Japan – Kyoto & Takayama

In Kyoto I spent two dream-like days wandering from one Buddhist temple to another.  Under a steady drizzle, sometimes together with many other pilgrims, sometimes virtually alone.  Pacing patient footsteps along the stones lining the canal-side path known as “The Path of Philosophy.”  It’s my first time in Asia and this is what I hoped it would be like.

Daitoku-ji

Ginkaku-ji

The temples are so architecturally different than anything Western; it makes their beauty even more impactful.  Curving, winged rooftops, dark wood as the primary building material, abundant bright colors.  Inner shrines decorated with pale murals or lavish golden lamps and treasure chests.

Monks chanting at Daikaku-ji

Kinkaku-ji

All the Buddhist sects that branched off, necessitating the construction of so many temples, had one core belief in common: landscaping.  I have always enjoyed visiting Japanese gardens elsewhere in the world, but walking through the ones attached to ancient Buddhist temples in Kyoto is pure magic.  The winding paths, ponds and waterfalls, beautiful native trees and shrubs, statues of Buddhas, and impossible patterns raked into the gravel and sand make it instinctive to relax as you meander about them.

Garden at Ginkaku-ji

Statue among the temples at Tenryu-ji

Garden at Tenryu-ji

Path of Bamboo in Arashiyama

An interesting puzzle I have faced repeatedly in Japan is identifying which of the products on display in stores is food.  I think the Japanese frequently package food and display it in stores much the way Americans package and display things like perfume, jewelry, and high-end bath products.  So when I see some lovely, colorful item wrapped in shiny cellophane tied with ribbons and arranged delicately in a basket on a table top, I have to wonder–is this food?  If so, is it a dumpling?  A dessert?  Do I have to cook it?  How many delicious candies have I foolishly avoided for fear of biting into soap?

Other products I have seen are clearly food, yet I couldn’t hope to divine their origin–sea creature? root vegetable? gelatin confection?

Japan does not have tacos, but it does have “takoyaki”–golden-fried dough globes with pieces of squid and baked into the center.  Worth trying (once).

Takoyaki

At a Kyoto restaurant, the waitress handed me a typical leather-bound menu, but when I opened it there was only a poster-sized picture of a stuffed pancake spanning both sides of the inside of the menu.  “We only have one thing,” she confessed.  “I’ll have that,” I decided, pointing to the picture as per my Japanese menu ordering custom.

The Whole Menu

From Kyoto I took a day trip to Nara to see the Daibutsu (Great Buddha of Nara).  He is a big boy!  I could have comfortably sat in the open palm of his left hand, and would have if it were allowed.  Note: the smallish-looking people at the bottom left of the picture are actually full-sized.

The Great Buddha of Nara

From Kyoto, I headed to Takayama in the “Japanese Alps”.  It is a quiet town, good for views of the mountains and walking in the woods at nearby Kamikochi.  I also found a delicious ramen noodle restaurant there (more than 10¢, but still a value).  From the train window on the way back to Tokyo the elusive Mt. Fuji finally made an appearance.

Moon rising over Takayama

Hiking along riverside trails in Kamikochi

Miyojin-ike Pond in Kamikochi

Roast Pork Ramen (accompanied by ferocious slurping)

Wanting to “squeeze in” one more authentic Japanese experience on my last night here, I booked a stay at Shinjuku Kuyakusho-mae Capsule Hotel.  In a capsule hotel you don’t get a room; you get a tube in a modular unit of many tubes, each just big enough to sleep in.  There was also a common area with leather lounge chairs and a restaurant.  You get a locker to keep your stuff in, and you get access to large gym-locker-room-style bathrooms.  Fun experience, but I wouldn’t do it for more than one night.

My Capsule

Japan is now the best place I have been on this trip.  I really love its ethos–dignified, polite, reverent, cheerful, helpful–and its structure–automated, well-designed, easy to navigate, and naturally beautiful.  Oh, and its encouragement of weirdness.  Dress like a David Bowie album cover and hang out in Harajuku.  Slurp your noodles and sleep in public.  Accessorize with a surgical mask and an umbrella under the clear blue sky!  Be a geisha–it’s still a real job!  Be the only fat kid in your class and become a professional athlete (sumo)!  What a country.

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