Kyoto: Higashi Hongan-Ji and Shosei-En

Aside from the modernity of Tokyo, we also wanted to experience old world Japan. Kyoto has always been in the plans to go visit but we never settled on a date till this morning when I had an epiphany. Kyoto should happen today or never. So I did a very uncharacteristic thing and decided to go on an adventure with no planning. I like my plans. I like planning. The stress of it has a relieving effect on me.  Very luckily for me, I am married to the bestest sport and trooper of all. I woke Thad up at 5 AM and told him what was going to happen for us today. Now, we had to be quick about it because  Kyoto is a long way from where we are in Tokyo. About the same distance as Dallas from New Orleans. Imagine going to Dallas in the morning and come home in the afternoon. That was however, possible with riding on the shinkansen (bullet train) that went up to 300 mph. The ride roughly took three hours. Now we had to make sure to make it back before the last train leaves from Tokyo to our hotel in Asakusabashi or we'll be stuck in Tokyo for the night. 

I did say I didn't plan anything but it wasn't from lack of wanting. I did try but we really had nothing to work with. We had no Kyoto maps for the subway or bus system, there's a brief commentary on places on our Lonely Planet book, some of which didn't help us on how to get to where we wanted to be, heck, aside from Gion, we didn't even know where exactly we wanted to be. 

   

We almost missed our train because the website where we have been plotting our routes, for some reason got the platform number wrong. We just stood on the wrong platform for a bit, wondering what to do or who to ask. It is hard asking for any help from people here because even though they are very polite and very, very nice, they hardly speak English. Essentially, when you are in Japan and all you know is English, you are on your own. I spied the conductor from the train that just arrived and he promptly and courteously directed us in broken English to the right platform. We got to the platform just as our train was boarding passengers. Since we didn't have reserved seats, we had to go to the 1-5 cars that were on the butt end of the train. We had to run the ENTIRE length of the train. Thank God, I started running the track weeks before coming to Japan otherwise that sprint would've killed me. So we finally found some vacant seats, settled down, caught our breaths and took that photo above. Not even 5 minutes, the train started to depart. 

                                                   and we finally got to Kyoto Station! 

Since this temple was a walking distance from the station, we checked it out. Higashi Hongan-Ji is massive! Built by the shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa in 1602. The Goei-do main hall is one of the largest wooden structures in the world. We weren't able to take a photo but inside, encased in a glass shell is  a curious object of a huge coil of rope made from human hair all donated by female devotees to help haul the massive timbers used for the reconstruction of the temple after its destruction in the 1880s.

Tremendous ornate door at the entrance

Thad at the purifying fountain having a face-off with the mythical ryu (dragon)

About 5 minutes walk from this temple is the Shosei-En. One can hardly believe this is nestled right in the heart of bustling Kyoto. The well kept grounds were completed in 1657 and still maintained meticulously to this day. 

Ceremonial Gate (Boka-kaku)

The Sochinkyo (Tea House) on the brim of Ingetsu-chi (pond)

Gosho-u (The North Island)

Shinsetsu-kyo (Snow-capped Bridge)

O-genkan Porch

The Kaito-ro Bridge is my favorite part of this garden. 

Thad, the pensive philospher

The Corridor Where Minds Meet

Xiomara, the forlorn Chibi-Hime ( Child-like Princess)

The Shiogama (Brine pit-like spring)

Thad in front of the Rofu-tei

A line of old traditional shops along the street off of the exit...

Next installment is Gion which is known as the Geisha district. For now, I can't barely keep my eyes open. I also don't want to promote ocular sensory overload :-) See you guys, next post!

Zen over-planning in Kyoto

So Xiomara had almost three good hours to get her worry worked up about jumping into a trip to Kyoto. A friend of hers who had been there told her some things to do, she'd read a few more in the travel book we have. Information is golden, so if you ever do get to Kyoto, let me give you the Cliff's notes: visitor's guide; Citybus day pass; bus schedule.

We got off the train at Kyoto Station and headed straight for the Kyoto visitors' welcome center which is actually in the station as opposed to across the street as a certain piece of journalistic work instructed. I know, things change, places move, but this was not enhancing Xiomara's calm at all. The lady in the Visitor's Information Center said that the Visitor's Welcome Center (the two should not be confused) was on the second floor. The Lonely Planet book said that it was across the road, Xiom was not having it any other way than by-the-book. I'm going with the lady who works there and speaks English.

We found a bit of nostalgia and I knew I was going to like this city when we found Cafe du Monde on the way to the Welcome Center (on floor #2 ftw). Yes, Cafe du Monde, as in Frech Quarter, as in New Orleans, as in beignets and cafe au lait.

