Kyoto Trip - Part 1

I was fortunate to have the whole month of March off. The problem is that, when you have a lot of time off, there's not really any urgency to get anything done. Before you know it, 2 weeks have slipped by and you haven't done anything or gone anywhere. So, at some point in mid-march, I woke up and just decided to go to Kyoto. I went online and booked a hotel, then hopped on the bullet train and went. It was a fantastic trip, for a lot of reasons.

One was the ease with which I went there. About 2 hours by bullet train, and I was there. I suppose I was also lucky to find a good hotel so easily. I booked online without investigating things much at all. My friends recommended a hotel, I booked it, and it turned out to be great - cheap, clean, comfortable, and central. (The 4 C's!) And, lucky me, I got upgraded to a double for free. So that worked out well.

I arrived in the evening and by that time, it was too dark to do sightseeing. I picked a restaurant from a guide they had in my room. It was supposed to be recommended, but on what basis, I have no idea; probably because the restaurant had paid to be included in the guide. The food was ... well, here's a shot I took of the menu.


I left there and went strolling into the bar area of town. I eventually found a very small bar with large glass windows in front, lined with shelves displaying dozens of different kinds of sake and shochu (Japanese vodka). That looked like what I was after so I went in, and was immediately greeted by the other patrons. This was to be a theme of my trip: the friendliness of Kyoto people! We got to talking and I quickly felt like I was befriended by this group of strangers. It doesn't sound like much, I know, but when you are in a strange city, it means everything to be welcomed and treated like an old friend.


I don't even know the name of that bar, nor do I remember the names of the people I met there. I would like to send them a postcard from Tokyo, thanking them for their kindness, but I'm not sure how.

I went back home feeling very good, and woke up early the next morning for a full day of sightseeing. Day 2 was going to feature temples on the east side of Kyoto station. I started with Tofuku-ji. According to the pamphlet I received, and Wikipedia:

Founded in 1236, Tofuku-ji is (one of?) the main Rinzai-sect Zen temple(s) in Japan. It has maintained its Zen architecture since the middle ages, and boasts a wealth of medieval Zen artifacts, including a rarely-seen image of Buddha on his death bed.

Tofuku-ji isn't one of the most famous temples in Kyoto, and as it was only 10 a.m. on a weekday, the place was almost deserted. Perfect for pictures!



I don't know why Tofuku-ji isn't more famous; its rock gardens are better (in my opinion) than the much more famous one at Ryoan-ji, for example. (More on Ryoan-ji later.)


Many temples in Japan have a dragon painted on the ceiling. I took a sneaky shot of the Tofuku-ji dragon ... not sure if I was allowed to do that but ...


The rock garden is one of 4 very interesting and unique gardens surrounding the Abbot's residence. Rock gardens are often meant to evoke islands in water, mountaintops poking up out of cloud banks, or other natural imagery. Sometimes, they are more abstract. In any case, they are designed to lead the viewer into quiet contemplation, which this garden certainly does.




Another garden on the opposite side of the Abbot's residence is this more modern moss garden. I don't know exactly what the gardener had in mind, but one thing that struck me is the strength of nature, held in check by careful and constant pruning and weeding, but suggested in the readiness of the moss to overwhelm and engulf the stone squares.


The main gate is the oldest 3-doored gate in Japan.

I notice that the Japanese are very fond of stating, very specifically, that something is the oldest example of this exact kind of object. It's kind of amusing. They also like making lists (for example "This garden is considered to be one of the top 3 most beautiful gardens in Japan") but it is not always agreed what the other entries are (which means there are sometimes 7 or 8 temples vying for "top 3"). Very Japanese - nobody has to feel bad about being left out.

That brings us to lunchtime on Day 2. My afternoon was a busy one, so I'll make that a separate post.

Failed Blogger Returns

So one of my friends called me a "failed Blogger" in jest, but I suppose it's a pretty accurate label insofar as a Blog is supposed to be updated on a daily (or perhaps weekly, but at the very least regular) basis. Whoops!

