s staff.

There is an special open week in both spring and autumn
when it isn’t necessary to join an official guided tour.

This is Shishinden (紫宸殿), the hall for official ceremonies
and where the Imperial Throne is placed.

There is a cherry tree on the right and a citrus tree on the left,
you may see the same layout at Heian shrine
which was built as a smaller scale replica of the original Heian Palace.

In front of Shishinden is an open space
of raked pebbles enclosed by a cloister.
The view reminds me of Nara rather than Kyoto.

This garden is located in front of
Kogosho, court room, called Oike-niwa.

This is what I wanted to see more than the structures. Stones, suppose to be a beach in the garden, in the foreground of the picture are smooth and oval shaped like a bars of soap and which are a glossy pitch black in the rain. That’s what I saw in a book and I would have loved to see them like that. It wasn’t the perfect day for me, a bright, sunny and dry day which didn’t show off the rich colours of the garden.

You can’t have everything.

This particular open week there is an additional attraction,
in commemoration of the Emperor’s golden wedding anniversary,
the Empress’ residence and its garden,
not normally open to the public, can be viewed.

It is smaller scale than the Oike-niwa garden,
and it has a cosier atmosphere
with scarlet azalea bushes making it more colourful.

wisteria in bloom

2009-04-23T21:23:00.009+09:00

The Sakura season has gone
and now is the time for wisteria.

In the city centre off a busy street full of office buildings,
there’s a house covered with wisteria.
It has very sweet and pleasant smell.

It is said that the Japanese have thousands of family names
and one of the most common characters
in family names is fuji(藤) meaning wisteria,
the character originally comes from
the old aristocratic Fujiwara(藤原) clan.
It’s found in such names as
Satoh(佐藤), Saitoh(斉藤), Itoh(伊藤)
and shows they are descendant from the family.

The name Fujiwara literally means “wisteria field”
and their clan crest is wisteria.

Travelling in Japan you’ll come across the name of the clan
which once seized absolute power
and left their imprint throughout the country.

a day at the Noh theatre

2009-04-19T20:16:00.005+09:00

The first time I ever saw a Noh play
was a workshop at my high school.
I slept soundly throughout.

I was given a ticket for a performance recently
and it was outstandingly beautiful,
my eyes were wide opened during the entire performance.

I like Noh plays now.

probably the last sakura

2009-04-19T06:48:00.007+09:00

Sakura in the town

2009-04-19T06:45:00.018+09:00

Where the sakura bloom, people gather.
Japanese are crazy about
sakura and momizi maple trees.

Under sakura trees, people party hard!

Sakura at a temple

2009-04-19T06:41:00.013+09:00

The Lake Biwa Canal flows into Kyoto from Lake Biwa.

It is a popular destination for sakura viewing

on both the Shiga and Kyoto sides.

Sakura in the country

2009-04-19T05:24:00.031+09:00