East Eats West

Two rare boutique hotels in Kyoto

Picture: Jijuden guesthouse consists of a traditional Japanese house, seen here, and a modern annex where the rooms are. 

The choice for hotels in Kyoto is bewildering: from very basic guesthouses to international chains to super expensive Ryokans, anything can be had if your pocket is deep enough. I stayed at two middle class hotels and liked both. One, Hotel Mume, is in the old Gion district in the very center of town. The hotel opened in 2008 and has seven Chinese inspired rooms with free WiFi and happy hour with free drinks (including beer) from 5pm to 7pm. What makes this hotel truly outstanding, next to the great location, is the absolutely charming and helpful staff and the breakfast with home-made bread and jam.

The second hotel, Jijuden Guesthouse, is located very close to the Golden Pavillion and some other temples in the north-west of Kyoto. The guesthouse cleverly combines and old Japanese house, with beautiful library, with a modern annex. Like Hotel Mume it has a modern bathroom. It offers a Ryokan feeling but without the contraints of a dated infrastructure or even a curfew. My recommendation is to stay in both! Here are the websites: http://www.hotelmume.com/ and http://jijuden.com/index_en.htmlPicture: The library of Jijuden guesthouse is housed in the old Japanese style house that used to be the home of the owners.

The art of Japanese archery

Japanese archery is known by the name of Kyudo. Unlike the Western type, it is unique that the archer does not aim. The arrow shall find its way. As you see on the picture the bow has no aim and the process of standing, flexing and releasing takes minutes. On the picture below a beginner was taught on how to get in position, kneel and flex the bow. He probably practiced for hours! Even today the spirit of Zen can be clearly felt in the ancient art of Japanese archery. 

Junior Budo in Kyoto

Picture: Ready to be a Judo champion one day! 

Here are a few pictures we took at the Budo Center in Kyoto where a children Judo competition was hosted on a holiday.

Kyoto amateur and master pottery

Picture: Tourists trying their luck at ceramics in Kyoto.

For over hundreds of years Japan has been the final destination for many foreign practices and customs. They then spent years perfecting it and taking it to to next level. This also applies to ceramics. A long time ago potters from Korea settled, eventhough not completely voluntarily, in the Kyushu town of Karatsu. They exercised a big influence on Japanese pottery with their new techniques. So even today there is a Karatsu pottery style in Japanese ceramics based on specific clay and kilns.

But you do not have to go so far south in order to find top quality Japanese ceramics. We came across a very distinctive ceramics shop in the Eastern Gion district of Higashiyama by the name of Kashogama. The shop has been existing for over a hundred years and displays master pieces from a recently deceased artist. His son has taken over and is continuing his work.

A special feature of the shop is the workshop downstairs where you can try your hands at pottery. For a modest fee you can produce your own ceramics and they ship it to your home. And if you are lucky the shop manager takes you upstairs where truly precious works are on display, some of them costing almost as much as a small car (Steve Jobs of Apple was a customer).

Flagstone-paved streets and wooden shrines in Eastern Gion

Picture: Higashiyama was outside of the old Kyoto city boundaries and therefore spared many devastating fires. It is worth a stroll! 

It is hard to go anywhere in Kyoto without happening upon a temple or shrine. But when it comes to combining shrines with cobbled stones and cosy restaurants, Eastern Gion also known as Higashiyama, is hard to beat for pure old-time atmosphere! It takes about 30 minutes to leisurely stroll from the Yasaka Shrine up to the impressive Kiyomizu Temple high up on the hill. But it is very likely you will get distracted on the way, looking at strange Japanese sweets, paper fans or ceramics. Eastern Gion has been spared most of the devastating fires in Kyoto and therefore has retained its historic charm. And if you are too exhausted from previous temple visits, you can hire a young and athletic rickshaw driver to show you around the various cites on the hill. As an additional bonus you will hardly ever happen on Western tourists, as they stick to the more central sites. Explore but hold on to your wallet (not because of thieves, though)! Should you see a apprentice Geisha, a Maiko, be aware that shops rent those costumes and that they are very likely Japanese tourists dressed up for a day!

