This weekend I went to stay with Naomi's friend Hatsumi who lives in Higashiyama. So I was travelling to the other side of the city - on a very complicated (well, to me anyway) transport system - alone. A tad terrifying. But with the help of several kindly obaachan (grannies) I was able to catch 2 trains and a subway to Higashiyama station.
Hatsumi is a lovely lovely interesting person. She has lived and studied in Hawaii, teaches Hula dancing, and lectures in nursing and midwifery at Kyoto University. She also has a beautiful apartment where you can see Heian-jingu (see below) from the window. She cooked for me, took me sightseeing, lent me pyjamas, and went outside in the freezing cold to buy me some painkillers when I had a headache later in the night. I was offered to homestay with her before I was accepted into my dorm and on Saturday I was somewhat regretting turning her down!
The first thing we did when I arrived at Higashiyama station was to check out the cute little shops on Sanjo-dori. There was some very cute art galleries there and I promised this shop owner that she would become famous in Australia through my blog. So...
Next stop: Heian-jingu, built in 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto. You might recognise the grounds from Lost In Translation ...
Then Nanzen-ji ... originally a retirement villa for Emperor Kameyama.
The next was my favourite: Tetsugaku-no-Michi - the philosopher's way. Most of the sakura in Kyoto are only budding/in early bloom in late March but the ones here were blooming and it was beautiful.
The Japanese are obsessed with sakura. After meandering down the Tetsugaku-no-Michi for an hour, I think I came to understand why.
However, Hatsumi couldn't understand why I was taking photos of sakura with telegraph lines in the background. I told her I loved the contrast, referencing the Japanese aesthetic of
mono no aware, but she just shook her head in silent, polite, Japanese disagreement.
Another thing the Japanese are obsessed with is their imagination of what Europe is/was like. If you've ever been inside a Morning Glory shop (yeah it's Korean, but they have the same idea) or seen Howl's Moving Castle you'll know what I mean.
It's a kind of mishmash of a Bavarian-Parisian-Prussian fantasy-land Europe that never actually existed ... at least not in the form that they envision it. Kind of like the Western cliched imaginations of Japan as being all about Samurai and Geisha and Ikebana and Bushido. Alex and his brother Ben (see my Links to Learn Japanese Pod) mentioned this on their podcast about a herb garden in Kobe.
Yeah, like this coffee house.
Saturday night after dinner, Hatsumi took me to Maruyama-koen (a famous park) to see the sakura lit up. It's going to be even more spectacular next weekend when they're in full bloom and there are a bajillion Japanese in every nook and cranny getting their sakura on. My photos were crap (I thought) but I will probably try to get fellow dorm mates to come with me again next weekend to see it.
Also saw a genuine Maiko-san (apprentice Geisha). Was too shy to speak to her so I snuck up on her like a stalker and took a lame photo from behind.
And just for Anya ... takoyaki!!! Which I cannot eat. Because of the gluten.
Sunday was the day for solo exploring. But ... I will confess ... I didn't actually see any 'sights'. I just kind of wandered down Shijo-dori and around the Gion geisha district (kinda drab by day ... again ... check back next week!) and sat by the Kamo-gawa ... but I did buy some cute presents, a few manga, and an adorable bag.
I'm definitely not an anime and manga fan, and will risk lynching by my dorm-mates by claiming that Hayao Miyazaki is boring and crap (with the possible exception of Ponyo). But I liked the live-action dramas of
Hana Yori Dango and
LIFE and I figure this will be good for my reading practice.
I also passed what I am pretty sure was the Minamiza Theatre (mentioned in Memoirs of a Geisha). The wind was blowing pretty hard by the afternoon so the weeping cherries (?) are almost horizontal in this picture.
On my way back to Sanjo-dori I came across a shop selling Geisha hair ornaments ...
...and a kimono maker's.
Hmmm ...
Well, is it or isn't it? Make up your mind!
Got lost on my way home. It was raining, and I was a little weepy, but - once again - my mood was boosted by a Japanese poster.
Jaa, mata!
P.S. I have somewhat given up on Flickr. It has a monthly upload limit which I have already exceeded with my 2mb photos. From now on will upload all my photos direct to the blog.
P.P.S. This is the view outside my room.
After the hustle and bustle of Higashiyama it's really comforting to be back in the inaka.
P.P.P.S. I hope you guys won't be expecting a post like this every few days, I do intend to have a life while here in Japan ;) and Sprin Semester starts soon. I think rare (but awesomely long and colourful and possibly interesting) posts are better than "This is a picture of my toilet" "This is a picture of next-door's cat, LOL!"
Love you all and miss you much.
Renraku choudai!
(Keep in touch)
