The Road Less Traveled

I got up in the morning, had the free guesthouse coffee and a granola bar I’d brought from home, and got ready to go out. Kazo asked where I was going; I said Daitokuji temple (near the guesthouse), Shimogamo Shrine (recommended by Junko), then on the train to Nara. Instead, Kazo suggested I visit Nijo Castle, which is on the way to Kyoto Station. I took his advice and was happy I did. The castle had rooms where feudal lords were received by the shogun. The grounds were lovely, too. After Nijo, I got on the bus to Kyoto Station. On the way, we passed a great big building that looked like a temple or shrine. At Kyoto Station, I got off the bus and walked back towards that building. It turned out to be the Higashi Hongan-ji, a shrine which is the headquarters of the Otani branch of Buddhism. Even half- covered by aluminum during its restoration and renovation, it was the most peaceful and spiritual temple I visited on the trip.

I finally left around 11:00 a.m. and headed to the station to go to Nara. On the way, I stopped to by my first bento box (lunch box that comes in a cardboard box). For 800 yen (less than $8) I got cooked salmon, egg, shrimp tempura, 3 salads/pickles, 2 kinds of rice, and dessert. Although I probably could have eaten for less in a restaurant, I was happy to get so much variety and the convenience of portability for the price.

Nara

The express train to Nara only took 45 minutes, and the ride was free with my Japan Rail pass. I got out and walked along Sanjo-dori, a cute street of clothing stores and restaurants. I tried on some clothes, but a Japanese large is more like an American small or medium. Oh well. I walked to the information center and asked where I could rent a bicycle (another of
Manami and Koichi’s recommendations). They said the cheapest place was near the train station! I hadn’t even noticed it. They kindly called and asked if there were bikes left; there were one or two. I walked back to the train station with a map of where the rental place should be. I saw no shop. I even tried looking for a sign with a phone number that matched the rental agency’s phone number, but no luck. I asked a man guarding a “bike parking lot”, and he pointed me towards the train station (he was the first person I met all day who could speak no English). I went inside and asked at the train station information center, and based on that I found the rental agency. It cost 500 yen for the whole day. The bike came with a lock built in, and I was really happy to have a bike with a basket to put down my big bag.

At first, I was a very scared rider. Do I ride on the sidewalk or in the street? With traffic or against? (In Japan, they drive on the left, which complicates this last question even further). There was no one around riding their bike whom I could model my behavior on. All I could do was take a chance and hope no one got hurt. No one seemed disturbed by my riding; in fact, no one seemed motivated to get out of my way. The bell didn’t always work well either. By the time I got to edge of the city, I had to take a break. I parked in front of the 7-11 and went in to buy some Pocari Sweat, an odd name but a good drink. The clerk spoke English, then told me she is studying intercultural pragmatics in the university at Nara and hopes to get her Ph.D. We exchanged email addresses.

I made it into the entrance of Nara Park, and the first thing I saw was deer. Lots of deer. I kept riding until I reached the entrance of the great Buddha hall. It’s the largest Buddha statue I’ve ever seen in my life, and was definitely worth the journey. After the temple, I rode around the park grounds and was soon very glad I could enjoy it all from the comfort of a bike seat. I rode through the shadier part of the park and ended up at the entrance of another temple. I would have had to go up stairs, though, and I didn’t see any “parking lot” for the bike. I was too tired to walk up. I headed instead towards a place selling soft serve green tea ice cream (with an area to park a bike). A deer stood by looking at me while I paid for the ice cream, so for an extra 150 yen I bought a packet of wafers to feed the deer. It practically ate the first wafer right out of my hand. As another deer came over, I started throwing the wafers on the ground to get some distance. I saw another deer take a brochure right out of a woman’s hand; she managed to get it back but it was definitely dog-eared (or should I say, deer-eared). When the deer looked at me again after I gave out the last wafer, I gave it the paper that had been used to wrap the paper. The deer ate it right up. When I finished my ice cream, I gave it the rest of the cone complete with paper wrapper. No problem. Maybe we should consider domesticating deer to solve the environmental waste problem.

I hopped on the bike and rode back towards Sanjo-dori. This time I saw a pond with turtles and a view of the 5-story pagoda. I stopped there to rest and enjoy the view, then rode back to the train station. On the train to Kyoto, I recognized the Kyoto tower near the station before I saw signs that we had arrived. It felt good to see familiar landmarks in such a foreign place. I got off the train, looked at my arms, and realized I was sunburned. This was a mixed blessing—June is normally the rainy month but the sun was shining strong.

Dinner in Kyoto

I walked back towards Higashi Hongan temple. Even though the giant doors were closed, it was a great place to sit for a while and write my travel journal. I chatted briefly with a Columbian-Japanese couple on vacation from London who were looking at the temple and wondering what it was. I walked to the nearest bus stop, but soon realized the bus I wanted wasn’t going to stop there. I walked on towards Gojo street, where I saw a Japanese curry house. It’s thicker and not as spicy as Indian curry, but I have good memories of eating it with Manami in America and by myself in Korea, so I was happy to be able to have it in a restaurant. There was a wide variety of curry dishes; I stared blankly at the Japanese menu until a wise worker gave me a multilingual menu. I chose regular-spiced, regular-sized curry (not “lady sized”) with a fried cutlet of edamame, and some oolong tea. It was delicious, and worth 830 yen.

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.

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