Japan '06

Our last day in Kyoto and we had a full program of last minute sights. There is so much to do here and you could probably spend at least a week trying to see it all. Our last go around of temples started off with another Buddhist temple that featured 1001 golden statues of Kannon, a Buddhist god, and 28 protective gods of Buddha. They were carved in the late 12th century and are housed in the longest wooden building in Japan. We then wandered up into the eastern hills and saw a few more temples and Shinto shrines. We finally figured out the different rituals that we`ve observed people doing over the past few days. And at this particular temple there were explanations of all of the different wish/good luck charms that you can buy and hang at specific points on the shrine. Anyway, we then walked through Gion, the former Geisha district and were bombarded with tourist shops featuring really, really expensive Japanese pottery, Hello Kitty paraphernalia, fans, little Buddhas, etc. We finally found a place to eat at the top of a department store and had our first meal of Soba noodles. It was a good way to wrap up our time in Kyoto. Tomorrow we move on to Hirohsima and travel with our rail passes on the super train - Shinkansen. More later....

Places Visited:
1. Sanjuangendo Temple - 1001 statues
2. Kiyomizudera Temple - with the wooden terrace overlooking Kyoto
3. Chawan-zaka and Sannen-zaka - small, traditional shopping streets leading up to temples.

Our third day in Kyoto started off with a trip to the northern hills. The weather was considerably colder and of course, we over estimated the weather and were pretty cold the whole day. After a 10-15 min. walk we arrived at a Zen Buddhist temple complex. There are over 20 temples at the compound, but only 4 are open to the public. The temples were not that much different architecturally than what we saw the previous two days; however, the main point in going there was for the Zen gardens. This particular temple complex was built between 700 and 1000. And the Zen gardens were several hundred years old. At one temple we had traditionally prepared green tea and sat overlooking a garden. From there we walked to the Golden Pavillion - literally two of the three stories were covered in gold leaf. It was a very unique sight and worth the schelp and cold.

In the evening we met up with Ann and Jacob, two of Becky`s friends that live here in Kyoto. They took us to this little hole in the wall joint with about 15 stools around a counter. The place was run by this mother-daughter team who took no prisoners and bossed everyone around. Luckily Ann and Jacob can speak Japanese and ordered up this amazing meal of Sashimi, eggplant with miso paste, various tempura vegetables, fried tofu with fish flakes and scallions in broth. The place was incredible. It was packed with locals. The women behind the counter wore plastic boots because they threw the leftovers and water on the floor. And they served these crazy dishes of raw lobster and fish heads to their other customers. Bernd entertained everyone by striking up a conversation with a couple who spent two years in Germany. Their German was better than their English and they ended up buying us a beer. Anyway, the whole evening was an experience and something we`ll remeber for a long time.

Na heute mal wieder ein paar Eindruecke aus dem Land der kleinsten Autos. Nachdem wir die aelteste Tempelanlage mit dem wunderschoensten Garten fuer zwei Stunden besichtigt haben sind wir gleichmal zum naechsten Tempel gelatscht. Der total aus purem Gold. Na war zwar Holz aber die haben eben alles mit Blattgold ueberzogen. Sah cool aus. Abends hatten wir dann Abendbrot mit Freunden von Freunden die hier in Kyoto wohnen. Trditionell Japanisch fuer die lokale Bevoelkerung. Normalerweise wuerde niemand von uns dort essen,aber war lecker und lustig. Es gab rohen Fisch un andere Sachen die es nicht auf nem deutschen Tisch stellt. Die zwei Muttis hinter der Theke um die so 20 Leutchen dicht gedraengt rumsassen trugen erstmal Gummistiefel und Plastikschuerze. Abfaelle des Abend und Abwaschwasser wurden gepflegt auf dem Boden plaziert. Abgefahen,abgefahren. Bis bald.

Places Visited:
1. Daitokuji Templex Complex, including Daisen-in, Zuilto-in gardens - one of Kyoto's largest Zen foundation with over 20 temples. A monk performed a abbreviated tea ceremony and we had our green tea overlooking one of the gardens.
2. Kikaku-ji or the Golden Pavillion - a former retirement villa turned temple turned tourist attraction - is covered in gold leaf!
3. Nijo-jo or Kyoto Castle - interesting castle complex with floor boards that creek on purpose to warn of intruders.

