Kyoto – Part I

For our final weekend in Japan we decided to save the best for last and visit Kyoto. The weekend was also the start of silver week (a series of holidays that fall in a row in Japan), which gave Andrew some additional days off and enabled us to have some extra time to explore the city (along with everyone else in the country):

We took the shinkansen nozomi train from Tokyo station and arrived to Kyoto at noon, just in time to enjoy some ramen from one of the famous places within Kyoto station. On the 10th floor of the Isetan there are eight different ramen restaurants within feet of each other all offering regional variations on the iconic dish. We opted to visit Osaka-style restaurant Araumado, where they characterized their shoyu ramen as “pork bone soup ramen accented with fragrantly sauteed herbs and spices for a delicious savory taste” – it was excellent and I loved the perfectly chewy texture of the noodles.

We took a cab to our hotel, the Westin Miyako Kyoto and settled in before embarking on a walk to nearby Nanzenji Temple. Nanzenji is the head tempe of the Rinzaishu-Nanzenji school, which is one of the Zen sects of Buddhism. It was originally constructed in 1264 by Emperor Kameyama and later converted to a temple in 1291 and has been known as the center of “Gozan (five great temples) Literature.” There were several fires that destroyed the original buildings in the late 14th and early 15th centuries and the current structures were rebuilt during the Momoyama period between 1570-1600.

One of the main features of the Temple is the famous Hojo Garden, which consists of rocks and trees expertly grouped together at the end of a large open space. It was said to have been designed by renowned landscape architect Kobori Enshu.

Opposite the Garden sits Hojo Hall, which previously acted as the living quarters for a master priest of the Tepmle. It faces the garden and contains dozens of beautiful paintings on the sliding doors by Genshin Kano and Eitoku Kano, which have since been designated as National Treasures. Unfortunately they didn’t allow photographs of the paintings so you will have to visit and see for yourself!

We rounded out our visit  to the Temple by enjoying tea overlooking a beautiful garden and waterfall:

After a quick workout at the hotel we made our way toward the Nishiki Market and had dinner at a nearby sushi restaurant, which was quite tasty.

A busy first day in Kyoto!

Nikko

As we enter into the final weeks of our time in Japan I am realizing that I need to kick start my bucket list! There are so many amazing places in this country and they are all so accessible due to the amazing train system. America needs to get it together and get on this level. One of the places left on my bucket list was Nikko so I hopped a train from Asakusa and headed North.

Nikko is known as one of the most spiritual places in Japan and dates back to the 8th century when the Buddhist priest Shodo Shonin established a hermitage there. It developed into a training ground for Buddhist monks and was later chosen as the mausoleum site for Tokugawa Ieyesu (warlord who took control of the country and established the shogunate that ruled for 250 years until the Meiji Resoration ended the feudal era). The sites around his mausoleum and shrine make up several UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

It was a cool and overcast day and felt a lot like San Francisco and nothing like sweltering Tokyo. Needless to say I was ecstatic when I got off the train and got to take in the cool mountain air. The first stop on my day trip was at Shin-kyo, which is a sacred spot where Shodo Shonin is rumored to have been carried across the river by two giant serpents. The original bridge was constructed in the 17th century but the current structure is a lovely reconstruction:

On the other side of the bridge is the entrance to Nikko National Park, home to the majority of shrines and temples in Nikko. I began hiking up the first (of many) set of stairs towards Tosho-gu temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site:

Tosho-gu is preparing to celebrate it’s 400th anniversary so parts of the temple are under restoration but that in no way took away from the ornate beauty of the buildings that were open:

Hundreds of steep stairs led up to the Tomb of Ieyasu, which surrounded by beautiful cedar trees:

Most of my day in Nikko was spent hiking through the Park and climbing up stairs at the temples as they were each built into the hillside. It was amazing to think about how these buildings were constructed in the 17th century without modern technology or infrastructure to assist the workers.

After finishing my touristing with the crowds at Tosho-gu, I walked deeper into the Park toward Futarasa-jinja, and caught a more serene view of Tosho-gu’s five story pagoda:

Futarasa-jinja is a shrine founded by Shodo Shonin with the current structure dating from 1619 (the oldest in Nikko). It’s known as the protector shrine of Nikko itself and is dedicated to the nearby mountain of Nantai-san, the mountain’s consort, Nyotai-san and the progeny, Taro. This shrine was much more enjoyable as it was significantly less crowded and the setting was incredibly peaceful and beautiful (my favorite shrine in Japan to date, though I haven’t been to very many):

This guy was kind of sassy (note his left pointer finger) and I like to think he was about to teach me something about life:

Seriously, SO.MANY.STAIRS:

I enjoyed a quick lunch of the local fare, yuba, which is the skin that forms when making tofu and is cut into strips. It was much more delicious than it sounds and comes in a variety of forms (noodles, buns, etc) though I enjoyed mine in the form of a sushi-style roll with meat in the center:

I really enjoyed visiting Nikko and wish that we had come for a visit over a full weekend to enjoy some of the picturesque waterfalls, hiking, and onsens. That being said, some of the highlights were do-able in a daytrip and was a beautiful escape from the city.

Hama-rikyu Garden

After a bit of a hiatus – I’m back! It’s been a very busy few weeks and I’m excited to share our recent adventures over the next few days. I’m hoping to catch up on posting before our big weekend in Naoshima, which we leave for this Friday. I have a feeling that is going to be at least two posts by itself!

Andrew and I had only a week back in Tokyo before we embarked on a three week long trip back to the US and to the UK.  Our first day back from Bali, after a necessary nap, we celebrated our friend’s birthday with a picnic in Shinjuku-gyoen. It was a beautiful day and I’m so grateful to have a handful of friends here in Tokyo.

The following weekend we walked to Hama-rikyu Garden, which has probably become my favorite garden in Tokyo. When you enter you request the electronic guided tour, which is free with admission. The guide uses satellite to detect your location and gives you a short audio on what you are standing near, which is very helpful considering most of the original Edo-period structures are now ruins that you would otherwise bypass.

After the Meiji Restoration, the garden became a Detached Palace for the Imperial family and the name became the Hama Detached Palace. The Great Kanto Earthquake and World War II bombings caused a great deal of damage to a number of the buildings and trees and rendered the garden unrecognizable. On November 3, 1945, the Imperial family gave the garden to the City of Tokyo and it became open to the public in April of 1946 (more info here).

The gardens are beautiful, even on an overcast day, and I loved the peaceful and serene surroundings with the juxtaposition of the cityscape in the background. The highlight for both of us was the tea house set in the center, Nakajima no Ochaya:

We each enjoyed a delicious bowl of matcha (powdered green tea) and a little sweet before wandering around the rest of the garden: It was a lovely way to spend one of our final days in Tokyo before departing on our US and UK adventures…