Jenny Does Japan 3: Kyoto Take 2

Our hostel was cute and cozy, complete with a little zen garden. A little too cozy for Jen, but I liked it. And, we only had one other roomie, so even if she was a little cold, we could sleep in peace.
Day 2 in Kyoto was of course jam packed with fun places to go. A friend of mine from University was also visiting one of her good friends in Japan and just happened to be sightseeing in Kyoto at the same time as well, so we had the privilege of them joining us for the days' travels.

First stop of the day was Kinkakuji, a temple in the northeastern area. It's called the Golden temple, for obvious reasons. The original dates back to 1397, but there was a monk that was so obsessed with the temple that he burnt it down in 1950. He attempted suicide (unsuccessfully) after burning it, but ended up dying in prison before his seven year sentence was up. What you see today is the reconstruction of the temple from 1955.

Some people say the reflection of the temple in Mirror Pond is more beautiful than the real deal. I was actually more impressed with the foliage on the grounds than anything. I still can't get over how many different color leaves were seen throughout Kyoto. They were so brilliant, too. Some areas looked like Wisconsin's autumn colors, but in April. It was crazy. Crazy beautiful.

The sole picture we have of all four of us: Michelle (my friend from UW-Madison), Jenny, Katrina, and me.

Next up, a walk to Ryoan-ji. Even though Ryoan-ji is technically a temple, it's renown for it's Zen rock garden, which is arranged in the kare-sansui (dry-landscape) style. The temple was founded in 1450 and people have been attempting to be enlightened through contemplation of the garden ever since. The garden has 15 moss covered stones placed throughout a meticulously groomed 'sea' of sand, but only 14 can be seen at any one time. UNLESS of course, you've reached enlightenment. The 30 minutes we spent there didn't really allow for too much enlightenment, but it was interesting nonetheless. We came up with some pretty interesting metaphors for what the garden means to us, but I kinda think that unless you seriously stare, contemplate, stare some more, then contemplate some more until the point of insanity thus allowing for a major epiphany - you're not going to get too much out of this.

This was a baby zen garden at the entrance before the 'showcased' Zen garden. Again, pretty trees are what really drew me in.

The enlightened/weary ones.

Awwwww

I spy a big 'ol bee!

NEXT: further west to the Arashiyama area of Kyoto. Yet another amazingly distinct and beautiful district of Kyoto. I easily could've spent all day here. The weather was perfect with the sun shining, and the walk down Sanjo-dori was sooooo cute! The shops of course had the familiar souvenirs and samples of central Kyoto, but the magnificent surroundings of steep forest laden mountains and the sound and breeze of the Hozu-gawa (River) made it that much more enjoyable. I wish we would have had time to venture off into some of the bamboo groves for the day; there's just never enough time.

For lunch I finally got to try one of Kyoto's specialty dishes: TOFU! Since living in Japan, I have become quite the tofu aficionado. I was never a fan at home (perhaps because of the particularly scarring first impression I had from one of my vegetarian roommate's attempt at making it), but I absolutely LOVE it now. Tofu is so versatile; I mean, you can have it fresh, soft, firm, sautéed, grilled, boiled, in soups or stews, on salads, stuffed with rice, fried, freeze-dried, as ice cream, etc. etc. Did I mention I love tofu? Anyway, my tofu lunch was delicious. And of course where there's a meal, there's a dessert (preferably ice cream), in this case conveniently located within steps of our lunch locale. Now, I've had all types of ice cream in Japan (many of which I've happily and shamelessly documented on here), but this afternoon was a real treat. This awesome guy below had a little donut/soy ice cream/gelato shop. I was in heaven. After MUCH contemplation, and a little convincing on my part to have the guy bend the rules for me, I convinced him to hook me up with 3 types of gelato and a soy ice cream topping. Indecisiveness rewarded again!

If a picture says a thousand words, how many words is a video worth?


NEXT: We headed to the completely opposite side of town (southeastern Kyoto) to check out Fushimi Inari Shrine. This bad boy was founded in 711 by the Hata family. It was dedicated to the gods of rice and sake, but nowadays is favored more for ensuring prosperity in business.

