Japan on my mind

I began the day by going to tori no ichi, a market festival held on the days of the rooster in November. I really didn’t know where I was going. I foud out the festival would be held at Otorijinja, a 10 minute walk from Iriya subway station. I came out of the subway and stood on a corner trying to figure out in which direction to walk. A man came over and asked where I wanted to go. He stopped another man who told me he was going there and would take me. He spoke quite good English and we chatted during the seemingly long walk. I thanked him when we got to the shrine and couldn’t wait to pull out my camera as he and his wife walked away.

At the entrance to the shrine two priests wave gohei, zigzags of white paper to attract the kami.

Then the crowd proceeds to the shrine where they rings bells, again to attract the spirits, and pray for good fortune, health and prosperity. This is a holiday whose focus is attracting good fortune.

On either side of the pathway vendors are selling elaborately decorated rakes for raking in good fortune. When the vendors sell a particularly large one they clap and chant. I shot a video, but will have to wait to post it until I get home.

I wanted to buy a rake, but found out the vendors are the ones raking in the most good fortune.

When I had enough of the crowds I left thinking I would walk to another temple in Asakusa, but found I had walked in the wrong direction. I still don’t know how I did that.

Finding myself far from my intended destination with no idea how to get there, I got on the subway and went to the Suntory Museum in Roppongi.

This is where I saw the great exhibit of painted screens. Now they have an exhibit of Choju Giga scrolls, national treasures. The scrolls date from the 13^th century and depict frolicking animals and people. It was a good exhibit, but far too crowded.

From there I walked over to the Mori Art Museum to see a highly touted exhibit of contemporary Japanese art. It was a fun exhibit, perhaps a little more interesting than a comparable exhibit of contemporary western art, but very similar. This is the first I’ve looked at any contemporary art here. My ticket to the museum also gave me access to the 53^rd floor observatory called Tokyo City View. Although it was cloudy and getting dark it was still a spectacular sight.

Not finished with this day I went to the Ginza to visit Itoya, a stationer that sells special papers and also to pick up some dinner. I started at Matsuya, another department store with food, but decided I liked Mitsukoshi better and bought my dinner there.

Museum-going beckoned to me on this chilly, rainy, autumn day. My hotel, only 4 meters from the subway, is very convenient. Without getting wet, I went to the other end of Tokyo to go to the Japan Mingeikan, the Japan Crafts Museum founded by Soetsu Yanagi, and found, for the same price, I could also visit Yanagi’s house across the street. Again, I asked for the Yanagi map screens, only to be turned down. This was my last place to look; time to give up on that one.

The special exhibit at the museum was of textiles from India, wonderful woven and embroidered pieces. I fell in love.

Yanagi’s house is quite large and beautiful. For me, the best part was that, while many rooms were traditional with tatami mats, he had wooden floors chairs in several of the rooms, including a large, western-style library with many books, a desk and chair. Impressive. The best part of all of this: neither place was mobbed with tourists. I wasn’t alone, but I was able to view everything comfortably.

My next destination was Ota Memorial Museum, requiring a walk around Harajuku in the rain. And I was hungry; I spent the entire morning at the Mingeikan. Walking around Harajuku, the most popular area for young people, was tough, too many people and umbrellas fighting for space on the sidewalk. I ducked into a kind of Japanese diner and, sitting at the counter, had a bowl of soup with udon and some tempura. Eating those noodles is a very sloppy affair.

I finally found the Ota, which became almost a religious experience. First, lock up the umbrella in a stand outside the museum. Second, remove shoes, take slippers out of locker and put shoes in. Third, deposit everything except 1000 yen (admission price) in locker and walk, in comfort, around an exquisite oasis of peace and calm, concentrating on wonderful paintings by Utegawa Hiroshige. It was a great treat.

Refreshed, I braved the streets of Harajuku again to find the 100 yen shop where Shalmit thought I could find washi. No washi, but I did spend some money.

