Christmas in Kyoto

Christmas Eve: We set off for Kyoto on 6.35 am on the Seki bus. As we drove up into the mountains snow began to fall and the landscape became truly Christmassy.

We arrived and made our way to our Christmas hideaway. The hotel Citadenes is on one of the main roads of Kyoto; three lines of traffic alternately fly or crawl by in each direction. However, as soon as you walk through the sliding wooden doors you're far away from everything. A long stone floored entrance way leads you past a Japanese garden to the darkly lit, stylish lobby. Think chequerboard floor and feature lighting. Our room on the fourth floor had a covered balcony from which you could survey the city but as soon as you closed the door the traffic noise disappeared. 

http://www2.citadines.com/en/japan/kyoto/karasuma_gojo.html?gclid=CLGBkoGKoa0CFSFKpgod_yfSlg


We set out to explore our location and walked until we came to the river. We discovered we could stroll through restaurant populated old streets into the centre of Gion, which holds famous temples, new shops, beautiful winding old streets, a lot of dodgy bars and of course the odd glimpse of a Maiko. 

That night we ate in an Italian with a proper pizza oven and strolled around Gion drinking in the festive Christmas eve spirit. 

Christmas day started with champagne, presents and breakfast. 

We walked to Kiyomizudera temple and enjoyed the grounds stopping for a hot bowl of noodles and an amusing cross-examination by the owner of the restaurant. 

We also saw the amazing Samurai dog. 

We ate Thai for lunch as it has become a kind of Tay-frad tradition. The restaurant overlooked the river.

We ate dinner in Gion at a kind of Italian Tapas place which was amazing. Pudding was christmas cake back at the hotel.

Boxing day started with snow! 

We visited a  Zen temple; my favourite kind as they always have beautiful gardens. They had installed a new piece of artwork in 2004 which was two dragons on Washi paper on the ceiling. 

We took the bus home at 4.30 after stocking up on snacks. It took a good four hours as we got caught in a blizzard on the motorway. We enjoyed the snow when we stopped at the service station and returned to a thoroughly white Seki. 

Merry Christmas and have a very Happy new Year. 

Love Jo xxx

Christmas starts in 4 hours and counting...

 Cheese straws: check.

 Mince pies: check.

 Festive drinkies (part donated by the boss): check.

Christmas tree with a lot of presents: check.

Autumn

Long time no photos. Autumn is coming to an end in this part of Japan but it has been full of colour. Finally we have had a weekend when both of us have felt well and un-colded so we went for a stroll to the temple in Seki today. My favourite place. I took some pictures of the maple trees around the temple and their beautiful set alight colours. 

Tokyo

The excitement began at Nagoya station as the shinkansen train rolled in ready to take us to Tokyo in 1hour 40 minutes. It feels fast. A week of blue skies had dawned hazily and I gave up on a chance at glimpsing Mount Fuji expecting it to be drowned by cloud in the distance. As we exited a tunnel I rummaged around for something in my bag and when I glanced back out of the window there it was; Fuji-San. I grabbed Mike's arm and we both stared astonished. What we'd expected to be a speck on the horizon sat majestically and gigantically in our vision for the next ten minutes. I couldn't really believe I was seeing it having been told how rare it was to catch a view. There was no doubting it though and I had time to snap away. None of the pictures capture how close it appeared or how breathtakingly important it felt to be in its presence. 

Like London Tokyo is hard to classify as one city, where you go depends on what you get. Our hotel was a towering skyscraper in the Asakusa area. Famous for the newest and oldest landmarks of Japan; the Tokyo sky tree and Sensoji Temple. Our view from the 23rd floor was terrifying and stunning in about equal measure. 

We tried to get around as much of the city as possible but are little feet were not playing the game and are feeling as if I made them run the circumference of Tokyo shoe-less! We spent the first afternoon strolling around Asakusa's rather strange mix of shops and restaurants. Some areas felt decidedly seedy and yet there were the big tourist sights just metres away. 


The next day we went to Harajuku-my desired destination. It was great in the morning, strolling around the shops and watching all the crazy, cheap fashions. But by afternoon you were just part of one big crowd. We glimpsed the big, designer streets but turned our backs on Dior and Channel in favour of a tiny terrace serving the best cheese burgers and chips from a silver caravan. 

That afternoon took us to Akihabara where the neon lights and tinny music of Electronic Town were overwhelming. Girls in maids costumes handed out flyers for their cafes on every corner and the sensation of unreality became disjointing. We sought refuge in a small cafe but were still assailed by repetitive retro gaming soundtracks from the open door. We took refuge back in the safety of our twenty three floors and enjoyed the classic Tokyo view.


Today we set off for Ochanomizu to search for guitars. We found a whole street of them hanging shinily from walls like heavily ripe orchards but none was perfect so we escaped without purchase. We found a building with three floors of restaurants next to Akiharbara station and ate korean bbq which was really tasty before heading back to take the Shinkansen home. 

Nagoya

Last Thursday we spent a beautiful day in the city of Nagoya. The weather continues to be glorious and the city is stunning. Tomorrow we're off to Tokyo and I thought that these pictures of Nagoya might whet your appetite for the coming tales of Japan's capital city.

 The skyline from the top of the Oasis 21 bus terminal in Sakae.

 The T.V tower as climbed by Rob and Ruth in the summer.

 A gorgeous shop in the Sakae area with these two standing guard outside.

Tea ceremony and Kimono Wearing

 First there is the under layer. This is tied with a string and then it's own mini obi belt.

 Then the kimono goes on. It is tied with a couple of strings.

 Then the obi is tied. Inside the back is a cushioned pad which is tied around the front. The front is kept straight with a plastic shaper and then a scarf is tied around. There follows a final string around the front of the obi.

This is the tea ceremony area set up inside Seki's culture hall. There were a lot of people there. Every single one of them stared at me. Many people stopped to congratulate my kimono wearing and people my students knew stopped to touch me. It was a very strange experience.

Tea ceremony itself involves drinking different kinds of tea (depending on the ceremony) and eating a small confection. There are many rules about bowing and rotating cups, placing dishes in different areas of the table etc. We were served tea by many kimono wearing people and there was a set that looked like a forest. The first time we drank a leaf filled cup of tea, the second we drank frothy macha green tea.

We went to Gifu for lunch. It was a many course affair and very delicious. It began with lotus roots and fish eggs, followed by tofu in a delicious sauce, followed by salmon on a radish rosti with mushrooms in a thin sauce, followed by rice and miso soup, followed by tea and green tea dessert.
We had a stroll around the old streets. Tottering about on our zori sandals wearing kimono and holding umbrellas in these untouched traditional streets was quite an experience. I felt like I was walking inside a movie. We had more tea at a traditional tea house where I could see the mountain that Gifu castle perches atop.

 

Halloween

This week is Halloween week at school. It's not really a big thing here but I guess as we're an English school we make a big thing of famous American festivals. The place looks amazing with bats and skeletons and ghosts everywhere. The kids all dress up and everyone gets treats and snacks. We've made ghoulish biscuits for the adults classes. With the kids we play pin the tail on the cat, Halloween 'go fish' and a game that involves moving paper shapes with straws which makes it hard to breathe but us fun.

 Biscuits.

 Pin the tale on the cat.

Table decorations.