Japan Day 6 – Kyoto: Bamboo Forest, Tenryu-Ji Shrine & Nijo Castle

Day 6 would be our only morning with Liz and Kelly. We all agreed that we should start the day be a visit to the bamboo forest on the northwest side of the city and hope that the weather would cooperate.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

It was a relatively short train ride to the neighborhood of Arashiyama. If you’re feeling lonely, this is a good place to go. Even as you arrive at the train station, you begin to feel the increase in the tourist-to-local ratio. The neighborhood itself has a nice feel to it and it would be nice to be there without the tourists. And this isn't peak tourist season.

It was about a 20-minute walk from the station to the entrance to the forest. The rain had stopped by this time and it would thankfully stay that way for the remainder of the day.

For those annoyed by my tendency to delve into the history of everything, you’ll be happy to know that I don’t know anything about the history of this place. I just took it for what it is: a dense, cathedral-like grove of bamboo trees.

It’s one of the most photographed sites in Kyoto. And as nice as the photos can be, it obviously can’t capture what it is like to be there. Were it not for the billions of people sharing the experience with us, it would have been far more magical.

Even with the crowds, it was amazing. The clouds had begun to clear a bit while we were there changing the lighting. I’m told that the best time to be there is first thing in the morning to do the walk with fewer tourists and to catch the low morning sun. I’m a little skeptical of the sun part given that the forest is so dense that there isn’t a tremendous amount of light that makes it through.

The only downside to the parting of the clouds was that it contributed to a sharp increase in humidity. I was soaked with sweat when we arrived at the end of the path.

Okochi Sanso

Adjacent to the forest are some hillside gardens that are the former property of a famous Japanese period film actor Dejjiro Okochi. Okochi became famous in the 1920s for his sword fighting and samurai movies. When he passed away in 1962, his property was opened to the public.

Okochi

He apparently worked on the gardens for over 30 years. It has a one-way path going through it, which is actually makes sense in that you are not constantly bumping into people. 

The trail winds around the hillside offering occasional views of Kyoto through the trees. 

us with a tiny shrine on the hillside to the right of Kiran

The backside opens up to a beautiful hilly landscape. A sharp contrast to the mostly urban environments that we had been in to that point.

Towards the end there’s a nice little tekisuian (small tea house) where you can help yourself to some free tea. You pay to access the gardens, so I guess you still pay for it. But it’s an enjoyable little rest stop.

 

Tenryu-ji Temple

From there we headed down to the Zen Buddhist temple Tenryu-ji (temple of the heavenly dragon). It was established in 1339 and in 1994 it was designated by the UN as a World Heritage Site. So it’s a pretty big deal.

I love the Japanese propensity to build with wood, but there are risks with that construction material as the country has experienced over centuries. Since its founding, this temple has been ravaged by fires no less than eight times, the last one in 1864. As such, most of the buildings on the temple grounds date to the Meiji period (1868-1912).

The raked sand/gravel patterns in Japanese Zen gardens are designed to mimic the natural flow of water and the landscape. Each traditional pattern carries a specific meaning and contributes to the garden’s meditative atmosphere. This is an active temple with monks, in spite of the tourists flowing through, carrying out their various chores.

I confess that I don't know that much about Zen Buddhism. I've read some about the basic origins and beliefs. I've had friends that are practicing Buddhists. The trip has made me more curious, however. One blind spot caught my attention as I walked past the backside of the main temple building. It was a cartoonish image on the back wall that seemed incongruous with the rest of the architecture and art.

Apparently it is a Daruma-zu, a traditional Japanese Zen painting depicting Bodhidharma (known as Daruma in Japan). He's the 6th-century Indian monk who founded Zen Buddhism. He famously meditated facing a wall for nine years (probably why he looks so angry in most of the depictions). In Zen art, painting Daruma was not just an artistic exercise, but a spiritual act to point directly to the human mind and awaking Buddha-nature. Now I know.

* * * 

The girls were getting a bit tired of temples and shrines by this point, even more so given that we were all experiencing low blood sugar. We ended up ducking into one of the first restaurants we saw as we exited the grounds of the shrine. This sort of decision making can produce bad results, particularly in a tourist area. On this occasion, it worked out. The lunch was fast and excellent. After some soft-serve ice cream, we made our way back to the train.

more amazing ramen

As the train brought us back to the neighborhood of our hotel, we decided to make one last visit before Liz and Kelly would need to head for the airport. To no surprise, girls opted out and made their way back to the hotel on their own.

Nijo-Jo Castle

in front of the temple gate

Also designated as a World Heritage Site, Nijo is an impressive castle covering nearly 70 acres in the middle of Kyoto. Like Nagoya Castle, it was initiated in the early 1600s by the Tokugawa shogunate (of Shogun fame).

