Kyoto Free Guide

Flea market and Kitano shrine

2011-10-20T16:12:00.017+09:00

Do you like visiting a flea market? Looking around in the market and negociating the prices with the sellers are a lot of fun. In Kyoto we have two big flea markets every month. One is Ko-bo-san in Toji temple on the 21st, and the other is Tenjin-san on the 25th. On the 25th every month, the precinct and surrounding area of Kitano shrine is filled with so many open booths, selling food, old kimonos, cloth, antiques and so on.
The tours with tourists happened to be on the 25th. I decided to take them there.

Sugawarano Michizane is enshrined in Kitano shrine. He was a very talented man. He is said to have started writing poems at the age of 5, and writing Kanshi, or Chinese poem, when he was 11. He promoted so fast and gained the important position in the political world. However, due to his promt promotion, he was entrapped and exiled from Kyoto to Kyushu Island.
After his death, harsh disasters struck the capital. The rumor that it was steming from Michizane's sad destiny spread in the old city. The Emperor restored his status and built the shrine for him.
Since he was a man of wisdom, the people who wish an academic achievement often visit here and pray for their success in their learning or examinations.

In Fukuoka city( in Kyushu lsland), we have Dazaifu Tenmangu, another shrinie related to Michizane. We can see a plum tree in both temples. The legend says that the plum tree in Kyoto missed Michizane so badly and flew to Dazaifu in a night.

Cows is regarded as a messenger of the God in this shrine. Many people touch the stone cows here wishing for a good luck and their health.

Date : July 25th
Tourist ; a woman from France
Tour : Nijo castle, Fleamarket in Kitano shrine, Golden pavillion, Bamboo forest

Photo ; in Nijo castle

Date ; August 25th
Tour ; Fleamarket in Kitano Shrine, Orinasu-kan( nishijin texile factory), Golden pavillion

Photo ; in noodle restaurant in Machiya
They tried on the kimonos they bought in the market after lunch.

Mourning the dead ( Adashino nenbutsu-dera)

2011-09-16T09:31:00.016+09:00

People in the old days believed the paradise in Pureland was located in the west. We can find the fact in Byodoin temple in Uji because you will see the phoenix hall to the west when you see it across from the front pond. The west is the direction where the sun sets.
Adashino Nenbutsu dera( temple) is in the west of Kyoto, the end of Arashiyama area. In its name of Adashino, a kanji letter meaning "alchemize" is used. That is the place where "Life" alchemizes into "Death" and then the dead soul is reincarnated and has a new life. In the old time, people left the dead body there. I don't know why it was there. But I believe that is why it is the west and that they hoped to let the souls go to the pureland from the nearest place. ( This is just an interpretation of mine..)

A great monk, Kukai, buried the bodies and the remains there, held a service for the departed souls and prayed for them. People made and brought small stone statues and stone towers. Those in Adashino Nenbutsu dera are the ones for the dead who departed to another world in those days.
When you visit there, you will feel something solemn and specifically mysterious.
On August 22nd night, the temple holds an event for prayers. People come there and light candles and pray for the dead.

There is another stone Jizou. This is for unborn babies. When I visited there, I lit a candle and prayed for them.

This time, I visited this temple with a woman from Rumania. We talked a lot about this temple and how death is interpreted in Buddhism. It was a very hot day in summer. But walking from Arashiyama river side to this temple through the countryside gave us something valuable in our minds.
If you are interested in an insight of religion and local culture, visiting here will let you feel something unexpected.

Tour date ; July 22nd
Tour : Golden pavillion, Adashino nenbutu dera, Bamboo forrest, Sanjusangendo hall
Tourist ; a woman from Rumania

Adashino nenbutsu dera 9AM -4PM ( -3:30PM in winter)
Admission 500 yen
Access 30min walk from Arashiyama Randen station
40min ride Kyoto bus ( not city bus ) from JR Kyoto station
(the nearest bus stop - Toriimoto )

Comparison between Golden and Silver pavillion

2011-08-29T11:40:00.013+09:00

All visitors to Kyoto don't miss seeing the Golden Pavillion, do they? In fact, it is one of the Must-sees of Japan. When you step into the precinct and the shining golden pavillion comes into sight, you will probably say something exclamatory. In addition, the so-called mirror pond in front of it makes this pavillion more impressive by reflecting the pavillion on its water surface as if it were a mirror. Yes, it is surely the one sight you can't skip on your tour.

The time when the Golden pavillion was founded was when Kitayama culture was at its best. Kitayama culture is a fusion of aristractic culture and samurai culture. The temple represents Kitayama culture. The pavillion was made with those characteristics on each floor; the first floor of the pavillion is in so-called Shinden-zukuri, or Aristocratic style. The second floor is in so-called Buke-zukuri, or Samurai style. The third has a religious atmosphere of Zen.

On the other side of the city, you can also enjoy the other pavillion, the Silver pavillion. Whether the pavillion was coated with silver at the beginning or not is unknown, or has many views.
Putting that aside, the Silver pavillion has a different atmosphere. The founder of this temple, the grandson of the founder of Golden pavillion, was a person of taste or a person of culture. He founded the pavillion based on his grandfather's work. However, he loved an authentic beauty known as "Wabi" and "Sabi" originated in Zen spirit, the main idea of which is simplicity. Please touch the beauty coming from an inner part of your heart when you are in Kyoto.
When you get into the Ginkakuji, you will first see the mound of white sand called Kogetsudai, The literal meaning is the place toward the moon. The effect of this white sand is to make the surroundings brighter by reflecting the moon light. This neatly shaped sand mound will surely impress you
There is one more thing I want to mention about here. That is moss!
The founder, the 8th shogun of Ashikaga shogunate, liked Saihoji temple which is known as a moss temple. One half of the garden was covered with this green moss. I recommend you to visit here in May or Jun while its green is vivid to your eyes. This temple doesn't show you a gorgeous aspect but I am sure you will understand the beauty of our culture while visiting here.

I visited both temples with an Australian couple. After visiting both temples, I asked which they preferred. They said that they understood each temple's authentic beauty. Their answer was that the two had their own individual beauty and that both were nice in their own special way.
That is probably the right answer!

Date : July 20th

Tourists : a couple from Australia

Tour : Ryoanji rock garden, Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, Phylosophy path, Nanzenji temple, Heian shrine ( by themselves)

The temple with hydrangeas in the garden

2011-07-06T14:13:00.009+09:00

Hydrangeas in the rain are so beautiful, aren't they? From the middle of June to early July is the high season for hydrangeas in Japan. After the rain, the flowers are washed by the rain and show more vivid colored faces to us. There are some temples known by the garden with hydrangeas. Mimurodo temple is one of them. It is located near the world heritage site, Byodoin temple known as a phoenix hall. The temple is on the hill and you can take a shuttle bus from JR Uji station to the temple during the hydrangea season.
Before visiting Hydrangea garden, why don't you walk up to the main hall? In front of the hall, you will see a lot of lotuses. As you see, Buddha images usually sit on a Lotus Flower. So the view of a lot of lotuses makes us, Japanese, feel something calm.

Just before the hall, you will see a stone cow image. This gives us a good luck for a victory. If you participate in a competition, a race, a contest or lotteries(?). Please touch a ball in its mouth and you will gain a good luck for it. Though I don't especially have a chance to take part in something, I touched and wished a good luck. If the god has a good memory, I will win in a race or competition in the future. Till then, I have to keep this good luck.

Let's go to the Hydorangea garden. Here you can enjoy 1000 hydorangeas. Before visiting here, I just know only the typical kind of these flowers. When I saw them one by one, I found them so impressive and beautiful. Actually I saw the kind I hadn't seen before. I really enjoyed this beautiful scenary.

After I came home, I came to know that there is a heart-shaped hydrangea flower in the temple.
When I visit there again ( maybe next year?), I will try to find it.

Mimurodo temple
The nearest station : Mimurodo station ( Keihan Uji line)
Shuttle bus : JR Uji station to the temple ( during the high season only)
Time ; 8:30AM - 4:30 PM
Admission : 500 yen

Shopping in Japan means....

2011-06-02T11:49:00.008+09:00

Among the cancellations, one group decided to make a tour in March just after the quake. One of them said that, though it might be a tiny contribution, shopping in Japan would help the economy after the disaster.

According to their words, they arrived in Fukuoka, western Japan, and headed for Kansai region. Ririko and I were their guide on each day during their stay in Kyoto. They are much interested in fabrics, so on the first day, Ririko took them to Nishijin texile center. There were few people because of the decrease in the number of the tourists to Japan. Seeing from the other point of view, they fully enjoyed the texile center without being annoyed by so many visitors, and not to mention they bought a lot of goods made of Japanese fabric.

On the second day, I was a guide and showed them around in Higashiyama area. I suggested visiting Nishiki market to have them see our food culture. However they did like to see other kinds of fabrics in the shops along the path from Ginakuji temple, as well as Sanneizaka and Nineizaka.

One of the members of the group found what is called Hachimaki. On one "hachimaki" said " Hissho!" (　必勝　) The direct translation is " must win " or " a strong will to win" . According to the translation on the paper board in the shop said "Sure victory". It sounded a little strange to me, but he really liked these words and bought one. In addition, he bought another one for his friend.

He repeated again and again "Sure Victory" "Sure Victory" He seemed so happy to have one.
So I asked a silly question to him. "If you have one, you will surely win, right? But in the case you have to fight against the friend you give the other 'Sure Victory' to, who will win??? 　You have to hold two hachimakis to make sure the victory? " That was funny to us.

We enjoyed our tour so much.

Date : March 23rd and 24th
Tourists ; a family from Malaysia
Tour : 1st day
Ishibeikoji, Entokuin ( tea ceremony ), Mimiu( Udon lunch)
Nishijin texile center
2nd day
Kiyomizu temple, Sanneizaka Nineizaka Kamanza
( tempura lunch) Yasaka pagoda Ginkakuji temple

In kamanza, they serve yuba-donburi. It's one of the specialities in Kyoto. It is very simple donburi but worth trying if you like Japanese soup and tofu.

Kindness of a Japanese woman

2011-05-14T15:59:00.015+09:00

In March after the earthquake, I have worked as a guide twice. One of them was just after the quake. Of course, they had alreadly come to Japan when the disaster hit.

I got an e-mail from them while they were staying in Tokyo. Until I met them in Kyoto, I had been wondering how they were spending the time before coming to Kyoto, and whether they could come to Kyoto or not.
Finally, I met them on 14th morning. I was relieved to know they were safe, and then asked how they managed to get along.
At the time of the quake, they were in Kamakura enjoying sightseeing. Just after the quake, JR in this area was halted, which means they had no way to come back to Tokyo and had no one they knew there.
However, a Japanese woman spoke to them, and she opened her private house to let them stay for a night. When they got to her house, they found some other foreign tourists being there. Of course, they all were not aquainted with her at all, and that was the first time to meet each other.
In addition, her neighbor also offered what is called Onigiri ,or rice balls, to them. After JR recovered its service, they were able to go back to Tokyo.
I was very happy to hear this story, and was proud of being a Japanese. She didn't forget to be kind to others at the time of emergency. That is a wonderful thing, isn't it?
They changed their tour plan and decided to stay in Kyoto for the rest of the days in Japan.

I showed them to Higashiyama area. Since they were forced to unexpectedly change their plan, I suggeted another tour to them on another day during their stay. They were pleased to accept my offer. Unfortunately it wasn't realized due to the recommendation to come back home by the embassy.
Anyway, we enjoyed tea ceremony, and fully enjoyed beautiful scenery in Kyoto. The life in Kansai area including Kyoto was going as usual. I did the guide as much as I could because they couldn't enjoy another city they were supposed to visit because of the unprecidented disaster. I hope they still like Kyoto and Japan. And, if I have another chance to be their guide, I do want to show them to the places not in a guidebook. That was their honeymoon, and the quake kept them from fully enjoying their tour. Thinking of it, I really feel sorry.

Date : March 14th

Tour ; Kiyomizu temple, Sanneizaka Nineizaka, Entokuin ( tea ceremony) Silver pavillion, Golden Pavillion

Tourists ; a couple from Spain

Making a poem by the side of a stream

2011-04-30T09:43:00.013+09:00

In Heian era, how did the aristrats have fun in their life without movies, televisions or radios? What is called "Kyoku-sui-no-en" was one of the way for having fun. "Kyoku" means twisting or twisted, " sui" means water or a stream, and "en" means an event or something like a party. They sat by the side of a twisted tiny stream, making poems and sipping sake.

A glorious spring weather makes us pleasant. However, in the days of old, it also brought the epidemic of bad diseases. So the people bathed in the river and prayed for their safety. This is the origin of "Kyokusui-no-en" Later, the Emperor invited his people and the aristcrats having an event by the riverside.

At first, a dancer called Shirabyoshi demostrated her beutiful dance to the invited. And then, boys carried small floats with a small cup of sake on, and they put them on the water. The floats slowly flowed on the water. The poets saw the floats going on the stream, and piked one on the float and sipped it after making a poem and writing it on a strip of paper.

The cards written a poem were gathered and the poems were announced with specific tones by the announcers.
I fully enjoyed the scene thinking of the old days and the people enjoying this event.
This event is held in Spring and Autumn.

After the event, we walked in the garden of this shrine. One thing good is that we can see the garden for free of charge because of the event. How lucky !

