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JuergenS

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Trips:

Two month of Japan

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Ise

Ise, Japan


Inner shrine - Entrance

Visited Ise today, the site of probably the most sacred Shinto shrine. There are actually two parts of this shrine, the Outer Shrine, near the station, and the Inner Shrine, a few km away.
The Inner Shrine is dedicated to (and enshrining) Amaterasu-no-omikami, the goddess of light in Shinto belief, as well as one of the imperial regalia, the sacred mirror (the other two being the sacred sword and the sacred beads --> Okami anyone?). There actually is a bit of a story behind that goddess and the mirror. Amaterasu once hid herself in a cave for the misbehaving of her brother, Susanoo, thus plunging the world in darkness. The other gods then used a mirror to reflect her own light (goddess of light --> sun) to herself and proclaimed that a new sun appeared and everything was fine. Raged the goddess stormed out of the cave and daylight thus returned to the lands.

The main halls/buildings of the two shrines are hidden from view behind fences, and only members of the imperial family and select priests are allowed near them. Of course, pictures are prohibited there as well. Jumping the fence is not a good idea either, as guards are nearby and you are constantly watched by cameras not so cleverly disguised as trees. That being said, many of the sub-buildings are exact replicas of the main one, so you can get a pretty good feeling what is looks like anyway.

I started off at the Outer Shrine, located in a lush forest. Pictures:


Outer shrine - Sub-building

Outer shrine - Pond

Outer shrine - Main building

Outer shrine - Entrance

A nice walk along the premises later I was off to the Inner Shrine.

The area is bigger, the garden/park really impressive, the trees there are massive (and I mean, really, really massive), there are more people and larger buildings than in the Outer Shrine. You approach through two big Toriis on either side of a bridge over a clear river and walk either through the park with lots of open space and sun or the cool and beautiful forest.
Pictures:


Inner shrine - Gate

View from the bridge

Inner shrine - Park

Inner shrine

Bridge construction

Inner shrine - Sub-building

Inner shrine - Main building

Inner shrine

Inner shrine pond

Koi

Inner shrine - Park

Massive tree

Massive tree

Narnia?

There is a reason this shrine is also called the most impressive shrine of Japan, even though you can't see the main building (well, besides the roof). There is only one competing shrine, the Tosho-gu in Nikko, which is as gaudy as Ise-jinja is austere.

Oh, and due to Shinto tradition, the shrine is completely rebuilt every 20 years. For this, an empty lot is always kept next to the current one. The timber of the old one is then used for the Torii of the new one and sent to shrines all over Japan for repairs. This shrine has seen over 60 rebuilds by now! 2013 will be the next cycle take place.

The traveling time is really long from Kyoto, but I liked my visit here.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

permalink written by  JuergenS on July 26, 2010 from Ise, Japan
from the travel blog: Two month of Japan
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Culinary: Local Specialties - Part 1

Kyoto, Japan

I would like to show you some of the local food I had the pleasure to try in this post, here we go:


Tonkatsu set

Tonkatsu
Basically fried pork chop/loin. An easy and popular dish in Japan, it probably has as many variations as Wiener Schnitzel has in Austria. The one in the picture was more on the side of a Cordon Bleu, filled with summer veggies. Classical sides are rice and shredded cabbage. The place I visited had a piece of tofu, some pickles, rice, tea, cabbage and miso soup. The last four were all-you-can eat, meaning they would be refilled as often as you wanted. Whole thing cost about 9eur.

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Kyoto's Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki - Kyoto-style
I talked about those already in my post about Matsuri Stalls, just wanted you to see another picture. Also, there is of course a multitude of ways to make these things, with thick dough or just a thin crust, with noodles or w/o, with seafood or meat. Depends on the place you eat at, there is no definite style. The one in the picture actually had a main body of egg with cabbage, topped with bits of meat and Bonito flakes and a side of Yakisoba.

