Hi all,
Last night we found a hidden noodle bar for dinner. Oddly, you had to walk through a jewellery store to get to it, but once you did the noodles were great! The broth and noodles themselves were very tasty. Mum and Dad had a dish called Kakiage that also included tempura vegetables and prawns. Dad and I both had the thicker Udon noodles, while Mum tried the thinner Soba ones. After dinner, we had an ice cream at a chocolate shop. I also enjoyed a tiramisu brownie. We had a pretty early night as we had woken up so early.
We had another early morning today, which was once again well worth it. We arrived at Fushimi Inari at around 6.30am after catching the metro and enjoying another 7-Eleven smoothie for breakfast. You scan the cup of frozen fruit and place it in the machine, and the machine makes the smoothie for you. They're really yummy and I wish we had them at home!
Fushimi Inari is an important shinto shrine. It's famous for its over 32,000 red torii gates, which you've likely seen when Japan is advertised online or on TV. This shrine is the most important of thousands of shrines dedicated to the God of Rice, Inari. Foxes are apparently his messengers so there are fox sculptures scattered all around the place too. When we arrived, it was raining, but there were not many people around. We were able to get some beautiful photos without anyone in them, and again enjoy the peacefulness like we did at the Bamboo Forest yesterday. We spent the next little while walking around. I made it up to a viewpoint but then got tired and sore, and Mum and Dad kept going. They said I made the right choice as higher up was much the same as what I had already seen.
Something unexpected happened whilst I waited for Mum and Dad to return. I came to Japan expecting that as a pregnant woman, people would be really respectful and aware, as that's the reputation I've always associated with the Japanese. I don't expect special treatment all of the time or anything like that, but needing to sit at 27 weeks pregnant is pretty standard, especially after you have walked a bit and are tired. The only places to sit undercover in the area I was waiting for Mum and Dad at were inside of or next to a restaurant. I decided to politely ask if I could sit to the very side of the outdoor area at the restaurant as I was hot, tired and sore. I pointed to my belly and explained I was six months pregnant and waiting for my parents. The lady was really rude and told me that no, I instead needed to sit on the benches down the steps in the pouring rain which were soaking wet. I decided to ignore her, and just sat at the restaurant to the very side of the outdoor area. She came over to me and I just said "I am six months pregnant, and I need to sit down". English speaking customers overheard and told me they had absolutely no problem with me sitting near to them, it was all very bizarre. If I had had some money with me I would have bought a drink or something, but Mum had all our money with her. I just felt like at home if you're a pregnant woman, there's nowhere else to sit, and you're visibly hot and bothered, sitting wouldn't have been a problem. I couldn't believe it. I've actually found that more people offer seats on transport at home than here too which has been unexpectedly stressful on long bus rides.
Anyway, Mum and Dad eventually came back, I didn't die from the death glares she was shooting my way, and we started off back down the hill. "Do you want to buy a drink from there?" asked Mum before I told her what had happened. "Not a chance!" I replied, haha. Once we got back down towards the start of the torii gates, we were horrified at the crowds and numbers of people along the path by this time. It was just a constant stream of people, everyone clambering along all in a row. I took a comparison photo and we had a good laugh, commenting how glad we were we went early. Then we stumbled across some sort of ceremony near the entrance and watched for a bit, before continuing on to a cafe to enjoy an iced coffee and ham and cheese toastie/English muffin. We met a mother and daughter from NSW here who we chatted away with and were absolutely lovely.
We caught the train to Kyoto Station and then ascended the Kyoto Tower, which was built in 1964. The viewing platform is only 100m off the ground, but that's all you need in Kyoto as the buildings are shorter than Tokyo. That worked in our favour anyway because despite it raining we had a pretty good view. We could see the temple that we scattered Nan's ashes at, and see the area in which we are staying. We were glad we went up! We then shared some yummy dumplings, rice and chips for lunch in the food hall downstairs.
Our final daytime venture today was to the 'Tea Ceremony Ju-An' at Jotoku-ji Temple. My friends Shannon and Alisha had recommended this after their January 2019 trip to Japan. We had booked for March 2020 but when our trip was cancelled they were great about a refund and I vowed we would book again one day. It was great to finally make it! Our guide/tea ceremony hostess was Mickey (she told us her name was like Mickey Mouse!) who was beautiful and smiley, and very easy to understand. There were only nine of us in total at the ceremony and everyone was really nice. Mickey told us the temple was built in 1603, and then we entered into the room for the ceremony. There was a pretty garden out back through the windows as well.