I would have liked to get to one more museum, but it was close to 4 pm, so I went looking for dinner instead. This time I went to Mitsukoshi, my all time favorite department store from 20 years ago. They offered samples of all kinds of goodies: cookies, ice cream enclosed in mochi, crackers, and absolutely some of the best chocolate I’ve ever eaten, from Cote de France, I didn’t buy any, wouldn’t dare; but ate two samples. Got some bread from Johan Paris, just about the equal of Paul Bocuse.

Sitting in the train working until the battery dies; probably soon. We took the same train from Matsue, 2 ½ hours of beautiful mountains, then an hour to Shin Osaka, fifteen minutes to Kyoto, where Shalmit left me. She is going to meet with a VIP in Japanese art history. I may see her again in Tokyo, but essentially I’m on my own now until I leave Japan on Tuesday. I will arrive in Tokyo about 3:15 and then have to figure out how to get to my hotel. Since I have only one small bag with me, no taxi. I’m anticipating finding my big bag at the hotel.

Everything went according to plan, even the internet access. And I confirmed that I can ship my bag to Narita.

The weather has changed and now begins to feel like fall. It isn’t cold, just brisk; feels good. Once I got settled in the hotel I took a long walk looking for something to eat. I think I went in the wrong direction, but walked about a kilometer and finally found a supermarket. My bananas and several prepared items cost less than I was paying at Daimaru, but I’d rather spend the extra money. Paul Bocuse was worth it.

Now I’m watching CNN in the hotel and regrouping for a last attack on Tokyo for the next four days.

Another great day, but with a not so great start. We decided to take the 9:35 train to Izumo, but when we got to the station found that train had been canceled and we had to wait for the 10:20. Instead of sitting at the station we went for a walk and found an interesting shrine, where the Shichigosan (”seven-five-three” in Japanese), celebratory ceremony for a 3 year old child was being held. As the ceremony finished there was some great drum music by the priest. Shalmit got permission from the parents to photograph the little boy, who was dressed in a marvelous kimono.

No matter what has happened here by way of disappointment or frustration something wonderful has always unexpectedly occurred.

Back to the train, which, unusually, arrived late, and got to Izumo City just missing the bus. Instead of waiting for the next one, possibly an hour, we found two other women and arranged to share a taxi with them.

Izumo is older than the written word, home to the stories chronicling the myths and history of Japan . It is known as the Home of the Gods. It’s main hall, 24 meters high, is built in the Taisha, grand shrine style.

As with many of the shrines I visited, Izumo is located in an old growth forest at the base of a mountain. This shrine is noted for promoting good relationships, both larger social relationships and intimate ones. That wasn’t why we were there, but both Shalmit and I decided we could use a boost in our intimate relationships. We’ll see what happens.

We witnessed another ceremony at Izumo, possibly a memorial.

Here is the drummer. He was good, but not as with it as the priest at the child’s ceremony.

Entreaties for a good marriage, or good relationship, written on these bits of paper cover trees and platforms throughout Izumo.

After walking all around we visited an exhibition of treasures belonging to the shrine. This was more interesting than the other treasure exhibitions I visited; better treasures, and having Shalmit to read and explain things to me was a great help.

Shalmit rubbing the nose of one of Izumo’s sacred animals.

The last picture of me you will see.

Worn out and hungry we left the shrine and stopped in a little restaurant just outside the gate, another thing I would not have done without Shalmit. Again we missed the bus to the train station. The people at the restaurant gave us directions to the other train (there are often two competing lines). We saw different scenery and arrived back in Matsue in time for Shalmit to visit Matsue Castle.

Being castled out, I walked over to Gesshoji Temple, another site at the foot of mountains in a forested area. The great thing here was the birds. Probably because it was near dusk, many of them had already returned to their roosts. As I walked under their trees I seemed to generate a lot of sound: loud whistles, chirping, chatter. After I walked away the area became quiet. What a kick!

Shalmit and I met up again at the hotel. She loved the castle, but agreed it was probably good I didn’t go; there was a lot of climbing. We were both too tired to do much about restaurants. The place we went to last night was good, but we had to listen to an adjoining table of loud, young men and breathe in their smoke. We went to a nearby department store, bought dinner and lunch for tomorrow’s train ride.

