We headed towards the river and Gojo station, stopping to get brunch on the way. We were completely befuddled by the system of ordering. It appeared you had to pay into a machine and press the right button., then collect your meal from the counter, but we couldn't work out what to choose, where to find it on the machine, what to do if you didn't have the right coins........In the end, the bloke took pity on us and gave us an English menu with only a few choices. We ended up with this:
- a sort of scrambled eggs with chicken on top of flavoured rice. Of course, we were also given green tea ( cold this time) and could help ourselves to as auch iced water as we liked. Very nice. For any of you dining in Japan, a tip. In most casual restaurants and cafes, you are expected to take your tray full of dirty things to a collection point after the meal. Also, there are few bins in the street and no-one throws their rubbish on the ground. Keep it until you find bins and then sort the rubbish into bottle, papers or general rubbish like the locals.
We stopped to watch the ducks playing in the river and take in the view . I think they need rain.
Later, we got off at Jingu station and crossed the river to walk up the street to the Kyoto Handicraft Centre. We passed the Immigration Bureau which I thought looked more like a temple:
I like their use of lanterns
And the way the granite blocks work against the foliage:
We also passed this temple:
where people had tied the fortunes they didn't like on the branches of a cherry tree to be blown away by the wind.
As we walked, I pondered the different styles of dressing and behaving in Japan. Older people tend to be very formally and conservatively dressed. They behave in a fairly restrained manner and generally don't bring a lot of attention to themselves. The women tend to pay a lot of attention to their complexions, and generally have much fairer skin than the men. The shops are full of make-up and cosmetic creams, and there are a lot of skin whitening concoctions. Both sexes tend to look after their hair. Younger people tend to have more freedom of expression in behaviour and clothes, however, I have yet to see piercings, tatoos or a dirty or dishevelled appearance. In fact, the rap- looking guy on the train spent his trip examining his reflection carefully and rearranging his hair and clothes depending on what he saw. The girls often wear little mini skirts, long socks and a loose little top. It is a no-no to draw attention to the breast area so there are no boob tubes, cleavages, tight clothes . Instead, they favour smock- like tops and loose jumpers. The little kids are very cute and wear much brighter colours, and express themselves freely. Im am glad to say that there are people who still wear traditional dress. The men look particularly dashing in their grey, belted outfits and the women look elegant and petite. As is usual with national dress, it suits their bodies perfectly. I think I would look like a McClumpher. In fact, I find Japanese people very attractive. Pity I am married!
Another thing, people keep going on about Japan being a homogenous society, and I suppose it is in that there are few immigrants, apart from Koreans, but they certainly don't all look the same. There are lots of different facial types, body types and skin colours, and lots of differences in height. Some Japanese could be mistaken for Chinese. Some almost look Italian.
Anyway, back to the walk. We found the Handcraft Centre and went up to the third flooor where they have a very large collection of reasonably priced woodbloock prints. Unfortunately, few of them are pre twentieth century or originals, but there are some old ones and some very nice modern ones. I particularly liked Katsuyuki Nishijima's work. There were a lot of Japanese Americans there finding their roots and spending up big. We only made modest purchases. On the fourth floor, you could buy souvenirs and kimono - related things. Again, the prices are very good. You got tax exemption forms and reward points, which could be redeemed next door, where there was a gift shop and cafe.
We retraced our steps, heading for the river and had a green tea ice-cream each. At the bridge, we stopped to watch a heron catching some of the many little sprats in the river. The bird life in Kyoto is quite impressive. As well as the pigeons and ravens, we have seen the same eagles we spotted flying on the route to Takayama, herons, lttle peewit type birds and finches.
We decided to walk up Teramachi street, which at this end is full of French eateries, antique shops and art shops. All very expensive looking and beautiful. I made Bob come into a temple area, and we found ourself in a little oasis of peace. I haven't felt so at peace and relaxed since I discovered that little buddhist centre in Hanoi.
There was a grandma looked after a little boy, who was clambering up on to the rails of the temple, and came up to say "konichiwa" to us, but otherwise, at first it seemed deserted. We wandered around taking photos of the little guard dogs and the buildings
Next, each of us was offered a bowl of freshly frothed green tea, which was turned three times before being presented.
It was lovely, but we felt a bit bemused to be getting something for nothing, when we are not Buddhists. I must say, I am drawn to Buddhism though.
We had to leave, with regret on my part, and we returned to the commercial world outside. I discovered some incredible paper shops which made we want to take the wonderful contents back with me. Unfortunately, I had to leave most of the contents because I couln't work out how to avoid creasing the papers.
We also found a funny little shop with a large, shy, socially awkward owner with some nice prints , and after a lot of hesitating, bought one.
Then, we re-ntered the market area we were in yeaterday and found a nice, unpretentious, little eatery for lunch. Bob had this medley of chicken rice mixture, miso and pickles,
and I had tempura prawns and buckwheat noodles.
Then it was off to Daishodo to examine their prints. Again, most of them were reprints and not very old, but we did pick up one for the collection.
We also checked out the clothes stores for young people, which by the way, we adore, where I proved to have a taste for the expensive and unaffordable. Yesterday, Bob managed to get some very nice clothes which were very reasonable. I had no luck as they didn't have my size. They were either too large or too small in one shop. Another shop, which had fantastic clothing imaginatively made from old Japanese fabrics, was too expensive for my budget. Today's shop had young men who looked a bit stunned that we were in it, and was waaaaaay over my budget. Bob loved a ski jacket with a hood and goggles that zipped over the whole head so that you looked a bit like a spaceman. Too, too, cool. Too too expensive.
By the way, there is a protocol for trying on clothes. You have to use the change room and take off your shoes if it is carpeted. When dealing with paying, it is rude to hand money over directly. It is more polite to put it on, and collect it from, the tray provided. When receiving or getting things, it is good manners to use two hands.
Then, our energy ran out so we found a chemist for something to put on my sore neck and rash, had an iced chocolate and one of their lovely light cakes, and returned to the hotel.......... where we discovered we had lost the guide book and map somewhere in our travels.
Did you work out what caused the rash...I often get something similar when travelling!
ReplyDeleteCombination of high blood pressure and a tendency to swell badly when flying. The rash comes after the flight - especially if I am doing a lot of walking and the weather is hot. I have to wear flight socks and move a lot to avoid it. I once went Business and didn't have the problem😄
Delete