(Pic: BEIGNETS! Cafe du Monde! Toto, I know we're not in Kansas)

When we got to the welcome center, we found that most of the attendants in the welcome center speak English as well. Kyoto is a tourist trap, so this is not very surprising to find a higher percentage of people speaking foreign languages. What was surprising is that these dozen or so people working were volunteers. Back to my point: you have to ask for a visitor's guide. It has maps, bus routes, train routes, subway routes, and places of interest in English. It's also published monthly, so it will be more up to date than a book or travel blog and has information on current events. Get it.

(Pic: October 2013 Kyoto Visitor's Guide)

With your guide in hand, just walk out of the station's central exit heading north. Now, pull out your visitor's guide map and just look around. Every thing in this city will make sense even if your name doesn't begin with an X. Now, turn back around, go get some coffee and beignets while figuring out where you want to see.

Even if you've done your research and know exactly where you want to go, look through your guide for new things to do while you may already be in that area. We left on foot to see a couple of temples and the garden (see Xiomara's post) in the immediate area. We could have foregone buying tickets altogether and spent the whole day just in and around this area. We could've actually spent a day in the station. Kyoto station has plenty of shops and restaurants, but we came to experience old Japan.

Getting around in Kyoto
Compared to Tokyo, the subways here are easier than making ice, but the ticket machines are a bit dated. They have help in English which told us the basic steps, but the buttons are still in Japanese. Again, if you've been using the subways in Tokyo, they're not hard to figure out. There are only a few JR lines through Kyoto, so our passes were not much good in the city. The bus system was a bit confusing from looking at the guide. It probably wouldn't be hard if we lived in s city with decent public transportation, but buses seemed to be the best way to get around here.  We bought a City Bus day pass for ¥500 and the bus station gave us a leaflet with every main stop cross-referencing which bus to take for which destination. You enter the bus at the back and give the driver your pass when you get off (or pay with exact change if you don't have a pass). Just follow the signs to the bus terminal from the train station. Easy peasy. If you use the pass twice, it will almost pay for itself.

That being said, I lost my bus pass after the first stop in central downtown. This was only a mild issue as I can only think of one other time we'd have used it: from the shopping arcade to the International Manga Museum. We walked that part and then took the subway line at the corner (which is a straight shot) back to Kyoto Station.

I'd have used the internet to find what's going on, but the sites are not in English. While the Chrome browser on my phone can translate, I found that it didn't help much for searching. Also, internet Wi-Fi spots are, well, spotty. I'm going to save that for another post though.

Faster than a speeding train

I'm so proud of Xiomara. She woke up this morning and decided to go to Japan's Edo era capital, Kyoto, without any plans. Just get dressed, grab a couple of our belongings, and go. We'll figure it out. What does she do on the three hour Super-express train ride? She starts planning out our trip. She's so cute. She can't stand not having plans. Detailed. Annotated. Plans. Baby steps with this morning's spontaneity, I know.

Did I mention we are on a bullet train? 

(Vid: as the world just passes us by)

:D Check two things off my bucket list: take a train trip (check), and go 200+ mph on land (check, check). Even if we just turned around and went back to Tokyo, I'd be pretty happy.

Getting on this train was not hard: we have a 7 day JR pass that allows us to walk through the gates and straight on to any of Japan Railway's trains (JR lines, not subways). For most passenger cars on the super train, you would need to reserve seats (much like an airplane). Since we just decided to go about an hour ago, no two adjoining seats were open. The first 5 cars are sort of like general admission seating (like flying on Southwest Airlines) for non-reserved ticket holders. The down side is that these cars are at the faaaaar end of a very, very long train...

(Pic: Outside of the Shinkansen Superexpress around car #4)

...which led to our first big issue this morning when we realized we were at the wrong track for the 505 to Kyoto. Hyperdia online told us track 18, the train pilot (I'm calling them pilots, not engineers) directed us to track 14, on completely different platform, and departing in 8 minutes. I don't know exactly how long this express train is (edit: 16 passenger cars), but we ran the entire length of it (back to front) after running down stairs, across the terminal, up stairs, and down the platform to board just in time.

(Pic: we got here faster than a speeding bullet)

This particular train is the Shinkansen (literally "new rail") line bound for Shin-Otaka which just happens to stop at Kyoto. Nothing on any of the station signs mentioned Kyoto directly and Xiom freaked out a little (okay, maybe a lot) as the train was already pulling away. Nagoya was the city on the signs, so I tried showing her on a map that Nagoya is at least in correct direction. Her need for absolution was having none of my explanation. The pleasing automated English voice on the intercom mentioned of a stop at Kyoto and so Xiom finally relaxed... then went on to meticulously planning where we're going when we get out of Kyoto Station.