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Hiroshima's Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki - Hiroshima-style
In Hiroshima they put noodles (soba, udon) in their Okonomiyaki, a great fit, if you ask me.

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Noodle bowl

Ramen (and other noodle bowls)
Inexpensive, filling and really good, Ramen are a Japanese fast food almost everybody loves. You can choose your toppings and the type of soup base you want (salt, soy sauce and miso usually) and dig in. There are other dishes like Ramen as well, differing in type of noodles or way of serving.Tthe picture above actually does not show Ramen, as the noodles are different.

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Katsudon

Katsudon
Breaded fried pork chop over rice, served with a special sauce and egg. A classic, really, and always good. It also became famous because in many detective stories a suspect would be tempted to confess using a Katsudon, after many hours of interrogation without food or sleep.

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Fukui's Sauce Katsudon

Sauce Katsudon
A specialty of Fukui, differing from normal Katsudon through the difference in meat (its port alright, but a different part), the different breading and the different sauce used. The sauce is served in a separate dish, the customer can adjust the intensity of the flavor to his liking.

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Tempuradon

Tempuradon
Fried shrimp (or other seafood) over rice. A bit dry, but good nevertheless.

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Hamburg steak

Hamburg steak
A burger patty with sauce, served with or without fried egg and with a side of rice. Another classic in Japanese households and inspired by the American burger.

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Hiroshima's Oysters

Oysters - Hiroshima-style
Local oysters from Hiroshima, grilled right in front of you.

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Summer curry

Curry
The Japanese love curry, its a common dish in pretty much every household. Without giving favor to any kind one can safely say that a Japanese curry exists, different but not inferior to its ancestor from India. Curry is served pretty much everywhere and there are several food chains offering only different curry dishes. And there are a lot, really. The one in the pictures had summer vegetables and chicken in it.

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Giant Apple

Giant fruit and veggies
Found those apples in the picture at a market and yeah, they are big. Almost to big to finish one in one go. Also, there are many other fruits and vegetables that are way larger than those I am used to and readily available in every super market.

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I will do a post for food on the go in the future, featuring Convenience Store lunches and Ekiben.
Oh, and yeah, I do get weird looks sometimes when I take pictures of the things I am eating.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

permalink written by  JuergenS on July 25, 2010 from Kyoto, Japan
from the travel blog: Two month of Japan
tagged Culinary
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Osaka

Osaka, Japan


Ferris wheel

Went to Osaka today, gotta see this city if you stay some time in the Kansai area.

Osaka aquarium

Started off at the Osaka Aquarium, right next to the Giant Ferris Wheel in the bay area.
Lots of sharks, mantas and yes, people (well, its Saturday and all). The star of the audience is the young dolphin, swimming along its mother.
Pictures:

Aquarium crowd

Manta greeting

Penguin

Dolphin with child

Manta

Spiral fish

Turtle posing

Crabs

Lots of restaurant and fast food stalls in the near market, also some well-known names.


Subway

KFC

What I ultimately found is this:


Bukkake, in MY food?

No further comment, did feel a bit weird eating there though.

A comedian did a show for the kids right when I left, he was not bad!

Went to the city center then, wandered about America Mura for a while.

Interesting streetlights around Osaka.

There are lots of shopping arcades, pretty much looking like that:


Shopping arcade

Found out that I suck at crane games.
Also, there is an entire arcade for cooking utensils, restaurant needs and pretty much anything to do with the preparation, consumption and selling of food.
A whole shop dedicated to the plastic food seen in shop windows (pretty handy when you can't read the menu). None of the stuff you see in the following pictures is actually edible.