Alien Japanese girls

Picture: This picture I took in Gion district in Kyoto where most gentlemen clubs are located. 

Mangas, like Karaoke and Sushi, are among the Japanese export hits. In comics the depicted girls are young, wear school or french maid uniforms and look cute with their big eyes. It seems that life is now imitating art as more and more young women have their eye-lids operated in order to look more Manga-like. Their strange faces with unnaturally big eyes can be found in magazines and at the doors of gentleman's clubs. I guess it is an acquired taste!

 

Japanese Zen wisdom

Picture: The stone garden of Kenninji Temple in Kita-kamakura as I was not allowed to take pictures of the Daisen-in stone garden, sorry!  

The Zen stone garden of Daisen-in temple in Kyoto is the most poetic of all of them. It depicts the “river of life”, the struggle of youth, the maturity and that one shall not try to hold on to whatever one has. Daisen-in also serves traditional powered green tea. While drinking tea one faces a calligraphy that says:

• Your way must be long
• Your heart round
• Refrain from being angry
• Let others be great
• Yourself, stay small

The temple that hosted the most famous Samurai and the founder of the tea ceremony

In the 15^th century the Onin wars ravaged most of Kyoto. Many temples were destroyed and consequently rebuilt years later. Daisen-in temple was built right after the war and has been sparred any fires ever since. Therefore Daisen-in is one of the oldest temples in Kyoto, and also one of the most enchanting one. It is steeped in history as it has seen many important visitors like the founder of tea-ceremony, Sen-no Ryku, and the unifier of Japan, Toyotomi Hideoshi. Hideoshi participated in tea-ceremonies hosted by Sen-no Ryku. Apparently they had many arguments and eventually Hideoshi commanded that Sen-no Ryku to commit suicide. Another famous visitor was the most legendary of all samurais, Musashi. He stayed in the temple and wrote his book “The book of five rings”. Today the temple is run by a ever cheerful abbot by the name of Ozeki Soen. Make sure you pay your respect to him, he will lighten up your heart with his smile and laughter! 

Zazen introduction for foreigners in Kyoto

Picture: Daiko-san, vice abbot of Taizoin Temple in Kyoto, giving an introduction to Japanese calligraphy, called Shodo. 

 With its hundreds of Buddhist temples in Kyoto, 'Zen' seems to be anywhere. Interestingly though you are itching to try some Zazen meditation on your own in the temples, there is little choice. The language barrier is just too big for most Zen priests. But there are exceptions. The young and English-speaking vice-abbot Daiko of Taizoin Temple offers a Zen experience that includes an introduction to Zazen sitting meditation and Shodo calligraphy, a tour of the famous temple with its 'wet' and 'dry' japanese gardens and a Buddhist vegetarian meal. It lasts an earlier part of a whole morning and the vice-abbot also conducts it all by himself, which is a very rare thing in Japan! The whole experience costs 7'500 Yen per person and is worth every penny! Though you have to sign up beforehand as it is only conducted every couple of weeks and attendance is restricted (we were only six students)!

Here are the contact details for Taizoin Temple in Kyoto: http://www.taizoin.com/en/

Or try Shunko-in Temple in Kyoto (www.shunkoin.com) for daily Zazen sessions.

Daisen-in temple in Kyoto also offers Zazen on weekends.

Picture: Being served macha green tea at Taizoin Temple in Kyoto.

Visiting Nara with His Holiness

On the 8^th of November 2010 I visited the Todaji Temple in Nara. While approaching the massive wooden structure, the biggest in Japan, I heard strange sounding horns. Upon approaching closer I saw the orange robes of Tibetan monks. I then entered the lofty main hall and there he was, about 5m away from me, his Holiness the Dalai Lama! With a small delegation he visited the massive bronze Buddha of Todaji Temple and I happened to be in the same location on the same day. It was a happy day, a truly happy day!