Kyoto Excursion #2

I slept in this morning, which was nice. By "slept in" I mean I didn't set my alarm, although I woke up on my own at 9:45. Still, it was nice having the option to roll back over and go to sleep. However, I got up and took my time getting ready for a short day of sightseeing in Kyoto.

At about 10:30 I left the seminar house and, once again, missed the bus I was trying to catch by about 45 seconds. I always do that; it's so frustrating. So I had to stand there for fifteen minutes waiting for the next bus, kicking myself as I watched the other one pull away. Oh well. It's not like I was in a hurry.

After arriving at Hirakatashi-eki I boarded the fastest train to Demachiyanagi, which is the final station on the ltrain ine that I most commonly use, Keihan. In the past two days I've been on both extreme ends of the line! I feel like such a traveler; too bad they're only an hour apart, so it's really not that big of an accomplishment. Still, I have conquered you, Keihan Line! Mwahahaha!

At Demachiyanagi station I used the bathroom. Not terribly exciting, is it? But I just wanted to mention something that bothered me: they had no soap. It's not that they were out of it, there just weren't any soap dispensers. When I was at the station in Himeji there was also no soap, but I thought that was just a fluke. Apparently, though, train station bathrooms sometimes don't feel the need to give you soap. Strange, considering how nasty everything would seem to get so quickly. Also--get this--the Japanese word for restroom, お手洗い (otearai, "oh-tay-ah-rah-ee") literally means "hand washing." Really, Japanese train stations? Could you not give us some soap? It bothered me.

After rinsing my hands and trying not to think about the disease possibilities, I emerged from the Demachiyanagi subway station. I was totally disoriented. Luckily, I stumbled upon a bus stop that was clearly labled "to Ginkakuji." What good fortune! So I just hopped on the bus and exited at Ginkakuji Street. That was great, except that the Ginkakuji stop wasn't smack in front of Ginkakuji, so I, being me, managed to get lost.

I was hungry, so I walked into the first noodle shop I found and had some yummy kakeudon. Oh, and good news: they had a sink with soap, so I washed my hands before I ate. I asked the lady at the register how to get to Ginkakuji, and it turns out I went left off the bus when I should have gone right. It was an easy mistake to fix, and I got a delicious bowl of noodles out of it, so I wasn't concerned.

Sure enough, right down the road was a giant sign basically screaming "GINKAKUJI IS THIS WAY, YOU SILLY FOREIGNER." In any case, things were easy to figure out once I got oriented.

Ginkakuji is situated along something called 哲学の道 (tetsugaku no michi, "teh-tsoo-gah-koo noh mee-chee"), meaning the Path of Philosophy. Basically, the Path is just a nice little walking area next to a pleasant canal lined with trees. These two philosophy professors in the early 20th century used to walk along it every day, hence the name. A bunch of restaurants, especially Western-style cafes, have sprung up along it, as well as quirky craft and clothing stores. It's something of a subdued Brown Country or Yellow Springs, minus the hippies. After walking along the Path for a bit, I followed the signs to Ginkakuji, walking up a very busy little tourist-trap street.

That was a lot of fun, actually. There were all these kitschy little shops, and candy stores, and overpriced restaurants, and everything else that should be in a tourist area. I bought lots of souvenirs, needless to say. Also, I had my first takoyaki. Have I explained takoyaki yet? The Kansai area is famous for it, especially Osaka. It's usually translated as "octopus balls," which really tends to freak guys out. But a better word would be "grilled octopus"--it's balls of dough containing a small square of octopus. Really, it tastes a lot like okonomiyaki, and you can't tell the octopus is in there. It's a fun snack food, and it was delicious.

I then arrived at the entrance to Ginkakuji. (Check out that link, by the way. It's a good one.) You go through a standard outer gate into something very like an English hedge maze, especially like the one in Harry Potter, I thought. ^_^ But it's not really a maze, just a gravel walkway with really high bushes around it. I bought my entrance ticket and had a really nice lady and her husband take my picture in front of one of the outer buildings in the complex.

