The Last Five Days of Japan Tour
On Friday, August , we packed another overnight bag as our suitcases would be separated from us in out train travel this afternoon. Then, after breakfast, we broke into small group to do a home visits. This is something OAT tries to do to make their tours special. I was teamed up with others and we took a taxi to visit Mr and Mrs Mori. Although their English was weak, they were more than happy to welcome us. Mr. Mori is a retired junior high principal and a very accomplished baseball coach. The latter can be proven out by a big trophy case. Actually, ‘his’ team has recently won the country championship in their age grouping. He is now The baseball coach of his one grandson who lives a few door away. Mr. Mori and his wife are very proud of their family - especially the grandkids. We got to see many photos! Mrs. Mori played the traditional musical instrument for us and then it was on to paper origami. They are very much into origami and showed us products of their labors. It should be noted that what looks in the pictures like wire is really rolled up paper! The display on the wood paddle is from their daughter’s wedding presents. (This is how they save the present wedding decorations.) Also the wedding pictures they are holding are of themselves on the left and their daughter’s on the right. All in all, this was a very nice visit.
We spent Friday afternoon on the train to Kyoto. Dinner that night was a usual traditional Japanese dinner. It seems we have had plenty of these already!
Saturday morning found us on the bus going to the Golden Pavilion. This impressive building is very famous throughout Japan and it dates back centuries. It was purchased for shogun Yoshimitsu in 1397. Upon his death in 1408, it became a zen temple. However during the Onion Wars (1467-1477), it was burned down and then rebuilt shortly thereafter. Finally in 1950, a crazed monk set the pavilion on fire and it burnt down again. Therefore, the present structure was built in 1955. Each floor has a different style of architecture and the top two floors are all covered in gold leaf. All of this gold is what makes the building so striking!
Next up was the Nino-Jo Castle. This is a World Heritage Site as this is the place where, in 1867, the political rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate ended and the restoration of power to the Emperor was proclaimed. The building itself was completed in 1603 by the first Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. However, the arrival of overseas delegations, starting with Commodore Perry in 1853, demanded the opening of Japanese ports. This forced the Shogun into signing these treaties and turning power back to the Emperor.
We had a formal, but rather undistinguished, French lunch at Kyoto University. I think we ate here just to ‘experience’ the Kyoto University. This and Tokyo University vie for the best university in Toyota. After lunch, we went to Sanjusangen- do. This temple was established in 1164. Inside this temple are 1001 statues of the Buddhist deity, Juichimen-senju sengen Kanzeon, better known as Kannon. All the statues are made by different artists carved from solid cypress. 124 of these statutes were made in the 12th century and the remaining 876 were made when the temple was renovated in the 13th century. In front of the Kannon statues are 28 statues of guardian deities. These statutes are very fearest looking and differ from the Kannon statues as their arms and heads were carved separately.
Dinner was on our own. I joined a few others at a local British pub for fish and chips!
Sunday, August 27, was our optional tour to Nara. First stop was at Fushimi Imari Takisha, home of over 10 thousand Tori gates. A Tori gates is the orangest-red gates that are common at Japanese Shinto Shrines. These gates are so numerous here as companies and organizations donate them in hope of future good fortune. All the newer gates are wood so they do decay and become dangerous. When that happens, the old gate is removed and replaced by a new gate from another company. Also at this shrine are many statues of foxes which are regarded as Shinto messengers.
After lunch in Nara, we visited a Naramachi Traditional House. This is a tradesman house that was constructed in 1917.
Next up was Todaiji Temple’s Daibutsu-den Hall. This building was the world's largest wooden structure for many years until the late 1990s. Although the present building (built in 1709) is huge it is 30% smaller than the original building that dates back to 728. Of course, this older building had 2.6 million people that worked on it during its various construction stages! Inside this massive building is the world’s largest bronze statue (52 foot) of Buddha Vaircana. It is also the largest Buddha in Japan. On each side of the Buddha are a fierce looking deity that protects the Buddha. One of the wooden pillars of the building has a hole created in the base. It is said that those that crawl through this will be blessed. So kids line up for that honor. This one little girl (just legs showing) stopped in the middle for about 5 minutes!
Final stop of the day was at Kasuga Grand Shrine. This is another UNESCO World Heritage Site and it know also as a deer park as very tame deer roam around looking for more (vendor purchased) cookies from visitors! The shrine itself was established in 768 but rebuilt many times. It is now known for its over 3 thousand stone lanterns. These are lite at night twice a year for special occasions. Too bad I couldn't see that!