The castle was designated as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shoguns. The shogunate used Edo (Tokyo) as their capital city, but Kyoto continued to be the home of the Imperial Court.

* * *

With mounting fatigue, we returned to the hotel. We bid our farewells to Liz and Kelly, and they caught their taxi to the airport for their return to Manila. We had no enthusiasm for another evening out so we went to the local grocery store to buy some food to eat at the hotel. I should say that this turned out to be a far more interesting option that I thought it would be. I haven’t sampled too many Japanese grocery stores (mostly convenience stores at this point), but this place was like my dream store. The food options were amazing. When we were doing our research prior to traveling to Japan, we noticed an inordinate amount of food photos and commentary about food. I now understand.

Japan Day 5 – Nagoya to Kyoto: Family, Yasaka Shrine

The next morning, we woke up to rain. It wasn’t a serious problem for our tourism plans given that we had an early lunch with Kyoko near the train station before catching our train to Kyoto in the afternoon.

The bullet train to Kyoto is only a little over a half hour. We arrived mid-afternoon as the rain continued. It took us forever to get a taxi but eventually we were able to make our way to the hotel.

The big surprise

Priya’s sister Liz notified me a couple of weeks earlier that she and her boyfriend Kelly may try to come and meet us in Japan. It’s a relatively short flight of less than four hours from Manila to Osaka, but due to their work schedules, they would have less than two days to spend with us. They only notified me to make it a surprise for Priya and the girls.

Our original vacation plan was to meet them in the Philippines for a week or so. But when that didn’t work out due to their schedules, we shifted to Japan. Given all they had going on, it was assumed that we wouldn’t be able to connect with them. In fact, Priya mentioned several times during the trip up to that point how unfortunate it was that we were not far from them but wouldn't be able to see them. In the background, I coordinated with Liz to have them meet us at our hotel in Kyoto.

As we were checking in, Liz and Kelly appeared from around the corner to surprise my unsuspecting family. So much fun to see the look on their faces. 

catching up after the surprise

Yasaka Shrine

After everyone calmed down and we were settled into our room, we headed out to explore the amazing city of Kyoto. Our first stop would be Yasaka Shrine.

our group is on the left

There are dozens of stunning shrines and temples in Kyoto and, unless you have a lot of time, you won’t see all of them. I’m not sure how this one made it first on our list, but it worked out well given that it sits in a cool neighborhood.

Like Nagoya, Kyoto was apparently a top target for the atomic bomb, even ahead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For eleven centuries, until 1869, Kyoto was the seat of the Japanese imperial court. Essentially, it was the most important city. Its history and cultural treasures have always loomed large in the Japanese psyche. The theory was that, though the city contributed very little to the war effort, the destruction of Kyoto would effectively crush Japanese morale and contribute to putting an end to the war. Apparently the US Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, intervened, insisting that the ancient city be spared. This decision obviously had huge consequences for the city. Though it wasn't entirely spared from air raids, its cultural heritage remained mostly intact. Today, Kyoto is one of the most popular destinations for visitors to the country.

Yasaka is a Shinto shrine that has roots going back to the 7th century. As mentioned in the earlier post, the facility would eventually be host to a Buddhist temple until the state-enforced separation of the two religions in 1868. Though Buddhist architecture is prevalent throughout the shrine, today is it predominantly a Shinto place of worship.

Behind the shrine and at located in the foothills is Maruyama Park. It was early evening and the rain had stopped. As we explored the area, the lights of the temple creating a wonderful setting. 

Gion

The shrine is in Gion district, one of the more popular areas of Kyoto. It began as an entertainment district and thus has always been built to accommodate travelers and visitors of the shrine. It was one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts. Geisha performers began in the mid-1700s and are still popular today. They are essentially performance artists trained in traditional dance, music and singing. The profession has evolved over the centuries, at times even venturing into prostitution other societal functions, but there has been a consistent general focus on stage performances.

We didn't have time to take in any performances, but it might be something I would do if I returned to Kyoto. 

No harassing geishas. 

No sitting on stairs. 

No smoking. 

No eating in public (unless you're next to the food stand). 

No littering. 

No selfies with a selfie stick?

We then made our way to the main road, Nishi Hanamikoji Street, which was flooded with tourists. We meandered through the streets, opting for a side road that led us to where we decided to have dinner.

Japan is full of small establishments that are able to survive on lower volume. Apparently, the government has made it a priority to create conditions for this to happen. As such, it preserves the livelihoods of small traders that have been around for decades, if not centuries.