Fake food

Fake food

The Tenjin Matsuri is held today and tomorrow in Osaka, one of the three biggest festivals in Japan. Took a quick stroll around, lots of stalls again and some new stuff I didn't see at the Gion Matsuri.
Pictures:


Yukatas - Asorted colors

Yukatas everywhere

Tenjin Matsuri

Interesting fashion choice

Tenjin Matsuri - Boat

Got on my way back to Kyoto and did some planning for my last week there.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS



permalink written by  JuergenS on July 24, 2010 from Osaka, Japan
from the travel blog: Two month of Japan
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Culinary: Matsuri Stalls

Kyoto, Japan

In the aftermath of the Gion Matsuri I would like to speak about the stalls there. Lots of different food is sold at every matsuri, some of which became the trademark of these summer festivals. There are also other stalls around, like I mentioned in my post about the Gion Matsuri, so I will focus on the culinary part here.


BBQ

BBQ
Skewered meat from the grill, either with BBQ-sauce or with dry rub. Do I have to say more?

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Takoyaki

Takoyaki
Fried octopus balls (eating some while I write this). The batter is filled in a special fryer, basically a skillet with lots of cavitieis), spices and a piece of octopus added and the whole thing gets turned over while baking/frying to archive a ball form. Really good, those things. Served with various toppings and normally sold in sets of six or eight.

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Taiyaki

Taiyaki
Not really a matsuri food, but there was a stand at the Gion Matsuri. It's a sweet cake-like thing in the form of a fish and filled either with cream or anko (sweet bean paste). Again a special fryer, this time basically a waffle maker, is used to get the batter in shape.

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Fruits

Fruits
Great to cool down a bit, fruit skewers are readily available.

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Ikayaki

Ikayaki
Grilled squid. Basically the same as BBQ, just substitute the meat with a squid (cross cut for better grilling).

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Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki
This specialty of the Kansai region is often described as a savory pancake. A bit of batter is put on the hot plate and formed to thin, round layer, on which lots of cabbage, grilled seafood and basically whatever you want is put. The one I ate (not at a matsuri) had bacon on top. The whole thing is then flipped over and when the cabbage is soft and done, placed on a layer of egg (yes, scrambled and grilled in the form of a thin layer). Flip again, add special okonomiyaki-sauce and spices and you are done. Delicious and really filling.

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Yakisoba

Yakisoba
Grilled noodles with cabbage and meat. A typical food in japan, easy to make and delicious.

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Candy fruits

Candy fruits
Those are really sweet, had trouble to finish mine. They take the fruits (the classic is an apple, slightly boiled) and dip it in liquid sugar (or whatever lollipops are made from). Various fruits available.

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Kakikoori

Kakikoori
Shaved ice. You can choose your flavor and it is added in the form of syrup/juice poured on top. Cool and sweet.

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Burger

Burger
Yes, they are here to, and they are big!

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Corn-on-the-cob

Corn-on-the-cob
A classic for BBQ.

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Frankfurts

Sausages
Called Frankfurts, don't look like the ones I know.

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Cucumber-on-a-stick

Cucumber-on-a-stick
Again, for cooling down.

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Karaage Chicken

Karaage Chicken
Fried chicken pieces with various flavors (chili, garlic, soy sauce, salty, ...). You buy a cup (3 sizes) and fill it with whatever types you want.

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Crepés

Crepés
They are a hit in Japan and really good. Quick definition: A thin pancake, filled with cream, fruit, chocolate etc. and rolled up into a cone.

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Noodle dish

Others
There are of course others as well and they differ from region to region. I don't even know exactly what kind of noodle-dish it is, I took a picture of here.

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And a note for the beer-drinkers: There are the constant shouts of "Nama Biru!" at every corner, praising their beer and tempting you to buy.
The interesting thing is, the price rises with reduced distance to the main part of the matsuri. When I started at the Yakata shrine, a fair distance from the boiling center, the beer at the Convenience Store is about 230yen a can. Once you enter the area of the matsuri you can buy it in cans of in cups for 300yen, if you go near it its 400yen and when you are right in the middle of the whole thing, meaning where all the different stalls are, one can is 500yen.
Of course the prices of every stall are probably higher than elsewhere, but it's really obvious with the beer.
By the way, a beer stand I saw looked like this:


Beer guys

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

permalink written by  JuergenS on July 22, 2010 from Kyoto, Japan
from the travel blog: Two month of Japan
tagged Culinary
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Nara

Nara, Japan


Me with deer

Went to Nara today, famous for its many deer (about 1200, they were worshiped as messengers of the gods before Buddhism spread in Japan and since then held dearly), the largest wooden building of the world and its massive bronze Buddha (Daibutsu). Activated my JRP and withdrew some money beforehand and had a great breakfast (sushi ekiben).

