On to Tokyo

Last night was our Farewell dinner. An evening enjoyed by all. With song and good food, memories and plans. The beginning of the trip seems so far away now. So much has been experienced. Today will be Shinkansen to Tokyo, an over night mad rush to cram in the last of Japan then home to San Jose. To family and friends. To remembering and sharing memories.

Peace Day

On the green plaza we gathered, people from around the world, to hear of the horror of an atomic bomb and to hear words of peace and hope. The people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the only people on earth to experience the devastation of an atomic bomb. And the memory they hold is slipping away. They know, more than anyone, the need to stop war. We hear the words. We must do the work. May peace prevail.

Last Day in Okayama

Our last full day in Okayama. What a fun day it was.

We began with rehearsals for our final performance. Rehearsals were in an Okayama city building that was built to provide space for workshops and activities. There are no offices just rooms for activities. We practiced in the ping pong practice room. Acoustics were great. Choir sounded great. Now they were warmed up and ready to go.

Lunch was in the in either of two shopping areas. After lunch we went across the street to the Santa Hall. We were the first of several performances. So we had to be on time and time was limited to twenty minutes. There was a bit of a panic when we were ten minutes to curtain and our choir was on the seventh floor of the building. Everybody came down ok and the performance went off without a hitch. Choir did great.

After the performance, we changed and got ready for Uraja. Still not sure what uraja is but it was fun. We were one of several teams of dancers. Many of the teams are from schools or groups or friends who get together. They have costumes and face paintings. Every one in our group had our face painted by the team that taught us how to uraja and lead us through an arcade of Okayama. Its was a lot of fun.

The arcade is lined with crowds of people. Each team of dancers follows a truck blaring the music and singing. As the music begins the team follows the truck the drives through the arcade. Our team was announced as visitors from San Jose, California. With 72 members in our group we were one of the largest. We were told that today was not the main festival and that tomorrow would be larger.

Great fun!!

Morning After

Apparently the storm did not cause as much disruption as anticipated. Last night it was pretty windy outside, but most of that seems to have subsided. Soon I'll venture out for some breakfast.

The Granvia Hotel is connected to a large underground mall, the train station and Takashimaya department store. You could, except for the walk from the door of the hotel to the stairs down, not go outside at all.

I have not been to the station yet, but I've walked around Takashimaya and the mall. Found a tasty ramen shop in the mall. When I was there the chef, su chef and server were women.

Had a delightful meal last night finish with one of my food goals; a parfait. It was maccha flavored. It had little dango, chunks of chocolate and fruit on the bottom.

I've been told that the Starbucks green tea is must taste.

So many foods so little time..

Typhoon

I've always wanted to use the typhoon in a sentence.

The weather is becoming a concern. Fortunately all we’ve seen so far is increased wind. We’re safe in the hotel and we don’t have to go out if the storm arrives. Its most probable track wil bring it close to Okayama city around midnight.

Tomorrow is an optional trip to Kurashiki. Hope the typhoon will have passed by then.

Trip to Nara

Nara is about an hour by train from Kyoto. The train traveled throguh busy towns and fields of rice. The land seems to be constantly changing from rual to urban. Houses and shops fill impossible spaces.

Nara was once the capital of Japan. Before Kyoto and before Tokyo it held the power of the Emperor.

Todaiji is a part of many temples and shrines to cover an enormous area. The Kasuga shrine is only one of those shrines. Each has its own history and cultrual importance.

Everyone's Here

Everyone arrived safely and in good shape.

First day here was spent visiting sites. Part of the group went to Movieland and Osaka Pokemon, the rest of the group went to 6:00 service at the Honzan, Rokkakudo, Nishiki Market and then was joined by others for a trip to Fushimi Inari.

Yesterday was our visit to Honzan, audience with Gomonshu sama and our performance at the Mombokaikan. The performance was great. Well received. There was even a request for an encore. The choir obliged with "Ondokusan" and asked the audience to join in. There was a reported from the Hongwanji News and an article had already been prepared for publication in the Buddhist Music Newsletter.

The photos are not caption yet. Will add captions as soon as possible.

Today is the big trip to Nara. Will have more pictures to share.

Starting with a bang

Of all things to happen, the plane suffered mechanical failure. Nobody was late. No one was missing. Everyone was on the plane and the plane was in the air when a loud bang change all that. Some thing with the landing gears was not working right and the plane returned to San Francisco where it circled for nearly an hour.

Fortunately, the plane landed safely. However there were no parts to repair what was broken and so every one had a free night’s lodging. The Choir was put up in rooms near the airport.

