Arrived in Kyoto

Hello all,

Dinner last night was much better than night one! We had a couple of sets of well cooked fish that were delicious, amongst other things. And the vanilla bean ice cream for dessert was yummy too.

We had an early night and then caught the bus this morning from out the front of out hotel to Odawara Station, which took about an hour. Then we boarded a Shinkansen to Kyoto, and we had a good laugh at the noise of the other high speed trains whizzing by while we waited. They sounded and looked like rockets!!

Today's weather forecast was horrendous, so we were lucky it was a travel day. Kyoto had 85mm of rain forecast for the day. In Hakone this morning, all the surrounding hills we could see yesterday disappeared behind clouds. Our train views were much the same, as was Kyoto when we arrived. We were so lucky though, because when we arrived at Kyoto Station, all northbound Shinkansen had been suspended and/or cancelled due to heavy rain. So I'm just grateful we made it!!

We caught the metro six stops (accidentally went the wrong way initially!) and then walked a few minutes to check in for our apartment. The lady didn't speak much English at all, but we played charades and got by. She gave us our key and we walked the 2 minutes to our apartment. This place is by far the best we have stayed in so far. It's double storey with a very steep staircase (I will have to be careful!!) but is very spacious. It's an old Japanese style townhouse that has been modernised with all the amenities you need. Unlike the first two places we stayed, there are comfortable places to sit, and unlike our accommodation in Hakone, there are proper mattresses. We all haven't slept well the last two nights as the mattresses were so thin it felt like we were sleeping on the floor. So we are feeling very happy and comfortable!! We put on some washing and headed out with our umbrellas, and had McDonald's for lunch. I don't often do this overseas, but as much as I love Japanese food, we just felt like something that "did what it said on the box", AKA: we knew what to expect and knew it would satisfy us for lunch.

Our next stop was the Heian Shrine, which was built in 1895 to celebrate the city of Kyoto's 1100th birthday. It enshrines the Emperor Kanmu, who was the first emperor of the Heian Period. On October 22nd each year there is a festival held here, to celebrate the anniversary of when Kyoto was named the capital in 794. In 1868, Tokyo became the capital. We first checked out the torii gate, one of the largest in Japan, and the front entrance, and then paid to go into the gardens. We were so glad we did, as they were beautiful even in the rain. We commented that gardens such as these were the reason Nan always wanted to visit Japan. Within the gardens we saw an original electric tram from 1895, beautiful trees, lilypads, stepping stones, and an interesting bridge with hanging ornaments along the walkway and some hungry fish underneath. Mum and Dad even paid for some food to feed them.

We walked back, hung our washing and had a bit of a rest. Then we walked around 15 minutes to the meeting point of our night walking tour. It was lovely and breezy along the river, with huge gushes of water from all the rain. There were lots of people sitting by the water's edge, and eating at the outdoor terraces of the Pontocho Alley restaurants.

Our guide's name was Saki, and she was so cute. When she smiled, her whole face smiled. And whilst at the start her English was a little hard to follow, she worked so hard to make sure everyone understood what she was telling us. So we got the hang of it and understood well. The tour started at the Izumi-no-Okuni statue, which commemorated Izumi-no-Okuni who was the woman that started kabuki theatre shows. At the start, women could perform, but over time it was changed to only men to stop the likes of prostitutes performing. We walked past Minimiza Theatre which is the oldest kabuki theatre here.

The tour tonight mostly revolved around learning about the geisha culture of Kyoto whilst we explored Gion. We found out there are five 'flower towns' or geisha districts in Kyoto. Inside these districts there are boarding houses for those in training to become geishas to live. The word geisha comes from 'gei' meaning talent and 'sha' meaning parcel, as geishas are cultural entertainers. The reason they paint their faces white is that 400 years ago, they performed with no light so it brightened up their face. To become a geisha, after leaving junior high school at approximately 15, a CV is submitted to the boarding house talent agency and applicants are then interviewed. If selected, they train for a year, and during this time approximately half quit because the rules are quite strict (including no phone, no non-Japanese food, no returning to your family). They then become a 'Maiko', sort of like a geisha apprentice, for five years. The clothes seem really uncomfortable. Maikos have to wear really high shoes as they're generally younger and shorter, and their real hair is done up meaning they have to sleep on these really uncomfortable looking solid pillows so that their hair can stay nice for a week. Despite not earning an income, the boarding house pay for all their food, living expenses, clothes etc. Apparently the kimonos they wear are worth $30,000 AUD and weigh 20 kg! But once they become a geisha (AKA a 'geiko' in Kyoto) they can wear wigs, and go out to eat whatever they want after the wig is removed. They don't have to sleep on the awful pillow anymore, they can wear shorter heeled shoes, and they are paid a salary by the boarding house. They are allowed to live at the boarding house until they're 25, after which time they need to become independent. But if they are not popular after this time, it's hard to survive as a geisha. Also, once they marry they can no longer be a geisha. Apparently the oldest geisha in the area is 87!

The tour took us around the Gion area, including Shirakawa Lane, Shinbashi-dori and Hanamikoji-dori. It was very picturesque, particularly as it grew dark and the pretty lanterns and street lights took over. Many of the buildings have been rebuilt over time due to fires in the past. We saw some of the boarding houses, and Saki told us the number of wooden signs atop their door indicated how many maikos and geikos lived there. Some only had one or two and she explained it's because it costs the boarding house $120,000 AUD to board one of them and provide clothes etc, so the costs add up. The geisha culture is dwindling a bit as women have many more options these days, and the Japanese economy is quite weak at the moment. Covid also didn't help, as parties etc were not allowed to occur and the boarding houses could not take on new students.

We also saw blackboards set up in the area with the maiko and geiko school schedules on them. Maikos are not allowed phones, so they have to come and write out their timetable (which includes classes such as dancing, flower arranging, calligraphy etc). As well, we saw cedar balls hanging from the eaves of shopfronts. Apparently in the past these indicated how fresh the sake being served inside restaurants was, as it is the opposite of wine and is better consumed early on. As the cedar dried out, it indicated the sake was older. These days they're just decorations.

We also stopped at Yasaka Shrine, which is a popular place for Japanese people to visit around New Year's, and apparently 1 million people visit within the first few days of the year. The lanterns at the shrine were beautiful. There used to be a lot of tea houses in the nearby area to feed and water all the travellers that would come to the shrine. These days, of the tea houses that still survive, you have to be invited by someone to enter and be served.

Towards the end of our tour, we saw two geikos. They walked so fast that the photo I took of the first one was blurry!! We were lucky though, not every tour sees one. We ended our tour back at the starting point, and then Mum, Dad and I had dinner at Torikizoku, a restaurant that our guide recommended serving yummy chicken skewers and cheap beer. I was getting really tired and sore by this point, and we've noticed heaps of people smoke here unlike Tokyo and Hakone. So that paired with the busy atmosphere of the area and all the noise got a bit much. Thankfully once we finished dinner, we walked the 15 minutes back to our apartment and our area is nice and quiet.

So far, I really like Kyoto overall. I'm looking forward to a great sleep on a much comfier bed, so that we can feel refreshed in the morning.

Love to all
Claire
Xoxox