After arriving I picked up a map and started my tour, the Nara-koen makes a great half-day hike from sight to sight.

Oh, and the mascot of Nara, Sento-kun, is omnipresent, you literally see him everywhere.


Isui-en

Started off at the Isui-en garden, pretty big and truly beautiful.
Pictures:

Isui-en

Isui-en

Isui-en

Isui-en

Continued to the Daibutsu-den then, the huge wooden building containing the great Daibutsu.


Nandai-mon

You enter the area trough the massive Nandai-mon, containing two fierce looking guardians, said to be two of the finest statues of all Japan. One could actually expect them to spring to life.
Trough the gate and you are near the main hall:

Daibutsu-den Hall

The building was rebuild in 1709 and is now a mere two thirds of its original size. That two thirds still make it the biggest wooden building of the world, though.

Daibutsu

The Daibutsu itself is made of 437 tonnes of bronze and 130kg of gold and of course dominating the hall.

Pictures can't really be used to represent the dimensions we are dealing with here, and spamming superlatives probably won't help.

Behind the Daibutsu is a pillar with a hole in it, exactly the size of one of the nostrils of the great Buddha. It is said that those who fit through there are definitively going to reach enlightenment. Its the perfect size for kids. (Read as: There are lines of kids waiting to try their luck and lines of parents waiting to snap their pictures.)

The temples and shrines of Japan rely heavily on donations and sell good luck charms and the such. Also you can buy a wooden plate or a great candle on which you write your wish. These are burned by the monks in order for the wishes to be fulfilled. There are many different versions of this, the Daibutsu-den is selling roof tiles to be used in reconstruction.

Wandered the premises after leaving the hall. There are a great many temples, shrines and gardens in the area, I won't bore you with those.
Some pictures of the park though:


Nara-koen

Nara-koen

One hall had this warning, pretty interesting way of putting things, no?

Well, by now you probably ask yourself: "Where are the deer?". Here you go:


Stag with twisted horns

Many deer, many droppings

Deer

Stalking stag

Deer and senbei-seller

Moveset of the common deer

There are special deer-crackers on sale for 150yen to feed them with. Got stalked by one after buying a pack. That's by the way the only thing that will attract them like in the headline-picture, once they know you got no more, they are gone.

Nara is a must-see on every trip in the Kansai-area and is thus frequented by tourist groups and school classes. There were many groups like that, but the hall is enormous and if you wait for a few minutes you can enjoy the sight in peace. If you don't happen to carry anything resembling deer food, that is.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

permalink written by  JuergenS on July 22, 2010 from Nara, Japan
from the travel blog: Two month of Japan
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Gion again

Kyoto, Japan


Sanjusangendo


Surrounding wall of Sanjusangendo
Visited the Sanjusangendo today, a temple basically consisting of a great hall featuring 24 statues of the Heavenly Guardians and 1001 statues of the Thousand Armed Kannon. These statues are nearly life size, 500 Kannons placed right of the great statue in the middle (oh, and this one is enormous, a truly great view) , 500 left and the 24 Guardians lined up before them. Oh, and the Thousand Armed Kannons here don't actually have 1000 arms, but 40. As it is believed that one arm of the Kannon can save 25 worlds, that makes a thousand per statue. Still a whole lot of arms in one hall. Picture taking is strictly prohibited inside.


