Kyoto and Nara

I’ve spent two days exploring Kyoto, and today I had a free tour of some sights in Nara with a student guide.

The cherry blossoms seem to be peaking now, in both cities. I can’t imagine they will get any more profuse! I’ve taken many photos of cherry blossoms, temples, and cherry blossoms with temples. I’ve also seen a number of Japanese gardens, and they are always great.

Gion

The Gion district in Kyoto is where the Geisha live and work. I have seen three Geisha touring the cherry blossoms, two on foot, and one riding in a rickshaw. I have also seen some Maiko, who are the apprentice Geisha. They spend a number of years training in the skills of dance, song, and playing music under experienced Geisha before they can become independent Geisha.

There are also a lot of young Japanese women wearing kimono strolling the cherry blossoms. The Geisha and Maiko are easily distinguished by their white faces, elaborate kimono, and tall sandals. They also tend to walk and move more gracefully while wearing a kimono.

The kimono-clad (non-geisha) women seem most interested in having their photos taken with the cherry blossoms, and amidst some traditional architecture.

The Geisha have an aura of dignity which makes them seem unapproachable, and you even feel a little bad about staring at them (which is hard to avoid doing). Most of the Maiko are very quick about getting to where they are headed. However, I ran across one Maiko who was graciously posing with tourists, in front of a shrine and cherry trees:

But, it didn’t take too long before she managed to excuse herself and head away. Considering the small steps they must take in the kimono, and the dangerous-looking sandals, they can walk quite quickly!

The canalway in Gion is also where I’ve seen one of the densest arrays of cherry blossoms:

Many Types of Cherry Trees

I am learning that there are many types of cherry trees. The vary in color of flowers, from mostly white to a very deep pink. The sizes of the flowers vary, as does the direction, angle and density of branches. One of the most interesting types is the weeping cherry:

The Golden Pavilion

The Golden Pavilion is one of the most famous temples in Japan. The top two floors are covering in gold flake, and it is also considered one of the best examples of temple architecture. It is also located in a fine Japanese garden, which adds to the beauty. In 1950, a monk obsessed with the temple burnt it to the ground. It was subsequently rebuilt.

Zen Garden

Another temple in Kyoto hosts the most famous “Zen Garden”:

Crazy Restaurant

I had dinner in this crazy restaurant. They only have one item on the menu: it is a sort of crepe filled with various vegetables and a fried egg.

Note the anatomically complete boy, in the restaurant’s logo statue.

Commute to Kyoto

The commute from Nara to Kyoto is tiresome. It takes about one hour to get to the train station and then ride the train to Kyoto. Also most of the sights are quite far from Kyoto Station, so there is another hour or so waiting for and then riding a bus. The busses between Kyoto Station and the sights are very crowded right now – everyone is going to see the cherry blossoms.

I would prefer to have stayed in Kyoto. It would have eliminated a lot of extra travel time (and expense – it is about $20 to make the round-trip).

Nara

Nara is much smaller than Kyoto, and a good portion of its sights can be seen in one day. My ryokan is well-situated for walking to most sites (as well as shopping and the rail stations).

One of the prime sights in Nara is Todaiji Temple. It is the world’s largest wooden building. Ironically, the current structure, built in 1692, is only a 2/3 scale replica of the original temple, which burnt down (twice!). It houses a giant Buddha.

Today is very cold, with some heavy rain. Japan has some blustery spring weather, too.

When it started raining heavily, my student guide took me to a sake brewery where, for Y400, you can sample six different types of sake that they make. Each one was very good, and very different in flavour. The last one, which was unfiltered, tasted almost like lemonade, and had a fizzy quality! My favourite was a very complex, appley-tasting sake.

Plans

I have a ticket to see “Miyako Odori (Cherry Blossom Dance)” on Saturday. This is the only time that Geisha and Maiko perform publicly, so it is a rare opporunity (although there are four shows daily for all of April). The tickets sell out quite quickly. Luckily, since I am travelling alone, there was one front row (!) ticket available for the last show on Saturday.

Also, on Saturday, a Noh play will be performed at another theatre nearby. I should be able to fit both performances into my day.

Otherwise, I will continue to tour the temples, gardens and parks in Kyoto and Nara.