It was very interesting watching Mickey perform the ceremony. She was so precise and it was kind of mesmermising watching her movements and how she used the different utensils involved. She explained that a full traditional Japanese tea ceremony would last 3-4 hours and include a meal, but that the version they have adapted shows us the main parts and goes for just over an hour. Tea came to Japan from China in the 12th century, and priests started to drink matcha whilst meditating. At that time it was rare and precious. Over time, higher ranking people started to drink matcha too. In the 16th century, Sen no Rikyu, a grand master, created tea ceremonies as a form of art. At that time only men could take part, but over time the process was introduced at high school for women as a part of their pre-marital education. Today, anyone can take part, and matcha is very popular in Japan and elsewhere. We even got to take part creating our own matcha tea as well, and it tasted delicious. Kyoto is the best destination to experience a tea ceremony because it's apparently most authentic in this area, as direct descendants of Sen no Rikyu still live here, and matcha is produced in this region. Tea ceremonies can be held to celebrate special events, or just to celebrate life. Mickey explained it takes a year to be properly trained in how to hold them, as there are all different little modifications that are made depending on the season. Overall, it was a very interesting and great experience. We had a laugh when she showed us that the kimono she was wearing (and all kimonos apparently!) have pockets at the bottom of the sleeves for rubbish. There are hardly any bins in the streets here so it made us all laugh a lot to think of Japanese women hiding rubbish in their sleeves!
We then headed back via metro to our apartment and are now having a rest for a few hours before we head out for our final dinner in Kyoto. We have absolutely loved it here, and it's definitely been my favourite place so far. I suspect it will remain that way. There is so much to see and do here, it would be easy to fill many more days than we have. However, I feel we have covered a lot of ground and experienced a lot whilst here. Kyoto will always hold a special place in my heart now as we scattered Nan's ashes here. Who knows, maybe I'll bring the baby inside my belly here one day so they can visit properly, too!
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
Last night we found a hidden noodle bar for dinner. Oddly, you had to walk through a jewellery store to get to it, but once you did the noodles were great! The broth and noodles themselves were very tasty. Mum and Dad had a dish called Kakiage that also included tempura vegetables and prawns. Dad and I both had the thicker Udon noodles, while Mum tried the thinner Soba ones. After dinner, we had an ice cream at a chocolate shop. I also enjoyed a tiramisu brownie. We had a pretty early night as we had woken up so early.
We had another early morning today, which was once again well worth it. We arrived at Fushimi Inari at around 6.30am after catching the metro and enjoying another 7-Eleven smoothie for breakfast. You scan the cup of frozen fruit and place it in the machine, and the machine makes the smoothie for you. They're really yummy and I wish we had them at home!
Fushimi Inari is an important shinto shrine. It's famous for its over 32,000 red torii gates, which you've likely seen when Japan is advertised online or on TV. This shrine is the most important of thousands of shrines dedicated to the God of Rice, Inari. Foxes are apparently his messengers so there are fox sculptures scattered all around the place too. When we arrived, it was raining, but there were not many people around. We were able to get some beautiful photos without anyone in them, and again enjoy the peacefulness like we did at the Bamboo Forest yesterday. We spent the next little while walking around. I made it up to a viewpoint but then got tired and sore, and Mum and Dad kept going. They said I made the right choice as higher up was much the same as what I had already seen.
Something unexpected happened whilst I waited for Mum and Dad to return. I came to Japan expecting that as a pregnant woman, people would be really respectful and aware, as that's the reputation I've always associated with the Japanese. I don't expect special treatment all of the time or anything like that, but needing to sit at 27 weeks pregnant is pretty standard, especially after you have walked a bit and are tired. The only places to sit undercover in the area I was waiting for Mum and Dad at were inside of or next to a restaurant. I decided to politely ask if I could sit to the very side of the outdoor area at the restaurant as I was hot, tired and sore. I pointed to my belly and explained I was six months pregnant and waiting for my parents. The lady was really rude and told me that no, I instead needed to sit on the benches down the steps in the pouring rain which were soaking wet. I decided to ignore her, and just sat at the restaurant to the very side of the outdoor area. She came over to me and I just said "I am six months pregnant, and I need to sit down". English speaking customers overheard and told me they had absolutely no problem with me sitting near to them, it was all very bizarre. If I had had some money with me I would have bought a drink or something, but Mum had all our money with her. I just felt like at home if you're a pregnant woman, there's nowhere else to sit, and you're visibly hot and bothered, sitting wouldn't have been a problem. I couldn't believe it. I've actually found that more people offer seats on transport at home than here too which has been unexpectedly stressful on long bus rides.