Cherry blossoms in 2011

2011-04-24T13:32:00.007+09:00

Please imagine the riverside decorated with the color of pink.
Please imagine the sky covered with the color of pink when you look up the sky.

Why don't you come and enjoy this beautiful scenery?

The hiｇh season in 2011 was between April 6th and 10th depending on the places.

Monkey Park

2011-04-07T23:01:00.009+09:00

Once I have been asked for a suggestion besides visiting temples and shrines by a mother of cheerful boys. At that time, I picked up Monkey Park in Arashiyama. They were pleased to have this itenerary. Unfortunately, we had to give up visiting there due to the weather on that day.
This year, I visited there with other tourists.

If you have enough time during your stay in Kyoto, if you want to visit anywhere else after visiting temples and shrines, and if you like animals, how about visiting Monkey Park?

I didn't know Japanese Monkeys ( I don't know whether it is the proper way to call them) were special for visitors from abroad. However, the monkeys are to be seen in Asia, aren't they?

You can see and feed wild monkeys there.
After walking up the hill for a while, you will find some monkeys playing, sitting, walking here and there. If you want, you can get their food in the hut, and feed them from the inside of the hut. Inside?? Yes, from the inside! From the outside, the monkeys get food from you. At first it seems a reverse way, but it is actually safer. So feeding them outside is, of course, prohibited.

Anyway, feeding is a lot of fun.
Why don't you visit this Park ? Oh, one thing I have to say!! Please wear sneakers! The reason?
You can know when you get there!!

Date : March 5th
Tourists : a couple from Australia
Tour : Tenryuji temple, Bamboo forest, Togetu bridge and walking riverside, Monkey park, Ryoanji temple, Kinkakuji temple ( Golden Pavillion.

Kyoto in the snow

2011-02-02T10:32:00.009+09:00

It rarely snows in Kyoto in spite of the cold climate. Even if it snows, the architectures and the gardens in Kyoto are seldom covered with snow. Tourists as well as the citizens have few chances to see the scene in the snow.
The day before our tour it was snowing. And that morning, it was still very cold. I expected the scene with snow. After picking them up at the hotel, we headed for Arashiyama where it is comparatively colder than in the center of the city. That was, in a sense, BINGO!

The first leg of our tour was Bamboo forest. When we got there, it was snowing. That was the first time for me to see Bamboo forest in the snow. Sometimes we saw the sunshine coming through among those tall bamboo trees. It was very impressive.

We walked along the Hozu river. The mountains were also covered with snow. The air was clean, which made the scenary so beautiful.
Then we went back to the city and visited Ninnaji temple.
The sand in the garden was white, whiter than usual. We enjoyed this garden and visited the next temple Ryoanji rock garden.

This garden was very famous for the sand and rock garden. A half of the sand garden was in the snow. It showed me a different aspect from what I always see when I visit there as a guide.
This temple obtained the paintings which it had lost a long time ago. They returned for the first time in about 100 years. Those paintings are being exhibited for a time being. I came to know this exhibition on the news, but that was the first time to directly see this artistic works.

We found something yellow flower-like in front of the paintings. One of us asked me what it was. And I didn't know and haven't seen it before. In that case, I usually make it a rule to ask soembody in the temple, and I did so. It was a kind of citrus fruits called "Bussh", which means " a hand of Buddha" They say that we can see this just in this season in the year. It really convinced me. Actually they look like hands, don't they?

I expected the snow covered the roofs of Golden pavillion. Unfortunately, we could not see the expected scenary. The front side of the architecture was toward the sun. It had a lot of sunshine in the morning, and when we were there, the snow on the roofs was no longer there. However, we did enjoy the beautiful sight!

We tried OKONOMIYAKI for lunch. ( Actually they cooked it by themselves!) And the last leg was Nishiki food market. When it comes to trying something new, ( in the case of Nishiki market, it is usually Octopus), it will be a man or a boy. This time was no exception. He was forced to try it for taking a pic.

But it was not so bad!! In fact, it is very tasty. Why don't you try it by yourselves???? One more attraction in Nishiki market is a soymilk doughnut, or soymilk softcream icecream. You should try them! They bought 23 doughnuts and my share of them were 3, or 4..probably. Needless to say, I got full!

After their stay in Kyoto, they were going to go skiing in Nagano.

Tour date ; Jan. 18th

Tourists : a group from Australia

Tour : Bamboo forest, Togetu bridge, Ninnaji temple, Ryoanji rock garden, Golden pavillion, Nishiki food market.
(pic : having doughnuts)

Worth being with a guide

2011-01-16T11:13:00.012+09:00

This time, the hours for which I was a guide were not enough to make a one-day tour.

I couldn't stay as a guide for a long time due to my job schedule, however, they accepted my condition. So I did my best to make our tour worthier.
We met them in front of Kiyomizu temple. This is the first time to meet someone there. Usually there are so many tourists in and around Kiyomizu temple, and I thought it was very difficult to find each other. My expectation was completely betrayed. The sightseeing spots in Kyoto in winter may not be so beautiful as they are in a high season, but there is certainly the way to enjoy this old city.

They wanted to do what they can't do without a guide. The first thing we did was Tea Ceremony.I took them to ENTOKUIN temple to have a tea ceremony.
Not only in the typical tea room but in the traditional way, you can enjoy the ceremony in this temple. However, the people there cannot speak English, so Engilsh speaking guide is necessary to do this.
Entering from a window-like door after walking on the stepping stones was also interesting for them. In the room, I explained where the guest territory is and how they should sit.
In the room there is space for the guests and for the host.
At first ,WAGASHI for tea ceremony was carried. The host sat and bowed very politely and said welcoming words. She put Wagashi outside of the guest territory and the guest pulled it to thier front. Before having tea, the guest have to eat all the served Wagashi.
This temple is connected to Kodaiin, which was built for mourning Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the most powerful general in the 16th century. His symbol on the banner at the time of fight was so-called Sennari-hyotan, a gourd. The wagashi served here has a shape of a gourd.
I explained the manner of tea ceremony one by one and they followed what I said.
After that , they said that was really what they wanted to do.

Then we went to Chionin temple.

Chion in is a head temple of Jodo sect of Buddhism. There are about 20 Buddhism sects. Jodo sects was the religeon of Tokugawa family, the last shogunate which lasted about 200 years.
So we can find the family crest of Tokugawa family in this temple. This temple is a nice place for you to touch the surface of Buddhism. Most of the time, we can hear the monks chanting in the big hall. Before entering the hall, I explained to them that, in this sect, people will be salvated if they chant a buddhist sutra, like "Namiamudabutsu----namiamudabutsu---". When we entered the hall, we heard the monks chants Namiamudabutsu----namiamudabutsu- in a low voice. We felt very solemn atmosphere.

Then, we went to Shorenin temple. Till Edo period, a member of Imperial family used to become a monk of this temple. Once this temple was used as a tentative Imperial palace. In front of so-called Shishinden, the big hall, there are two trees which must be in front of the main hall of the real Imperial Palace, a cherry tree on the left and a mandarin orange tree on the right.

You can walk through the garden, and at the last part, you can strike the bell. In buddhism, it is said we have 108 worldy desires. and they will be removed when we strike the bell 108 times. This is why the bell in every temple is struck 108 times at the end of the year to welcome the coming new year.
After visiting those temples, we had OKONOMIYAKI lunch, and went to the last leg, Nishiki food market, not to mention I all explained Japanese food sold there.Blessed a fine weather, though it was a few hour tour, I had a good time and I hope they did, too.

Date : Jan. 12th
Tourist : a couple from Russia
Tour : Kiyomizu temple, Sanneizaka Nineizaka Entokuin, Ishibekoji, Chion-in, shoren-in, Okonomiyaki lunch, Nishiki food market

Talking over a cup of Japanese green tea in the garden

2011-01-09T12:11:00.009+09:00

On a brisk autumn day, I was a guide of a couple from UK. Though it was a little earlier for colored autumn leaves, we fully enjoyed the tour.

This is their first trip to Kyoto. I took a typical course including the world heritage sites.
Unlike usual, I took the course to Kiyomizu temple by way of passing by Yasaka Pagoda. Yasaka Pagoda is located near Sanneisaka and Nineizaka. However, we usually take the course of walking up to Kiyomizu temple along Chwanzaka with many pottery shops along.

After visiting Kiyomizu temple, we walked along Sanneizaka and Nineizaka as usual. This time, we stopped to see Entokuin temple across from Kodaiji temple. Kodaiji temple was named after KODAI-IN, the official wife of TOYOTOMO HIDEYOSHI.
The inside of this temple was renovated a little, and the rooms are very new. However, the number of visitors is comparatively small, and the people of the temple sometimes give us an explanation of the garden and its history. They were really kind to visitors unlike those of the famous and crowded temples.
We wanted to enjoy Tea ceremoney in the typical tea room in the garden. Unfortunately, on the day, the roof of the room was being checked and repaired. It was unlucky for us but we still enjoy talking over the typical tea, seeing the beautiful garden.
We spent a little while there, the person of the temple show their kindness to lead us to the tea room to see inside, and I had a chance to explain to them tea ceremony and what tea room is like. It was really quiet time in Autumn.

Later we visited Nijo castle and saw the Ninja like gardener climbing up the wall of the castle.
At that time, I was talking about how hard it was for warriors to attack climbing up the wall and how protective it was, saying that probably only NINJAs were able to climb it easily....
But, from behind me, the husband asked me if he ( the gardener ) was a Ninja.. HE was climbing EASILY to pull weeds and cut a small bushy trees off.

As a results, he spoiled my story .......

In the rock garden, I talked about Zen spirit, and they talked about Christianity and its history.
Such mutual interactions and understandings are also fun in doing the guide.

Date ; Oct. 26th
Tourist ; a couple from UK
Tour ; Yasaka pagoda, Kiyomizu temple, Gion, Nijo castle, Golden pavillion, Kyoto handicraft center

Sightseeing in the rain

2011-01-06T10:39:00.017+09:00

Everyone hopes to go sightseeing under the fine weather. However, my last guide of last year was in the rain. Things have both good aspects and bad aspects. Right. The sightseeing under the bad weather was, of course, not comfortable, but wherever we went, there were not so many people as usual.

I showed a couple from Spain around in Kyoto on Dec. 13th. And it was raining.
This was their first visit to Kyoto. So, we chose the typical course. The first leg was Kiyiomizu temple. In Kiyomizu temple, in December, one kanji letter expressing that year was shown. The letter of 2010 was "暑" , which means "hot". As we spent the days in the cold climate in December, I almost forgot it was extremely hot last summer. The letter "hot" at the TV news reminded me of the harsh weather when I was doing the guide during the summer time.

Luckily, we enjoyed some of the red-colored leaves in the tree and on the ground there.

The long path from Kiyomizu temple to Yasaka shrine was good for finding souvenirs. They got interested in wind bells. The people a long time ago living without airconditioning tried to feel cool with various devices, like wind bells. Cool sounds from the bells will refresh us in summer time, not... in winter. But actually they gave us clear sounds.

We had Okonomiyaki lunch. As they live in China, we talked about the life in China and I got to know the internet environment in China.

We visited Nijo caslte, Golden pavillion and Ryoanji rock garden.
These places are usually crowded with a lot of tourists. However, to my surprise, there are few people in each place. Though tourists usually have to wait for a while to have the pictures of them taken with the Pavillion as their backdrop, this time we were able to take photos as we liked.
Sometimes I feel too many people viewing the rock garden spoils its beauty. This time, after I explained Zen spirit and what this garden showed, I thought they felt something zen.

Date : Dec. 13th
Tourists : a couple from Spain
Tour ; Kiyomizu temple, Sanneizaka Nineizaka, Ishibekoji, Yasaka shrine, Okonomiyaki lunch, Nijo castle, Golden Pavillion (Kinkakuji temple), Ryoanji rock garden

Tea ceremony and Silver pavillion on a beautiful autumn day

2010-11-30T21:35:00.018+09:00

As I wrote before, a typical tea room is in the garden, and stepping stones lead you to the room, which consists of a few tatami mats. Its window-like square door is very small. Of course, it has a reason why it is so small. Actually I hit my head against the upper frame of the door when I got out of the room. It seems too small for me... probably...

Entoku-in temple we visited on that day serves tea for tea ceremony in the typical tea room in the garden. It is a simplified ceremony, but you can enjoy it at ease.
The experience of having traditional tea in the traditional room counts so much. In this temple, tea was brought by a woman from out of the room. In the traditional way, of course tea is made in front of you and the way of making tea has a rule to be followed. But with just 500 yen for tea, I think it sufficient to have a slight touch of Japanese culture.
I told them how to have the served tea. The girls seemed to have a little knowledge of tea ceremony, and fully enjoyed it. After having tea, the host came and explained to us the meaning of hanging scroll, and of the flowers in the alcove, which made us feel the season we were in.

On the way to Yasaka shrine, I usually take a course walking along Sanneizaka and Nineizaka to Nenenomichi and Ishibekoji. This part has an old Japanese atmosphere and these streets have tiny shops and restaurants on the road sides. Just walking is much fun. Among them, especially for young girls, Totoro of Miyazaki animations draws their attention. In the shop, there are a lot of goods of Miyazaki animation films' characters, though they are a bit expensive for me...