The YBA conference recital was canceled. They would arrive too late to perform. And Sunday is too hectic to perform. So much work went into singing. Too bad the YBA won’t have a chance to hear them sing.

They arrive tonight. Tomorrow’s a full free day. We have to make some adjustments to the schedule then we ready to go.

Spoke to Sugimoto san this morning, she’s our contact while we’re in Kyoto. Monday morning will be a full day at Honzan. We’ll tour the Honzan, visit with Gomonshu and sing at the Mombo Kaikan.

It’s really hot and humid here. But everyone takes it in stride. Cicada are heard everywhere. Sugimoto san says that as the seasons change to sound of the cicada changes.

Rode to the end of the subway line today. The Kyoto International Conference Center is located there. The center sits in a park with a lake. Park is open to anyone.

On the way back when I tried to use the ticket that I purchased at Kyoto station, the machine refused to accept it, so I went over to the station agent. What I thought was a price for one way or two way turned out to be adult and child prices. But in talking with him I found out there are several types of one day passes. The two that were of particle interest were the one day pass to Nara and the local one pass. The Nara pass include the local pass. When we go to Nara it maybe a good idea to buy the pass for Nara. All busses in Nara are also included.

On the way back I got off at Karasuma and Oike. This was the original plan for today. Near Oike in the Ikenobo school of flower arrangement. This is the school my mother belonged to. Behind the Ikenobo School is Rokkakudo. When she came to visit me in Kyoto in the 70’s we were given a special tour of the temple. Although, rather small, seeing it close up was a real treat. The temple was founded by Shotoku taishi and played an important role in Shinran’s life.

From Rokkakudo I went looking for Nishiki ichiba. Along the way, passing through small, narrow streets, pedestrians, bicyclists, cars and trucks all shared the road. Suddenly, I came upon the ichiba. Probably a mile long its lined with venders selling tsukemono, fresh fish, vegetables, nuts and beans. Nishiki has been here for nearly 400 years and is called the kitchen of Kyoto.

Tomorrow

All the planning and rehearsals will be put to the test tomorrow. Be sure to be on time in the morning. Bus leaves at 9:00.

Don't forget your passport, any medications but most of all your sense of humor. If anything is going to go wrong may as well have fun. Nothing is so difficult it can't be worked out together.

Ready or not here we come.

Fun Photos

Added Smiles to the list on the right.

Invite your family and friends to come along, if only virtually, and see where we are and places we've been.

Ghibli Museum

ALERT: You will not have enough time to visit the Museum. Darn!! Next time....

Mas has provided a couple of links for the Ghibli Museum. Tickets must be purchased before hand. If you plan to visit the museum, which looks like fun, be sure to have your tickets ready.

Here are the ticketing sites:

Ghibli Museum

JTBUsa

Here's some more sites:

Suvivors Guide

Where's Totoro?

Looks like great fun.

More Places to Explore

Kyoto City Guide

Thanks, Curtis for this site.

Take a look at the Cucumber service. Don't have a cucumber handy use a kabocha.

On the 27th thru 29th the Kiyomizu pottery fair takes place. The street leading up to Kiyomizu, Chawan zaka, was once lined with shop and kilns that produce the famous pottery. Today, the kilns have moved but the shops remain.

Lots of other interesting sights to see.

Two Weeks to Go

Passports, check.
Walking shoes, check.
Curiosity and a sense of adventure, check...

There's lots of places to visit and see in Kyoto. It will be a great place to get comfortable in Japan. If you're you looking for some place that doesn't require going very far, try the train station.

Built in 1997, it has an observation deck on the 15th floor. A good place to get an overview of Kyoto. On the seventh floor on the east side of the station ride the escalator the a walkway on the 11th floor.

There's food courts and department stores. And its probably air conditioned.

Across the street from the station is Kyoto Tower. There are many izakaya (Japanese pubs) in the area.

From the station take the subway that goes straight up Karasuma Dori and exit Shijo Karasuma. This is downtown Kyoto. There are multi-storied department stores with specialty foods in the basement and playgrounds on the roofs. Some stores still have elevator operators the greet you with "Irrashaimase".

Om-rice is something I want to find in Kyoto. Its fried rice, wrapped in an egg omelet, covered with a demiglace sauce. Its common, its cheap. Its good.

I'm getting hungry thinking about it.

Something Different

Cucumber Soda

Ok, so you looking for something different. Why not try some cucumber soda. Apparently, it is designed to keep you cool on those hot summer days.

Manholes

Its been awhile since the last post. Here's some things to deeply contemplate.

