Soooooo lucky to see inside of a sake factory!

When I received the list she wanted to visit, I was at a loss to make a plan for her. She told me that she wanted to visit Kinkakuji ( the north west in Kyoto), Arashiyama Bamboo forest ( in the west ) and Fushimi inari shrine( the south ) along with Daigoji temple ( behind the Higashiyama mountains)

Yes, Daigoji temple has a large precinct which has a pagoda, a garden and a museum. It's worth seeing. However, from Daigo station ( subway), we have to walk for at least ten minutes. We surely need a lot of time to get to and come back from there,including the train-ride.
We had to give up going there, instead I suggested visiting Sake museum if she was interested in it.
Leaving her accomodation, a machiya style hostel, we first visited Kingakuji temple. As she had been staying here for 4 days before we met, she saw enough temples, shrines and gardens to feel too much.......a little too much for her.. She wanted to see something different.






Skipping Ryoanji temple and Ninnnaji temple, we headed for Arashiyama. Needless to say, we skipped Tenryuji temple but enjoyed calmness and peacefulness in Bamboo forest. She seems to really like it.




She was interested in the man fishing in the river, and took some pictures of him. After lunch, we walked to the JR station talking a lot and got back to JR Kyoto station. There we changed trains to go to Fushimi Inari.


In Fushimi Inari, we tried so-called OMOKARU stones. After making a wish, lift this stone. If you feel it light, your wish will be realized. But if you feel it heavy, the wish won't come true... And I always feel it heavy. Again, yes, I felt it same as usual, though she felt it light..
I should try it again after I have trained enough to lift it easily!!


Then, we visited GEKKEIKAN SAKE Museum. Luckily, we were mistaken for a member of the tourists who had a reservation of the tour to see inside of the old style factory. We were called and were told to hurry into the factory. The visitors who reserved it were from Canada. Somehow, the woman in the factory mistook me for a translator. She gave an explanation looking at me. Of course, I explained how to make sake to them in English. Anyway, we were very lucky.

Sheila seemed to enjoy visiting here. She said she would never visit there if she had not found a guide. I was happy to hear that despite the accidental good luck..

She sampled three kinds of Sake, which tempted her, and finally she bought one of the three. She said it tasted very soft and light, and the sake sold in UK was not like that.





Tour: Kinkakuji temple, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Fushimi Inari shrine, Gekkeikan sake museum, Nishiki food Market.

Talking a lot with a couple from USA part 2

Again, I talked a lot about various topis with the tourists from USA! It was, of course, fun.

During the tour, mostly on the bus from one place to another, I had time to talk with them. The most impressive topic was the one about jury system. Last year the citizen judge system started in Japan. They knew about it, but the system in Japan is different from that in America. Both of us thoght it almost same despite a little difference. I explained the citizen judge system in Japan to them and I heard what the system in America is like. We found them slightly different. It was very interesting to me.



Let's get back to the main topic!
Most of the famous places in Kyoto are so crowded with visitors. However, Daitokuji is not comparatively crowded like those. There are many small temples in the precinct of Daitokuji.
Koto-in is the most popular among them.
Recently the number of visitors to Koto-in has been gradually increasing. Yet it still keeps calmness.
There we met a man who was sitting and viewing the garden. He noticed me, and spoke to me.
He was wondering where in Koto-in the grave of the famous Kabuki female dancer, OKUNI, was . Unfortunately, I didn't know about it. I felt sorry I couldn't answer the question. What I don't know should be asked to somebody who knows. I asked the woman at the wicket.

That is true. The grave of OKUNI is surely in Koto-in. But it is not opened to the public.
So that's why he and we couldn't find it.




After that, we had lunch at OMEN near Ginkakuji temple.








This restaurant serves a special UDON.
They have a branch restaurant in New York. You can enjoy it in America, too.




They loved Japanese tea, and looked for tea cups for themselves.
We walked a lot around Kiyomizu temple, Nineizaka and Sanneizaka and Chawan zaka! At last they found what they wanted. Nice!
















I got an e-mail from them saying they enjoy Janapese green tea with the tea cups they bought here.







Tour : Ryoanji temple, Koto-in (Daitokuji ), Silver Pavillion (Ginkakuji),Lunch at OMEN, Sanjusangendo Hall, Kiyomizu temple ( Chawan zaka)

Talking a lot with a couple from USA

Yes! I talked a lot with a couple from USA. I was a guide for them on May 12th and 13th. At first, I was supposed to be a one-day guide, but one of us was not able to come due to her health problem. It was hard for me, but I really enjoyed the tour with them!

I planned to visit the western part on the first day, and the eastern part on the second day. After visiting Golden pavillion, we had OKONOMIYAKI for lunch. At that restaurant, we had to make OKONOMIYAKI by ourselves.OKONOMIYAKI is very popular meal for the people living in Kansai district. As for me, I sometimes make it at home with a portable BBQ pan on the table. Along with OKONOMIYAKI, we fry/grill sausages,beef, chicken, vegetables and some other foods which can be cooked on it.

They were interested in the meal. As I heard that they were going to visit Hiroshima following Kyoto, I talked about Hiroshima style OKONOMIYAKI. Of course, Kansai people are really fond of Kansai style. However, one of my friends who has lived in Hiroshima said Hiroshima's is really as good as Kansai's or it could beat Kansai's...

The other day, I got an e-mail from them and knew that they had Hiroshima style OKONOMIYAKI twice. They are going to make one at home, too. That's nice, isn't it?

The next day, when we were at the gate of Kiyomizu temple, some junior high school students spoke to them. The school boys and girls had to inteview foreign tourists in English, and had to get their autographs(?) as they were told to by their teacher.
One of us said "Now, we are celebrities." However, when we got out of the temple, we found the students spoke to some other tourists and tried to have their autograph.
Again he said, "Now we are no longer cerelbrities.." (^^;

After visiting Kiyomizu temple, they got 4 Yukatas for souvenirs to their daughters at one of the shops along Sanneizaka.
One more thing, she was looking for a bookmarker for a souvenir. I tried to find one, but somehow, I could not find it.

Fortunately, I found one at the exit of Silver Pavillion. I was happy to find all they wanted.
They had the tickets of Kamogawa Odori, or Geisha dance show.



So, I said good-by to them a little earlier so that they could have a little rest before the show.

I had two days with them, and talked about various topics, which was a lot of fun to me, too.

the photo
irises in Heian Shrine





The tour
1st day
Fushimi Inari shrine, Golden Pavillion, Ryoanji rock garden, Nijo castle, Nishiki Food market
2nd day
Kiyomizu temple, Nineizaka Sanneizaka, Yasaka shrine, Heian shrine, Silver Pavillion