That evening I went with a fellow group member to a local buffet restaurant that was touted in Yelp. It was average at best. One of those you can't believe all you read stories!
On Monday, we took a flat boat up the river to visit a zen Buddhist Monk. Zen is a branch of Buddhism that believe divine wisdom resides in each person. Meditation techniques are used to reveal this inner divine nature. This monk told us that one particular branch of zen monks spend years of walking about a local mountain. At the end of their 5 years of meditation and walking, they can sit motionless for 9 days without food or water! Whatever, he helped us through a series of elementary mediations. The monk also lead us through a tea ceremony called sado.
After the morning with the monk, we visited a 300 year old house where a famous samurai once lived. However we didn't come here for the history but rather to make makizushi or rolled sushi. We had to put on white jackets while a Japanese woman taught us the simple methods. It also helped that she was a bit of a comedian as we as a group aren't fast learners!
Dinner this evening was on our own. I went with most of the group for Japanese pancakes. These really weren't pancakes in the usual sense as they were primarily cabbage, eggs and toppings such as seafood or pork. There was also a dark sauce on it that contains (surprise surprise) a lot of soy sauce.
Tuesday, August 29th was the last day of the tour but it was also a free day. So I went with several others to Arashiyama. This is the home of the bamboo forest, Tenryu-ji Temple, etc. Tenryu-ji Temple was established in 1339 but over the years has been ravaged by fires 8 times! The present structure dates back to only 1868. The temple itself is not all that distinguished, rather it is the gardens that makes it an UNESCO site. The art shown is a replica from the Edo period and is very large!
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The bamboo forest is simply a walkway that has many many medium sized bamboo trees. Too many there are also many many tourists here!
We also visited the small Nonomiya Shrine and the Old Saga Imperial Palace Daikakuji Temple.
Finally, our touristy day ended back in Kyoto at the Imperial Palace. We miscalculate the distance we needed to walk from the train station (getting back from Arashiyama) to the Imperial Palace. Anyway, we made it just in time for the 2:00 pm English tour. I didn't realize it before but this palace is not used for anything now but storage and a few ceremonial occasions. Actually, there is only one building with heat and A/C and that is the Carriage Porch...used primarily for storage! Still, you have one gate just for the Emperor and another gate, just for the Empress! Probably, the largest building here is the Seiryoden which is sometimes still used for rites and rituals. The living quarters has 15 rooms but none are even heated. When the Emperor lived here, he had to used multiple layers of kimonos to keep warm! The palace was rather impressive but maybe more so were the gardens.
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Finally, Tuesday night, we had all farewell dinner.
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On Wednesday, August 30th I will be leaving Japan by taking a evening Scoot Airlines flight to Bangkok. Since I will not be on tour during the remainder of my trip in Thailand, I am not sure how much I will blog. I return home on Saturday, September 9th.
We spent Friday afternoon on the train to Kyoto. Dinner that night was a usual traditional Japanese dinner. It seems we have had plenty of these already!
Saturday morning found us on the bus going to the Golden Pavilion. This impressive building is very famous throughout Japan and it dates back centuries. It was purchased for shogun Yoshimitsu in 1397. Upon his death in 1408, it became a zen temple. However during the Onion Wars (1467-1477), it was burned down and then rebuilt shortly thereafter. Finally in 1950, a crazed monk set the pavilion on fire and it burnt down again. Therefore, the present structure was built in 1955. Each floor has a different style of architecture and the top two floors are all covered in gold leaf. All of this gold is what makes the building so striking!
Next up was the Nino-Jo Castle. This is a World Heritage Site as this is the place where, in 1867, the political rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate ended and the restoration of power to the Emperor was proclaimed. The building itself was completed in 1603 by the first Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. However, the arrival of overseas delegations, starting with Commodore Perry in 1853, demanded the opening of Japanese ports. This forced the Shogun into signing these treaties and turning power back to the Emperor.
We had a formal, but rather undistinguished, French lunch at Kyoto University. I think we ate here just to ‘experience’ the Kyoto University. This and Tokyo University vie for the best university in Toyota. After lunch, we went to Sanjusangen- do. This temple was established in 1164. Inside this temple are 1001 statues of the Buddhist deity, Juichimen-senju sengen Kanzeon, better known as Kannon. All the statues are made by different artists carved from solid cypress. 124 of these statutes were made in the 12th century and the remaining 876 were made when the temple was renovated in the 13th century. In front of the Kannon statues are 28 statues of guardian deities. These statutes are very fearest looking and differ from the Kannon statues as their arms and heads were carved separately.