Not really sure what to do when we get there? Finished all your shopping and seen every temple and jinja possible? What to do... Start collecting.

Where ever we go in Japan there will be new things to see and enjoy. One of the things we all want to do is bring back great memories. Photos and video are a great way to do that but you might also want to consider collecting series of stuff.

Manhole covers. Bet you haven't considered manhole covers as collectibles. Well, you can't bring home an actual manhole cover but you can certainly bring home photos of covers. Be careful though, make sure you and the people around you are safe.

Manholes

You might also consider collecting matchbox covers from restaurants and places you visit. Matchbooks can be soaked and the cardboard separated from the printed outside. These can then be placed in albums. They of course can just be flattened and put in albums.

Here's a couple of examples:

Tanaka Museum
Sekiya - 1933 examples

Not convinced. Here's a book on Amazon.

Something else you might want to do is photograph everything you eat. Whether a stick of gum or a full buffet, photograph everything.

When you get home be sure to share your adventures with family and friends.

Necessary Shopping

from Cyndi

There is a place called "Travel Smith" that carries lots of travel clothing, etc.

They have an outlet store in Palo Alto at:

2741 Middlefield Road (In Midtown Palo Alto, between Starbuck's and The Territory Ahead Outlet store).
Directions to the Palo Alto store: From Hwy 101, Take the Oregon Expressway Exit West, Left on to Middlefield, Left on to Colorado, immediate left into parking lot next to Starbuck's.
Plenty of Free Parking
Open Wednesday through Sunday: 10am - 6pm
For additional information, please call (650) 329-8066.

I also found some wrinkle-free capri pants at REI (is it OK to wear pants in Japan when we're just sight-seeing?) They say they are wash and wear, and also have a type of sun protection in the fabric.

I like the Container Store in Santana Row. They have lots of traveling items there too, like travel sized
bottles, backpacks, money and passport pouches, etc.

Kyoto Info

Here's another great Kyoto resource.

Produced by the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies this site provides a comprehensive look at locations and activities in Kyoto.

Lots of photos. Lots of alternatives to regular places of interest.

Another good Kyoto resource.

Kyoto Walking Tour Map

Here's a link to a Kyoto Walking Map.

The link to a pdf is at the bottom of the page. Its a map from the Japan National Tourist Organization. I haven't been able to locate the map at the JNTO site.

On page two of the map there is a walk we might want to consider. It begins at the Gojozaka bus stop near the Ohtani Mausoleum. This mausoleum is where Shinran's cremains were placed by his daughter Kakushin. There is a very old, beautiful and unsual temple at Ohtani. The walk will take us along a huge necropolis then up to Kiyomizu temple. Past Kiyomizu is Chion-in, the temple built by Honen, Shinran's teacher. There is a huge gate at it's entrance.

This is a list and information of several important temples in Kyoto including Kiyomizu and Chion-in.

Kyoto - Nara - Osaka

Thanks Curtis for the links to the Nara Museum and Kyoto Movie Land sites.

I've changed the title of the Kyoto link list to include Nara and Osaka.

I'd like to add others to the blog. Please send their email address to me. I'll include them as soon as possible.

email: unsui@fogbank.com

Pokemon and Anime

Gary left these links for pokemon people.
This is a link for Pokemon Centers in Osaka.It's in Japanese and so is the map below, but it gives a sense of where things are located.
The Center is located in the basement of the Umeda Center Building, a 5 minute walk from Osaka Station.
Here is a map showing the one in Osaka.

More anime links and info.

Stuff to Bring

Japan will be hot and humid during our visit. Be sure to bring light clothing.

Although, adults may be tempted to bring tanktops and shorts, in Japan, usually children wear tanktops and shorts. Adults should wear slacks or skirts. Ladies, remember you might find yourself sitting on the floor where a short skirt would be very awkward, so knee length or longer would be much more comfortable. Men, I'm sure your legs are lovely, but please wear long pants.

A good, comfortable, pair of walking shoes will be a must. We'll do a lot of walking in Japan. If you plan to buy shoes for the trip, be sure to get them soon and break them in. Nothing could be more miserable than blisters on a tour. So plan ahead. Break em in.

Be sure to bring several cotton handkerchiefs. Napkins and paper towels are unsual in Japan. Restautants and restrooms often do not have towels. Handkerchiefs are also a good way to wipe away perspiration during the day.

First Entry

If you have links to resources, favorite sites, interesting places to visit, please include them in comments below.

If you have book suggestions, we'll list them here too.

We'll regularly update this blog so we can share our interests and excitement.