The Road Less Traveled

We woke up to the sound of pouring rain. The balcony had a layer of water on it maybe two inches thick. The weather report on TV said Hong Kong was at “amber alert”. We wondered whether the conference would be delayed; classes had been cancelled the day before because of strong winds from the typhoon. Gen called her uncle to ask but he didn’t answer his phone. In the meantime, we got ready and went to our free breakfast. We had a choice of 4 menu items. Gen had the rice porridge. Kathy and I had the egg and fruit plate. The egg turned out to be hardboiled, and the assorted fruit were watermelon and a banana. Anyway, it was free and good and there was coffee.

We walked down the hill to hear the plenary session (main talk) by Barbara Seidelhofer from the University of Vienna; she does a lot of work on English as a Lingua Franca so it was important to hear her work. Afterwards, we walked to the Bonham gate to catch a cab down the hill. Our plan was to take the MTR (subway) to Kowloon to do some shopping at the “Ladies’ Market” (an open-air market of clothes). Gen chatted with the cab driver in Cantonese, and he told her that it would be cheaper and more interesting to take the ferry across. He was right—it was a mere 1.70 HKD to take the ferry one way, compared to 5-10.50 for the MTR. We also had a great view of the Hong Kong downtown and Kowloon skylines with its extremely modern buildings.

When we got off in Kowloon, it was still raining lightly. So instead of the Ladies Market we walked around the Harbour City mall, a high end indoor shopping center. We walked through the nearby and slightly less expensive Citysuper. We headed to the MTR and took it to Causeway Bay for more indoor shopping. We walked through Sogo, a Japanese department store/supermarket, and the shops at Island Beverley. Unfortunately, most of the stores weren’t open yet even though it was nearly 1:00. We walked around one more shopping center, but again most of the stores weren’t open. Gen said it’s because they stay open later in the evening. We saw one store that had some cute shirts and dresses, but the owner said she couldn’t let me try them on because they stretch easily. I felt I couldn’t take a risk buying something that wouldn’t fit or look right, so we walked away.

We started getting hungry, and popped into a restaurant for their lunch special. For 36 HKD ($5) we got a pot of noodles with mushrooms and cabbage, and a milk tea (boba). We walked through an open-air market that had enough awning to keep us dry. A woman was selling shirts for a mere 79 HKD. As I stood pondering whether to buy it, she started ranting to Gen in Cantonese about what a good price it was, and there was no reason to hesitate at such a good price. She also made hand motions over my upper body indicating how the blouse would be a good fit. She was such a character, I went ahead and bought it even though I couldn’t try it on.

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. We went to popular clothing stores Giordano’s, G2000 (where I made some pricey but pleasing summer clothing purchases), Esprit, and the Japanese store Miju–a mixture of clothing, crackers, and Ikea-like housewares. We also walked briefly through Times Square—a shopping mall, not a replica of the New York district. For something resembling Times Square, however, we got on the MTR one more time to the Mong Kok exit, where crowds walk without cars among electronic stores, restaurants, neon signs, and hourly hotels.

Gen led us to her favorite Hong Kong fast food restaurant, Café de Corel, for dinner. You look at the menu options on a board (like the canteen), order, pay, then go to another table with trays where your food is assembled. I got Shanghai ribs with tofu, and lemon tea (very sweet). Gen got chicken and rice. Kathy got ramen soup and a dragonfruit drink, an order which caused some hassle. Apparently each part of the order should have a receipt that you give to someone who puts it on a tray and then takes the receipt off when the food is ready. They never got the receipt for Kathy’s dragonfruit drink because it was handed to her without ever going near the tray. Very weird.

Tired and on sensory overload from the people, lights, activity, and hassle, we ate quickly and took the subway to Central and a cab to our room. We bought some beer from the vending machines downstairs, and spent the evening watching cable TV. We became fixated on the Panda Channel, recorded video of the pandas at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park. They were just too cute.

In the morning, Manami took me on the train to Shin-Yokohama (New Yokohama), where I could catch the Shinkansen train to Kyoto. Shinkansen is better known in English as “bullet train”. There are actually two bullet train lines: Hikari and Nozomi. The Nozomi makes fewer stops, but the Japan Rail Pass is not valid on the Nozomi and the Nozomi only saves you half an hour between Tokyo and Osaka. I didn’t feel deprived taking the Hakari train. Manami spoke with the attendant in Japanese to get me a seat reservation (free with my rail pass). My train was again leaving in 10 minutes, so there was no time for a long goodbye. At least we had had the hour on the train from her house to Yokohama to visit.

The train was sleek and smooth outside and comfortable inside. You can see pictures of the outside at: http://www.japanrail.com/JR_shinkansen.html. The view was also lovely, alternating between oceanside and rice fields. Two and a half hours later, I arrived in Kyoto. It was about 1:00 pm. I asked for directions to the city buses, and found enough English signs to direct me to the buses going in the direction of Guesthouse Bon, near Daitoku-ji (Daitoku Temple). I saw two lines of people waiting for two different bus numbers, only one of which I could take to the guesthouse. When my bus arrived, I watched to see which line moved and joined the line at the end.