Nishiki market

Went to the Nishiki-market then, a street lines with stalls and shops dedicated to food. Fresh seafood, cooking utensils, vegetables, all you want.
Went into a shop purely for cooking knives and bought some stuff (these utensils where pretty much on top of the things I want to bring home from Japan after all). Really nice merchandise and staff there, got my name in Katakana engraved into the knives (free service).

Oh, and I entered one of those:


100yen shop
Nice place to get some cheap stuff (there are some useful things on sale as well).


Geisha district

Wandered through Gion and reached the Geisha street. And there she was, on her way to the taxi bringing her to her appointment:

Maiko/Geisha

Stopped by the sake bar Yoramu on my way back.


Yurakuso sake bar

Really nice atmosphere and the barkeeper (came to Japan half his live ago by chance and never left) knows just about everything there is to know about his business. Oh, and he speaks English by the way.
He offers sake samplers, consisting of three different sake types which are different for every costumer. You tell him what kind of taste you like or dislike (not in liquor, in general) and he gives you a range of taste to get a feeling for sake. Mine consisted of a dry one, tasting like a dry white wine with high alcohol content, a foggy white one, dry with a bit of sweetness and a fruity one with lots of flavor. I didn't like the white one very much, the others were good. I ordered a sweet one for finishing up, something like a desert wine, I told him. What I got was a really unusual sake, one make from completely unpolished rice (meaning the rice still has its outer shell, its not rubbed away), which is really rare, I was told. It was sweet, it was good, it was a great wrap for the day.

Oh, and I saw this woman walking her dog...Or something. Anyone got an idea why she is driving it around like that?

On my way back I noticed this Torii from the bridge I was standing on. Interesting placement, to say the least.

Another hot day, and I spent quite some money today.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

permalink written by  JuergenS on July 21, 2010 from Kyoto, Japan
from the travel blog: Two month of Japan
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Arashiyama

Kyoto, Japan


Arashiyama

Went to Arashiyama today, a great area for walking around and a half-day hike. Took the bus to Arashiyama and first entered the Tenryu-ji (lit. Sky Dragon Temple), 500yen for the garden, another 100yen for the temple itself. Seemed about right in proportion, the most interesting part was probably the room with sliding screen paintings.

Tenryu-ji

Tenryu-ji screen paintings

Tenryu-ji dry garden

I exited the temple garden by its north exit and reached the main reason for my visit here, the bamboo forest.
Pictures:


Adopted child?

Arashiyama bamboo forest

Arashiyama bamboo forest

Bamboo grafiti?

Arashiyama bamboo forest

As I still had time, I decided to add a hike to the Monkey Mountain.


Monkey Mountain map

Took some time and left me pretty drenched (well, it was a hot day after all), but it is not a hard track to reach the top.


Monkey quiz

Danger sign

Hand print

Emergeny button

Yeah...right

And then there were the monkeys:


My first monkey

Monkey on a slide

Snack time

Monkeys drinking

And it is the time of year where the young monkeys are around:

Monkey kid

Monkey kid

Monkey kids

Monkey kids

The view on there was really great, overlooking Kyoto and the surrounding mountains. Also, there is a rest place up there where you can feed the monkeys through a wire fence. Yes, you are in a cage, not the monkeys.

Gret view

Took quite a lot of pictures of monkeys and bamboo today.
Went back after that and did some souvenir shopping. Tomorrow I will be taking a look at Gion some more, lots to see there.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

permalink written by  JuergenS on July 20, 2010 from Kyoto, Japan
from the travel blog: Two month of Japan
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Temple hopping

Kyoto, Japan


Kinkaku-ji

Went temple hopping today and topped it of with a visit at an onsen/sento.


Ninna-ji

I started at Ninna-ji in the northwestern part of Kyoto. The temple is guarded by four statues, two lions on the inside, two gods(?) on the outside. Had a nice garden and some screen paintings on display. I couldn't show the ones at Nijo-jo, so here you go:

Satisfied? Good.