The last leg of our tour was Ginkakuji temple, or Silver Pavillion. It was in late afternoon that we visited there. The sunlight shone directly to the leaves as if it were a spot light.

That was the most beautiful scene of this temple I have ever seen. I recommend you to visit in late afternoon on an autumn sunny day.

The conbination of green of the pine trees and red or yellow of the Japanese maple leaves made a beautiful contrast.

Date ; November 18th

Tourist/ girls from Singapore and a French couple from Singapore

Tour : Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu temple, Sanneizaka Nineizaka, Entokuin temple( tea ceremony), Ishibekoji, (Okonomiyaki), Nishiki food market, Silver pavillion

Shaven Bonito and sea weeds, autumn leaves

2010-11-30T10:00:00.013+09:00

As this was the first time for them to visit Kyoto, I made a typical tour plan. The tour date was Novemeber 1oth, when leaves started to change their color. This time , I was a guide of a family from Malaysia. I found she took a photo of red or orange leaves in every place. I was wondering why she stopped so often because autumn leaves can be seen every place. Some of them are so beautiful but others are just show us their beauty alone. She said that was the first time to see the colored leaves. Yes, I understand why. They came from the country with a warm climate.

Thank you for reading my blog. When I asked them what they wanted to have for lunch, they said "OKONOMIYAKI" That's because of this blog. I took them to the OKONOMIYAKI restaurant near Nishiki Market.

Then we enjoyed Nishiki food market. Look at the price of Matsutake mashroom. Yes, that was the highest price I have seen in my life. It is said that Matsutake produced in Kyoto has a high quality with a nice matsutake smell. Even after it is cooked, we can still enjoy its smell along with its light resilient texture. Anyway, the price was surprising. ...

Asian people sometimes know very much about Japanese food. They are not an exception. She said the price of sheven bonito was cheaper than that sold in her country. She bought sea weeds and shaven bonito there.

A baby boy was so cute. I sometimes played with him during the tour. Just before I had to say good bye to them, he called me antie! That's the way they call a woman. Still now, when he sees me in the photos, he calls me "Antie" , of course, which pleases me a lot.

Date : Nov. 10th
Tourist : a family from Malaysia
Tour : Fushimi Inari shrine, Kiyomizu temple, ( OKONOMIYAKI )Nishiki food market, Golden Pavillion ( later they visited Ryoanji rock garden by themselves)

KENDO - Japanese fencing style

2010-11-28T00:26:00.011+09:00

Are you interested in martial arts or Samurai? If so, taking a look at Kendo practice may be interesting. Butokuden is the traditional training center. Sometimes, high-ranked kendoists practice there in the DOJO or training hall.

When we stood in front of the door, I felt intense atmosphere. One of them walked to us and talked to me with a smile. He explained a little about them . Most of the kendoists we saw on the day were high-ranked. Especially three of them are ranked in the 8th grade. He said just 1% of 7th grade applicants can pass the so-called promoted test.

Actually the opponent of the 8th grade kendoist could not move due to his strong consentration giving no chance for attack. It was very impressing and I just did sit and stare them fogetting time to tick away.

In front of the Kendoists in the picture above is the place for Emperor when he came to see the match. A few decades ago, then Emperor came there and saw the matches held there.

If you have further interest in swords or Samurai, visiting the sword shop near the training center is also fun. You can see a suit of feudal arm and sword guards or dogi ( Aikido or Kendo outfits ) The swords in the picture are the ones for practicing Iaido or sword drawing.

This time, I was a guide of a couple from Canada. They showed many interests and I had made a plan for them before their visiting Japan. On the first day, I took them to Arashiyama, Bamboo forest and what they call a small moss garden/ Gioji temple. At night we went to see Kendo practice. It was a long day, and we made the most of the time we had.

The next day another guide helped me for a part of the 2nd day tour. A lady of them got dressed as a Maiko or an apprentice of Geisha and enjoyed tea ceremony in a typical tea room . Later, I took them to Nijo castle and talked about the story of Samurai concerning to this historic castle.

Date : Nov. 4th and 5th
Tourists ; a couple from Canada
Tour ; 1st day =Gioji temple, Bamboo forest, Ninnaji temple, Golden Pavillion, Nishiki food market, Gion, Budoku den ( kendo practice)
2nd day = Kiyomizu temple, Maiko dressing, Entokuin tea ceremony, Sannenzaka Ninenzaka Ishibekoji, Pontocho, (by Ririko) Nijo castle, sword shop ( by Tomoko)

Autumn in Kyoto

2010-11-27T12:36:00.020+09:00

The other day, I went to Arashiyama not as a guide, but as a woman who loves taking photos. The leaves in Arashiyama were at their best. Although there are so many people from inside and outside of the country walking everywhere, the vivid and bright colors in the scenery still impressed me so much!

Enjoying Jidai Matsuri(festival)

2010-11-09T10:54:00.009+09:00

Jidai matsuri or Jidai festival is annually held on Oct. 22nd. The date of our tour was happenly on the day of 22nd. There is no choice but to go and enjoy the festival, isn't there? Jidai matsuri does not have a long history. Its origin dates back to 1895. Heian shrine was constructed to commemorate Kyoto's 1,100th anniversary as Japan's capital. At the same time, the festival started.
The date of Oct. 22nd is the day when Emperor Kanmu relocated the capital from Nagaoka to Kyoto in 794. The festival's main attraction is the parade of the people dressed in authentic costumes representing in various periods. You can give a glance at characters in Japanese fuedal history.

The 2 kilometer costume procession starts in the afternoon with about 2,000 comstume preformers dressed as a samurai, and common people from the earliest eras to the Meiji era ( which started in 1868). This is one of the three largest festivals in Kyoto.

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We started the tour from Fushimi Inari, and visited Kiyomizu temple, along with enjoying walking along the path from the temple to Yasaka shrine. Then we headed for Sanjo street to see the festival.
After that we visited Nijo castle. Walking in the castle and feeling atmosphere of those days after seeing the festival gave us something enough to imagine those days in the castle.

Tour date : Oct. 22nd
Tour : Fushimi Inari, Yasaka Pagoda, Kiyomizu temple,
Sanneizaka Nineizaka, Ishibekoji,
Jidai festival, Nijo castle.
Tourist : a family from Israel

With a photographer

2010-10-21T10:13:00.019+09:00

Fushimi Inari shrine, ( Torii tunnel )

This time I was on the tour with a photographer. It was very interesting because I am interested in taking pictures. Though I am just a beginner, it was very happy to see someone who are professhional taking pictures. In each places we spent a comparatively long time getting a good shot. But it was still fun to me.

Fushimi Inari shrine,
Since I usually take tourists from a place to another, I don't pay any attention to taking photos. I just do it for this blog. Though I took a compact digital camera, I fully enjoyed taking pictures with him.

Bamboo forest in Arashiyama

This time, I didn't take a photo of the tourist, because he promised me to send me the one taken with his nice camera. When I get it, I will add it to this blog.

Fushimi Inari Shrine Torii tunnel
< Bamboo forest

Tenryuji temple
Tenryuji temple
Tenryuji temple
Rakushisha
Gioji temple

Date : October 13th
Tour ; Fushimi Inari shrine, Tenryuji temple, Bamboo forest, Gioji temple, Rakushisha, Ninnaji temple
Tourist : a man from USA

parfait and conveyer-belt sushi

2010-10-06T20:44:00.011+09:00

Touching the food culture of the other countries is a part of fun.
I think the highlight of this tour was conveyer-belt sushi. This time I took a man from America to Kiyomizu temple. Unfortunately that day was the day for school outing. We met elementary school kids everywhere we went.
After walking from Kiyomizu temple to Yasaka shrine, we walked around Gion. Have you ever seen the movie "Memoirs of Geisha"? The story was the one of Gion. I explained the system of so-called Ochaya, Maiko and Geisha in front of the real Ochaya pointing at the wooden name plate of Geisha and Maiko.

Then we went to Kazurasei which sells hair ornament for not only ordinary women but Maiko and Geisha. He chose one as a souvenir for his wife. It was a black one with a white flower. It was very beautiful and probably she will look good with it on and I hope so.

Close to the shop, he found Japanese sweets shop. He got interested in the parfait served there.
He decided to have pre-lunch. He had chesnuts parfait, and I had maccha parfait.
We really enjoyed them and headed for Nishiki food market.
Then we had .... soy-milk doughnuts. Yummmy! He said we didn't necessarily have lunch around noon, and we put it off later.

He got another souvenir for his wife, which is a Japanese fan. The shop at Nishiki market sells hand-painted fans. He chose a fan painted Japanese maple leaves. The red leaves were vivid on the black cloth of the fan.

After visiting Nijo castle, we went to where he wanted to go. That is a conveyer-belt sushi restaurant. He had never seen one during his stay in Japan before we met. That was his first experience. I told him how the system worked. He seemed to really enjoyed it.

That was the cheapest sushi he had ever had, and he said he didn't tell the difference between the ones he had before and the ones we had at that time.

After visiting Golden Pavillion, where we met a lot of kids, we finised the tour.

Date : Oct. 5th
Tour ; Kiyomizu temple, Sanneizaka Ninenzaka, Yasaka shrine, Gion ( Hanami koji), Kazurasei ( hair ornament shop), Koishi, ( Sweets shop ), Nishiki food market, Nijo castle, Conveyer-belt sushi restaurant, Kinkakuji temple ( Golden Pavillion)

Tourist ; a man from America

A shrine was busy carrying out wedding rites

2010-10-06T14:10:00.007+09:00

Japanese people usually set the day for the ceremonies or rites according to the recurring sequence of six days in the Chinese calender known as "Rokuyo." For example, there are certain days the funeals or wedding ceremonies should not be held. On the other hand, there are days good for wedding ceremonies. "Taian day" is the lucky day. and we avoid having events on "Butsumetu day" which is accosiated with Buddha's death.
October 2nd was Saturday and "Tomobiki day", good day for wedding.

When we were in Heian shrine, we saw 2 couples having a wedding ceremony. The bride was in the traditinal bride costume. She wore a white cloth headdress and a white coat.
I was a guide of honeymooners, we talked about the wedding ceremony and the way of wedding party for a while.
More and more Japanese young couples tend to have a wedding ceremony in the western style. When I saw the brides in Heian shrine, I realized how nice the tradition was and how beautiful the traditional costume was, not to mention the bride.

That was the last day in Kyoto for them. I took them the most of the places they wanted to visit in their list.
We went to Bamboo forest, Kenninji temple, Ginkakuji temple phylosophy path and Nanzenji temple along with Heian shrine.
Kenninji temple is not so popular among foreign tourists. However, this is the oldest zen temple. We can sit down on the tatami mats and see the moss covered garden. In addition, we can walk a part of the garden and take a look inside of the typical tea room. The painting on the ceiling of the hall was fantastic and impressive. I think it worth seeing.

I hope the tour with me will be one of the nice memories of their honeymoon trip.

Date : Oct. 2nd
Tourists : a couple from Italy

Tour : Bamboo forest, Kenninji temple, Ginakuji temple
Phylosophy path, Heian shrine, Nanzenji temple

Byodoin, Ujigami shrine, tea room

2010-09-30T09:03:00.007+09:00

If you have one more day for sightseeing in Kyoto, visiting Uji is one of the choices left. Open your purse, do you have 10-yen coin in it? Please look at the back side of the coin. You will see Byodoin temple on it.
Byodoin temple is very old and it was not renovated. The buidling itself is very old and not gorgeous. However, in the old days, it was painted with colorful paint, mainly red. The people in those days believed the paradise in Pureland was in the west. When you stand in front of the pond, you will see the main hall called phoenix hall in the west. They wanted to make something like the paradise in pureland there, and it was what they thought Paradise. The face of the buddha image in the hall can be seen through the round window. As you see, the architecture represents a phoenix with its wings spread.
The images and the pictures which used to be in the hall are exhibited in Byodoin museum in the precinct along the original colored main hall using computer graphics. Those are very impressive and worth seeing. They make us feel something. I can imagine how beautiful they were and how the hall stood there.

A little walk along the path between the temple and the river brings you to the city information center. There you can enjoy Tea ceremony at Taiho-an tea room. (500yen)

If you have a little more time, how about visiting another world heritage site, Ujigami shrine?
This shrine has the oldest shirine building in Japan. It is not so showy. But please imagine this building has been there down the old ages. It has never been changed, just standing there. You will surely understand why this shrine was resistered as a world heritage site.

Uji is one of the major tea producers. There are many tea shops selling various kinds of tea. The oldest tea shop gives a service of making tea. ( Kanbayashi tea shop, and Fukujuen)

Transportation ; Uji station ( JR Nara line) 10min. walk. Uji station ( Keihan line ) 5 min. walk

Byodoin ; ( Admission 600 yen, The main hall 300 yen)
Temple 8:30 AM - 5;15 PM
Museum 9AM - 4;45PM
The main hall 9:10 - 4:10

Ujigami shrine : no admission

Taiho-an tea room : open Jan. 10th - Dec. 20th 10AM - 4PM 500 yen

Ninnaji temple

2010-09-28T11:22:00.016+09:00

Kyoto is an old city and the old capital in Japan. That's why there are many world heritage sites. And some of them are very famous and popular among not only foreign toursts but Japanese tourists. Kiyomizu temple and Kinkakuji temple are always very crowded, and sometimes you have to wait a little while just to take a simple photo.

