Kyoto Day 6 | Hayden & Jasmine
HAYDEN: Ohayo!
Today is the second day of travel in Kyoto!
Read ahead to see what we did for the day ^-^
JASMINE: Nishiki Market
After breakfast we headed to Nishiki market, where we were astonished by all the local markets and the smell that comes from it. I (Jasmine) was most amazed , and wanted to explore the whole market in less than 30 minutes( terrible idea ) I ended up losing track of time and caught up with the group minutes later.
JASMINE: Lunch
After that we then headed to lunch but before that we took pictures by the Chionin temple in Rinkacho, Higashiyama ward, somewhere downtown in Kyoto.
We then walked 5 min to this local restaurant that mostly served seafood where me, Kaniela, and Jay were placed at the allergy table where the only thing that was mostly available for us to eat was tofu and some appetizers. Although I do appreciate Aunty Carol for this, because she’s doing such a great job in preventing any one of us from getting an allergic reaction.
As we were about to head out some of the girls went for a bathroom break where they were shocked to find out that it was a shared bathroom for both men and women. were they had quite an interesting encounter with the bathroom and toilet experience.
Right Alexis?๐ฅด.
JASMINE: Kimono Fitting
After lunch we headed towards kimono fitting which was about a 25 minute drive. The boys and girls were separated into different rooms (upstairs) where they chose which kimono or yukata fit their liking. we then head downstairs to pick out a shoe and headed towards the bus.
Everyone looked amazing in their kimono/yukata attire. ๐
We then drove to the tea ceremony where we had to walk for about five minutes to the location in our fancy looking attires and shoes that feels like you’re gonna fall with each step you take, honestly felt like you were wearing both shoes the opposite way.
HAYDEN: Tea Ceremony
Tea Ceremony is a traditional Japanese cultural activity involving the preparation of matcha tea. During our Tea Ceremony experience, we were taught the following protocol:
- bow to the host
- hold paper with sweets, eat
- stir the matcha, back and forth
- bow, “otemae chodai itashimasu”
- take tea bowl with right hand, place it in palm of left, bow
- right hand, turn tea bowl two times clockwise
- drink 3 sips, 4th sip add a sound, polite way to show that finished the tea
- wipe lip of the bowl, wipe the paper
- turn tea bowl two times counter clockwise (backwards)
- hold the bowl, appreciate it
- put the bowl down, bow
- bow to the host as they leave the room
I think “Ichigo Ichie” is the perfect way to describe the Tea Ceremony we experienced today. Today I learned that “Ichigo Ichie” means “one time, one meeting”.
And personally, I don’t I could experience the kimonos, the environment, the tranquility, and beauty of today if I were to do it all over again tomorrow.
It’s special — and an important phrase to remember. I think we should learned to appreciate every tiny moment, it won’t ever happen again in the same way.
HAYDEN: Downtown Kyoto
After the Tea Ceremony, we drove to downtown Kyoto.
Arriving in downtown Kyoto, we were split off into groups to explore different sites in the area. I was in a group with Emily, Rylen, Kama, Luke, Ari, and Hoku — with Ms. Francis as the chaperone.
First, we explored the Sanrio Gallery; full of over-priced toys, plushies, and pastel stationery, I’d say the visit was a bit of a disappointment — Ari couldn’t say the same, she bought a 2,000 yen plushie of an axolotl Hello Kitty (which I now need).
After the Sanrio Gallery, we stopped at a nearby McDonald’s. The building is a compact, 3-story fast food joint — compared to the McDonald’s in Hawai’i, Japan’s McDonald’s is so surprisingly different.
In Hawai’i, shake fries, lychee drinks, and McDonald’s buildings taller than a single story high are only a dream. The difference in culture is so interesting! I’m happy I got to experience it.
HAYDEN: Dinner
Dinner was most interesting — I sat at a table with Bo, Emily, and Rylen.
The food had been sitting at the table before we had arrived.
It was a small cluster of smaller dishes; I hadn’t the slightest clue as to what the food was. The brown cube of mush might’ve been tofu and the green stuff matcha (or wasabi), but nonetheless, it was delicious.
The most intriguing dish was the full-body fish. The head was still intact; its large eyes were widened, and the fins were a thin crisp. I couldn’t eat it, sadly. I was too full ใ
ใ
HAYDEN: Reflections
At the hotel, we did a group reflection.
We shared a rock, a stick, and a leaf regarding the first two days in Kyoto.
The rock is something that was amazing.
The stick is something that was memorable.
And the leaf is something that we wanted to leave behind.
The reflections were deep and thoughtful. We talked about the Heian Shrine garden, the kimonos, and the tea ceremony, etc…
I really appreciated hearing everyone’s different thoughts. Thank you guys for sharing :3
And that’s the end of it <3
bye bye!
Such wonderful experiences! A note about Kimono -- you may have noticed "longer" sleeves on younger women -- this is called "furisode" and denotes "unmarried" status. Once a woman is married, the "furisode" are sewn upwards. My wife has a Kimono with the family "crest" on the back -- usually for formal occasions like a wedding or funeral. There are "summer" yukata or kimono -- with more elaborate decorations. I have a yukata -- especially made, since I am taller. On Kyoto -- there isn't much "business" (like Tokyo) in Kyoto -- only a handful of companies were founded in Kyoto or have Kyoto headquarters (like Nintendo, interestingly enough). There are "three" types of people in Kyoto -- families with unique very traditional Japanese products (like tsukemono or kimono or even parasols or geta sandals or chopsticks or incense) -- and these families have been around for 1,000 years or so (so it's hard to "break into" this network!). Another big group is college students -- like the Boston area (Boston is the sister city to Kyoto -- both are very "traditional" -- I used to live in Boston) -- Kyoto has many colleges, including Doshisha, a college founded by missionaries and has excellent Japanese programs for foreign students. Kyoto has many Buddhist schools -- a relative studied to become a Buddhist priest (he was "into" music and taught various instruments as a side-job) in Kyoto. Lastly, as you probably know well, Kyoto attracts millions of tourists -- so many that Kyoto is exploring ways to restrict tourism -- which is hard to do. Oh yes -- our favorite Japanese "tea" shop is in Kyoto -- Ippodoh. The store is probably a couple of hundred years old -- new in Kyoto "sense of time"! https://ippodotea.com/ You can see the "newness" of Tokyo (again the fire-bombing) is not in Kyoto -- however, when I first began visiting Kyoto in the 1980s to now, there are tremendous differences -- many older shops are gone and there are new apartment buildings in place of "machiya" -- traditional all-wood dwellings. It's sad that Kyoto City "thought" Kyoto would be bombed during the Pacific War, and went ahead with demolishing small shops along major streets to create "fire breaks" -- so hundreds of shops were destroyed during the War -- not to the bombing though. Osaka and Kobe both were bombed extensively. Osaka -- a mass of concrete -- looks very different compared to Kyoto. Kobe reminds me of Honolulu in a way -- there are green hills in back of the harbor -- and it is more laid-back. Kobe has the largest population in Japan from India -- so curry is big. By the way, at the Breakers Hotel in Waikiki there is a tea ceremony room -- with tatami (the owner is a tea ceremony school back in Japan!).
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