Dinner was on our own. I joined a few others at a local British pub for fish and chips!
Sunday, August 27, was our optional tour to Nara. First stop was at Fushimi Imari Takisha, home of over 10 thousand Tori gates. A Tori gates is the orangest-red gates that are common at Japanese Shinto Shrines. These gates are so numerous here as companies and organizations donate them in hope of future good fortune. All the newer gates are wood so they do decay and become dangerous. When that happens, the old gate is removed and replaced by a new gate from another company. Also at this shrine are many statues of foxes which are regarded as Shinto messengers.
After lunch in Nara, we visited a Naramachi Traditional House. This is a tradesman house that was constructed in 1917.
Next up was Todaiji Temple’s Daibutsu-den Hall. This building was the world's largest wooden structure for many years until the late 1990s. Although the present building (built in 1709) is huge it is 30% smaller than the original building that dates back to 728. Of course, this older building had 2.6 million people that worked on it during its various construction stages! Inside this massive building is the world’s largest bronze statue (52 foot) of Buddha Vaircana. It is also the largest Buddha in Japan. On each side of the Buddha are a fierce looking deity that protects the Buddha. One of the wooden pillars of the building has a hole created in the base. It is said that those that crawl through this will be blessed. So kids line up for that honor. This one little girl (just legs showing) stopped in the middle for about 5 minutes!
Final stop of the day was at Kasuga Grand Shrine. This is another UNESCO World Heritage Site and it know also as a deer park as very tame deer roam around looking for more (vendor purchased) cookies from visitors! The shrine itself was established in 768 but rebuilt many times. It is now known for its over 3 thousand stone lanterns. These are lite at night twice a year for special occasions. Too bad I couldn't see that!
That evening I went with a fellow group member to a local buffet restaurant that was touted in Yelp. It was average at best. One of those you can't believe all you read stories!
On Monday, we took a flat boat up the river to visit a zen Buddhist Monk. Zen is a branch of Buddhism that believe divine wisdom resides in each person. Meditation techniques are used to reveal this inner divine nature. This monk told us that one particular branch of zen monks spend years of walking about a local mountain. At the end of their 5 years of meditation and walking, they can sit motionless for 9 days without food or water! Whatever, he helped us through a series of elementary mediations. The monk also lead us through a tea ceremony called sado.
After the morning with the monk, we visited a 300 year old house where a famous samurai once lived. However we didn't come here for the history but rather to make makizushi or rolled sushi. We had to put on white jackets while a Japanese woman taught us the simple methods. It also helped that she was a bit of a comedian as we as a group aren't fast learners!
Dinner this evening was on our own. I went with most of the group for Japanese pancakes. These really weren't pancakes in the usual sense as they were primarily cabbage, eggs and toppings such as seafood or pork. There was also a dark sauce on it that contains (surprise surprise) a lot of soy sauce.
Tuesday, August 29th was the last day of the tour but it was also a free day. So I went with several others to Arashiyama. This is the home of the bamboo forest, Tenryu-ji Temple, etc. Tenryu-ji Temple was established in 1339 but over the years has been ravaged by fires 8 times! The present structure dates back to only 1868. The temple itself is not all that distinguished, rather it is the gardens that makes it an UNESCO site. The art shown is a replica from the Edo period and is very large!
o
The bamboo forest is simply a walkway that has many many medium sized bamboo trees. Too many there are also many many tourists here!
We also visited the small Nonomiya Shrine and the Old Saga Imperial Palace Daikakuji Temple.
Finally, our touristy day ended back in Kyoto at the Imperial Palace. We miscalculate the distance we needed to walk from the train station (getting back from Arashiyama) to the Imperial Palace. Anyway, we made it just in time for the 2:00 pm English tour. I didn't realize it before but this palace is not used for anything now but storage and a few ceremonial occasions. Actually, there is only one building with heat and A/C and that is the Carriage Porch...used primarily for storage! Still, you have one gate just for the Emperor and another gate, just for the Empress! Probably, the largest building here is the Seiryoden which is sometimes still used for rites and rituals. The living quarters has 15 rooms but none are even heated. When the Emperor lived here, he had to used multiple layers of kimonos to keep warm! The palace was rather impressive but maybe more so were the gardens.
<
Finally, Tuesday night, we had all farewell dinner.
On Wednesday, August 30th I will be leaving Japan by taking a evening Scoot Airlines flight to Bangkok. Since I will not be on tour during the remainder of my trip in Thailand, I am not sure how much I will blog. I return home on Saturday, September 9th.
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