In Ninnaji temple, you don't worry about waiting to take pictures. When you get off a bus, the old gate will come into your sight. It is not gorgeous, but I am sure you will be impressed. This temple had been relationship to Imperial family untill the end of Edo period.(1868). Imperial family had been sending one of them as a monk to this temple. So, the building of this temple has an imperial style and atmosphere.

Walking on the corridor, you may notice it has two tiers. The upper tier is for a person in a higher position, the lower one is for a person in the lower position, and the ones in the lowest had to walk on the ground. A white sand garden opens up in front of you. There is a cherry tree on the left, and a mandarin orange on the right. You can see the same style in the Old Imerial Palace. Go on walking, and the beautiful garden will be waiting for you.

Just sit down and view this garden. Spend some time here. In the distance, the Pagoda will join this sight. Pay attention to the window. Usually the buildings in temples have sliding doors and windows. The window of the building in this temple is different from those in other temples. You also see the same ones in the Old Imerial Palace. Yes, this is the Imperial style.

Let's take a look at Pagoda in the back. The pagoda was built by the Edo method. What is Edo method? I wil tell it to you at the site. Next to the Pagoda, there is Golden hall ( Kondo). It used to be the main hall of Imperial Palace (so-called Shishinden). It was moved here.

As I said above, you can fully enjoy this temple. Why don't you put this temple in your visiting list of Kyoto? You should not miss it!One thing must be added. Cherry blossoms in this temple is very famous and full crowded in middle and late April. During this period, you have to see a lot of Japanese tourists and it is very crowded.

Admission 500yen
The nearest bus stop : Omuro Ninnaji
From Kyoto station :City bus No. 26
From sanjo keihan : City bus No. 59
From Kinkakuji or Ryoanji : City bus 59

Time : 9AM - 4:30PM(Mar. - Nov.)
9AM - 4PM ( Dec. - Feb)

During the cherry season, they take an additional admission to see cherry blossoms.

Deep interest in Japanese culture and history

2010-09-28T10:34:00.012+09:00

If someone shows interets in my story and listen to me carefully, it will be my pleasure. This time I felt so very much. The day before we met, they visited Golden Pavillion, Ryoanji rock garden and Ninnnaji temple by bike. Before meeting, I heard that they had planned to visit Nara and Uji the day before. Secretly I planned to take them to the same area on our tour.
I replanned the tour along with their request after meeting, which made us take an unusual tour course.

The first leg of the tour was phylosophy path. I suggested visiting Ginkakuji temple before walking the path. To tell the truth, I like Ginkakuji better than Kinakuji. Of course, Kinakuji is very gorgeous and worth seeing. However, I can feel oldness and authentic beauty of Higashiyama culture in Ginkakuji. In addition, you can see the sand garden depicting the moon and the lake and the ground covered with moss along with the pond.

After vistiing the temple, we walked along Phylosophy path. This path is beatiful in cherry season and autumn colored season. It was not in such a season, but just taking a walk was enjoyable.
We talked a lot waking along the path, and they listened to the topics in variety.

The day before, they missed Nijo castle due to their late arrival. The second leg was Nijo castle.
I explained how Samurai appeared, why Shogunate system started, why the last shogun of Tokugawa decided to return the power to the Emperor and so on. They really listened to my story with interests. At the private section of Shogun in the buiding, I talked about the system of so-called O-Oku, the women's area of the castle,and the wives of Shogun.

Then, we headed for Arashiyama to see and walk in Bamboo forest. When we entered the forest, they said it was a different world. Just before that, we were walking in the crowd. The atomosphere was quite different.

We took the course to Gioji, which has a small moss garden. A few days before it rained much, so it was more beautiful than when I came last. We taked about the sad story of Gio, and we thought about how she felt at that time.

Then we visited Rakushisha. When we arrived here, I explained it is a second house of Mukai Kyorai, a student of the great poet, Matsuo Basho. To my surprise, he knew about Basho and Haiku. Haiku is a kind of Japanese poems. It consists of 5 moras(syllable) and 7 moras and 5 moras. It is not long, and a deep meaning or feelings must be in this short poem. When we read the poem, we imagine how the poet felt, what the scene is like and secret meanings in it. It is hard to understand but if we can know the world of poems, I think it is more interesnting.

This time, they asked many questions and paid attention to various things like our culture, history and usual life. Sometimes it is hard to explain all of them. But it was very fun to me.

photos : Ginkakuji temple, Phylosophy path, the garden in Nijo castle, Dango, Bamboo forest, Gioji temple, the tourists

Tourists ; a couple from Spain

Date : Sep. 26th from 9 AM to 5 PM
Tour ; Ginkakuji temple, phylosophy path, Nijo castle, Bamboo forest, Gioji temple, Rakushisha

With an amateur photographer

2010-09-24T11:09:00.008+09:00

Some of the toursts I have guided enjoyed taking pictures during the tour. She was one of them. She brought three kinds of lenses and a single-lens reflex camera. She used each lense according to the scenes and the objects. In addition, this was their honeymoon!

We started the tour from their hotel, Mume hotel, in Gion. As they had walked and walked in the eastern area the day before, we decided to start our tour from Nijo castle. I like taking photos,too, and I have a CANNON single-lens reflex camera( though I usually don't take it because it needs more space in my bag) Just seeing someone taking photos with such a camera is much fun to me.

When we got out of the garden of Ninomaru Palace(Nijo castle), I heard the music usually used for the Shinto style wedding. So, we changed the direction and went to Seiryoen in the palace. This was the second time to see the wedding.
She took many pictures using telephoto lens. Thinking that this was her honeymoon trip made me feel a little funny - a honemooner takes a photo of a wedding...
Later we talked about their wedding and her beautiful wedding dress. I took a look at the pictures of her wedding dress stored in her camera! The dress was very very long, gorgeous. It was the very dress that she had dreamed of. That was the first dress she saw at the shop, and at the momonet she saw this dress, she decided without hesitation to make it her wedding. Yes, it was really a wonderful and beautiful dress.

Koto-in in Daitokuji temple was their request. The next leg was Koto-in, one of my favorite tempels. It was as beautiful as usual. I especially like the path to the entrance.

I came Ryoanji rock garden and Golden Pavillion so many times as a guide. But this time, I was impressed lotus flowers on the pond. It was most beautiful this season.
a lotus flower is said to be a flower of truth in Buddhism. That's why there are so many lotuses here.

After that we went to walk in Bamboo forest and along the riverside of Hozu river.

Date ; Sep. 19th
Tourist : a couple from Italy
Tour : Nijo castle, Koto-in (Daitokuji temple), Kinkakuji temple, Ryoanji, Bamboo forest and Hozu river

Sento Gosho ( Sento Imperial Palace )

2010-09-23T22:44:00.011+09:00

There are 4 imperial related places you have to make a reservation in advance to visit, Old Imperial Palace, Katsura Villa, Shugakuin Villa, and Sento gosho Palace.
What we call Sento gosho is the one combined with two palaces, Sento Gosho and Omiya gosho.

Retired emperor lived here in Sento gosho and Empress lived in Omiya gosho. The building of Sento gosho was not rebuilt after it burnt down by the fire, so now there is no building in Sento gosho.

The building of Omiya gosho is used as an accomodation when Imperial family visits Kyoto. And the late Princess Diana stayed there when she visited Kyoto.

It has a circuit style garden. The place you stand is the front of the garden, which means you can enjoy the beauty of the garden from wherever you are in the garden. In old days, Emperor and Empress seldom went out of the Palace. They enjoyed four seasons walking around the garden.

This is a kind of beach. As you know, Kyoto doesn't have sea. We can understand how they yearned for sea. To tell the truth, each stone of the water side is very precious. In those days, just a stone could be valued as a life-long amount of rice.

This stone lantern was presented by Shogun.

These two buidings are tea houses.

To visit Sento Gosho, you are required to make a reservation in advance. You can do it through the internet. If you find it fully booked, and if you have time to visit the imperial house hold agency in the palace, please go and ask the availability. They have some vacancies for the visitors who directly apply for it.
http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/index.html

The tour of Sento gosho comes with only Japanese guide. I think you can enjoy the beauty of the garden without an English speaking guide.

Sento Gosho -- the nearest station, Marutamachi ( subway Tozai line )
Imerial Household agency -- the nearest station, Karasuma ( subway Tozai line)
the bus Karasuma Imadegawa
Admission -- free

Fushimi Inari shrine.

2010-09-22T10:12:00.021+09:00

Have you ever seen the movie of "Memoirs of Geisha"? If so, do you remeber of the scene in which the young heroin was running under thousands of red torii gates? It was shot in Fushimi Inari shrine.

Originately, Shinto is a nature worship. The people in the old days feared natural phenomena after starting agricutlure. They believed spirits lived in many objects like a rock, a tree, and a whole mountain. And Inari mountain regarded as Gods.In Shinto, it is said there are myriads of gods.
Inari shrines can be seen across the country and Fushimi Inari is the head shrine of them. At the beginning, it was the shrine for the god of rice. People in old days wished bumper crops in the year. Now, many people come to wish their business prosperity.

Usually a pair of lion-dogs, or lion-like creatures, could be seen in front of shrines. They are said to play a role as a guardian. However, in Fushimi Inari, Foxes are to be seen in the place. They are regarded as a messenger of God. When in Inari shrine, look at the mouth of the foxes. Some have a scroll written how to make good rice in their mouth, others have a key of rice warehouses, a ball of soul, and a rice plant, all of which are related to rice farming. According to a legend, foxes came down from Inari mountain and got a little of rice plant and offered it to the mountain gods. That's why it is said a devine messenger.

In the precinct, it has another shrine called Higashimaru. This shrine is good for academic achievement. Many students who are going to have exams like entrance exams come and pray for their success. A thousand folded paper-cranes can be seen here.
Sometimes those are folded by their friends and their parents wishing their success. If you have a wish related to academic achievement, praying here may be a key to success, I guess...

Of course, the characteristic point of this shrine for tourists is TORII TUNNEL. This links from one small shrine to the others in Inari mountain. If you walk all the legs to the top, it will take you about 2 hours. These toriis were donated by marchants and manufacturers showing their wishes and gratitudes of their success in business. It is said the price ranges from two hundred thousand yen to seven hundred thousand yen. When coming back, you see the donor's names and the date painted in black on the back of each torii gate. These donated toriis lining the paths are part of scenic view.

In the second shirne when you get out of the first torii tunnel, there are so-called OMOKARU stones. Lift one of the stones after making a wish. If you feel it light, your wish will come true. If you feel it heavy, unfortunately your wish will not be realized. How do you feel? Please try it! I will give you a knack for feeling it light!

Inari mountain itself is a holy mountain. Why don't you come and walk through the torii tunnel and feel something sacred?

Fushimi Inari : JR Inari station of Nara Line ( two stops ahead from JR Kyoto station)
Fushimi Inari station of Keihan Line.
They don't take an admission. You can visit early in the morning,too.

an Interest in Black Sesami softcream icecream!

2010-09-20T10:50:00.010+09:00

When I got an e-mail from him. He wrote about food like black sesami softcream icecream, ramen, yatsuhashi, and so on. In addition, he said he liked this blog. Though it was very busy that week, I had no choice but to accept his request.

He made a list of his interests in the mail, and it included many items. However, the time was very limited. I put food in priority in our tour. I let Sesami softcream and Yatsuhashi come first among the other things in the list.

On 16th, the tour started by his waving to me. To tell the truth, I was running to him. He had just gotten out of the taxi when he found me in a little distance.

His mother and he got interested in so many things they came across. We stopped every time they found something, and took more time than I planned. I chose the route to Kiyomizu temple by way of passing by Yasaka Pagoda. On the street to and from Kiyomize temple, there are many shops, and they sell verious souvenirs like Japanese fans, Yatsuhashi, potteries, seven flavored hot papper and so on. Of course we got Black sesami icecream and his mother got a cucumber pickle. It was stuck with something like a wooden chopstick. His mother liked its tastes very much. She and I shared it.

When we were walking along the Ninenzaka, we stopped a certain icecream stand selling pumpkin soft icecream. The owner insisted he was the most popular icecream maker. He showed me the printed paper which said that he was No.1 in the Yahoo page and Geogle page.
I don't know whether it was true or not, but he said he used to be a chef of a certain hotel restaurant so he had the very skill to make nice and rare flavor of icecream. But I wonder why he quit this job and started icecream business.

We walked through Ishibe Koji. There we happenly came across some people doing the shooting of a poster. Ishibekoji is often used in posters and films dipicting Kyoto.

And the next leg was Nishikikoji. And lunch? of course Ramen!

They are also very interested in History, too.

We went to Nijo castle. He tried to walk wihtout making a sound, which was impossible! He was beat by the wisom of good old days! (^^)

As they left Tokyo early in the morning, which made them tired, we gave up the plan to visit Fushimi Inari, and returned the hotel. Probably after taking a litte rest, they went on seeing somewhere! It seemed that he was eager to start a new business. I said good-by wishing him a good luck in his new business in the future!