A beautiful sunny day today and it was probably in the mid-50`s. We took the subway and Kintetsu rail down to Nara - an ancient capital of Japan. Nara is home to the largest bronze Buddha in Japan at the temple Todai-ji. The temple complex was amazing - the Buddha was huge and there were several other large statues of protective gods/goddesses that were equally as interesting. We went to a few other sub-tenples of Todai-ji and went through a similar ritual - wafting the incense at the base of the temple, staring in awe at the shrine,　watching the Japanese pray and feeling like we`re intruding　on their religious moment. Nara`s temples　are located in a park that has tons of tame deer. The deer are insane- they come right up to you, go into stores, hunt down people with food. They are kind of like the American squirrel or pigeon. Anyway, we have lots of funny pictures were Bernd and the deer.

Tachchen Leute!
Japan is ganz schoen cool. Haben heute den groessten Budda der welt gesehen und natuerlich das groesste Holzhaus. Na die lustigen Tempel sind schon sehr interessant und riesig. Essen ist nicht so leicht. Ended irgendwie alles mit Fisch und der Supermarkt ist auch irgendwie 50% Fisch ob getrocknet　oder frisch. Aber wir hungern nicht. Allet jute.

A couple of observations about Japan so far
1. Heated toilet seats / beheizte Toiletten Brille
2. You can get by without any Japanese if you bow, smile, nod, and use sign language / wir quatschen mit Handen, Fussen, und nicken.
3. The cities are pretty grey / Die Stadte sind grau
4. The transportation system is complicated - 9 different companies operating train in Kyoto alone! / Offlichen Verkehr ist ueber completizert - 9 verschiedene Bahn Companies in Kyoto!
5. Japanese school girls really do giggle with their hands over their mouths. / Japanische Schule Madchen lachen nur hinter der Hand.

Places Visited:
1. Todai-ji Temple (Buddhist) - founded in 745 and contains the largest indoor bronze Buddha. Bernd crawled through a wooden post that brings good luck in life.
2. Nigatsu-do (sub temple of Todai-ji) - beautiful wooden terrace.
3. Sangatsu-do (sub temple of Todai-ji) - Nara's oldest structure.
4. Kasuga Grand Shrine (Shinto)- partially open, partially under reconstruction. Outside of the shrine are hundreds of beautiful stone lanterns.
5. Kofuku-ji Temple and Five Storey Pagoda - we didn't go inside of the temple, but focused on the five storey pagoda.

With our handy Kansai thru pass we traveled yesterday to Kyoto and checked into our hostel - K`s House. It`s nice and clean, although our　 room is tiny! We saw a few Buddhist temples yesterday. The gardens attached to the temple grounds are absolutely glorious. Some are dry, Zen gardens others have water features and mostly evergreens and ferns. I was worried before the trip that the gardens wouldn`t be as interesting　because it is winter here. When I think garden, I think mostly flowering plants and greenery. Japanese gardens have a whole other quality and are beautiful even in the depth of winter. Speaking of winter, not sign of it here. Yesterday was partly sunny and probably around 45-50 degrees. After exploring and walking until our legs hurt, we headed home. A quick stop at the bottom floor of a Japanese department store (food court) yielded our first sushi and tempura of the trip. More later....

Places visited:
1. Higashi Honganji (Buddhist Temple) - Central Kyoto - wooden templex complex that was partially being restored. Our first temple and our first experience with taking off our shoes before entering it.

2. Heian-jingu (Shinto Shrine) - A large orange Shrine and templex complex. Our first Shinto shrine and our introduction to the rituals and movements of worshippers and visitors.

3. Nanzen-in (Zen Buddhist Temple) - Kyoto western hill - A beautiful templex complex and zen gardens.

Food - interesting experience with the basement floor of the Damairu department store. Counter after counter of food to go - tempura, sushi, etc. and we saw our first $10 box of strawberries and $30 melons!

We arrived after a 3 hr. flight to Dallas and another 14 hrs. to Osaka. It was a monster flight, but we managed to get up, stretch, drink plenty of H20, and pass the time. Our arrival in KIX (Osaka International Aiport) was problem free and we breezed through immigration/customs. So far, so good. We're heading to Kyoto today on our first of many train adventures.

3 Stunden bis Dallas/Texas und 14:10 Stunden bis nach Osak. Ist ganz schoen lang zu sitzen. Nun muessen wir erstmal mit den 15Stunden Zeitunterschied klar kommen. Gleich machen wir uns auf den Wg nach Kyoto mit der Bahn. Allet is jut