Sitting on the train to Matsue. I left the hotel about 7:45, giving myself plenty of time to catch the 8:52 train. A good thing: in spite of all of Shalmit’s efforts, we were scheduled on some kind of strange train. That time of morning is very difficult at the station. People come off the trains in waves, first from one direction, then the other. It’s more polite than New York rush hour, but just as difficult to navigate. Even though I finally found the right place, I almost missed the train. I was supposed to be in car 3, so I stood where it said car 3, but the train had fewer cars and stopped short of where I was standing. Someone finally told me to get on the train. Shalmit never showed up, but I got on the train, anyway.i figured I’d call her from the next train. This was a beautiful train that was empty. I’m sure it must pick up passengers somewhere along the way, but from Kyoto to Shin Osaka there were only three of us in the car and very few in other cars. The train had a large video monitor at one end; you could see where the train was going.

Shalmit was at the station for the next train and we easily connected. We transferred to a third train in Okayama. Much of that portion of the trip was through beautiful, mountainous country. We were going northwest to the Sea of Japan.

Matsue is a beautiful city on lake Shinji, with a huge moat around Matsue Castle and at least one other river. It is not directly on the coast, but very close to it. They are working very hard to promote tourism. There is a cute bus that looks like a streetcar, and a little boat that makes a tour of the moat, and a number of museums. We took the bus to Lafcadio hearn’s home and Memorial Museum. He lived here only about 14 months. Not the most interesting place we’ve ever been to. It was such a beautiful day we decided to take the boat ride.

It was not the best thing I did in Japan, but it came very close. The boat was steered by a wonderful, funny woman who told stories and sang songs in Japanese, and occasionally interjected English instructions like, don’t put your hands outside the boat, and roof being lowered, as we went under some very low bridges.

Shalmit translated some of the Japanese for me. Evidently she was singing about where we were going, making up the songs as she went along. We passed egrets, groups tortoises sunning themselves on rocks, lots of ducks, and finally she whistled and flushed out several hawks that gave us an amazing aerial show. What a great afternoon.

Tomorrow we go to Izumo. If we get back in time, I hope to take another boat ride.

Boat captain, Shalmit’s photo. I wasn’t sitting in a good place to get this.

Shalmit on the boat. I took the picture with her camera.

This is my last night in Kyoto. Before nine tomorrow I will be on a train to Matsue and Izumo. I have been publishing my posts 24 hours after I write them, giving me a chance to think about and edit what I have written. Tonight I will post 2 days and catch up. I don’t know what kind of net access I’ll have in Matsue. I didn’t want to just disappear for three days. I’ll be in Tokyo for my last four nights here and should have excellent access.

Today was another gray day with rain threatened. I decided to go to the Miho Museum, since that involved a train and a long bus ride. The museum, designed by I. M. Pei, is located on top of a mountain in a nature preserve in the Shigaraki Mountains. The location is beautiful; the bus ride was wonderful. I would like to walk in those mountains. The museum is also very interesting. The landscape is made part of the building by wonderfully placed windows. The approach through a tunnel and over a bridge is quite wonderful.

I was not as impressed with the art. Many museums designed by famous architects become more important than the art they house. This is certainly true of the Calatrava addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum, to some extent the Guggenheim in New York, and I think it is also true here.

Because I hadn’t bothered to find out the bus schedule, I had to wait more than half an hour. I found one of my fellow hotel denizens waiting at the train station. She had just missed the previous bus, which runs once an hour. Elfi is from Germany and has some trouble with English. She had studied it in school but never used it until this trip. Actually, she does quite well; just lacks confidence. We had a pleasant time talking. It was nice to have someone to pass the time with. She remained at the museum longer than I did. They have something of an international collection, but I looked only at the Japanese art. I am already filled with so much to remember, I didn’t want an additional distraction.

I returned to Kyoto in time to visit the Hagishi Honganji Temple, in walking distance from Kyoto Station, and had another adventure. This is another barefoot place. I wasn’t going to go into the temple but after speaking to some people who had just come out, I changed my mind. It’s a beautiful place, one of the oldest in Kyoto. I saw only part of it, the main hall being under repair. As I walked around the place, looking at exhibits about the reconstruction, there was an announcement, in two languages, that the place was closing. I continued walking, looking for an exit. Two people told me it was closed, but didn’t tell me how to get out. Wherever I turned seemed to be a dead end, or have a do not enter sign. I was really getting panicky. And my feet hurt. Finally I walked past one of those Thou shalt not signs, pulled the automatic doors open and got out. This was worse than the time I got locked in the cemetery in Chicago. I had a cell phone then.