It's not like I've been busy. Perhaps the opposite. I've just been trundling along in my rut, so I haven't really felt like there's been much to post. But I've accumulated a few things in the last 3 months, so here we go.

We had New Year's. Here's a picture from the shrine I went to at midnight on New Year's eve.


Winter came and went. Thankfully, winter in Tokyo is no big deal at all. It's pretty pleasant, actually. The air is cool and dry, but rarely frigid by Canadian standards. Sure, it gets cold at night, and Japanese apartments aren't well insulated, so you really feel the cold in your bones when you get out of bed in the morning. But the days are often sunny and bright. It is unusual that it actually snows (perhaps this is due to global warming? Edo-era woodblock prints show no shortage of snow in old Tokyo, it seems) so I took a picture from one of the classrooms at school.


I had a couple months off work in February and March. Well, I had to work a couple weeks in there, but that was actually a welcome distraction from the boredom of having all that free time! I had planned to try and get to the pool every day. That happened for the first little while. I had also planned to try and eat healthy. This was also good at the start, but petered off gradually. One thing that helped me though, was the fact that, just around the corner from my place (literally a 1-minute walk or so) there is a vegetarian, organic cafe that serves really nice lunches. The people who run it are really nice, too.


So anyway, spring is coming and the first sign of spring is the plum blossom. People usually associate spring in Japan with the cherry blossom, but the plum blooms first and is, in my opinion, quite underrated. The cherry is more delicate, so it gets all the praise, but the plum is pretty great too. And, it smells nice.


I went to a park that is famous for its plum trees. They light up the trees at night, too. This shot reminds me of a VanGogh painting, which is funny because of course Van Gogh got his inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints of plum blossoms, among other things.

The park was freezing cold at night and my fingers were so numb I could barely take this picture.

I took a day trip to Kawagoe, which is not that far from where I live, but I haven't been there for a long time. Kawagoe still preserves some old kura or warehouses from the late Edo-period. You can still see the thick shutters and the bars over the windows on the second floor of many of these warehouses, which were to deter burglars. Most of these warehouses are shops selling traditional sweets or handicrafts.


Kawagoe's most famous building is its old bell-tower. They rung out the hours on a large bell which you can see at the top. Presumably, most Japanese towns and neighbourhoods in large cities would have had towers like this. Unfortunately, most are no longer standing.


Japanese buildings were usually made of wood and paper (stone and brick did not fare well against earthquakes) so they easily succumbed to fire. I heard that Japanese buildings were (and by weight of tradition, often continue to be) flimsily built to (a) be flexible in the event of an earthquake (as mentioned above) and (b) so they could be torn apart easily by firemen in the event of a fire. Since there was no way in the Edo-period to transport large volumes of water, firemen did not battle fires directly but tried to stop the spread of fire by tearing down buildings to create a fire stop.

So that's what I got up to in January and February. I was busy in March, so I should have updates soon!

Merry Belated Christmas and Happy New Year

So Christmas passed without any major disasters here, and I hope you had a nice holiday too. Christmas is always a bit of a bummer in Japan, I've found. Christmas is of course highly commercialized in Canada, but I always felt that, on some level, people were a little bit friendlier to each other, too. It always seemed that most people were taking the whole "goodwill towards men" thing to heart.
In Japan though, Christmas is a commercial nightmare of flashing lights and screaming hawkers in Santa hats, and there is none of the underlying gentleness or goodwill. I guess they don't know it, because they've never experienced it.
Back home, I feel like there was always a sense of decorum and an appreciation of Christmas as a time of peace. Music, for example, was at least somewhat tasteful (as I recall). Here (as I've mentioned before) you go shopping and you just hear Mariah Carey and some awful synth version of "Last Christmas" by Wham on repeat. You almost never hear any of the Christmas music that I like, which is of the more somber, old-school variety like "O Come All Ye Faithful" or "Good King Wenceslas" - the kind of music that highlights Christmas as a time of light in darkness, warmth in a world which can be literally and figuratively cold.
So anyway, Christmas was fine, but I've come to expect almost nothing from Christmas in Japan. The only way to avoid feeling depressed, I think, is to lower your expectations and treat Christmas as "just another day", basically. I did go to a friend's house though, and had dinner and drinks with a few people from work, so that was nice.
For New Year's, I am going to Nagoya for a few days. New Year's is a much bigger deal in Japan than Christmas, so maybe I will be able to get my fill of festive feeling in a few days' time!
Meanwhile, here's wishing you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! All the best in 2012.

