Our travels Video and Pics Cycling Walking About us News Part 3 : Kyoto Tuesday 4 September In the shoppingmall under the ground is a good coffeeshop. At eight in the morning we are in line to have breakfast. Because the citybus to the Daisen In Temple leaves at 8:30. We are glad Antoinette is with us to show us the way, because the templecomplex is really complex. Somewhere at the back we find the famous zengarden. A garden of stones, grit and rocks. The head monk finds us quickly. When he finds out we are from Holland he spontaniously starts to sing our national anthem the Wilhelmus, with no mistakes..... After that he reads a meaningfull sentence, that is supposed to make you think about the meaning of live. Now he has caught our interest and starts explaining about the garden. Amazing how there can be an entire filosophy behind a bunch of rocks. The garden is from 1509 by Kogaku-Zenji at that time he started this temple. I think they shuffled it ones or twice since that................. The monk wants to collect some money for his temple and starts doing more strange things. To make us buy a video he places himself behind a frame, it looks like he is on television, and he is waving a dutch flag. And if you buy a text from him, he will pray for you, well... , time to go on. At this point the Djoser group split into some small groups. We take the bus to Toei Movie Land. An amusementpark with samurai movies as theme. Sometimes the real movies are taped here, but today the small streets are empty.We visit the ninja show. Everything is in Japanese and we donīt understand a word, but the play tells itself. We think the acting is at schoollevel and when someone escape by saying "look there" and quickly ran to the opposite site,we couldnīt stop laughing. Wrong time, there is no Japanese laughter, it was a serious escape! Doing this we certainly got the attention. The leadplayer spotted us on the front row. He waves to us and says "hello". After the show the only thing in english is announced :" People who want to take a picture with the Ninjas, please wait." It is not really what we want, but how to refuse it? We couldnīt, so we have this very impressive picture. The japanese man who takes it with our camera makes two, you never know........ We also visit a show in wich a īdirectorī explains how a movie is made, and how the sound and light effects work. Maybe it would be a bit more interesting if it was also in english, but even in Japanese we perfectly understood. The only thing we will never understand is why the īdirectorī and his two assistants did a terrible dance at the beginning and end of the show. Japanese amusement is real different from western amusement. The 3d - dinoshow is a bit disappointing and we decide we had enough and leave. It is a very serious park, but we had a great laugh. Because we want to do something serious today we visit thethe golden pavillion(Kinkakuji). The sun just strikes the golden temple roof in the right way. Many people make pictures. That is allowed as long as you donīt use a tripod. It is not quit clear why. Many schoolchildren are walking around with a paper full of english questions. They are practising their english by asking questions to tourists. What is your name? That sounds like an easy question but the answer isnīt always easy. The name Bart is very difficult for the Japanese. The children are not very good in english either. My favorite animal, the elephant, is not understood, so i changed to dog. And when they ask when your birthday is, it is a disaster. I think they didnīt learn to understand but only how to pronounce the questions. It was fun trying to talk to them though. The size of the premisses is a bit disappointing and soon we find ourselves at the exit . We take the bus into the rushhour. But it is fast enough for us to leave time for McDonalds before meeting Antoinette at the bridge. Half of the group is missing, it turned out later they were at the wrong bridge. We walk through the Gion district, known for its exclusieve teahouses and geishas and maikos. We split up to have a better chance of seeing a maiko. Rob sees three, and we see none. But the excitement of the search and the atmosphere in the district are unique and worth it. We have dinner in Pontocho district, we picked up the rest of the group on our way there. There are few restaurants with tables for 15 persons, so we had to split. Klaas, Rob, Tom and i are sitting a few tables from the rest. (Sorry Bart, i will never desert you again) After dinner it is time to karaoke. Our group hired a soundproof room. In the room are a tv, a stereo and two microfones. In a sort of yellowpages you can choose a number to sing. At the back of the back are a reasonable number of english songs. Drinks are usual included, and after a few we start shouting with the music. Satisfaction of the Rolling Stones, but also Barbie Girl of Aqua. We leave at the same time with a group of young japanese, they are all under influence and most are really drunk! We just catch the last subwaytrain back to the hotel. Wednesday 5 September We have breakfast at nine, there are far less