The best time to explore the 4km of torii lined wooded slopes on the Inari mountain is dusk; early enough to see and appreciate the details of the torii and shrines, but late enough that when the sun sets, an eerie vibe overwhelms you as you walk through the various paths, graveyards, and miniature shrines.

The shrine is famous for the hundreds of red torii and the stone foxes. The fox is considered the messenger of Inari, the god of cereal grains. Some say that the fox is capable of 'possessing' humans, usually aiming for the fingernails as the point of entrance. Since the fox is seen as a mysterious and sacred little guy, I was watching my back. You can tell how serious I took the 'threat' via our rendition of "foxy ladies".

Entering the red torii lined path.

Katrina now has the ability to move at super warp speeds.

We didn't reallllllllllly know where we were going, or how long it would take, or if it made a loop, or if we were gonna be murdered by the creepy old guy and cats that were following us or not at this point. But, the sun had set, and the view over the city was pretty cool nonetheless.

The solution? Keep on walking! And just when we thought it couldn't get any more bizarre, I saw this:

It was actually really cool seeing a family worshiping, and the kids even tested out their mad English skills on me. During the 3 days of the New Year holiday, over 2.69 million visitors come to worship here: the most in western Japan.

These next two pictures were taken by Alex (and subsequently stolen by me, because clearly my little camera can't capture these awesome night shots).

That night we had an excellent dinner in downtown Kyoto after looking for the hostess boys we're now experts at spotting thanks to the inside scoop from Michelle and Katrina. Coolest part of dinner: tempura (Japanese deep fried) ice cream - complete with sparkler!

Jenny Does Japan 2: Kyoto Take 1

Early (we're talking 6am) Monday morning, Jenny and I very groggily took our first steps off our overnight bus from Tokyo into Kyoto, Japan. Kyoto is referred to these-a-days as the cultural capital of Japan, boasting over 2000 temples and shrines. It was also historically the imperial capital from 794 to 1868. Needless to say, Kyoto and Tokyo are the two tourist "must see" cities, and I was ecstatic to finally be here, sleep deprived or not.
I'd be trying to get here for ever and had many failed attempts, which meant I had tons of time to research. Since the Japanese love visiting Kyoto as much (if not more) than foreigners, I made sure to ask most of my Japanese friends and colleagues for recommendations. Our first stop came highly recommended from my JTE (cooperating teacher): Sanjusengendo (referring to the 33 bays between the pillars of the long, narrow building). No pictures were allowed inside, but there were 1001 statues of Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy). It's hard to imagine 1001 of anything until you see it. Each statue is said to have 1000 arms, but they only literally have 40 arms. Still pretty impressive. My JTE said I was supposed to look for the statue that most resembled Jenny... I'd say Kannon #824, the one with the long fingers and the swords and stylin' hair looked most like Jenny.

After Sanjusangen-do, we had what was probably the best lunch of the entire trip. I got a delicious bowl of udon with tempura shrimp and veggies on top,

while Jenny got her first real Japanese set meal (teishoku). No surprise she went for the "various fried food" set and graciously left the delicious pickled daikons for me to finish off for her.

NEXT: Kiyomizu-dera temple. This was probably my favorite temple, partly because the walk there was so awesome.
Age is no inhibition in Japan: I have seen more 60+ year olds rocking the hikes I've done than any other age, my karate instructor is 60 and there are two other 60+ year old men in the class, all my friends at the gym are over 60 (but that's because they aren't shy and are capable of speaking English), and I have an 80 year old assistant at school. Old people are dominant!

This has nothing to do with Kiyomizu-dera, but we spotted it on the walk there. Bizarre.

We made it to Chawan-zaka (Teapot Lane), where all the Kyoto local souvenirs and snacks are sold. Jenny was heartbroken she couldn't get the local Kyoto mochi which is triangular shaped and filled with an. It became our mission to find some that wouldn't expire before she got home... we failed.

Awww - she hasn't QUITE gotten completely annoyed with my "let's take of ourselves in Japan!!!" shots... yet.

Black sesame mochi - allllmost good as the strawberry or cinnamon. Really, I just took this picture for Austin. It's got your name written all over it, bro.

Yay! We made it! This bad boy was originally built in 793, but reconstructions began post 1633. More information brought to you by Fujicolor below. How convenient.

