The bamboo forest (Arashiyama, Kyoto)

Back in Kyoto once again. Today we came back to Kyoto, because we like it a lot here.
Since Joost had yet to see a bamboo forrest, we decided to go to Arashiyama for a good hike through the bamboo forrest on the Arashi mountain (yama translates as mountain).






It was a really nice and scenic walk that ended up in a gorge where, as it turned out, it was possible to go up the river with a type of house boat (not quite like the ones we have in The Netherlands). Another highlight of the trip for me, but I'm sure Joost will agree. Since "A picture is worth a thousand words" (and I don't really feel like typing a thousand words right now), I will let the pictures do the talking.

Onsen a GoGo (Nara pt 3)

Today I visited my very first public bath house. Eric had warned me beforehand that the water would be very(!!) hot, but that you needed to wash before hand and use that water to get used to the temperature. So there i was, scorching my body with extremely hot water so I could get used to the bath. It hurt. Really. It turned out the bath water wasn't as hot as the water coming from the tap.

I must say though, if you're ever in Japan, go to an Onsen because it is one of the most relaxing times you can have. The water contains a lot of minerals that are supposed to be really good for your muscles and health. I think it worked. because i felt really relaxed.

(Unfortunately for you) the cartoon above this post is all we have for you, Eric's camera isn't waterproof ;-)

Kendo/budo shop in Nara

Oh here in Nara I (finally) found a kendo shop, bought myself a 'tanto bo' (a wooden knife for training). I had really hoped to find one because it's a souvenir I will actually use :)


I also bought a book on swords and sword maintenance today at a sword museum that had swords that ranged from really old to a few new ones, plus materials that are used to make them. I had no idea that the better swords take up to 8 years to make (at least as far as the new ones there were concerned). WOW, if only I were rich!

Nara Temples and Shrines

Today we went to visit the park in Nara. There are a lot of deer walking around here and you can buy food to feed them.

But off course we didn't really go there so that Eric could feed some deer. There was a lot more to see, such as one of the biggest Buddha's in the world


There also were some really impressive shrines and other buildings





And if you look really hard you can even find a Japanese kid dressed up in some weird costume :-)

Kyoto

So, yesterday (sorry for the lack of an update) we were in Kyoto the whole day. First we went to a flea market (with antiques, food, old samurai weaponry and more) placed around Kitano Tenman-gū shrine. Which was a nice change of scene from all the shrines, so we spend more time browsing the stands than we did exploring the temple itself.


Kyoto also has many many world heritage sites so naturally we went to see a few of them. We went to Ryōan-ji a rock garden belonging to the Myoshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism.



After that we went to Kinkaku-ji the famous golden pavilion. The Golden Pavilion is set in a magnificent Japanese strolling garden (kaiyū-shiki). The pond in front of it is called Kyōko-chi (Mirror Pond). There are many islands and stones on the pond that represent the Buddhist creation story. On the gronds there is also a shinto (the old nature religion of Japan) shrine to the god of fire on these grounds. When I was here 5 years ago I made an offering and after that I had a lot of luck with lighters that other people said were empty (but surprisingly worked when I tried them), so I figured I wouldn't tempt fate and made another offering this time too :D


After dinner we went into Gion for a few drinks and hopefully see a Geisha on her way to the next tea house. Gion is a district of Kyoto, Japan, originally developed in the Middle Ages, in front of Yasaka Shrine. The district was built to accommodate the needs of travelers and visitors to the shrine. It eventually evolved to become one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts in all of Japan. (AND NO A GEISHA IS NOT A HOOKER :D) The geisha in the Gion district do not refer to themselves as geisha, instead, Gion geisha use the local term geiko. While the term geisha means "artist" or "person of the arts", the more direct term geiko means essentially "a child of the arts" or "a woman of art". We weren't so lucky but I think this might be a geiko in learning (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

Merry X-mass from Kyoto

(will add website address and story for these guys later (Joost, edit this post if you want), but I wanted to wish everyone a merry merry x-mass)

./edit
so the website for these guys is here but it's in japanese and there doesn't seem to be to much information on it. They are however performing every thursday night (7pm) at the east-exit of the Kyoto train station.

So from me also a merry christmas to everyone. I hope all of you in the Netherlands are enjoying the snow and we feel somewhat bad that we're missing the first truly white christmas in years.

Thank you Levi, Miyuki and Mirai

Thanks to Levi, Miyuki (and Mirai) Hiroshima has been an unique experience.
Can not thank them enough. It a bit late to make a full post on it, but will edit this post when I have more time.
You guys are the best!

./edit
I also wanted to convey my thanks to Levi, Miyuki and Mirai for showing me and Eric a truly amazing time in Hiroshima. Thank you very much.

Itsukushima Shrine

This morning we went to Itsukushima island, although everyone calls it Miyajima. This is the site of one of the most famous shrines in Japan and therefore it was for a long time the cover picture of lonely planet's Japan edition.
During high tide the shrine appears to float, but when we were there it was low tide so we didn't get to see it the way it is meant to be seen.
On this island there is a large population of deer. These deer are protected and because of this they are not scared of humans.



The problem with this though is that they try to steal the food of children and even chase them around



And now the good stuff :

Hiroshima day 2

Today we went with Levi to his volunteer group to do clean-up in Hiroshima (picking up litter, a.k.a. Santa Project) We actually had to travel to the port to find any, because it would've been impossible to do this in the center. We had to dress up in christmas clothing, but we forgot to bring any so I went in my red pants and Eric wore his green sweater (together we made an awesome christmas tree). After we walked around the port and the beach we had to stop because we didn't have any room left in the plastic and paper bags.




















>Foto repo.

After that we went to have lunch in what we originally thought to be a vegan restaurant, but it's only vegan for dinner, at lunch they do serve meat. After lunch we walked around Hiroshima a little and i bought a ceramic knife


After that we went to the Hiroshima peace memorial museum. That was really intense.

The real Japan

Today we arrived in Hiroshima and we were picked up by my friend Levi and his Japanese wife and their son (a very cute baby). Our hostel is really near his home so after bringing us to our hostel to drop off our luggage we went to see his apartment (so we got to see how people actually live in Japan).

After we went to the peace park with the Genbaku dome (a building partially destroyed by the atom bomb) for a quick view (we will go again and see the museum too).

Local food and a gaijin bar was up next for beers and a few games of pool.


















We brought Joost back to the hostel because tomorrow is an early morning (I will sleep when I`m dead or back in NL) but me and Levi went for more drinks with his Japanese friends.


The girl on the right is called Nao (yes just like Joost's nickname, it is a girls name here), she is a photographer and this is her website: http://www.peacedesignproject.jp/
In the photos you will also see a few of the people we met that night and in the Santa Project. I believe that the common link between the people in the photos is that they are artists (and friends of hers).

So today was all about experiencing Japan through the eyes of a local.