Date : Sep 16th from 10AM to 3:00PM

Tourists ; a family from Canada

Tour : Yasaka Pagoda, Kiyomizu temple, Sanneizaka Nineizaka, Ishibekoji, Yasaka shrine, Nishiki food Market, Nijo castle

VIsiting Western part and Arashiyama

2010-09-15T00:17:00.013+09:00

Kyoto has a lot to see. You need a few days in Kyoto to cover most of the MUST-SEEs. If this is your first visit to Kyoto, and if you have just one or two days in Kyoto, we sometimes give up visiting Arashiyama, because there is not enough time to do so.
This time, they had four full days in Kyoto. So I chose one of the farthest places for their sightseeing. That was Arashiyama.

However, we started our tour from Golden Pavillion and Ryoanji rock garden. And then, we visited Ninnnaji temple. These three temples have different atmosphere. You can enjoy the different types of gardens in a short time. As you know, Golden Pavillion is a circuit style garden. In this type of the gardens, you can see its beauty from every point of the garden.
As you see, Ryoanji has a famous rock garden, the size of which is as large as a 25 meter swimming pool. This is a typical zen garden. The slight difference of the hight of its earthen wall surrounding the garden makes you feel the garden much larger. The sight of the garden from different points vary in each. Let's talk about the spirit of Zen there. Please feel Zen itself.
Ninnaji temple is something more like Imperial style. Until the beginning of Meiji Era, a member of Imprial Family had become a monk of this temple. So this temple has Imperial air here and there. When you enter the building. you can see the white sand with a tree in either side, a mandarin orange on the left and a cherry tree on the right. It is an imperial style. These two kinds of trees are seen in fornt of the main hall, Shishinden, in Old Imeprial Palace in the same way.
The building called Kondo is the one which was moved from Old Imperial Palace. It used to be used as Shishinden in the palace. In addition, you can see five story pagoda, too. You enjoy the garden, the pagoda and building at the same time. Actually, Ryoanji and Golden Pavillion are very famous, so many tourists come to these sites and always are crowded. However, in Ninnnaji, you can enjoy this temple without so many tourists.

We headed for Arashiyama. This area is very popular among not only foreign tourists but the domestic tourists. If you have enough time, walking from one place to the other through Bamboo forest is very enjoyable. We spent the morning visiting three temples in the northwestern area, and decided to spend the afternoon in Arashiyama.
As we had seen three nice temples, we skipped Tenryuji temple and walked along Bamboo forest.
Gioji doesn't have high religeous status. But still many people like this temple. That's because it has specific atmosphere, calmness and green of moss.
On the way back to Arashiyama station, we dropped in at Rakushisha. This is not a temple but the second house of Mukai Kyorai, the student of the great Poet, Matsuo Basho. We can see the old style of the house in the countryside in old days. Viewing it from across the field is very nice. You can imagine what it was like in the past. Rakushisha means the house with all the persimmons fallen. This is because all of 40 persimmons in this house had fallen down due to the typhoon after Kyorai made a promise to sell all of them.

After walking along Hozu river bank, our tour ended there.

Tour date : September 12th
Tourist : a couple from Norway
Tour ; Golden pavillion, Ryoanji rock garden, Ninnaji temple, Bamboo forest, Gioji temple, Rakushisha

photo
Bamboo forest, Randen local train, Rakushisha

Todaiji temple with an Italian family

2010-09-10T23:33:00.012+09:00

How were laws made ? At first I didn't understand what this question meant. What was the parliament like those days? At this question, I understood what they wanted to know.

That's the conversation on the train getting back to Kyoto.
We went to Nara. Nara is the oldest capital in Japan. The politics in Japan started here in Nara.
However, the mordernized politics first appeared in Japan about 150 years ago.

In Nara period, the Emperor took the power and controled the nation. With the help of advisors of the emperor, the Emperor made laws, the most famous of which is the constitution consisting of 17 articles made by Shotoku Taishi. There were no parliament in those days.
Of course no election, no parlamentaians.
In the precinct of Todaiji temple, there are some trees. When we step down to the road to the main hall, we can see a tree on the roadside. It was a bo-tree called the tree of buddhism.
It is said that the buddha has reached enlightment under a bo-tree. That's why it was planted there.

The big buddha image called Daibutsu is inside the hall. It is so big that they were devided into three parts, molded in each and were assembled later. The big buddha sits on the lotus flower.
The side of this flower, the world view of Kegon sect of Buddhism is depicted.
We visited Todaiji temple, saw the big buddha, went to Kasuga shrine, went to Naramachi.

Many schoold kids were trying to go through the co-called nostril of Buddha.
One of us challenged to do it and made it!
We were so lucky because the typhoon was approaching to the district but it went through Japan sea and had little influence on our schedule.

As we had time on the train going to Nara and coming back to Kyoto. We talked a lot and I learned some Italian words.

When we said good-by, I said "Arrivedercci"

Tourists : a family from Italy

Tour; Todaiji temple, Kasuga shrine, Naramachi, Kofukuji temple
sending to Fushimi Inari shrine.

Photos

Deer, Big Buddha image of Todaiji temple, the hole of the pole in TOdaiji, Kofukuji temple,
a family from Italy, the Father and his daughter and me!

Thank you for reading my blog

2010-09-05T00:15:00.011+09:00

"We should go to the bathroom before visiting Nishiki market
Wao! you know well. n? Did you read my blog?
Yes!
a~ah! I see. That's our conversation after finishing lunch.
It was my pleasure to know someone reads my blog.

We met at the JR shinkansen entrance. They came to Kyoto and went back to Tokyo by Shinkansen. They didn't stay in Kyoto. So I took them what they really wanted to see.

By e-mail, they requested me to take them to Fushimi Inari, Golden Pavillion, Kiyomizu temple, Nishiki Food market, Ginkakuji( Silver Pavillion) and Phylosophy path. Covering all the places in a few hours looks tough and is almost impossible. So we decided to skip Silver Pavillion and the phylosophy path.

Fushimi Inari has been getting more and more popular among foreign tourists thanks to easy access to infomation through the internet. In addition, the famous torii tunnel appeared in the movie of Memoir of Geisha, in which the young heroin runs through the torii tunnel. Do you remember the scene? They have seen this movie. After we met at the JR station, we headed for Fushimi Inari using a JR line to witness this beautiful scene on the spot!

Along with my blog(?), after visiting Golden Pavillion, we had OKONOMIYAKI lunch. They came from Malaysia so we talked about noodles. They told me what they eat in their country. It was very interesting to me! We enjoyed Nishiki Food Market. and Kiyomizu temple.
We walked along the famous street from Kiyomizu temple to Yasaka shrine. And I took them to Gion. I had to say good bye here!

Gion is the very place the movie dipicted about. They seem to have enjoyed Gion and went back to Tokyo by Shinkansen on that day. However, Kyoto has a lot of places to see and experience. I think a few hours are not enough. When they come back to Kyoto again, I will be happy to be their guide and show them around to the nice places!!

Date : Aug. 30th

Tour : Fushimi Inari, Golden Pavillion, Nishiki food market, Kiyomizu temple, Sanneizaka, Ninenzaka, nenenomichi, Yasaka shrine, to Gion

Photo 1 Fushimi Inari, photo 2 Jishu shrine in Kiyomizu temple, photo 3 Ninenzaka

Wagashi making ( candy making)

2010-08-29T12:11:00.017+09:00

Have you ever seen the beauty of Japanese wagashi or Japanese confection? It is just a sweet thing but it has something more than that. It is mainly made from beans and sugar. However you can see something with which you can feel a season, such as cool stream in summer, an orange persimmon in fall and so on. It requires a special skill to make.
However you can take a look of this traditional skill and experience it.

Some wagashi shop give a service of candy making class.Unfortunately, most of them require us to make a resercation a week in advance. For foreign tourists, it is a little difficult to make a decision to have the service unless you are much interested in candy making.

I found a wagashi shop which accept the request to have a class on the day, and not so far from the center of the city.

Yoshihiro is the one which gives a class of candy making. Of course you have to call them before visiting to make a reservation ,even if it is on the very day. However, it makes us feel much easier to make a tour plan.
I used this class when the plan to go to Monkey park was rained out. Though the time to start the class has been changed due to a school trip schedule which were going to have the class on the same day. Thanks to this change, we had a class with Japanese school kids. It also made us have more fun.

To make a real wagashi requires a very delicate work. Making a flower shape, making each petal, and making gradation changing from one color to another are difficult for us but much fun.

After the class we enjoy maccha tea ( tea for tea ceremony) and wagashi made in this shop.( not your making ). And then we take a look at the professional technique.
Of course you can take what you made and enjoy it later.

If you have a little time to have this experience, why don't you try it?
It costs 1800 yen including tea and another wagashi served after class.
Sorry that this service is given only Japanese, so you need an assist of English speaking guide or person.

This is a certificate for finishing the candy making class. ( for your memory)

Shop name : Yoshihiro

Place * 5 min walk from Nijo JR station

Time : depending on the day. Please ask when you make a reservation

Cost : 1800 yen ( 500 yen for an attendant, with tea and wagashi)

Tea Ceremony

2010-08-26T13:52:00.019+09:00

There are various kinds of service giving tourists chances to experience Japanese culture or traditional events. Tea ceremony is one of them. Attending an authentic tea ceremony is the one not to be missed. In addition to drinking tea itself, it has spiritual and artistic aspects. The ceremony has many procedures to follow, which leads to harmonious relationship between hosts and guests.
Its origin dates back to Muromachi period. And then, Sen Rikyu(1522-1591), a great tea teacher, completed the style of what we know as Tea ceremony today. He introduced Zen spirit into the tea ceremony and made it so-called Wabi-cha. which is based on simplicity and calmness.

Formal tea rooms are basically in Japanese gardens. Stepping stones lead you to the room. In front of the room, there are somtimes waiting chairs and a water basin.
What you see when you visit an authentic tea room is a window-like square door. It has a reason why it is made in such a small size. Of course I will explain it to you during our tour!

.
A tea room consists of 4.5 or fewer tatami mats . It is made very simply and please feel its simplicity. Make yourself calm and enjoy the tea and its spirits. I will be with you and help you enjoy one of our culture.

Before having tea, we are served a sweet cake which shows you its season. The cakes vary in each season. By having what is sweet, the sweetness will make a good harmony with the bitterness of tea in your mouth. After your having sweets, a host makes tea for you. The front of the tea cup is set toward the guest. The guest( you) lifts the tea cup and turn a little around on the palm so that you can avoid drinking tea from the front in order not to stain.
In days of old, there were no air-conditioned rooms. People in those days made every effort to feel themselves cooler. A visual factor plays an important role. Seeing picture of a hanging roll and arranged flowers in the aclove is one of the way enjoying the tea ceremony, too

Why don't you try to have this authentic experience? I will assist you!

photo of stepping stones : Zuiho-in ( Daitokuji temple)
Tea room : Koto-in ( Daitokuji temple)
Tea ceremony : Taiho an ( Uji city)

The tour not spending so much!

2010-08-20T11:24:00.010+09:00

Because the tour I was supposed to be a guide was canceled due to the change of the tour schedule, I accepted another guide request at the last moment. That was this tour.

Without so much time to talk about the tour plan, we met at the hotel lobby. That was their second day. The day before, they took a back-street tour using a rental bike. As they didn't go to some MUST-SEEs, I decided to see some. However, when we were at the ticket counter of Sanjusangendo temple, one of them asked me if they had to pay admissons at every temple. Admissions are required in visiting most of the famous temples and shrines. The answer was "Yes".Sometimes it is about 500 yen , sometimes 300 yen or so. Of course they said they were pleased to pay if it is worth seeing. However, whether it is worth seeing or not is up to you, isn't it? I thought about a little while, and remade the tour plan.

First we visited Kiyomizu temple. This temple is the most famous and popular among tourists. Of course it is worth seeing though there are always so many visitors. In addition, the admission is just 300 yen. They seemed to really enjoy the temple itself, archtecture, the view of Kyoto, a story about this temple and so on. In the precinct, there is another shrine, Jishu Shrine. The god of this shrine is said to bring good luck to those who seeking love. When we went up the steps in the small shrine, we saw a pair of stones called love stones. If you walk one stone to the other with your eyes closed, your love will end up successfully.
One of us challenged this and she made it with some advice. In that case, her love will be achieved with some advice. I wish her luck!!

After visiting the temple, of course we enjoyed shopping along Sannneizaka, Ninaizaka walking through Ishibe kouji. These streets have not only so many souvenir shops but also very Kyoto atmosphere!
And then, as they sampled some food walking along the street, and were not so hungry, we visited Chion-in temple next to Maruyama park before lunch.

Buddhism in Japan has about 20 sects. Jodo-shu is one of them. Chion-in is the head temple of Jodo-shu. Since it was amid Obon period in buddhism, from the main hall, we could hear the monks chanting a Buddhist sutra. In this temple, we can enter the main hall, and sit there. We could see and listen to a Buddhist sutra there, where we were actually in solemn air.

Then we went to Nishiki food market. They difinitely enjoy seeing and sampling food. One of them are eager to get one sushi bowl for making sushi rice. We went to the nearest department store, but it was very expensive, because I got one at the supermarket in a lower price. However, visiting here cost us a little.... One of them are interested in tea ceremony, but not want to pay so much, I recommended to go to Uji to have a tea ceremony. As they have JR pass, to get to Uji is free of charge and we had only to pay 500 yen.
Unfortunately, the spending time at the department store forced us to give up visiting there. The tea ceremony service ends at 4 PM, and we got to Kyoto Station at 3:45. We didn't have enough time to be in time. We changed the direction and went to Fushimi.

