April 14, 2006

• Japan At Last! Part 8- Kyoto and Nara

  I caught a shinkansen down to kyoto, about a 3 hour ride from tokyo, and enjoyed a nap and a bento box…yum!
  
  All throughout the train stations were big brother-ish signs like this
  one. The childlike mannequins only add to the eerieness…is this how
  the japanese see themselves?
  
  Luckily those tiny little mannequins children can seek comfort from
  good old uncle sam, known to those of us in the states as the colonel
  of KFC. This was the first pic I took after getting off the hour long
  train ride from Kyoto to Nara

  Following that, vinh picked me up from the train station (not to
  mention let me stay at his place for a few days-thanks buddy!) and we
  met up with another friend of his and went out to dinner at a local
  izakaya
  
  Naho, who doesnt like pics being taken of her, and Vinh
  
  
  If you look closely you may notice that my beanie has the letters CMS
  on it in green. These letters stand for CHicago Medical School, not
  “centimeters” as so many japanese people thought. Eventually, i got
  tired of explaining, and simply answered one gentleman who asked me why
  i had centimeters on my beanie  in my hardcore surfer/rockstar
  voice and said “cuz the metric system FUCKING ROCKS DUDE”

  He tried to make a subtle escape. I tried not to laugh. we both failed miserably.

  karma got me back in the end when several days later, this beanie was
  stolen Now someone else in Japan who loves the metric system has my
  hat

  The next morning I decided to visit a few haunts in Nara before continuing on to Kyoto
  
  Shrine near the center of Nara
  
  engraved stone and cat on the grounds of Kofukuji temple
  
  5 story pagoda on grounds of Kofukuji temple, located in the center of Nara
  
  According to Japanese Mythology, when the first emperor of Japan,
  Jimmu, descended from heaven, he rode on the back of a deer and arrived
  in Nara. All deer in Nara are considered to be descendants of that
  first deer and are considered holy sika deer, or messengers of the
  gods. They are wild, given free run of the city, and very not afraid of
  people. However, for security reasons, a number of the bucks will have
  their antlers removed to minimize infighting or some such
  
  
  Kofukuji Temple, central Nara
  
  See what I mean about no fear from deer?
  
  All throughout the city are vendors selling various deer related and
  themed products, as well as cookies/biscuits that you can give to the
  deer. 1 dollar buys about 10 biscuits. As soon as you give to one deer,
  other pick up telepathic signals and bum rush you
  
  See what I mean?
  
  This time around i tried to feed just the babies and does, figuring
  they would be a little bit less agressive. No such luck…this little
  guy followed me around half the park, jumping up onto my bag and pawing
  at me when he wasnt trying to stick his nose into my pockets looking
  for more biscuits
  r>
  
  Just a short walk from Nara Koen is Todaiji Temple, the largest wooden structure in the world, and home to the Daibutsu of Nara
  
  
  
  The original building of this buddha took up half of Japan’s bronze and
  nearly left the country bankrupt. However, the current incarnation has
  had a little touch up work done here and there by the monks and temple
  staff
  
  One of the guardians of Todaiji Temple
  
  In the back corner of Todaiji Temple is a solitary pillar with a hole
  in it. Legend says that if you can fit through the hole when you come
  to todaiji, you will be blessed with a year of good luck (aka juju)
  Once again, i made it through, and lo and behold, good times are
  rolling! Note to self: continue returning to Japan to crawl through
  lucky hole
  
  Behind me is the buddha of healing. According to legend, if a
  particular body part is ailing you, you are supposed to rub that part
  of the buddha, and then the corresponding part on yourself, and your
  pain/illness will be taken away. And look at all this time I have been
  wasting in medical school
  
  The gate of Todaiji Temple from the inside of temple grounds

  With the morning pretty much over, i caught a train back to Kyoto to visit a couple more old haunts
  
  Kinkakuji, or the golden pavilion,  One of my two favorite temples in Kyoto…i could stay here all day
  
  Covered in Gold Plating, this was the residence of an emperor who requested it be turned into a temple upon his death
  
  
  Bonsai!…They dont have to be Karate Kid, little, just miniaturized compared to the surrounding foliage
  
  
  From there it was a short bus ride to my other favorite temple in Kyoto, and possibly one of my favorites in all Japan
  
  The Zen Garden that started it all
  
  It is normally a little prettier in springtime when all the flowers and trees above the temple are in bloom
  
  There are many interpretations of what the rocks and their arrangements
  are supposed to represent…I like thinking of this one as Japan itself
  with a monjo sized fuji rising out of it
  
  What do YOU think, blogosphere?
  
  So there are a total of 15 stones in the zen garden, and while there
  are multiple angles from which you can view them, there is only one
  place in the entire temple that all 15 at once can be seen. I pointed
  this out to a group of visiting school children and became an instant
  celebrity
  
  I had to stay in this pose while every single student you see in this
  pic got it on their camera with the cool hairy american who knew about
  japanese temples. The kid to the right of me was asking me about gang
  signs and all the cool stuff in america
  
  The kanji on this fountain mark it as the fountain of knowledge and
  three other virtues. I figured it would be a good place for a little
  purification washing
  
  More schoolchildren whose assignment from their teacher was to hold a
  english conversation with the first tourist they saw…i am a-ok
  suppaaa numbaa one celebrity
  I even got to sign autographs in their schoolbooks…really!
  
  The grounds of Ryoanji temple in winter
  
  Soothing, isnt it?

  From there it was another bus ride over to Gion, the shopping district
  and also the location of Japan’s famous geisha and maiko (apprentice
  geisha) Now geisha are not prostitutes, although that is what they have
  ended up being forced to become…they were the original courtesans
  trained in the art of conversation, instruments playing, dance, and
  many other hobbies of the aristocracy,…think a bling bling escort
  service with no nookie guarantee
  
  Temple in center of Kyoto at Gion
  
  Temple by day
  
  The red/orange paint dates these building back to the Heian era of
  Japan, when they were all still super impressed and influenced by
  China, to whom red is a holy color
  there was a festival going on this day too, so the inside of the temple
  was closed, but one could still ring the bells attached to those giant
  ropes and make prayers.
  
  
  
  This famous okonomiyaki resturaunt in gion is totally not ripping off the johnsons baby.

  Now one of the things i really love about Kyoto is that you can have a main street like this
  
  And then turn a corner and be confronted with
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  juxtapositioning of old and new, temples and apartment complexes are part of Kyoto’s magic
  
  
  The photo above is two maiko, apprentice geisha as seen from behind.
  They tend to be camera shy and so i had to pull some sneaky guerilla
  tactics to get them at all. Unlike geisha, they are not allowed to wear
  the white face paint or anything until they gain full geisha-hood. Here
  was the first shot, and then once i remembered andysensei’s teaching
  
  and after…blurry cause i was running to catch up with them. Turns out
  they were going back to the same temple for services that i had just
  left
  
  
  
  
  
  I finally headed back to Nara where I joined Vinh, Naho, and another friend of Vinhs for dinner and some quality karaoke

  (3RD MENTION OF JOSH DOING KARAOKE IN JAPAN)

  Tomorrow, the real adventure would begin…

  -J

  Note: Sorry to all of you for taking so long to get this post up, xanga
  kept eating it or my comp would shut down. The Japan at last posts are
  almost finished…just 2 or 3 more parts remaining…hope you all enjoy!

  • 1:09 am
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