I stole this picture from Alex. It gives an amazing perspective of Kiyomizudera from the distance. It's incredible.

Another video, taken from the veranda of the temple.


Women wearing kimonos.

Next we headed to Nanzen-ji - BUT, got there a liiiiitle bit too late and I failed to know exactly where it was we were heading amongst the expansive grounds and all the confusing sub-temples. Had we actually made it to the old Emperor's retirement villa, I'm sure it would have been gorgeous, but since most things close before 5pm, we were SOL. We did manage to see the aqueduct to the subtemple of Nanzen-ji, which is how I knew we were close. Close, but no cigar.
"Garden" above the aqueduct we got totally ripped off to see.

Entrance to Nanjen-ji Oku-no-in... should those visiting be curious as to where to go, before 5pm and all.

Even though I was all about being enlightened on the "Path of Philosophy", Jenny was feeling less than philosophical. So we found a bus (eventually) and headed into downtown Kyoto for dinner. You can hardly tell by the smile on Jenny's face just how mad she was at this point... Jenny's legs no likey so much walking. I knew she wasn't in the mood to peruse, but downtown Kyoto was amazing! Totally unlike any other city I've seen before in Japan. Absolutely gorgeous.

It was really hard to capture what the streets really look and feel like here, but this is my attempt.

The Gion district.

Hilarious statue in front of a cute little okonomiyaki place.

Kamo-gawa: not all that impressive of a river actually. Pretty polluted and a very high population of homeless people living alongside it. Still, nice to run alongside in the morning and I even spotted some giant cranes grazing in the morning.

After the sun set the city had an even cooler vibe to it. We opted for a Thai dinner for the night, and it was spectacular. Spot on. You could easily spend an entire lifetime trying out a new restaurant every night in Kyoto, or Japan for that matter. The hard part is finding somewhere where I can read the menu and order. Yay for pictures and plastic models!

Jenny Does Japan 1: Tokyo

April 25th is a date that might be forever ingrained in my mind (and pocket planner). I had been planning and overplanning the 12 day trip with my sister in Japan for what seemed like for-ev-er. During those long hours of school's Spring Break, cancelled classes, or afternoons at the elementary school where I sit, wait, and wish, I would work through every detail and step of the trip we were to embark on... It was "Jenny Does Japan: 2008!" It was going to be two sisters reuniting after 9 long months apart. It was going to be an adventure in a foreign country, wide eyed and wondering. It was going to be a trip to remember! And that it was: as unexpected as some of the events were, it was definitely memorable.
Despite having nerves less than that of steel, Jenny made it into the country and to our rondezvous point of Starbucks with just one little problem en route: a cancelled flight out of Milwaukee. I see this as the cup half full, because she got to be graced in the presence of a celebrity on the bus. And by celebrity, I mean D-class reality TV "star" Melinda from MTV's The Real World. They're good friends now. The celebrity aura (and a 14 hour flight) must've really worn Jenny out though because she definitely wasn't up for a night out on the town. My friends there to greet her and I compensated for her though:)

In the morning we planned to go to the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, which meant a 4:30am rise. Jen was more well rested than most, but I think still unprepared for what was ahead of her. This was my first time checking this out, so I was just as in awe. We got there just in time to see the final auctioning of some fresh frozen tuna.

I wouldn't know which one is better than the rest by the looks of it here, but I know which taste good as sushi!
The market was HUGE and pretty packed. There were a good deal of observers there, but the majority of people were workers, sellers, and buyers. It was all about the business, and motorized carts were whizzin' by left and right. Our clothes didn't smell great from the night before anyway, but fish guts isn't a fragrance I was hoping would cover that up.

100 eels a squirmin'

This crab was still scooting around in the box... I don't know how much fresher it gets. A little disturbing though, I must say.

It was cool to see the individual sellers meticulously preparing the fish and various other sea creatures for resale. Even though it was a little painful to watch something die, I couldn't help but appreciate the skill and care taken in preparing the little or big guys.

I'm not really sure what's going on with the multicolored blowfish, but it looked pretty cool.