They didin't think to pay some to see inside the sake museum, instead we just walking along the canal seeing some sake storehose and visit a room exhibiting something related to sake-making. This place is run by a sake brewery company. Just walking is fully enjoyable. Due to extraordinary hot weather, we gave up going on the tour.
Our expenses of this day are, bus-pass 500yen, admission 300yen, lunch. That's all!

Tourists : two people from Australia

Tour : Kiyomizu temple, Jishu shrine, Sanneizaka Nineizaka, Ishibe kouji, Yasaka shrine, Chion-in temple, Nishiki Food Market,
Okonomiyaki lunch, Daimaru departmanet store, walking along Fushimi canal seeing storehouse of sake brewery, a littel museum of sake

the perpetrator of the incident was a deer...

2010-08-12T14:15:00.011+09:00

I took tourists from Florida to Nara. It was a one-day tour to Nara and Uji.

After meeting at JR staion in Kyoto, we took a rapid train to Nara. At first, we visited Kasuga shrine. This shrine has a lot of lanterns made of metals or stones. Walking along the path to the shrine with lanterns on both sides is very impressive.

Here and there, you can run across deer, most of which are very quiet and seem to be relaxed.

The path from the shrine to Nigatu-do hall is very peaceful. I like this path. On the way to the hall, there is a very cute cafe serving Japanese sweets.

The floor of Nigatsu-do hall is high, and we could command the view of Nara. Nigatsu means February, and "dou" means a hall. In every February in the lunar calender, a big Buddhism rite took place in this hall called "OMIZUTORI"
Omizutori ,which means taking sacred water, has been held as an annual rite for about 1450 years without stopping. As we see on the TV news, Big torches are carried up to Nigatsu-do hall at night.

And then we walked to the main hall of Todaiji temple.
After getting out of the gate, they bought some deer crackers to feed deer. At that time, the incident happened! a greedy deer came to a woman of our tour, and ask her to give him? some crackers( maybe ). She didn't notice him(?) and then, he pulled her clothes very strongly.. took her clothes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, a bit, mmm a little more ,,,, anyway the incident was over with her scream.

It would be an unforgettable memory for them in a good? or bad ?way.

We came back to Uji, and enjoyed the museum in the temple. And we visited the oldest tea shop in Uji. Happenly, the shop owner showed us around in the shop. It was very impressive.
I got to know that we can have a tea (for tea-ceremony)-making here. Some foreign students work at this shop, too. The youngest girl of our group made friends with a shop clerk and promised to get contact with each other through facebook!

tourists : a family from Haiti ( Florida)

Tour : Kasuga shrine, Nigatsu-do hall, Todaiji temple, Byodoin temple, Kanbayashi tea shop

Flea market.

2010-08-10T19:04:00.012+09:00

We have two famous flea markets held in temples. One is called "KOBO-SAN" on 21st every month. The other is called "TENJIN-SAN" on 25th every month.

The tour was on the 21st, and they wanted me to take them there. When we met, we made a plan according to their request. The first leg of the tour was Fushimi Inari. They were interested in Torii tunnel. A guardian dog of a shrine is usually something like a dog or a lion. However, in front of Fushimi Inari shrine, there are a pair of foxes. They are FOXes! not dogs.

When we visit shrines, we write down our wishes on the blank side of an ema and hang it in a shrine, where it will stay until the end of the year. An ema is a wooden plaque. Usually a horse is painted on it. However, in this shrine, the shape of ema is a face of a fox.
A boy of our party was urged to write his wish on it, and he wrote "Perfect grades".

We tried OMOKARU stone, too. At that time, he wished "Perfect grades" again and he felt it very light. Maybe his wish will come true.
He said he had imagined it very very heavy, so when he lifted it, it was not as heavy as he had imagined. This idea may lead his perfect grades! He is very smart! Surely, he will get perfect grades after coming back home!

Then, the main attraction! A Flea market. Under the extremely hot weather, they surely enjoyed the flea market! Various kinds of goods are sold in this market, such as food, clothes, antiques and plants. We broke up for an hour for shopping, and they enjoyed shopping in each.

After that, we went to Sanjusangendo hall and headed for Nishiki food market.
Yes! They really like shopping, which means......
They spent some time buying sweets such as candies and chocolate for souvenirs. They are from Hawaii. So, they knew very well about Japanese sweets.

When we were in Nijo castle, our enegy was run out. We decided to go back to their hotel, and take a little rest. I said good by at this momont. Later, they went to Arashiyama to enjoy cormorant fishing with another guide.

Tourists : a family from Hawaii and Los Angeles

Tour ; Fushimi Inari shrine, Toji ( flea market ), Sanjusangendo temple, Nishiki food market, Nijo castle.

a man in KAME T-shirt!! ( the tour for Uji )

2010-08-08T22:26:00.017+09:00

What's KAME? Kame is a turtle in Japanese. What's Kame T-shirt. It's orange. Do you remember Orange Tshirts with Kanji letter, Kame, on the back ? One more clue! Dragon Ball!

This time, I was a guide of a man from Spain. Before we met on the tour day, I saw him in the Old Imperial Palace. His Kame T shirt was so impressive that I really remember someone in Kame T shirt was taking many pictures during the Palace tour. It was him! It was a little surprising to me. How coincident!
He had been staying in Kyoto for a few days before we met, so he wanted me to take hiim to Uji, Fushimi and Arashiyama( if possible). We visited Byodoin temple. If you wonder what it is like, please look at the back side of 10 yen coin. This is it!
After visiting Byodoin temple, we went to Taiho-an tea house. Here, you can have a tea-ceremony experience with 500 yen, though it costs 2500 yen in the center of the city.

This tea house is run by the munincipal office, so we can have a class in a low price. However, the tea ceremony itself is authentic. A woman serves tea for us in front of us. Before having tea, we are served a sweet cake. Cakes served in the ceremony vary seasonally.

She said that the tea ceremony of the head quater of the school is held in a manner of authentic style. That means they don't have any air conditioning in the real tea ceremony, because in the old time, of course, we didn't have such an appliance. So the people in those days made all kinds of efforts for the guests to make them feel cooler. Visual factors, like a hanging scroll, a flower vase, flowers and the cake itself,are effective. When we see these designs, they show us its coolness.

They put a tea cup in front of a guest. At this time the front of the tea cup is set toward the guest.
But the guest lift the tea cup and turn a little around on the palm so that she can avoid drinking tea from the front in order not to stain there.

We talked with the tea teacher for a while, it was a very nice time. Of course, the place we had tea ceremony was airconditioned! We are people living in the mordern time. I took many pictures with his camera for his memory, which means I didn't take any pictures except one there.......
Then we went to Fushimi Sake museum. and headed for Arashiyama.

We visited Tenryuji temple and enjoyed walking along the bamboo forest. The last leg of our tour was Jojakkoin. Then, the time was up!

We went back to Kyoto Station. On the way back to the statiaon, I asked him what was the most impressive place of the tour. He said it was very difficult to pick out one. At last, he chose Uji as the best place.

Tourist : a man from Spain

Tour : Byodoin temple, Taiho an tea house, Gekkeikan sake museum, Tenryuji temple, Bamboo forest, Jojakkoin

a Typical course of Kyoto tour

2010-08-07T13:30:00.007+09:00

As they wanted me to make a tour plan, I took a typical course for a tourist who came here for the first time. I picked out some fomous places among MUST-SEEs.

The first leg of our tour was Sanjusangendo temple. This temple was named after the number of the spaces between the pillars of the main hall. Sanjusan is 33. This hall has 33 spaces between the pillars. In the hall, there are a thousand images of Buddha. It is said that you can find a face you are familiar with, because each of the faces is different.

The second place we visited was Kiyomizu temple, the most famous temple in Kyoto. The hall has 13 meter high balcony which was made without using a nail. As it is very high, when we make a big decision, we say "I will leap off Kiyomizu stage"

After visiting Kiyomizu temple, we enjoy walking along the street called Sanneizaka and Nineizaka to Yasaka shrine. From Gion, we took a bus to Shijo Kawaramachi and went Nishiki Food Market.

Then we had Okonomiyaki Lunchi near the market.

We headed for the historic place, Nijo castle. The most famous thing in Nijo castle is its floor called Nightingale floor. Besides the floor, you can enjoy many other things like art and design of the room. In addition, you can take a glimpse of a part of Japanese history.

We went to Kinkakuji temple and Ryoanji rock garden.

There I explain the main idea of Zen, and about the rock garden.
Kyoto has a lot to see, so just one day is not enough. However, if given just one day, this is one of the courses you can be recommended.

Tourist : a couple from UK

Tour : Sanjusangendo hall, Kiyomizu temple, Nineizaka Sanneizaka, Yasaka shrine, Nishiki food market, Nijo castle, Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion), Ryoanji rock garden

Sudden pouring

2010-07-27T09:41:00.008+09:00

It started suddenly! After lunch, we were supposed to head for Golden Pavillion as the second leg of our tour. When we got out of the Okonomiyaki restaurant, it started raining. At first I thought it would slightly rain, but against my prospect, it started pouring.

Avoiding the heavy rain, under the roof of the bus stop, we were waiting for the bus for Nijo castle( because we can see inside of the building, which means we can walk inside without getting wet)
However, the rain was getting harder and harder. At that time, suddenly, a woman of our group took her shoes off. It was surprising to me. That was because she hate to have her shoes gotten wet.

Anyway we,including a woman with no shoes on, looked around inside the Palace.
It was the first time to see all the wooden shutter of the palace closed. It was a shame that it was too dark inside to recognize the design of wood carving above the sliding doors. Happily, it stopped raining while we are visiting the castle, so we went to Golden Pavillion.

However, unluckily, we failed to visit Ryoanji rock garden due to delay of the bus we were going to take. Instead we headed for Arashiyama to see Bamboo forest. To go to Arashiyama, we used Randen line.

It is a very small train consisting of only one coach. When she saw the train coming, she said " How cute!" It seemed to be beyond her expectation.

The next day, our member, Saki showed them around in Nara and Fushimi.

the first day ( a half day)
Yasaka shrine, Nishiki Food market, Nijo castle, Golden Pavillion, Bamboo forest.

the second day ( a full day)
Kasuga shrine, Todaiji temple, Fushimi Inari shrine.

Deer Deer Deer!

2010-07-21T22:59:00.010+09:00

They insisted on going to Nara, because they were recommended by somebody. We met at the exit of JR Kyoto Station at 9:30. That was the beginning of the very busy day.

In the station, it has some useful services. One of them is so-called Carry-service. All you have to do is to carry and leave your luggage there, and you can get it at your accomdation in the evening! So, you can enjoy sightseeing without heavy luggage just after your arrival.
We left our luggage there, and headed for Nara.

Around Todaiji temple, wild deer are hanging around. They know sightseers are very interested in feeding them. They also know where we get deer crackers. As soon as we stand in front of the shop, they are coming to get some crackers. Sometimes they poking us, pulling us and picking something like a map out of our pockets. In spite of such cute attacks against us, we fully enjoyed playing with these deer before entering the temple.

Of course, we were impressed by the huge buddha image.

In the hall, one of the pillars has a hole. It is said that the hole is as large as the nostril of Daibutsu( a big buddha). We say that, if you pass through this hole ( hight 30cm -width 37cm -length 120cm), you will make your wish come true, or you can get a good luck! Why don't you try it? me? mmmmm, I will try it after loosing my weight....

We were on a hasty trip. We hurried back to Nara station. On the bus, a man of our tour asked me what the driver was saying. It sounded something like shawa shawa shawa shawa shawa.... I listened to him, Yes! exactly, he was saying shawa,shawa,shawa. For me, a native Japanese, it was hardly understandable. ^^;

We went Fushimi Inari shrine on the way back to Kyoto, had lunch and went to Kiyomizu temple. In the precinct of Yasaka Shrine, we saw a big circle made of plants. It is Chinowa. At the end of Jun, after passing a half of the year, we walk through the circle in order to cleanse a sin we committed without being aware of it. We walk through the circle and turn left and come back to the front and walk through again, turn right, and then, again we walk through the circle and turn left. Now we are purified, probably....

After visiting Nishiki Food market, I sent them to Westin Miyako Hotel and said good bye to them.

the tour : Nara Todaiji temple, Fushimi Inari shrine, Kiyomizu temple, Sanneizaka Nineizaka, yasaka shrine, Nishiki Food Market.

Yummy Yummy, Candy making!

2010-07-14T19:44:00.011+09:00

This time we challenged candy making!

I guided a family from USA for two 1/2 days. On the first 1/2day, I showed them around to the historic places. We went Golden Pavillion, Nijo castle and the last stop,Nishiki Food Market.

In the Ninomaru Palace(in Nijo castle), they listened to me with much interest. Samurai used to have two swords with them, a long one and a short one. A long one is for fighting, and the other is for cimmitting suicide, so-called Harakiri. In those days, samurai was to commit Harakiri suicide to show their loyalty to the lord or the person in an upper position that he worked for. Kids carefully listened to my explanation, but looked tough to understand why.