The whole thing consists of several buildings and a spacious garden, Torii and pagoda inclusive.


Ninna-ji garden

Ninna-ji garden

Torii@Ninna-ji

Ninna-ji pagoda

I planned this trip as a walking tour, so off I went to my next target: the Ryoan-ji.


Dry garden of Ryoan-ji


Garden of Ryoan-ji
This temple is famous for its dry garden. It lies within a spacious garden (free of charge to visit) and is placed in a separate building (500yen admittance). As most dry gardens it consists of white pebbles, representing water and larger stones, in this case 15. I could only make out 14 of them, and a small girl visiting with her father came to the same conclusion. There are two explanations. One: My arithmetical abilities are barely on par with those of a grade school kid. And two: the last one really hard to make out.
A miniature of the garden was also available.
Well, the whole thing wasn't really to my liking, to be honest. I much more enjoyed the walk through the surrounding garden/forest. Lots of greenery, a beautiful pond and way fewer people.

Was on my way again, this time to the main part of my visit in this area.

There are some useful signs around this area by the way.

Came by this university on my way, interesting exterior.


Kinkaku-ji

Reached the Kinkaku-ji then, the famous Golden Pavilion.
It was a hot day and the sun burned down, but that only enhanced the beauty of the pavilion with its upper level coated in gold. Placed in a lake, surrounded by nature, it was a astonishing sight.
Some pictures:

Kinkaku-ji

Kinkaku-ji

Wishing well or bad aim?

Kinkaku-ji garden

The pond had cranes surrounding it and lots of crane and turtles in it.
I wandered through the gardens of the Kinwaku-ji, shopped for some souvenirs and rested a bit.
Regarding the Ginkaku-ji vs Kinkaku-ji discussion: I can't rea lly tell you which one is superior, the Kinkaku-ji is definitively flashier, but the Ginkaku-ji has its own charm. If the chance arises, visit both.


Funaoka-onsen entrance

Funaoka-onsen was my last stop today, a public bath well liked for its traditional setting.
Upton entering you pay the fee and can borrow towels and buy soap. Then you enter the changing area (separated by gender, the baths as well), undress and put you stuff in a locker. The keys have bands on them to wear around hour wrist or neck. Taking only the soap and the small towel (yes, there is a big one as well) with you, you enter the bathing area. There is a section for washing yourself, featuring plastic stools to sit on. There you clean yourself. Thoroughly. I saw several people taking care of other sanitary issues there as well, inclusive brushing your teeth and shaving. When you are clean (no bubbles left, any soap gone, just you in a clean state), you enter the bath. There are usually several kinds of bath available: Different tubs (wooden, stone, normal), different temperatures, bubble baths and special kinds like electric baths and bath with supposedly medical effect. You can stay as long as you like and enter all of them.
The Funaoka-onsen also has two outdoor-baths, cast in natural stone and featuring small waterfalls. One of them is hot and the other cold, to be enjoyed after leaving the nearby sauna.
It was a hot day, as I mentioned before, so the sauna and the hottest of the bath were quite hard to bear.
There were also lots of carvings on the wooden surfaces, especially in the changing area.
Refreshed and clean I left.


Pontocho

It was 4p.m. by then and I took a stroll through Pontocho, the nightlife and restaurant district of Gion, before returning home.

A phenomenon I quite like is that whenever a shrine is in the way of new buildings or structures, the thing is just build around the shrine. Like in this picture, in the middle of a busy and noisy shopping arcade, several shrines can be found.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

permalink written by  JuergenS on July 19, 2010 from Kyoto, Japan
from the travel blog: Two month of Japan
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Higashi Hongan-ji, Nishi Hongan-ji, Nijo Castle

Kyoto, Japan


Higashi Hongan-ji

Today I started off at Kyoto Station and headed north. Just a few minutes of walking brought me to the Higashi Hongan-ji (Eastern Temple of the Original Vow), the name and at the same time head temple of one of the dominating sub sects of the Shin sects of Buddhism in Japan, the other being the Nishi Hongan-ji (Western Temple of the Original Vow). There originally was only one sect, but the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu split it two to reduce its power and influence.