Update ... ?

I'm feeling a bit of pressure to update this Blog, but I don't have a lot of news to report. The one thing that did happen recently is that I passed my 5th-dan in Jodo on Saturday. Is 5th-dan a lot? Well, it's supposed to take you about 11 years or so to get to 5th dan, and it's taken me about 17 ... a lot of that delay is due to the fact that when we started doing Jodo in Guelph, there were almost no other people doing it in Canada, and so there were no gradings for the first few years. And the other problem is that I was always moving when I was in Japan, and missed grading opportunites time after time. Oh well. I passed, and everyone said we did really well.

Otherwise, no news. The weather is getting cool, which I love. The leaves are starting to turn. Halloween decorations are everywhere, which is a new thing in Japan in the last few years. A woman I work with said that 10 years ago, there were no Halloween decorations to be found, even in Tokyo. (I wouldn't know because I was out in the sticks 10 years ago, and it's probably still like that now!)

I have a week's vacation coming up after next week, and so I'll probably go to Kyushu, if I can get myself organized. I'll post pictures if I go.

I don't know whether you are still getting "disaster news" over there, but radioactive hot spots have turned up near Tokyo. I had long been predicting that places where rainwater accumulates would end up being radioactive, and that seems to be what is happening. But it's still no cause for alarm ... the levels aren't high enough to be really dangerous ... but it does show that people are still checking these things and the clean-up continues.

I'm just doing my thing ... swimming from time to time, working a lot. Business as usual!

Weather

It has been hot and muggy here for a while. I don't generally watch the news much at all, so I didn't pay much attention when I heard vague reports that a typhoon was coming. They always seem to be coming, and nothing much ever comes of it.
But it seems that a large typhoon struck Japan west of Tokyo, and caused enough damage and flooding that 80,000 people were evacuated in the Nagoya area and another million (!) people advised to leave their homes for safer territory if possible. Wow!
The storm was headed pretty much directly over the capitol region, and this morning it was raining heavily at times. Mid-morning it was announced that our afternoon meeting would be cancelled, and then it was announced that the entire university would be shutting down and all staff and students sent home at 1 p.m.
I dutifully went home (reluctantly, too, since I had a lot of planning to do) and as I did, the storm was clearly intensifying. My umbrella was popped open by the wind, bending a bunch of the vanes and turning it to garbage. I was quickly soaked down to the skin by the rain, which was coming at me from all sides, it seemed.
Once I got home, I had absolutely nothing to do, so I tried to take a nap, but the gusting wind was making too much noise, so I couldn't sleep. The storm got more and more intense, but it didn't top some hurricanes I've been through when I was in Kyushu.
Anyway, the storm has passed now, without any major problems for me. (A lot of trains were temporarily stopped, but luckily I was already home by that time.) If you hear about a hurricane or typhoon "blasting Tokyo" or some other hyperbole on the news, don't worry. I'm fine!

Jan Svankmajer Exhibit in Harajuku

I still have a few days off before I start back to work (lucky me!) so I met up with a friend from work and we went and had ramen at our favourite ramen shop. Real ramen is so different from the pre-packaged stuff that I kind of feel sorry for people who have never tried it. (I know that sounds obnoxious ... but then again, last year I had Peking Duck for the first time and I remember thinking, "Wow! Why have I never eaten this before? This is amazing!") In fact, there was a poll recently on "the best foods in the world". Ramen came in at number 8, which is perhaps a little bit high, actually, but I agree that, when you're in the mood for some rich, salty pork broth and noodles, there's nothing quite like it. (And remembering my experience with the Peking Duck, I am looking forward to trying some of the other foods on the list that I have never eaten.)