I thought it was difficult to fully understand why they killed themselves because of such a reason. In this mordern society, we hardly imagine it.

Later we went Nishiki Food Market, and yes! we enjoyed soy-milk doughnuts. Yummy! The photo is a kind of fish called HAMO. In summer, people in Kyoto love to eat Hamo. Of course they tried one, and said " Good"

For the next day, we planned to go to Monkey Park in Arashiyama. Unfortunately, it was raining in that morning. We gave up the plan and, instead, we challenged candy making.

I found the sweets shop which gives us a class for candy making. In addition, they take today's reservation. It is very helpful. In that morning, I called them and made a reservation.

We had a candy making class with Japanese school kids who were on the school trip. Such interactive class was very interesting to the people I guided.

Well, yes! They made something like Sweets. Later, we were served Japanese tea for tea ceremony and the original sweets of this shop.

Of course, we can take the candy we made. They ate them in Shinkansen during the trip back to Tokyo.

Course : Golden Pavillion, Nijo castle and Nishiki food market ( the first 1/2 day)

Kyoto tower, Candy making, Higashi honganji temple and Seisho en garden( the second 1/2 day)

Soooooo lucky to see inside of a sake factory!

2010-06-14T11:26:00.012+09:00

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

2010-06-08T22:58:00.014+09:00

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

2010-06-03T00:19:00.005+09:00

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

With a group from Italy part 2

2010-05-27T12:33:00.008+09:00

May 1st. It's the day called May Day. However, I completely forgot it, and I chose Nijo Castle as the first leg of our tour. When I got there, I found so many people gathering in front of the castle. Actually I thought I had made a blunder.

On the contrary, they got interested in the rally, and took some pictures. Secretly I was releaved.....though, after visiting the castle, we had to walk to the next bus stop due to the halt of the traffic.

It was amid so-called the Golden week, luckily we saw the wedding ceremony held in the castle garden. When we saw the on-going ceremony, we talked about the registration of the marriage to the public office.

When we got married, we have to file our marriage paper to the public office and make a new household. They were interested in how we deal with our family name at that time.

However, we have to choose one of the names we had before our marriage. Many people choose the husband's name. They were wondering if it is confusing that the woman has to change her family name at the workplace. There are, of course, some cases in which they keep using their maiden name.

At Ryoanji temple, they were attarcted by the small moss side garden. So we visited Kotoin in Daitokuji temple and Silver Pavillion, both of which have moss gardens, too. They seemed to fully enjoy each garden.

The tour
Starting their hotel, Nijo Castle, Golden Pavillion, Ryoanji rock garden, Koto-in (Daitokuji ), Silver Pavillion (Ginkakuji temple), Phylosophy path.

With a group from Italy

2010-04-26T23:52:00.014+09:00

After meeting at the Astro Boy in front of JR Kyoto Station, we started the tour. In the morning, the bus going to Golden Pavillion from the station is usually very crowded. Avoiding being packed by so many commuters, first we headed for Nijo castle.

After looking around the inside of the building, Ninomaru, we enjoyed walking in the garden. At that time, some people, including a member of our group, got into under the porch. They were looking above.... I mean they were looking at the underside of the floor. I was wondering what they were looking at.
He said that they just wanted to know how the floor squeaks. Now I understand why they did so. But that was the first time I had ever seen someone doing so. They were interested in so-called nightingale floor.

After visiting Golden Pavillion, we went Ryoanji rock garden. It was a beautiful day. Sand in the garden reflected the sunshine and looked whiter. I have been there so many times, but I really felt it beautiful.

Later, we took a walk in the precinct. The cherry blossoms were still blooming, They showed us the last beauty. When the breeze touched the blossoms, petals were falling off the tree and fluttering down in the air. It was like a snowfall. The ground had something like pink carpet on.

After OKONOMIYAKI lunch, we visited Silver Pavillion. There, we enjoyed some different aspects of the garden. In addition to the Sand garden, when we enter the garden, the small pond came into our sight. When we walked up the hill, we could see the Pavillion down there. It was the same one, but looks a little different.

Green moss covered the ground. It was so vivid to my eyes. This season shows us so fresh green of the leaves and moss in the garden.

On the way to the nearest bus stop, one of us bought a pair of lacquer ware. He explained to me that he would use them for pasta at home.

After visiting Nishiki Food Market, I said good-by to them, wondering whether they got something at a 100 yen shop near their accomodation.

Young tourists with a lot of interest and energy

2010-04-19T10:09:00.011+09:00

They showed great interest in everything they saw and what they saw seems to have impressed them a lot. As I had visited their blog talking about their trip　before, and it has some pictures, I could easily recognize them when we met.
After meeting, we headed for Fushimi Inari shrine as they requested. Laura's sister was to arrive in Kyoto later, so we had to be back to their accomodation by 11AM. When we came out of the shrine, we had a little more time. I suggested our dropping in at another temple, Tofukuji temple.

It is located between Fushimi Inari and JR Kyoto station and their list of the places to visit in Kyoto didin't include a zen temple which features Rock and sand garden( a dry landscape garden) I wanted them to see one of them.

Thanks to rigid time schedule of JR line, we could be back to Kyoto Station on time. After her sister joining our tour, we visited Sanjusangendo temple and Kiyomizu temple.
( Before visiting Kiyomizu temple, we had OKONOMIYAKI lunch at the restaurant near the bus stop, GOJOZAKA)

In Kiyomizu temple, there is another shrine, JISHU shrine.This shrines' god is said to bring good luck for those seeking love. A man or woman may ask the god for help to find a partner, or a couple may wish for a long-lasting, successful relationship.
There are two stones in the shrine. if you are successful in walking from one stone to another with your eyes closed, you will achieve the goal of love.
Laura walked successfully from one to another!!! She is the first woman to have made it that I have ever seen !! Great!!

Though we were to visit Nijo Castle later, we enjoyed so much Sanneizaka and Nineizaka that we couldn't have enough time to visit the castle. So instead, we visited Nishiki Food Market.
They tried some food such as a little octopus, rice cakes, and sweests and they fully enjoyed them in a sense.

As I had a job later, I had to say good-by to them.

I had much fun to be with them. They were/are fully enjoying their trip!!

Home cooking 1

2010-04-18T00:08:00.013+09:00

Spring is the season in which a new sprout starts its upward journey above ground. Bamboos are no exceptions. We enjoy eating bamboo shoots at home as well as in the restaurants serving Japanese cuisine.

One of the most popular cookings is the one with WAKAME seaweed, called WAKATAKE-NI .
The other day I cooked it at home. I'll show you part of it.

First, we cut off the tip of it, then, parboil it with rice bran for more than one hour.

After cooling it, we take off the bark, and cut as you like.

Boil again with soup(made of water and shaven dried bonito), soy-source, sake, sugar and a little salt.
Here it is!

Enjoy this homemade cooking! This tastes really good because............. I cooked it!!

Nishiki Food Market

2010-04-15T23:45:00.016+09:00

If you are interested in taking a quick glance at Japanese food culture, why don't you visit NISHIKI FOOD MARKET?

It's a 390 meter-long archaded street. 130 shops are along the narrow street, one block north of the main street, SHIJO street. You will reach Nishiki Tenmanguu shrine at the east end.
Walking along the street, you can hear cheerful voice, "IRASSAI MASE!!" calling you!

Most of these shops open around 9 AM and close around 5PM. They sell a wide variety of food, such as dried goods, sweets, pickles, eels, fish, processed egg, rice, noodles, rice cakes, beans, chestnuts, tofu, meat, chiken and fish paste as well as kitchen knives and flowers.

The end of the year is the busiest day here. People in and around Kyoto come to get some food necessary to prepare for New Year's feast.

Just taking a look at each shop is, needless to say, interesting. But some of them allow you to try their food, and to take pictures though some don't let you do it.

Oh, one thing I have to say! There are no rest rooms here. So, please do your business before visiting here!

Some shops are closed on Wednesday or Sunday.

Nearest bus stop / Shijo Takakura ( from Shijo karasuma, or Shijo kawaramachi, 5 min. walk)

Tofukuji temple

2010-04-14T20:36:00.018+09:00

TOFUKUJI is one of the five great Zen temples in Kyoto. In 1280,ENKI, a monk who had studied in China, was appointed as the first monk of the temple. The name, TOFUKUJI, was named after "TO" of TODAIJI temple in Nara and "FUKU" of Kofukuji temple in Nara.
The Sanmon, the main gate, is the oldest of all the Zen temples existing in Japan.

In HOJO, which has four gardens; the garden of the south, the north, the east, and the west, you can see a rock and sand garden, the one with a good conbination of moss and sand, the one with a checkered pattern of moss and stones.

What I recommend is the view from TSUTEN bridge. I like the one in late April and early May. Fresh green of many Japanese maple leaves covering over the valley will impress you deeply. Of course, in Autumn, it is so beautiful with colored leaves. However, it has become so famous that countless people flock to this temple to see this beautiful scene, resulting in the temple with a rush of people.

Tofukuji temple
admission adult 400 yen
the nearest station : JR Tofukuji or Tofukuji ( Keihan line )
Tofukuji ( city bus)

10min.walk from each station.

a tour guide of Honeymoon!

2010-04-12T13:31:00.006+09:00

Yes! This time I got the honor of being a guide of honeymoon! It was a great pleasure to have a chance to be their guide.

After picking them up, we went to Arashiyama area. First we visited Tenryuji temple. It is one of the greatest zen temples in Kyoto. We enjoyed many cherry blossoms over the path in the garden. When we were about to leave the temple from the exit at the back of the temple, we found cute good luck charms with a shape of miniature school bags. It was very cute. They seemed to like it, but they thought they could find them somewwhere else.
Unfortunately we could not find the same kind of charms in other places.

If you find it and like it in Tenryuji, do not hesitate to have one!

Later we enjoyed walking along the path in Bamboo forest and headed for Ryoanji rock garden. Around the pond in the precinct, we enjoyed full of cherry blossoms again.

Usually, a rock and sand garden doesn't come with flowers or blossoms. It is said that if there are some flowers in Japanese garden, your attention will be paid only to the flowers and you will sometimes forget seeing the garden as a whole or will not try to feel something gotten by viewing the garden with your mind calm.

However, only this season gives you the garden with cherry blossoms trailing down from the tree behind the wall.
Then we visited Golden Pavillion and had OKONOMIYAKI.

They are looking for obi fabrics. They said that everybody had said they were able to find obi fabrics anywhere you went, and that was not true. They were anxious to have one. So I took them to NISHIJIN TEXILE center.

Here you can see hand weaving and, of course, can buy some silk fabrics for kimono and obi. Luckily they found what they like, which made me happy, too.

After visiting Nijo castle, the tour ended.

They promised to send a picture of cusions they are going to make with the fabric after their returning home. I am really looking forward to seeing it!

With a family from Australia

2010-04-12T11:40:00.010+09:00

It was a tour amid a high season of cherry viewing. We took a family from Australia to Daigoji temple which is very famous for cherry blossoms.

This temple was founded in the 16th century, but what makes the temple much more famous is so many cherry trees. When we got there, on entering the gate, a lot of cherry blossoms welcomed us!

As this temple is so large, we just saw the garden of Sanpo-in. This garden was basically designed by the then ruler Hideyoshi. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to take pictures of the garden.

After visiting the temple, we visited Nanzenji temple and walked along the phylosophy path.

This season and autunm are the best for taking a walk. We fully enjoyed cherry blossoms along the path along with shopping!
The family I showed around was very nice. I had a nice time with them on the tour.

Cherry blossoms in Daigoji temple

2010-04-11T13:29:00.003+09:00

One of the temples famous for cherry blossoms is Daigoji temple. It is a Shingon buddhist temple which was founded in Heian Period (874).More than anything else, what made it very famous is cherry blossoms!

Hideyoshi, who gained the position of the power in the 16th century, ordered to transplant about 700 cherry trees from neighbor land due to the pomp and splendor tea ceremony. Thanks to Hideyoshi, now we can enjoyed the beautiful sight with a lot of cherry blossoms, here in spring!

How about walking along the path in Bamboo forest?

2010-04-10T14:27:00.007+09:00

Bamboo forest consisting of bamboos standing straight. They make comfortable sounds like zawawa,zawawa when breeze blowing through the forest.

How about walking here slowly, listening to such soothing sounds? How about feeling the sounds of welcome breeze?

They will surely reflesh you and relieve your fatigue in your mind caused by everyday life.

Bamboo forest the nearest station JR Sanin line Saga station 13 min. walk
Randen line Arashiyama 5 min. walk
Hankyu line Arashiyama 10 min, walk

seeking cherry blossoms with American couple.

2010-04-04T11:27:00.012+09:00

We were heading for cherry season!

The couple from USA had some Japanese friends, and had some pieces of advice over the trip to Japan. Before our meeting, they requested some places to visit.
So, I made a plan according to their request.

The first place we visited was of course Hirano Shrine.

However, the day before, an unexpected thing happened!!! That was......snowing!
Of course it was unusual!
After cherry blossoms began to bloom, we had snow! My expectation that blossoms in Hirano shrine would be fully blooming was easily betrayed! (>.<)　But we still enjoyed about 50% cherry blooming.

Later we visited Golden Pavillion and Ryoanji rock garden. Cherry blossoms in the both temples are more blooming than the week before! Especially the ones along the pond of Ryoanji were very beautiful.

