Kyoto Encore - Gion District and Tetsugaku-no Michi

For those of you that thought I wouldn't be dedicating a whole post about sakura viewing in Kyoto, you were wrong?! Sakura was so beautiful in Kyoto and I want to share it with all of you!

We saw some amazingly gorgeous sakura in 2 areas of Kyoto: the Gion district where we went for dinner (and famous for romantic strolls along the canal and through the old Japanese streets) and the Tetsugaku-o Michi, otherwise knows as the Path of Philosophy.

We went to Gion first. Gion is famous for its nightlife but also for being able to be entertained by geishas during dinner. In Gion, there are a few streets that are lined with large sakura trees and others that are lined with traditional Japanese wooden houses.

Here are some pictures of the sakura lined streets, and a nearby canal. Our camera does not do it justice. It really was an amazing, beautiful site that everyone should see in their lifetime.

 

 

 

 

The picture of us was a little blurry. Oh well.

 

Here are some pictures of the little street alleyways filled with restaurants and the traditional Japanese wooden houses. Typically these would be crammed with people during the day. But at night, they're quite calm and peaceful.

 



 

Cool huh?

The next day, we took a stroll down Tetsugaku-no Michi, otherwise known as the Path of Philosophy. It is known as such because a famous Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro was known to walk this path during his daily meditation. This path is 2km long and follows a sakura-lined canal in Kyoto, between the Ginkaku-ji and the Nanzen-ji. Enjoy!

 

 

 We had a great sakura season and we're so happy we got to share our experience here!

Till next time...

Sakagura - Sake Brewery Tour at Kaminoi

Hello family and friends,

When Matt and I arrived in Nagoya in late February, it was just when the sake brewery season started. And sadly enough, we didn't know about the open houses nearby sake breweries had on for the public at the time. By the time I heard about it, all the breweries were closed to finish the bottling process.

BUT, by my ingenuity (if I may say so myself), I phoned up one of the oldest sake brewery in our area, and made a reservation for a tour ALL IN JAPANESE. That's right - even here, I'm a superstar. :)

So Matt and I were able to not only go on a sake tour, but we got a private sake tour by the owner.

 

How AWESOME am I?!

 

(I'm pretty awesome)

 

 

Anyway, here is our sake brewery tour.

 

 

It was Saturday March 16, 2013 on an overcast, chilly day, when Matt and I traveled to the Odaka region by train. Odaka is a little village/town about 20min south of Nagoya and is famous for sake brewery because of its water. We actually got a little lost trying to find the brewery, but alas we found it and the owner was quick to welcome us into his little parlour. He proceeded to hand us a process map of how sake brewery is done. Though all in Japanese, we were able to communicate with him using our much improved hand gesturing techniques and Google Translate.

 

After 10-15 minutes of conversation, he led us through his shop. He was so kind and asked one of his employees who spoke a little English to help guide and explain the different steps. So we were able to really learn from the master how sake brewery is done. We learned what kind of rice is used for certain types of sake, how the rice needs to be washed in a certain way, then steamed in an oven of sorts before applying Koji, a sort of mold that attacks the rice. Yeast is subsequently applied and fermented for anywhere between 2 - 4 weeks. The aroma is heavenly. Then pressing is done to separate the solid from the liquid. The press is huge and reminded me of a big stamping machine. The liquid is then filtered and pasteurized. As an option, some sake are then aged some more before bottling begins.

 

Next we were off to the sake tasting. Matt and I tried 2 different sake - one that was just bottled this year and another that was a year old. The 2013 sake was stronger in alcohol and had almost a sharp after taste at the end, whereas the aged sake was smooth tasting and very lovely.

 

Here is the selection they offered for sake tasting - we tried the left most green bottle (the 2013 sake) and the right most brown bottle (aged). We bought the brown bottle.

 

 

 

The sake brewery we went to was called Kaminoi. Kaminoi is a family owned sake brewery that's been around since 1856. They make 20 different kinds of sake every year. Last year at the centennial sake brewery competition held in Hiroshima, Kaminoi took home the gold prize for one of its sake.

 

The left is the gold prize certificate and the prize winning sake is the blue bottle (2nd from the right) on the right picture.

 

Here's us and our guide and owner, along with a bottle of sake we purchased there.

 

 

Thanks Kaminoi for a wonderful day!