Went back to Daimaru and Paul Bocuse for dinner and now I’m doing laundry and packing.

Thank you all of you who have been writing comments and sending emails. I’ve really enjoyed staying in touch with all of you, even though I haven’t always found time to answer. And while I’m having a great time, it’s nice to hear from home.

Finally caught up with Shalmit today. We met at Kyoto Station and arranged reserved seats for our trip to Matsue on Wednesday. It was great to have her with me; she negotiated all the arrangements in Japanese. If it had been my job, I would not have been able to make such good arrangements. We changed the tickets 3 or 4 times in order to get the most favorable times. I have also decided to ship some of my clothes home so I have room in my suitcase. I don’t think it does much for the weight, but I need the space. By now, I’ve bought more than a few things to bring home. The best thing is that I found out I could ship my suitcase to the hotel in Tokyo. I was planning to leave it at the station in Kyoto and retrieve it on my way back from Matsue, but this is much better. Shalmit thinks I could also ship it to the airport. That would be really marvelous, if it works.

After a long coffee break while we discussed what each of us has been doing these three weeks, I went to the Fushimi Inari Shrine. It’s a great place, enveloped in an old growth forest, with hundreds or thousands of Toriis lining the paths through the forest.

I had several interesting experiences, having almost nothing to do with the shrine. First, I went to find the resident calligrapher and get their page made for my book. Each time I’ve done this before, one person, usually male, does the entire job. It’s pretty simple: determine where I want it placed in the book; using that wonderful black ink make the appropriate, beautiful strokes; carefully position the red ink stamps. Often the stamps are done first, then the ink. After all that a hair dryer is used to dry the ink. This time it was different. First a woman took the book from me, made the determination and placed the stamp. Then she took the book to the calligrapher (male), who did the ink. A second woman took the book and used the hair dryer. Division of labor

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The second experience was funny. As I got to one of the landings between groups of toriis there was a man photographing his wife in front of the group. She walked down the path leaving him standing. He waited very patiently until all of the people coming up the path passed him. Then, camera held in front of him, he videoed his walk, almost a run, down the path.

Finally, as I got back to the shrine itself, there were a bunch of tiny children holding balloons. I think it was the end of a kid’s birthday party. Made for a lovely finish to my visit.

I took a train from the shrine area and went back to Gion and the Shijo shopping area. This interesting woman had kittens for sale. I didn’t buy one, or much of anything; mostly just dinner, but it was fun walking around there.

My first destination, today, was the antique market at Toji Temple. This market was more interesting and a lot less crowded than the flea market I went to when I first arrived in Kyoto. I really enjoy this kind of market; I love looking at other people’s junk. But I had a purpose this time. I went looking for another crouching cat, like the one I’m using for my logo. I found nothing: not bigger, not smaller, not different material. There were lots of cats, but they were all sitting up and mostly the Hello Kitty variety. I guess finding nothing is almost as interesting as finding something. I’m thinking my cat is a rare specimen, even though I found a similar photo in a book about folk art.

Toji Temple is near Kyoto Station where I got on a Shinkansen and in 15 minutes I was in Shin Osaka. It took another 20 minutes on the subway for me to get to the Municipal Art Museum where I again saw Biombo, the show about gilded folding screens I had seen in Tokyo. There were some differences; they rotate the articles on display through the time of the show, so no one piece gets too much exposure to light and whatever else they are worrying about. Since this is one of my greater interests I enjoyed seeing the show again.I finished my museum visit with coffee and cake at about 2 pm and decided to go to the other end of Osaka to the Folk Crafts Museum in Expo Park.