After lunch, I decided to go to an exhibition of some works by Jan Svankmajer. He's a Czech surrealist filmmaker whose movies I have really enjoyed in the past. His films usually have a lot of stop-motion animation and puppetry, and he is not only a painter and a photographer, but a sculptor who makes all kinds of strange, organic looking objects to use in his films.

Most of his pieces are really bizarre and creepy, which means I find them really interesting! It was cool to be able to see the pieces up close, but I was left wondering how he made a lot of them. Because they are to some extent "movie props", I was surprised how good they look up close.

Any time I see a really good exhibition, I feel a little bit sad that I haven't kept up my art. I used to draw a lot in high school, and at one stage I considered going to art school, but I went to university for physics instead. It seemed like the more responsible thing to do, but I wonder what my life would be like now had I pursued that direction.


I think it's one thing to do art as a hobby, but life seems to intrude, and you never devote enough time to the art. But if you are a full-time artist, I think one thing inspires the next; you get drawn deeper and deeper into your work, and projects spawn other projects. Certainly, that seems to be the case with Svankmajer, who is extremely prolific and is still active and pursuing new directions now at age 77. One of the most interesting parts of the exhibition was a series of collages on the theme of Japanese ghost stories. Really cool!

Back in Tokyo

Tony brought me to the airport from Fergus (thanks Tony!) and I got on my flight without too much difficulty. It was actually about half-empty, so I not only had an emergency exit seat with lots of legroom, but I didn't have anyone sitting beside me. That makes a big difference and I was quite comfortable. Unfortunately, the movies were the same ones as when I came over, so I was really scraping the bottom of the barrel to find something to watch. I saw "Win Win" though, which I wasn't really interested in at first, but which turned out to be quite a nice little movie. I highly recommend it! (And I see it's scoring 94% on Rotten Tomatoes!)

Canada had been very cool before I left, (downright cold at times) and then the plane was of course very chilly ... so I was in for a shock when I left the plane and immediately upon setting foot in the gangway (is that the right word?) got hit with a blast of hot air like out of an oven. Wow. The airport itself was also quite warm, as they are trying to save energy in Tokyo and have the air conditioning set at about 28 degrees or so. I was sweating as I stood around waiting for my suitcase to come off the carousel.

I got home with no difficulty and Yoshie came over to see me. She enjoyed her presents from Canada, I think, and was happy to see me. Unfortunately, I was tired from my flight and a bit jet-lagged, so I fell asleep at about 9 pm. I got up for an hour or so, but then fell asleep again at around midnight.

Today is my birthday (very mixed feelings about that!) so Yoshie has gotten reservations for tonight at an interesting-looking Thai restaurant we saw in Akasaka a couple months ago. There is a Belgian beer bar next door, so I am looking forward to having some expensive, delicious Belgian beers after dinner. Tonight is just the two of us, but I will probably go out with some friends later this week for a post-birthday get together.

Oh, in other news, when I got home, my score from the Level 1 Japanese Language Proficiency Test (I took it in July) was waiting for me. The whole time I was in Canada, people were asking me, "So how's your Japanese? You must be pretty fluent by now, right?" I never know how to answer this question. First of all, as a language teacher, the very word "fluent" conjures up a concept which is very slippery and hard to define. In fact, I have been reading academic papers about the very topic of measuring fluency, and it is by no means agreed-upon or easy to do. But even in general terms, I never know how to respond. Can I order food in a restaurant? Usually, yes. Can I discuss politics or philosophy like an adult? Not a chance. So does that mean I'm fluent? I usually say no. This answer is supported by the results of my test. I failed pretty dismally (69 points out of 180) ... although it is the highest-level JLP Test going, and the one that, if you pass it, you are eligible to study at Japanese Universities. So, if/when I ever pass that test, I will say, "Yes, I'm fluent." Until then, I don't think so ...