 

 

 

 



Kyoto during Sakura Season - Part 5: Ginkaku-ji

Our last part of the Kyoto during Sakura Season series ends with Ginkaku-ji temple. Ginkaku-ji is also named the Jisho-ji Temple, and is known as the Temple of the Silver Pavillion. Ashikaga Yoshimasa, grandson of the other guy who built the Golden Pavillion, built this as his retirement villa in 1460 and would also turn this into a Zen temple after his passing. He was 29 years old when he decided to retire and spent the next 8 years constructing this. What a lovely villa.

The temple is surrounded by these high bamboo hedges as you approach the entrance called the Ginkakuji-gaki (or Silver Pavillion fence). These hedges are nearly 50m in height and serves to separate the peaceful sanctuary that lies within from the outside world. Dramatic entrance, isn't it?!

As we entered his villa, we first came across his garden, which was inspired by the Kokedera or the Moss Temple. The garden was designed by Soami and features the exquisite sand garden. Here you see the pile of sand which is said to symbolize Mount Fuji.

 

Next stop, we see the Main Religious Hall (surrounded by the awesome sand gardens) and the pond garden.

 

 

 

Followed by some fabulous Japanese art on screen doors, dating back to the 1700's. There are about 20 of these paintings in all.

 

 

 A beautiful waterfall. It seems like no temple or retirement villa is complete without a waterfall. Good to know.

And finally, the structure we've all been waiting for, and just so happens to be the last stop of this Ginkaku-ji journey, the actual temple. I tried to take pictures from every angle: from the top, to the front, and the sides. Notice how this temple is not laced with silver, like the Kinkaku-ji was with gold. I think this better - there's more beauty in its simple elegance.

 

 

 

I've changed my mind, I want this to be our future retirement villa. Don't we look so comfortable here already?

 

 

 

I can't wait for retirement if I get to live like this!

 

 

We hope you've enjoyed our Kyoto trip as much as we did. As you can see, there are so many things to do in Kyoto. In fact, we didn't get a chance to go to all the places we want to, which means we're probably going to have to go back before we leave Japan. So maybe there will be Kyoto II. 



Kyoto during Sakura Season - Part 4: Kiyomizu dera

Kiyomizu-dera is one of Japan's most popular sites and one of the most famous in Kyoto. It is an independent Buddhist temple of the Goddess of Mercy and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007. Kiyomizu means "Temple of Clear Water".

Kiyomizu-dera was founded in the early Heian period in 798 and is located halfway up the Otowa mountain. Since then, like many other buildings in Kyoto, it was burned down many times over the years. Its present buildings were rebuilt in 1633, by shogun Tokugama Iemitsu. A shogun is basically a high ranking general and pretty much ruled Japan back in those days.

The entrance of Kiyomizu-dera is the Deva gate and the 3 storey pagoda.

There were many MANY people also visiting Kiyomizu-dera that day. But look at all the pretty ladies in kimono. It is particularly beautiful when the sakura are in full bloom.

The best part of Kiyomizu-dera is the Main Hall, which has the large veranda that's supported by tall pillars that hangs over the hillside and offers amazing views of Kyoto. The 12m high keyaki pillars were built without a single nail and 410 cypress floor boards.

As we entered the hall, there was a crowd of people surrounding this area. It turned out it contained several metal objects, 1 pair of metal sandals and 2 metal rods. People were lining up to try and lift each object. The purpose of this is to demonstrate your strength and your worthiness of protecting the temple. Here's Matt's turn. He lifted the sandals and one of the 2 rods with 1 hand with ease, but could not lift the heaviest rod. People all around him were in awe when he lifted the lighter rod with 1 hand. We didn't see anyone else do that. Sugoi!

Picture of Matt and I on the veranda:

These pictures were taken from the other side of the mountain.

Views of Kyoto:

 

My turn at drinking the cleansing water using a ladle. How could I resist - the water came out of a dragon's mouth! It must be PURE.

 

Another popular site is the Otowa waterfall, where visitors can drink the water from a ladle. We chose not to do that, despite the fact the cups were sanitized by UV light. Right.

 

 

And finally, our trip to Kiyomizu-dera wouldn't be complete without visiting the little stone buddhas in their aprons: 



 

or the other 3 storey pagoda (that no one talks about):

 

 



An eventful day so far, but still not over yet. Ginkaku-Ji is next.