After everyone had had enough perusing around the market, it was time for breakfast... and what better breakfast than sushi at the world's freshest market? There are a number of little side-alleys within the market - none of which I had any idea would lead me to a good sushi restaurant (of which I knew there were plenty of here). So, we just got in a long line and hoped for the best. There were four of us, so what we got was over an hour of waiting, moving probably an inch per minute. When we eventually got into the sushi bar which sat maybe 20 people, we were forced to order immediately and rushed out. A single piece of sushi cost anywhere from $3-$20. We sampled a few things between us, and were rushed out. My tuna and ikura (salmon eggs) were indeed delicious, but I was hoping to savor the experience a bit more.

As was also our luck, it was raining the entire first day Jenny was here. The view from the Metropolitan Government Buildings was less than stellar, but I think Jenny still got a decent overview. The Harajuku girls apparently don't like to get all dolled up to pose under umbrellas, so Jen didn't get to see them or get any free hugs from people in giant fuzzy one-sies. BUT, she did get to check out her first (of many) shrines. This was at the entrance to Meiji Jinguu Shrine in Harajuku, Tokyo. Check out the archives if you're curious about this shrine.

That's right - cleanse that dirty mouth!
Next up: shopping in Omotesando Hills. Not as fun in the rain, but Jen managed to find a winner! It was interesting to hear Jenny's comments on the fashion. I guess I've never really thought too much about it; I just considered it different and never really got into it. But as we were watching all the people walking by, I really had a greater appreciation for women's wardrobe. She pointed out just how dressy the women were. I'd say 90% were wearing heels and skirts. There wasn't one woman in jeans, and if men were wearing them they were uber trendy jeans. She also got some insight into just how many hair salons there are in Japan. Hair styling is a big deal here and people (especially trendy males) pay ridiculous amounts of money to have it cut and styled in just the perfectly effeminate but attractive ways. I wish I was as into hair as her so I could've been daring enough to have gone and gotten a cut for her to see how it was done. I am not so daring. Point in case: going on 9 months here without a haircut!

Day 2:

Still rainy in the morning, but it eventually cleared up. There's a wonderful 5km walk around the Imperial Palace. We made it about half way around (Jenny's legs were apparently broken after Day 1... tourism requires ALOT of walking).

You can't actually go into the Imperial Palace, but you can see the moats and some building around the outside of it.

There was a sole Sakura survivor we spotted on the path. Yay!

More of the Imperial Palace.

Then we needed a rest, so we went into the East Gardens. It of course required more walking, but eventually it dried up enough to lay down for a rest for awhile before going for our first noodle lunch.

After getting some grub in our tummies, we went to Asaskusa to see my favorite temple, Senso-ji. More information on this temple here: http://sarahmoersfelder.blogspot.com/2007/12/3-day-weekend-means-i-gotsta-go.html . Since it was a holiday weekend, it was pretty packed and Jenny got to really enjoy and feel the crowds in Tokyo. She absolutely loved it! Nothing better than being sleep deprived and in the middle of a tight crowd that doesn't speak your native language. Hopefully though, all the fun new shops and foods and sights distracted her enough to have fun there. I know the ice cream made me happy enough to go around! A big thumbs up to seasonal sakura flavored "soft cream".

On our way out, we saw this awesome Seiko clock puppet display. I really wish I had video, because it was sooooo cute - but you'll have to use your imagination.

After being to all my fave spots in Tokyo, I wanted to try out one new place for me before leaving: Ueno Park. This park is most famous for hanami (cherry blossom viewing) and it's high population of homeless people. We were looking for a place to chill and rest up those legs Jenny could no longer feel...

It was cool, but there was actually nowhere to really sit in this park. I wondered why all the homeless people would congregate here if you can't even sit anywhere!

Maybe because it was so beautiful!

Unfortunately, Jenny had never really adjusted to the time difference here and having a snorer in our hostel room both nights didn't help I'm sure. I think Tokyo is definitely one of those places you grow to love. I really like exploring it and finding something new every time I'm there, but the city just wasn't Jenny's thang. So, we headed through the subway and train systems that were becoming all too familiar to Jenny for a night on an overnight bus to Kyoto... and if there's something Jenny loves even more than sleeping with a snorer - it's "sleeping" on an overnight bus:)