Higashi Hongan-ji

The temple had a great gate and large, heavily decorated halls which also contain sacred heirlooms of the sect. Taking pictures is prohibited inside the halls and at the entrance of the main building you have to take off your shoes.
Went through the gates and explored the area for a bit before continuing on.

Hair rope
Found this hair rope (yes, made of hair from the followers of the sect). As the quality of ropes back at the construction of the temple was still lacking, hair was preferred. These ropes and the sleigh (below) were used to move and place the timber for the temple.


Nishi Hongan-ji entrance

Next up was the Nishi Hongan-ji, a litte walk west of the Higashi Hongan-ji. The premises seemed bigger to me, but where essentially the same. A prayer was going on there, however, the chanting of the monks was interesting to hear.

Nishi Hongan-ji bell

Nishi Hongan-ji

Both temples had the stamp areas again, one creating "check points" throughout the area to guide those collecting them.


Inner castle of Nijo-jo

I took a bus bound north to reach the Nijo Castle after the temples. I drive by this castle every day and I decided that it was time I finally saw its interior. There are two concentric lines of defence, each with a tall wall and a moat, surrounded by large gardens. Again, no taking pictures inside.
There were impressive screen-paintings in all the halls and you could take a look at the major rooms of the castle, from the Shogun's private chambers to the room he met with his subordinates.
Another interesting part of the castle is the Nightingale Floor, which is build to squeak, creak and make musical noises when stepped on, in order to detect anyone trying of infiltrate the castle. It still works!
Left the castle and strolled through the gardens.
Some pictures of Nijo-jo:

Nijo-jo entrance

Carvings on Nijo-jo

Nijo-jo garden

Nijo-jo garden

Nijo-jo garden

Nijo-jo inner fortifications

Nijo-jo garden

View from Nijo-jo fortifications

Came by this pond, there are turtles in there!

It was really hot today and I was glad when I came back to my air conditioned room.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

permalink written by  JuergenS on July 18, 2010 from Kyoto, Japan
from the travel blog: Two month of Japan
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Gion Matsuri

Kyoto, Japan


Yasaka shrine

The Gion Matsuri spans the whole month of July and various events take place during this time in Kyoto. The main base for most activities is the Yasaka shrine.

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Float


Float
The floats: These are the trademark of the Gion Matsuri. Lots of floats are build every year and open for visiting in the streets. There are two types of floats, Yama and Boko, differing in weight and layout. They are up to 25m tall, from the ground to the tip of the tree in their center. The carpets they are adorned with are often very old and from all over the world. They are sometimes called moving museums for their historical value.


At night the lanterns all over them are lit, the traditional musicians take their place and play to the masses visiting.
On the morning of the 17th the floats align in an order decided by lottery, are carried or pulled through the streets of Gion by the local men. After that they return to the place they were built at and quickly disassembled, dispelling all the evil they absorbed on their way.

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Chimaki

Chimaki: These are charms that are sold only during the matsuri. People buy them, hang well visible over their entrances and keep them there until they get a new one next year.

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Matsuri stalls

Matsuri stalls: Probably THE characteristic element of all matsuri. Tons of stalls line the streets and the area of the shrine, selling all that special foodstuff I wanted to try and more.
I am currently working on a follow-up post about the food sold at such festivals.
Also, there were lots of these guys. They sell a ticket for 300yen with the outlook to win video games and even consoles. Of course there is all that cheap plastic stuff around as well. You buy a ticket, it's either a fluke or a win and you won't get the thing you wanted anyways. Yes, it's the type of thing young boys spend their allowance on. Seemed quite popular.