In front of Golden pavillion, we found an OKONOMIYAKI restaurant. OKONOMIYAKI is something like a pan-cake. But its taste is quite different. Some times it is called Japanese Pizza, which is, strictly speaking, not correct.

It is made of cabegge, egg, wheat flour and some other ingredients. We eat with special source and some other things( shaven bonito and NORI seaweed)
First we mix all and put on the pan. Wait for three minutes. How do we know three minutes? In this restaurant, a sandglass for three minutes is on the table for you!

And turn it over and wait for another three minutes! And again turn it over, and put source on it and wait! Here it is!

why don't you try it? At this restaurant, you cook by yourselves. It is also fun! If you fail to turn it over, that's OK! The taste is same, just the shape is a little......mmm.(^-^;

The first day ended after visiting Kotoin,Nijo castle and Nishiki Food Market .

The second day course was Sanjusangendo Hall, Kiyomizu temple, walking along Sanneizaka and Nineizaka to Yasaka shrine.
Then I took them to Old Imperial Palace because they had a reservation. After giving some advice for the tour after the tour of Old Imperial Palace, I said good bye to them.

I hope they enjoyed the tour of Old Imperial Palace and the one after that!!

The tour under the rain with a family from Canada

2010-04-03T15:21:00.007+09:00

Recently we have had rainy days....

Despite the rainy weather, we enjoyed the scenery in Kyoto.
After picking them up, we headed for Hirano Shrine. This shrine is popular in the cherry season because it has many different kinds of cherry trees in the precinct.

At that time it was too early for fully blooming, but still we could see some trees with beautiful blossoms.
This family are very fond of flowers. They seemed to enjoy them.

Then we headed for Golden Pavillion and Ryoanji rock garden. We could see some cherry blossoms again in both temples.

We had lunch near Daiokuji temple. As it was freezing cold, all of us wanted to have something hot!! Of course we made a decision to have UDON.
We found a nice UDON restaurant, and really enjoyed lunch.

We planned to visit Nishiki food market after visiting Nijo Castle. However, it was very cold on that day, so we had to finish the first day tour.

On the second day, we enjoyed sightseeing in the eastern part of the city.
First we visited Sanjusangendo and Kiyomizu temple and then walked along Sanneizaka Nineizaka.

As they requested ( they wanted to visit a temple without taking off their shoes), we visited Heian Shrine.
It is not so old temple, but it has also a nice large garden and you can enjoy walking around the garden.
This garden is especially beautiful in the cherry season and May ( good for irises)
Though cherry blossoms are not at their best, we could see some cherry blossoms blooming.
After getting out of this temple, they seemed to really like this garden as they said they wanted to return to the garden if they are allowed to enter again with the same admission ticket.

walking tour with Italian men

2010-04-03T01:03:00.007+09:00

It was a little earlier to enjoy cherry blossoms. Ririko, a new member of Kyoto Free Guide and I guided two men from Italy and showed around Higashiyama area.

At Sanjusangendo temple we found cherry blossoms blooming a little. Even though, I was very happy to have them see some cherry blossoms. We took a picture with a cherry tree.

At Kiyomizu temple, they bought many charms for their friends as souvenirs. I hope all the charms will bring his friends good luck and safty in their lives.

Then! Next comes time for shopping!!
They enjoyed shopping walking along Sanneizaka and Nineizaka. One of them found nice potteries, hundsome Japanese bags made of Japanese fabrics and fans.
They bought many things saying "Stop shopping!!" (^-^)

After lunch, we visited Ginkakuji temple (Silver Pavillion).
Ririko had to leave the tour due to her job, and the rest of us went on the tour.
We enjoyed walking along the philosophy path.

Though we were a little tired, we went Nanzenji temple. Then I took them to Heian Shrine. In front of the shrine, I had to say good-by to them.

I walked and walked all day.
During lunch time, one of them said he had lost two pounds because he had walked a lot and had been having Japanese food during their stay in Japan.
Walking and Japanese food are probably good for being in good shape.

It was too early for a cherry season, but when we found some cherry blossoms, we ran to them and took photos. Cherry blossoms surely attracts us!

I really hope they enjoyed cherry blossoms in Tokyo which they were scheduled to visit.

Having a Japanese Green tea in a temple( with a man from Spain)

2010-04-01T20:44:00.009+09:00

He came to Kyoto by Shinkansen. I picked him up at JR station and started a half day tour.

Along with his request, I chose Golden Pavillion as a place to visit first. Though it began to rain, Golden Pavillion was beautiful and visited by many tourists.
Then we headed for Nijo castle and hurried to Nanzenji temple.

As he wanted to have Japanese tea for tea ceremony, we asked a woman at the entrance to have us have MACCHA(tea for tea ceremony). In Nanzenji temple, you can have MACCHA viewing a garden.

A woman brought us Green tea and Japanese sweets. I explained how to drink and enjoyed Japanese tea.

MACCHA is a little bitter, but before drinking tea, we have Japanese sweets. Sweetness and bitterness work each other in complete harmony.
How about enjoying Japanese MACCHA with your mind calm in the temple?
You can enjoy it for just 500 yen.

He was interested in incense, we headed for Nineizaka to buy some. As it was getting dark when we got out of the shop, the path started being illuminated.

So, we enjoyed the beautiful illuminated pagoda in Yasaka, too.

Though it was a half day tour, we enjoyed a lot.

The Cherry Season has come !!

2010-04-01T10:35:00.005+09:00

Cherry blossoms are blooming now. We can enjoy these beautiful blossoms only for a week or so. Of course, they begin to bloom depending on places and weather.
In Kyoto, they are going to fully bloom. Probably, this weekends or next week they are at their best.

Why don't you come and enjoy these beautiful sights?

We, Japanese, really like to enjoy cherry viewing with a lot of Sake, sometimes too much.(^^;> hummm. Here and there at night we have a party or a night picnic.

Be careful for some drunken people under cherry trees in this season!
oh, most of the people there are kind and friendly to you!!!

Enjoy your meal!

2010-03-21T13:57:00.004+09:00

Last month, I showed around Italian speaking people. At the lunch time, when lunch was served and when we were about to eat, they said, "Enjoy your meal". And last week, a new member of our service, Ririko and I showed around the guys from Italy. At the lunch time, I heard the same words."Enjoy your meal".

The words sounded nice to me! In Japan, we usually say "ITADAKIMASU". The direct translation is "I am going to have the meal " in a polite way. And we also say "GOCHISOUSAMA (DESHITA)" whose literal meaning is "It was a good meal" or "Thank you for the meal" when we finish a meal.

We, Japanese tend to show gratitude to a person who makes a meal. On the other hand, "Enjoy your meal" tells us that we should enjoy our meal! The expression related to the meal interests me a lot.

So, Let's enjoy our meal and express thanks to a person who makes our meal!

Visiting sightseeing spots with an Italian

2010-03-04T09:56:00.007+09:00

This time I picked him up at Ks house which is near JR Kyoto station. As he arrived in Kyoto on early morning, I went there at 10AM so that he could take a shower and a little rest.

He had a two-day schedule in Kyoto, I recommended him to vist the eastern part of Kyoto by himself the next day. In the eastern part, as temples and shrines are close to each other, visitors can walk one temple to another enjoying tiny shops along the path.

So, I made a plan for the first day to visit the western part.
First we visited Golden Pavillion, one of the world heritage sites in Kyoto. After walking around the garden and seeing the tea house, we headed for Daitokuji temple.
Usually we visit Ryoanji rock garden before or after visiting Golden Pavillion. However until Feb. 25th, it had been closed, so instead we visited Daisen-in in the precinct of Daitokuji. Daitokuji is also a Zen temple, which has rock and sand gardens.
I talked about Zen spirit and enjoyed Japanese tea usually served in a tea Ceremony.

After that, we visited Kotoin in the same precinct.

He didn't want to be rushed for the tour, so we stayed there for a while and enjoyed its atmosphere . As it was fine, we felt a breeze coming through some bomboo trees and heard birds singing. The garden consists of just moss and one stone lantern, but still makes us feel comfortable and calm.

Then we went to Nijo Castle.
He said it was not cold so much in the castle in Japan as in those in Europe, because European castles are mainly made of stone.
We enjoyed this historic place and visited Nishiki Food Market.

He tried steamed fish-paste.
How is it? He said nh~ nice!

Photos tea room of Koto-in

Lunch ( OYAKODON ) oyako means a parent and a child.
( chiken and egg )
DON means a rice bowl.

Calmness in Koto-in

2010-03-02T22:05:00.008+09:00

There are a lot of places to see in Kyoto. Some are very well-known and others are not. Some places in guide books are visited by so many people, especially in sightseeing seasons. We cannot enjoy those temples themselves, just looking its beauty and scene.

Why not visit Koto-in? It is one of the small temples in the precinct of Daitokuji temple. It is deelpy related to HOSOKAWA family, one of the feudal lords in 17th century. In this temple, there is the family's grave and the family's tea room.

However, what I want to tell you more than anything else is a calmness of this temple.
Once you step in the area, you will forget bustle of the big city. There exist a quiet calmness. Just sit toward the garden and listen to the sound of wind. Its calmness refresh your heart.

When I took a tourist here, he said " However hard you try to put this whole thing in a picture, it is surely impossible. The breeze, the birds, air, shade, moss...everything makes you calm."

Just stay here for a while and feel everything around you.

Certainly, you will have peace in your mind.

Somebody in the sign・・・・・

2010-02-23T11:40:00.006+09:00

This is a sign at a bus stop. It shows you how near the bus you are waiting is coming. A yellow mark is the location of the bus. The left is the nearest.

Usually we use public transportation for sightseeing. We use a city-bus pass (500 yen) or a pass for both city-bus and subway ( 1200 yen ) It's very conveinient for sightseeing, you can get one in the bus. Just say "A Onedat-Bus-pass,please" to the driver.

Or you can get a pass for a subway and a city-bus at the ticket counter of the subway station.
Of course, you can get one at City Bus Information counter in front of JR Kyoto station.
If you start your tour from the station, I recommend you to buy here because it comes with a bus map!!

Look at the sign above carefully, somebody is in the sign. ahaha.
Its face shows how long she has been waiting.....

With a couple from Italy

2010-02-22T13:13:00.005+09:00

This time I guided a couple from Italy. We first met at JR station and headed for Sanjusangendo Hall.

It has a thousand buddha-images in the main Hall. It is said that you can find very familiar face among them. Most of those images are national treasures.

When you enter the hall, and just turn to the front of those images, you will be impressed very much. A thousand images welcome you calmly.

The couple seemed to be impressed very much.
Then we enjoy walking along the path called Sanneizaka, and Nineizaka. They especially were interested in insense sold at one shop. They have a variety of insense, with not only typical Japanese scent, flower-based scent but Tea flavored smells and so on.
Just looking ( smell?) around some at the shop is also fun!

Later, we enjoyed Zen temple, Nanzenji, and went to Golden Pavillion after lunch.
On the way back to the downtown, we went to Nijo Castle.

We saw different kinds of temples and gardens, and last place to visit was Nishiki Food Market.
We talked about Japanese food culture. The most intereseting thing for me was KAKI.

We saw dried persimon hunging at some shops. I told them that they were persimon, but they didn't know the word. At the moment they say it might be KAKI. KAKI???
Yes, we call it KAKI in Japanese. KAKI, a fruit name has become an Italian word. That was very interesting.

We fully enjoyed the tour.

with an architect from Singapore

2010-02-18T09:57:00.007+09:00

This time I guided a man from Singapore. He is an architect. I made a plan for him. I thought he prefer to see some historic architectural site. I chose Ninnaji temple and Kotoin as a part of the plan.

That was BINGO!
He was very fond of them. Especially the entrance of Kotoin. In Kotoin, we can see the tea room which used to be used by Hosokawa Familly, one of the powerful fuedal loads in Momoyama Period.( a latter half of the 16th century) Though it was very small room, it has many meanings, for example, the entrance is small and square. Why?
When I meet you as a guide, I will tell you about!!

This is a very small temple, but atmosphere of the path to the entrance is very calm. I am sure you will like it.

We visited Ryogenin in Daitokuji, and came back to Nishiki Food market after visiting Nijo Castle. Then we had late lunch. It was so-called MUSHIZUSHI, steamed sushi. when served, it was very hot. I think it's good for such cold winter lunch!

photo1 MUSHIZUSHI photo2 Kotoin entrance

With a couple from Switzerland

2010-02-17T21:01:00.009+09:00

This time I guided a couple from Switzerland. As she went sightseeing with another guide of Kyoto Free Guide the day before, I showed them around the rest of what they had requested.

After picking them up at Hotel Granvia, we headed for Kiyomizu temple, one of MUST=SEEs.

Of course the architecture itself is worth seeing, but walking along Nineizaka and Sanneizaka from Kiyomizu temple is also fun. There are many tiny shops. They found some interesting T-shirts at a shop. The pictures on the T-shirts are very popular items seen in TV or magazines coming with a bit different letters.

We enjoyed shopping and taking a look at many items sold at each shop.

We went to Nanzenji temple. In autumn, we see so many people visiting. However, in winter we met just few sightseers. Though we could not see colored leaves, we fully enjoyed quiet atmosphere in Zen temple.