people than yesterday in the coffeeshop. We take the subway to the emperial palace, but after crossing the enormous garden we find that the palace is closed. A quick look on the map tells us Nijo castle is within walking distance.It is very beautifull inside, coloured woodcarvings and lots of gold. The floors are made in a special way, they squeeck when you walk on it. That was to protect the owner, no enemy could secretly enter. But after the short period we walked there it got on my nerves already! This afternoon we have a Djoser excursion to Nara so we have to hurry back to the hotel. On our way back we bought some delicious bread for in the train. In Nara is a volunteer guide waiting for us. He is with a woman who want to learn the guiding business, she has a lot to learn. She doesnīt know what to do with a group of dutch people, who refuse to act as a group. In Japan it is a custom to stay as close to your guide as possible, and without asking you do what he or she says. Our group is everywhere, but not together and not with the guide. How are you supposed to take this pictures that no one else have, if you are staying close together? Desperately she tries to keep an eye on everybody, what if someone is lost..... Ofcourse we have to test her, and stay put on purpoise. First she is waiting, but when she sees we are laughing she understands it is better to leave. Nara is a collection of temples in a park-like environment. Nara is also very famous for its deer, that roam the entire city. We pass a pagode of 5 levels on our way to the biggest wooden building in the world: Todai Ji, a temple with a large Buddha statue inside. In the temple is a pilar with a hole in it, if you fit through the whole you can reach enlightment. Janny seems to have no trouble doing that, all the japanese watching admires it. The guide persuades us to walk uphill to a temple with a great view over Nara. He is right the view is magnificant. We came back in Kyoto later than expected. So again we have dinner in the EATparadise at the nineth floor above the station. After dinner we go up one level to the roof terrace and admire Kyoto by night. We are to late to have a drink here. Everything closes very early and 30 minutes before closingtime they donīt let you in. No vendingmachines selling beer, so it is the bar of the hotel, where last call is at tenthirty. In the lobby it is a bit cold, but the bottles of Sake and Baileys from our rooms are tasting great! Thursday 6 September In line again for breakfast, because we have to take the 8:30 bus to the Kyoto citylimits. Kyoto is surrounded by mountains and we are going to hike there. It is only uphill. And i am wondering why this hike is qualified easy/medium. Maybe the Japanese are better hikers. The fact is that many very old japanese people pass me, while whisteling... Our guide is also not very young, he is almost seventy. We climb 466 meter and reach a fireplace with a nice view over Kyoto. During festivals a big fire is lit here. But now it is a perfect place for us to rest. When i caught my breath again we continue the hike. Yet another climb, but after a short time we are descending. There are many small tracks and even the guide takes the wrong one on one occasion. We pass a place where the monks do their training and wash themselves under a cold waterfall. There is no monk today. After four hours we are back in the city. We are tired, and decide to stay in our rooms or the afternoon. This night the gang of five is going back to Gion to do some Maiko spotting. And when we arrive there, it is clear we have more luck than last time. Left, right, in front from the back they are walking everywhere. In total we see seven maikos. Four other Djoser travellers are just too late and donīt see a single one. We have seen enough and go to a restaurant. Tonight it is Italian, so that is European pasta instead of Asian. And now we are on th european tour, we can do the english pub too. It really looks like europe, all europeans must come here. Two japanese ladies are marketing a new sort menthol sigaret. Without stopping she is telling her story, in Japanese, to Rob. She is telling all about this wonderfull new product. At least that is what we think, maybe she told something else, but we will never know for sure. Rob gets a small packet of the mentholsigarets. We are glad we are non smokers, these things do smell like menthol ! The last bus (around 10 ) brings us back to the hotel. We decide to go and sit in the lobby right away, the bar is almost closed anyway. We put all our cranes at one string and then it is time to go to bed. But just at moment the technical servise is coming to change a lightbulb. Wonīt miss that. Two men, a wicked ladder, and a screwdriver are attempting to change the halogeeen light. It is not going well, and when we start laughing they get nervous as well. After more then 15 minutes the new light is burning, we think it is time for applause.... Part 1 : Tokyo Part 2 : Japanese Alps Part 4 : Koyasan Part 5 : Osaka Part 6 : Hiroshima Part 7 : Aso vulcano Part 8 : Nagasaki Our travels Video and Pics Cycling Walking About us News