Today seemed to be my day for stairs. After yesterday’s climbing I wasn’t too happy about it. Or, I should say, my knees weren’t too happy. I’ve become careful about looking for elevators or escalators and usually find them, but this was not my lucky day. Every subway station, the park where the museum was located, even the museum itself, had lots of stairs. Trying to avoid some of them as I left the park I found another Chrysanthemum exhibit, maybe even more interesting than yesterday’s.

My adventure began in trying to get to Expo Park. When I was in Osaka last week I got a map of the park from the tourist bureau. Somewhere along the way, I decided I wouldn’t go there and threw out the map. I remember, approximately where I needed to go, but didn’t really know. I thought I would find signs when I got to the appropriate subway station. There may be signs, but they aren’t in English. So there I was: the subway station empties into a huge shopping center. One side of the station said North end of Center Wicket. The other said, South end of Center Wicket. That Center Wicket stuff only confused me more. What to do. It occurred to me I could just get back on the train and forget the whole thing, but I hate to give up.

A sign in English said, Stationmaster’s Office. I went in, and with great difficulty managed to make them understand what I wanted. I know the word of folk crafts museum in Japanese, Mingeikan, but I guess I have a bad accent. One of the men finally got it, said it was in Expo Park and I would have to take the monorail. He led me up an escalator, down a long corridor and over to the monorail station, where he made sure I bought the right ticket and told me to get off at the second stop.

Following his directions I got off and still couldn’t figure out where to go. I found another official office and was given walking directions to get to the park.

This huge sculpture called Tower of the Sun, looking exactly like a Nikki de Saint Phalle, but actually made by Japanese sculptor Okamoto Taro, is at the entrance to the park. The monorail stops within sight of a huge amusement park. I really wanted to try the Ferris wheel, but it looked like a long walk in the wrong direction. In order to get into Expo Park I had to buy my ticket for the Mingeikan. That was reassuring; at least I knew it had to be somewhere nearby. The park was filled with people, what looked a huge flea market and lots of picnickers around the edge of the market.

I walked, probably not as far as I thought, but remember, I’d already had a full day, and finally got to the Mingeikan, which had a big sign in English.

The museum is small and beautiful, and empty. Peace and quiet prevailed.

Of course, I really went there in pursuit of that Yanagi map I had read about. They were sorry. They had exhibited it about 10 years ago. Now it was back in Tokyo. I do much better happening on things than trying to pursue them. I’m probably giving up on that one.

I really didn’t want to walk back through the park to the monorail. The museum people called a taxi for me, and I took another one of those expensive rides back to the subway station. It was worth it; at least I wasn’t totally wiped out when I got back.

Hikone is a castle town, easily visited in a day trip, on the east shore of Lake Biwa. They were holding a 400^th anniversary celebration, with “Rediscovery & New Creation” as motto. I decided to join the party. The 50 minute train trip was easy. The tourist information office gave me a map and info about the castle, and before I left the office a man came over and spoke to me in English, offering to show me the way, provided I would come along with the four Japanese ladies he was escorting. That was fine with me, and I was a great favorite with the ladies, one of whom knew some English. We only had five or ten minutes together, but they asked questions all the way.

As I approached the entrance to the castle I came upon a fabulous display of Chrysanthemums. My friend Karen, from Chicago, had, just the night before, sent me a link to an article in the Wall Street Journal about a display of Japanese Chrysanthemums being held at the New York Botanical Garden. That was perfect timing; it gave me some information about what to look for in the display. Here are a few of the photos.

Each of these huge displays comes out of a single pot with only two or three stems. They’ve been trained to grow that way. They are still alive; these are not just bouquets.

Each of these is one, single, glorious blossom.

Some of the displays incorporate other objects.

Here you can see the single stems and supports.

And Chrysanthemum Bonsai.

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After the flower show, which I think was being judged, I crossed the moat.

Every castle, and some temples have moats. Castles were built as fortresses; the moat is part of the fortification.

Defenders of the castle.

Castles are also built on hills. This one was 50 meters up. Amazingly, I climbed the 50 meters. Here I am still climbing. That’s about 15 stories, in case you haven’t bothered to figure it out.