I thought I had packed pretty lightly for a two-week trip: A wheeled carryon and student-sized backpack. On a crowded bus, though, they seemed enormous. Two elderly women took pity on me and motioned for me to squeeze in on the seat between them. Another woman still standing asked in English where I was going. She said she wasn’t sure this bus would go to my stop. She and the elderly women started chatting in Japanese. I couldn’t help but smile at the idea of all these people trying to figure out for me whether I was on the right track.

I found out later that the woman who spoke English was named Junko. She was from Osaka and visiting her son who is a student in Kyoto. She told me she had a couple of hours before she had to meet with her son, and she offered to go with me to check in at the guesthouse and go sightseeing. I agreed, and am eternally grateful that she made such an offer and I accepted. She helped me get the day pass for the bus system, and helped me understand that you board the bus at the rear and pay as you exit through the front (a very logical system, in my opinion). When we got off at Daitokuji-mae, we followed the guesthouse map along the wall of the Daitoku temple. But then the street ended in a T, which I couldn’t have comprehended looking at the map. Junko looked at the map and found the barber shop marked on the map. She asked and found the tofu shop marking the street for the guesthouse, which I also would never have found because the sign for it was not in English.

When we finally arrived at Guesthouse Bon, Kazo, the owner, came out with his infant son on one arm. I took off my shoes and he showed me my room, the kitchen, toilet, shower, and common room, all with the baby still on his arm. The layout felt like a traditional Japanese house with tatami mats on the floor and doors made of wood and paper. When I first heard about “Japanese style” sleeping rooms I thought I would be sleeping directly on the floor, but Manami had correctly assured me that this means sleeping on a futon. In Japan, “futon” means a firm flat mattress without a bed- or sofabed-frame. The futon was perfectly comfortable without a frame, though.

After I set my bags in my room, Kazo, Junko and I sat down at a patio table with a bus and city map of Kyoto. Still with the baby on his arm, Kazo gave us advice on what to see and how to get there.

Temples and Markets of Kyoto

Junko and I walked back to the bus stop and, following Kazo’s advice, went first to Ryoan-ji (Ryoan Temple). The temple is famous for its Zen rock garden. Maybe if it hadn’t been so busy with people, it would have been more impressive or meditative. Instead, I was impressed by the miniature version that blind people can touch, and another garden that looked like waves of moss-covered ground. It seemed to be a metaphor for life—bumpy but worth it.

We went through the inner sanctum of the temple, then walked around the gardens. Junko was surprised to see Buddha statues with a bowl in front. If you make a wish and toss a coin into the bowl, your wish will be granted. No luck from the Buddha for me, but I had all the luck I needed for the day anyway. We left, got on the bus again, and headed to Kinkaku-ji, aka “Golden Temple”. This temple has earned the title fair and square; according to an English-speaking tour guide nearby, 280,000 sheets of gold cover the temple. We couldn’t enter the temple, but we had a nice view of the temple across the pond and the grounds we walked around were lovely.

Near the exit, Junko stopped to buy me a souvenir. I was shocked; she was the one helping me, I should be the one to buy her something. For her, though, I was an English teacher helping her practice her English conversation skills. Compared to English teachers in Hawaii who charged her $50 an hour, buying me a souvenir was a bargain. She also bought me some kind of shaved ice with green tea syrup. Yum!

Once again we got on the city bus, this time heading downtown to the Shijo Kawaramachi stop. We walked past fashionable shops to Nishiki Market, a long, narrow covered passage with stalls where you can buy fish, pickled vegetables and fruits, tea, and more. Junko led me to her favorite takoyaki stand. Takoyaki is made from a pancake-like base similar to okonomiyaki, but the cook formed the dough into balls as it was heated. It was a good deal too-a set of 6 for only 180 yen ($1.50). I’ll never forget sitting on a bench in that small red stall, the heat rising both from the grill and the takoyaki that I had to pierce with a chopstick before eating so I wouldn’t burn my mouth. Even though it had been a warm day, I and many locals were willing to sit in that heat to enjoy this cheap street treat.

Junko walked me back to the main street, and finally we said goodbye. I went into one of the big department stores, Takashimaya, and was blown away by its style and sophistication. I was equally impressed by the underground food market, and understood better why Manami’s students said they missed the department store food floor in America. I’d had my fill of food at Nishiki Market, so again I didn’t buy anything. Instead, I wandered down Shijo-dori (Shijo street) to the Gion district, a shopping area with many lanterns and dark wooden buildings. (Sorry, I didn’t take any pictures). I later learned from Kazo that many Geisha still live in Gion, and around 4 or 5 p.m. you can see them walking to the teahouses to begin work. I didn’t see any, or if I did I wasn’t aware of it. There were occasionally people wearing kimono or yukata (a summer kimono made of cotton), but they didn’t have make up on so I don’t think they were geisha.

I walked through Gion to the Yasaka Shrine, a beautiful shrine set up into the hills a bit. There seemed to be more to see up the hill but it was dusk and I was exhausted. I walked back to the Shijo awaramachi stop. I just missed a bus, but that gave me time to watch the neon lights come on and watch the people walking by a little longer. I got on the bus, miraculously found my way back to the guest house even though the tofu house was closed up, and went to sleep.