Our ramen restaurant could accommodate less than ten people. Most of the evening, we had the place to ourselves.

my steaming ramen

After dinner, we walked the half-hour back to the hotel. We had been pushing it quite hard for much of the time that we had been in Japan and it was catching up to us. However, we knew that rain was likely on the way (though the reports were now showing the typhoon shifting to a tropical storm and moving slightly south of us) and we were trying to take advantage of the good weather while we had it. 

the walk back to the hotel

Japan Day 4 – Tokyo to Nagoya: Kyoko & Nagoya Palace

After our time in Tokyo, we caught a train to Nagoya where we would see Priya’s second cousin. I was looking forward to taking a short break from tourism to have a home cooked meal and enjoy a slice of regular Japanese life.

* * *

Mt. Fuji?

Around midday we caught the high-speed train headed southwest. The route is gorgeous even if you have cloudy weather as we did. On a clear day it must be stunning.

Beautiful area even if we didn't get to see the full mountain 

Within a few kilometers of leaving Tokyo, you approach the foothills of Mt. Fuji to the north. The tracks weave in and out of towns and through the occasional tunnel. The ocean is to the left and hills are on the right. On this day, Mt. Fuji was obscured by clouds except for the base. We would need to return to Tokyo on this same train so we hoped that we might have better luck next week. Unlikely since rain is predicted and Typhoon Champi is headed straight for Japan. Seeing the famous mountain in all its glory may need to wait until our next trip.

* * *

Kyoko and the family

Kyoko was waiting for us on the train platform in Nagoya. I have seen her on a video call, but we’ve never met. Priya hadn’t seen her for years. She’s not originally from Nagoya and has only lived there less than four years. She confessed that she doesn’t know the city that well.

Her grandfather and Priya’s (Katsuichi) were siblings and were born and raised in Wakayama (south of Osaka). Their mother apparently died young and their father was abusive. Katsuichi, the eldest of the brothers, born in 1896, apparently looked after his younger siblings, including Kyoko’s grandfather. Kyoko had such kind words to say, not only about Priya’s grandfather but also her mother and father.In fact, she had recently visited Priya's mother in the US fairly recently.

* * * 

Digression - The Story of Katsuichi

Katsuichi’s story is interesting enough that his personal journals were purchased by the Duke University archive of valuable documents (we accessed/scanned them a few years ago). I won't go into it too much here, and there's a lot I haven't researched yet, but it is worth mentioning given that his journey is an important backdrop to our trip to Japan. It is also something I intend to explore further more when I have time.  

Japanese history, particularly from the 17th century onward is fascinating. It's even more interesting to me to explore my wife's family's connection to it. Very briefly, under the Tokugawa shogunate (Edo period 1603-1867) Japan enforced a strictly isolationist policy that completely prohibited Japanese from leaving the country and barred almost all foreigners from entering. In the latter part of the ban, a son of a samurai and budding scholar named Jo Neesima, inspired by what he had learned about the Western world, defied the ban to travel to the US in the interest of furthering his education. He spent ten years in America where he learned English, furthered his studies, and converted to Christianity (extremely rare among Japanese at the time). After the isolationist policies were lifted, he returned to Japan with the motivation of founding a university. 

Katsuichi attended this new university and was inspired by Neesima to also immigrate to the US. He made the bold move in the early 1920s. I'm not sure exactly when but it had to have been prior to the US Congress passing the Immigration Act of 1924 which effectively banned all immigration from Japan until 1952. 

It’s not clear where life began in the US but it was likely that it was either southern Idaho or northern Utah. It's also not clear why but it's likely that he was serving as a teacher to Japanese immigrants, particularly those who had relocated to the area to work on the railroads in the mines. It was an interesting choice given that sentiment towards the Japanese wasn't very positive during this time. Idaho was passing legislation to put restrictions on them, including an Alien Land Law in 1923 barring Japanese immigrants from owning land. It was there, in 1928, that he married Yoniko (aka Yone) Kawai. Though they were married near Ogden, Utah, the marriage certificate lists them as residents of Idaho Falls. 

Priya's father was born in Idaho Falls later that year. It is a remarkable coincidence that Priya (born and raised in India) and I met in Tanzania, and her father (son of an immigrant from Japan) and I were born about 160 miles from each other. In 2008 I was able to take him to his place of birth for the first time in nearly 80 years. It was a bit underwhelming, as one might expect, given that the hospital is long gone. In its place is an LDS Temple.

2008

In the mid-1930s, the family moved to southern California where there was a large Japanese immigrant population. In 1942, the dark chapter began as Katsuichi and his family, including Priya’s 14-year-old father, were uprooted by the War Relocation Authority (WRA) and taken to the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona during for the remainder of World War II where Katsuichi served as a Baptist pastor.