Ginkakuji is named for the Ginkaku, or Silver Pavilion. However, this building is under repairs at the moment, so I don't have any good pictures of it. Luckily, the gardens surrounding the building were of more interest to me anyway, so it was no great loss. The Silver Pavilion, it is said, was intended to be covered in silver like Kinkakuji is covered in gold, but the project was abandoned before they could finish it. But the nickname stuck, although the technically correct name is Kannonden, referring to Kannon, the bodhisattva of mercy.

Between the Silver Pavilion and the Abbot's Quarters is something really cool called the Sea of Silver Sand. It's basically a big field of sand raked into pretty patterns. There's even a big pile of sand that's supposed to symbolize Mt. Fuji. It's really cool; check out the pictures. The Abbot's Quarters, or main hall, was off limits, although you could look in from off the porch. There were some cool paintings on the sliding doors, some dating from the 18th century. And from the porch there was a spectacular view of the Sea of Silver Sand. Apparently it's a really popular place for moon viewing in the fall.

Visitors then walk along a path through the rest of the gardens. The path winds around a rather large pond with several special stones, symbolic islands, and rock bridges. It's really beautiful. After that, you work your way up the mountainside through this beautiful forest where the ground is absolutely covered in the most beautiful moss you can imagine. There were a couple of gardeners taking meticulous care of the moss actually. It was kinda cool. In any case, I really loved looking at all the forest scenes, especially with the leaves beginning to change. Check out my photos; it's hard to describe.

Anyway, after what basically amounted to a stroll through the most beautiful garden I've ever seen, I was ready to move on. So I left Ginkakuji, did a bit more shopping on the way down, and reconnected with the Path of Philosophy. At this point I was getting tired, so I didn't walk the whole path. I did, however, stop in a few of the strange stores. One that was really cool was this art gallery/studio called Senshin. I bought three original woodblock prints made by Sadao Uetani, the teacher of the store's resident artist/owner. It was really, really cool. I like them a lot. And now I have original, numbered, handmade woodblock prints made and purchased in Japan. I feel so pretentious. I love it. :)

I then purchased a Coke out of a vending machine and drank it while sitting next to the canal along the Path. It was really pleasant, watching all the people walk by. There were many European tourists, as well as many Japanese. It was fun watching the rickshaws go by. After that, I decided to head back home.

Having gotten lost on the way to Ginkakuji, it would follow that I would get lost going back home. It happened. I tried going back to the bus stop where I had disembarked in the afternoon, but it seemed from the bus schedule, a nice Japanese family whom I thoroughly confused, and their equally confusing map, that that wasn't the best way to get back to the station. So I found a different, less perplexing bus stop that I was sure would get me back to Demachiyanagi. It worked; I took the train back home to Hirakata; I took the bus back to the seminar house. And here I am.

Oh, but I did some shopping at a 100yen store at the station and got some grocies, toiletries, etc. I now have everything I need to make okonomiyaki now, I think. Tomorrow for lunch will be my next attempt at it.

In other news, I used my new deodorant for the first time today. I'm not so sure about it; it's been years since I've used spray instead of gel or roll-on. Plus, I think it's deodorant and not anitpersperant, which is a Bad Thing for me. Not that you needed or wanted to know that. But oh well, I suppose I'll get used to it. I just hope I don't disturb the rest of the world in the transition process.

Tomorrow is Health and Sports Day, a national holiday, so there's no class. How will I celebrate this festival of fitness? Probably by sleeping in, surfing the web, eating lots of Choco-chippu, and napping. By the way, the Japanese word for lazy person is 怠け者 (namakemono, "nah-mah-kay-moh-noh").

And again, remember that my Internet might not work properly over the next day or two, so please don't count on anything essential reaching me.