When I got to the top I found this long line of people waiting to enter the castle. The sign said a 60 minute wait. I decided I didn’t have to do that. Besides, they make you take off your shoes and carry them in a plastic bag. I hate walking barefoot on those wooden floors. I wandered around the castle, took some pictures of Lake Biwa and the castle, and started back down. A little hazy, also.

The path led to a lovely garden that I thoroughly enjoyed. I came here because of the art, but as I spend time here, I’ve come to the conclusion the most important art form here is the garden. They are absolutely spectacular, and what they do with trees is not to be believed.

I was about the leave the castle when I realized people were waiting around for a parade.

This arbor is made from a living tree.

It was almost 1 pm. My English speaking guide had said the celebration would begin at one. I found a place along the curb and before long this amazing parade appeared.

I’m sure there was more celebrating to follow, but did not know how to find out about it. Also, it’s good to know when you’ve had enough. I took the train back to Kyoto, too tired to stop and get something for dinner, so I ate at the hotel. I don’t love the hotel food, but with careful ordering, it’s OK. As I was finishing, one of the men who has been working on his computer at the same time I do, came into the restaurant. I sat with him and had coffee and conversation while he ate. He is an Italian engineer, not young, who has been taking a course in Japanese gardening. He finished his course and became certified in the afternoon. It was always a pleasure to talk to him because he is so passionate about his subject. Love people like that!

Warren told me to go to Kiyomizu-dera Temple early in the morning. I should have gone when I woke up at 5:30 this morning, but I opted to stay in bed for another hour. By the time I got to Kiyomizu-dera at 8:30, it was too late; the place was crawling with school groups. I walked down a long, narrow street for more than half a kilometer, school groups swirling around me in both directions, and found I still had, probably 50 to 100 more steps to climb. I felt it wasn’t worth it; not with all the kids. Temples are supposed to be places for contemplation. It wasn’t going to happen here. I backtracked part of the way, then turned into a long, stone paved stairway through an area called Sannenzaka, a charming old neighborhood of homes and shops leading to Kodai ji and Yasaka Jinja shrine. Kodai ji provided a proper temple experience.

This is one of the views of Kodai ji. I loved being there.

Few other people were around, it was marvelously peaceful and I could spend as much time as I wished. It made for a lovely morning.

Yasaka Jinja is another of those big tourist destinations. I walked through; it was on my way to Gion.

I have a mental list of photos I should have taken and couldn’t. This morning I added another to the list: as I was walking toward Yasaka Jinja, a kind of modern rickshaw passed me, a two-wheeled buggy pulled by a young man. Seated inside were a Geisha (or Maiko, Geisha in training), beautifully costumed and made up, and next to her a well-dressed young man with a large video camera, filming the route they were riding over. He should have been paying attention to her. She sat there very patiently, almost like an inanimate object. I just wasn’t quick enough to get the photo.

I had enough of temples for the day and decided to go shopping. My first stop was the Kyoto Crafts Center. I think this was the place where, twenty years ago, I bought a beautiful opal ring. This time I bought nothing. My next stop was the Kyoto handicrafts center. Both of these places were real tourist traps, but this one was more interesting. I had lunch in their Fuku Café. Sometimes I wonder about the names they choose. Refreshed, I bought myself a yukata. They make wonderful summer robes. For many years I used one given to me at the Imperial Hotel about 22 years ago. I think I used it for 20 years.

Finally, I got to the Fureaikan, a museum of Kyoto crafts. It was a very interesting place, with exhibits about all of the Kyoto specialties. Of course, they also have a gift shop where I found a lovely shirt I hope will fit Charna. It was the smallest one they had. Ready to call it a day, I headed back to Paul Bocuse for another one of those great breads—it turned out to be my very favorite walnut bread, and a low calorie salad to make up for the bread.

This picture is for Eli. The machine was outside of a gaming parlor, and was some kind of game. The kid was doing a great job of drumming. I’m not sure how the game works, but I imagine it something like the video game, Dance, Dance Revolution.

I have only four days left in Kyoto, another 6 days after that in Japan. I have loved every minute, but, between my language difficulties and my lack of stamina, I haven’t been able to see nearly as much as I had hoped. I’m trying to figure out how to make the most of the next four days.