After the war, and their subsequent release from the interment camp, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. It is there that Priya’s father would pursue his medical studies at Case-Western University, eventually becoming a surgeon and subsequently practicing medicine in northern India for the next 30 years.

It’s a lineage that shifts from one continent to the next, from a man raised in Japan, to a son raised in the US, to a granddaughter raised in India, to great-granddaughters raised in East Africa. And we come full circle to our girls to travel to Japan to explore the world of their great-grandfather.

End of digression.  

* * *

Nagoya

After a brief greeting with Kyoko on the train platform, we began weaving our way through the train station crowds to our hotel, adjacent to the train station. Kyoko had kindly arranged it for us and it ended up being the ideal place for us to be based. 

Nagoya felt bigger than I expected. Our hotel room was in a shiny, new building on the 18^th floor. We checked in and quickly grabbed a taxi to visit the only tourist objective that we had for this stop – the Nagoya Castle.

* * *

Nagoya Castle

We didn’t have much time given that it was already 3:40pm and the castle stops allowing entry at 4:30. We piled into two taxis and within fifteen minutes we were at the entrance to the castle. Part of the reason that we were trying to squeeze in the visit on day one in Nagoya was that it was expected to be rainy the next day (and indeed it was). The nice thing about visiting a tourist destination at the end of the day is that there are fewer crowds. There were no queues and few tourists getting in the way of the photos. 

The castle dates back to the early 1600s and the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate. If you've read the book or seen the movie/series called Shogun, it's more or less based on this period. As I mentioned before, it was a fascinating part of Japanese history and I can see why it would provide inspiration for a book. 

Nagoya sits on a narrow passage of the island and its geographical location was historically important as Tokugawa asserted control over all of what is now Japan. The castle grounds are among the largest in Japan.

 

The backdrop of WWII

Japan is full of wonderful historical areas that were flattened during World War II. You could spend a lot of time lamenting the poor leadership choices that led to what happened, but the bottom line is that the devastation wreaked havoc that is felt throughout the country even to this day, and not only for the country’s historical heritage.

In fact, Nagoya was considered to be a big target for allied forces due to the presence of the large Mitsubishi plant. Mitsubishi was a key player in the nation's wartime economy through its supply of ships, weapons and aircraft, including the famous A6M Zero fighter. Production of these armaments made Mitsubishi factories one of the main targets for Allied attacks, and in one factory the death toll among its workers amounted to 494 in a week. Mitsubishi Mining was also involved in the forced labor of Allied prisoners of war and people from Japan's colonies and occupied territories.

Nagoya after the 1945 air raids

To make matters worse for the historical heritage, during the war the castle was used as the Tokai district army headquarters and the administration office of the Nagoya POW camp. The Japanese military mistakenly believed that Allied forces would refrain from targeting historical landmarks. There was no refraining as aerial bombardments of Nagoya by the US Army Air Forces brought destruction to the city, to the castle and much of the city's history.

Once again, the buildings are gorgeous but much of what you see today was recreated in the wake of the Second World War.

* * *

Home-cooked meal

After the visit to the castle, we took a taxi back to the train station and then caught the train to Kyoko’s apartment near the outskirts of Nagoya. She rents in a very basic apartment building that was constructed after WWII in the push to provide much needed housing. She admittedly is happy to live simply and save some money to buy her own place in a few years, one that will take pets.

Prior to entering the flat, I was warned that the doorways are not made to accommodate people like me. Indeed, I needed to duck when moving from one room to the next. It was tiny but functional.

Kyoko is warm, interesting and has a sharp sense of humor. It was fascinating to get her observations about Japan and the Japanese. She has spent quite a bit of time outside the country. She worked for Nissan at their North American HQ in Tennessee. She spent time in Switzerland not far from where I used to live. I do feel as though it’s easier to reflect on your home country after spending time away from it. You see things that are difficult or impossible to see from within.

the second course

The table was set when we arrived. She had done most of the food preparations in advance, so it wasn’t long before we were tucked in to a great meal of some sort of Japanese stew, rice, salad, etc. This was followed by some sushi that was delivered as we finished our main course. After sushi was a selection of wonderful fruit. We were so full we could barely walk.

Prior to leaving, I needed to make a quick stop to the loo. In the process, I learned yet another quirk of Japan. Not only are shoes not worn in homes, providing slippers near the door for guests, many homes have separate slippers to be used specifically for the washrooms. In the entire time we were in Japan, I never seemed to be offered slippers big enough for my feet preventing me from ever being fully compliant with my footwear.

After dinner, we made our way to the train station and headed back to our hotel in downtown Nagoya. The train was packed with tired-looking people even late into the evening. Japanese are notorious for working late hours.