A Week in Ontario

I went back to Ontario on August 31st. Because my holidays are slightly shorter this year than they were last year, I only had a week in Ontario. Although I was fortunate enough to see some friends...


I didn't get to see some people. I only have myself to blame because of my poor organizational skills. Sorry about that.

It was also the first time I've been back since my father died, so we had a burial and memorial service in Bond Head where my grandparents are also buried. The service was simple but very touching and it went as well as could be hoped, I thought. I got to see my cousin Garnet for the first time in I don't know how long. 15 years, maybe.

Dad wasn't a big drinker but he did enjoy a shot of rye whiskey from time to time. We had a drink by the grave and reminisced together.

One week in Ontario went by all too quickly. My sincere thanks to everyone who was able to take time out of their schedules to visit with me and/or put me up at their place and/or chauffeur me around the province. It was appreciated.

I'm hoping to update this blog a little more often ... but I've said that before! I'll do my best to keep up to date and to stay in touch. Feel free to drop me a line or give me a call on Skype or something! Talk to you soon.

Tokyo Bay Cruise, and Home to Canada

After finishing work for the summer, I went with a bunch of coworkers on a Tokyo Bay Cruise. This is great fun and I wonder why I haven't done it before now. You go down to the harbour and buy a ticket for the 2-hour cruise, which is all-you-can-drink. (Wheeeee!) The cruise attracts mostly college-students and people in their 20's, and many Japanese people tend to dress up in their yukata (colourful summer-weight robes) and sandals. It makes for a very fun atmosphere.

There were about 10 of us, and of that number, 5 or 6 of us wore Japanese-style clothes. (I didn't, because when I dug out my jimbei - a kind of casual, summery shirt with short pants - it was hopelessly wrinkled and needed to be washed.) We made a funny group because a number of us are really tall. I'm about 6'4" but my coworkers Rob and Matt are even taller than me! And then there are a couple guys around 6'. So when we were all standing together, we made quite a group, and attracted a lot of stares (and friendly smiles).

The cruise just sort of goes out into Tokyo Bay, floats around for a while, and then turns around and comes back. Tokyo is very pretty at night, although my photos (taken with my crappy iPhone camera) don't really convey that very well.

That orange thing-y is actually Tokyo Tower.

A bit after the Tokyo Bay Cruise, (or perhaps it was before, I don't recall) I went for a picnic beside a river outside of Tokyo with my friend Tyler and some of his Japanese friends. It was quite enjoyable to splash around a bit in the river. I didn't actually dive in, but some people did! Here I am goofing around with Tyler ...

Before long, it was time to go back to Canada. This time, I flew into Toronto and then directly on to Moncton. My flight to Toronto was delayed, and I was worried I would miss the last flight to Moncton, but it all worked out in the end.

It was great to be back, although to be honest, I do feel a bit out-of-sorts when I am home. It is hard to explain why, exactly, except to say that after 6 years away, everything is rather unfamiliar. And at the same time, there is something weird about one's sense of time. Although I have been away for a year, it feels like it has only been a few months. Japan and Canada seem like different worlds, and time flows at different speeds in each of them, somehow ...

Anyway, going back to New Brunswick is my summer ritual, and is something I have done almost every summer since I was a little kid. It was great to be back to the cottage and to see everyone enjoying themselves. David and his kids love oysters, although I don't partake.


Although it's very small, the cottage is always full of friends and family. It is amazing to see the kids getting bigger every year.


We celebrated cousin Kate's, and her daughter Lily's, birthdays...



Rob had us over to his cottage for a lobstravaganza...




Before I got to NB, I heard that the weather was lousy, but it seemed to clear up around the time I got there. Coincidence? I think not.




Rob had some flippers, snorkels, and masks, and I learned how to dive for quahaugs. You have to look for 2 little breathing holes, and then dig down quickly before they have a chance to dig themselves in deeper. I was quite successful, I think!

What am I supposed to do with these things now?

All too soon, it was the end of August and time to go back to Ontario.