Anyway, Mum and Dad eventually came back, I didn't die from the death glares she was shooting my way, and we started off back down the hill. "Do you want to buy a drink from there?" asked Mum before I told her what had happened. "Not a chance!" I replied, haha. Once we got back down towards the start of the torii gates, we were horrified at the crowds and numbers of people along the path by this time. It was just a constant stream of people, everyone clambering along all in a row. I took a comparison photo and we had a good laugh, commenting how glad we were we went early. Then we stumbled across some sort of ceremony near the entrance and watched for a bit, before continuing on to a cafe to enjoy an iced coffee and ham and cheese toastie/English muffin. We met a mother and daughter from NSW here who we chatted away with and were absolutely lovely.
We caught the train to Kyoto Station and then ascended the Kyoto Tower, which was built in 1964. The viewing platform is only 100m off the ground, but that's all you need in Kyoto as the buildings are shorter than Tokyo. That worked in our favour anyway because despite it raining we had a pretty good view. We could see the temple that we scattered Nan's ashes at, and see the area in which we are staying. We were glad we went up! We then shared some yummy dumplings, rice and chips for lunch in the food hall downstairs.
Our final daytime venture today was to the 'Tea Ceremony Ju-An' at Jotoku-ji Temple. My friends Shannon and Alisha had recommended this after their January 2019 trip to Japan. We had booked for March 2020 but when our trip was cancelled they were great about a refund and I vowed we would book again one day. It was great to finally make it! Our guide/tea ceremony hostess was Mickey (she told us her name was like Mickey Mouse!) who was beautiful and smiley, and very easy to understand. There were only nine of us in total at the ceremony and everyone was really nice. Mickey told us the temple was built in 1603, and then we entered into the room for the ceremony. There was a pretty garden out back through the windows as well.
It was very interesting watching Mickey perform the ceremony. She was so precise and it was kind of mesmermising watching her movements and how she used the different utensils involved. She explained that a full traditional Japanese tea ceremony would last 3-4 hours and include a meal, but that the version they have adapted shows us the main parts and goes for just over an hour. Tea came to Japan from China in the 12th century, and priests started to drink matcha whilst meditating. At that time it was rare and precious. Over time, higher ranking people started to drink matcha too. In the 16th century, Sen no Rikyu, a grand master, created tea ceremonies as a form of art. At that time only men could take part, but over time the process was introduced at high school for women as a part of their pre-marital education. Today, anyone can take part, and matcha is very popular in Japan and elsewhere. We even got to take part creating our own matcha tea as well, and it tasted delicious. Kyoto is the best destination to experience a tea ceremony because it's apparently most authentic in this area, as direct descendants of Sen no Rikyu still live here, and matcha is produced in this region. Tea ceremonies can be held to celebrate special events, or just to celebrate life. Mickey explained it takes a year to be properly trained in how to hold them, as there are all different little modifications that are made depending on the season. Overall, it was a very interesting and great experience. We had a laugh when she showed us that the kimono she was wearing (and all kimonos apparently!) have pockets at the bottom of the sleeves for rubbish. There are hardly any bins in the streets here so it made us all laugh a lot to think of Japanese women hiding rubbish in their sleeves!
We then headed back via metro to our apartment and are now having a rest for a few hours before we head out for our final dinner in Kyoto. We have absolutely loved it here, and it's definitely been my favourite place so far. I suspect it will remain that way. There is so much to see and do here, it would be easy to fill many more days than we have. However, I feel we have covered a lot of ground and experienced a lot whilst here. Kyoto will always hold a special place in my heart now as we scattered Nan's ashes here. Who knows, maybe I'll bring the baby inside my belly here one day so they can visit properly, too!
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
