Day 7: Taste of Temples

DID: Lucked into a private walking tour of the old Kyoto. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks so though, everyone else was pretty uninterested at best. Weather was a bit misty at the start time of the tour which must have caused others to shy away. We’re quite used to being wet now so we didn’t mind. Better still, the rain only lasted about an hour. Started with the largest Buddhist temple in Japan Higashi-Honganji (and the largest wooden structure in the world) and then made our way through little back alleys where we saw artisans making fans, prayer beads, tea containers and tofu. Also saw several Shinto shrines and a few more Buddhist temples. The guide was kind enough to explain religion according to the Japanese (they are generally Shintoists in life and Buddhists in death). Buddhists were apparently very shrewd realizing that the Shinto religion does not offer a final resting place for the soul following death – so Buddhist monks visit every home once a month to do 10 minutes of prayer and collect a donation. In exchange they guarantee a place in paradise whether you believe in Buddha or not. The funds support a home for the monks which includes a garden and sometimes a cemetery which members can visit any time. At the first temple we went to we saw a group of kindergarteners who had travelled by train all the way from the west coast of Japan to visit the temple – the aim of the trip was to teach them how to worship Buddha. I’m still working out how to get Gavin to worship something other than Ben 10 and chocolate, so this was particularly impressive. We also got a long history of the Shogun empire and the state of Geishas. The tour guide told us how to position ourselves so that we might see an apprentice Geisha in the evening, that will be a mission for another night. We also walked by the original home of Nintendo which started out as a playing card manufacturer! Love how the Japanese can turn a space the size of a drink coaster into a garden. We cut the tour short when we came across a playground across the street from the cookie shop (and by short I mean after 5 hours).

Tour stops were:
Kyosendo (Fan Makers)
Ayako-Tenmangu (Shinto shrine for Intelligence)
Renkoji (Buddhist Graves)
Ichihime (Shinto shrine for Women)
Kaikado (Tea container makers)
Original Nintendo factory
Inari (Sushi)
Kanshundo (Pastry)

Tour provided by Johnnie Hillwalker of Walk in Kyoto, Talk in English

The boys had fun at the playground for about an hour, especially on the slide (made of concrete) and the see-saw. I was amused looking at the other children who came along after school. One boy looked to be about Gavin’s age and had a backpack, two tote bags, a drawstring bag and an umbrella. What could he possibly be carrying? The kids all wore baseball caps that have a scarf kind of thing on the back to cover their necks as part of their school uniforms. We learned that education is compulsory for 9 years only in Japan, starting from age 6. Also there are very few children in central Kyoto to the extent that they have consolidated three elementary schools into one. Young people of Kyoto are apparently not carrying on the artisan traditions of their families and are moving away from Kyoto to seek out other careers.
I’ve decided that Jason was Japanese in a former life. The quiet but warm smiles, perfection in the smallest of details, exquisite food (and snout to tail eating) and daily bathing in excruciatingly hot water seems to suit him to a tee.

ATE: pastries from delice de france for breakfast. Nothing to write home about but we were pressed for time and it was convenient. Fresh tofu, tofu wrapped sesame rice and rice cookies for lunch along the tour. Dinner at a restaurant on the same street as yesterday, this time at a place with a lighted pig out front. Waitress was very enthusiastic to try out her English. Her food recommendations were spot on (for me anyway) – still a stretch out of my comfort zone but nothing gross. Started with rare kobe beef dipped in horseradish and soy, followed by skewers of beef katsu with lemon and salt, grilled cubes of pork in mustard, tempura sardines, and sashimi of some kind of white fish with onion and green peppercorns. Dessert was by far the strangest thing – butter flavored ice cream.