There are also masks for kids and all kinds of sparkly stuff on sale, from light sabers over kitten ears to necklaces.
The mayor streets where the stalls were where closed on the nights of the 14th, 15th and 16th, which meant lots of pedestrians, lots and lots of stalls and lots of walking.

==============


Byobu Matsuri

The folding screen festival: A part of the Matsuri where one can get a precious glimpse inside a Japanese home. Here, the residents open their houses and put their family heirlooms on display, to be viewed by everyone interested.

==============


The dance of the snake

Kagura: On the evening of the 16th, the Kagura are performed at the Yasaka shrine. Kagura are dances/performances depicting a story or pleasing the gods.
Before the main event started, there was the blessing of the shinsengumi (I really have no idea where they came from or there they went after the 5min ceremony and neither had the Japanese around me) and the crane dance, performed by children.

Shinsengumi?

The crane dance


The musicians
There are traditional instruments used (Flute, drums, ...) and the dancers/actors are adorned with colorful and rich costumes. I will now give a short description of the Kagura I witnessed on that evening. Taking pictures was quite hard with the light and all those people, they are not really good for the most part, but bear with me.


The bell dance

The bell Kagura is a dance to please the gods and started performance. The moves with the fan and the bells were impressive.


The dancing god

Fighting the demon

Next up was a story I did not quite get, to be honest. A young man angered a god who called forth lightning and set the man to fight a demon for his live, or something along those lines.


The deceiving fox

Destroying the demon

Then the story of a monk and a man of herculean strength travelling together and meeting a beautiful woman who charmed the monks companion. She turned out to be a demon, fooling humans by disguising herself as a girl and eating her victims alive. The monk was able to prevent the worst at first, but they were not able to kill the demon, the nine-tailed fox. Two warriors appeared, however, a master archer and a swordsman, sent out to exterminate the fox, and ultimately prevailed.
The whole thing was more of a comedy and quite entertaining.


Exorcism

The dance of exorcism was next, depicting the story of a ruler who fell very ill until a god appeared in his dream and fought a demon there. After the gods victory the ruler/king woke up and was healed. This one dragged on for some time.


The god of prosperity

The penultimate Kagura was easier to enjoy, it was an homage to the god of fishing, prosperity and commerce, pictured as an fat man who loves to fish.


Fire elements of the snake

The finale was great, a story originally from China: The extermination of Yamato-no-Orochi. The story is as follows. Yamato-no-Orochi is a snake demon, taxing a village with one maiden/princess every year. There were eight princesses originally, but only one remained, and the old folk of the village became really desperate and cried to the gods not to take her away. Susanoo-no-mikoto, the brother of the sun goddess appeared in the village and prepared a poisoned wine, ready to slay the monster.
When the last princess was presented to Yamato-no-Orochi, it drank the wine and fell asleep, enabling the god to cut off its heads (of which is has eight in the version I know, on stage there were four). Of course this couldn't happen without a proper fight, but the good prevailed and the princess was saved. Here some pictures:

The maiden struggles


Yamata no Orochi devours the maiden


The dance of the snake


The dance of the snake


The poison in effect


Fighting Yamata no Orochi


Yamata no Orochi's defeat

The whole thing lasted for three hours and was a great watch. With me standing directly behind the rows of seats (no, I didn't get one, had to stand), the view was good as well.
I was glad to be under the roof, however, others didn't have that luck.

==============

Also, many things to be seen at this matsuri have some special stamps outside and people compete to get all of them. I also saw such stamps at the Eihei-ji temple and the Silver Pavilion. Probably some kind of proof that you where there. Took some of those in my notebook.

That was the matsuri as I experienced it.

Unfortunately it rained quite a lot during this week, but it was bearable. The folks at the shrine where well prepared and had shelters put up really fast as soon as it looked like it would start. The main sidewalks had roofs as well, no problem there.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

permalink written by  JuergenS on July 17, 2010 from Kyoto, Japan
from the travel blog: Two month of Japan
tagged Performance and Matsuri
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