(Pic: Lonely Planet Japan, Xiomara's new bestie)

She cussed about buying this Lonely Planet: Japan book initially, but now they're good friends. We don't have a ton of time in Kyoto before catching the last train back, so planning is good. I pick on her for micro-planning everything, but I will say her ordered and outlined notebook of plans is a good balance to my "just jump off the train and go somewhere" spirit.

The discovery is what's fun to me. Look, I have my towel. Let's go!

(Pic: Tenugui "super" towel. The print pattern represents the quills on a Samurai's arrow)

The Ikebukuro Jaunt and How To Lose $20 in 3 Seconds

We decided to go to Ikebukuro today because I wanted to check out the Toys R Us in the massive Sunshine City mall. I had a feeling that they might have character play sets. Thad was and my friend Kevin Vuong will be proud of me because I got us there by plotting the metro ride and transfers myself. I finally figured out the train system. Yay me! 

I took a shot of this small police station that resembled a fukuro (owl) 

Before we found Toys R Us, I serependentiously chanced across this little store that sold a lot of Studio Ghibli merchandise. 

...and snagged these goodies! 

Totoro mitsuketa!

When we finally got to Toys R Us, they didn't have the play sets I was looking for but there wasn't any disappointment there because I still had a high from the Ghibli find. I did however bought these anime kawaii kerchiefs and pencil caps, because-- why not?

Sunshine City mall had actually very fairly priced items. I guess since it's not a touristy place. 

Most of the locals shop there. 

I got this file organizer with the cute house print and the Upcheeka calendar from Loft.

Lunch break! Thad swears this was the best tonkatsu meal he ever had. 

These Blythe doll merch, Shinzi Katoh matryoshka tape and a repro of a vintage lenticular ruler with a showa jidai Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp print were from Village Vanguard Books. It's a really neat place for little knick knacks and novelty items at such a good price. They have quite an impressive stock. They even have old issues of Dolly magazines that are waaaay cheaper 

than the ones I've found online. 

Outside the store was this gashapon machine that had figures from mine and Thad's favorite anime of the moment, Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) I put 400 yen in the machine, roughly about $4.00 and got the two figures I was hoping I would get (since they come out in blind capsules, so you don't know what you're getting till you open it).

We left the hotel rather late anyway so it was dark when we got out of the mall. 

I spotted this rather amusing anime(?) Buddha and Jesus billboard at the Ikebukuro station 

as we headed back to catch our train. 

The last stop before our hotel was Akihabara which was considered the 

otaku (manga and anime fans) paradise.  I really just wanted to take a photo of it at night 

because the lights are so pretty. But we got seduced by the flashing lights of those UFO catcher machine and decided to try our luck on winning anime figures. We promptly lost $20 trying to win tthem. Dumbasses. You get such a high though. Now I understand why gamblers gamble.

My feet hurt from so much walking. We walked so much, we only ate once today. This is why Japanese people are so skinny!. They walk for hours and hours. Too tired to do anything else but sleep. Oyasumi, minna-san (Goodnight, everyone!) Till next time, holly up!  

The Epic Toy and Dolly Date

My friend Lisa took me out on a most awesome toy and dolly date ever! That was her promise and she delivered! Never mind that it rained the entire time, that wasn't stopping us. Our meeting spot was by the statue of the dog, Hachiko (of the Hachi movie) in Shibuya. Getting into the right train headed for the wrong direction got us there an hour late. Gomen, gomen Lisa T__T

Braving the downpour, we headed straight for Parco to go check out a branch of Junie Moon, Blythe doll's carrier shop. I spied a lovely Blythe dress set there that I may have to go back and buy if I have funds left.

 ...and that's the lovely Lisa Shinohara and I photo-oping 

We decided to check out some of the trendy boutiques the dotted along the streets of Shibuya. You couldn't tell from this photo but for a weather this dismal, there were still a LOT of people shopping and hanging out.

From Shibuya we trotted towards Daikanyama, which was the section that had higher end boutiques and stores. This new My Melody Cafe just opened, lots of people are queued to enter. Everyone loves whatever it is that's new and novelty. Lisa told me eventually this kind of frenzy ends after a week or two.

The reason for going to Daikanyama was to visit the mecca of Blythe doll collectors, Junie Moon! This is the official Blythe doll store. I promised myself that I will get a Blythe doll straight from there once I get to Japan and I made good of that. 

I was hoping that the Blythe October release would have the style I would really love so I was so thrilled when they unveiled Mischa Tebya Lyublyu whose Russian folkloric look I am really digging!  

We went to this traditional shop where they mostly sell "tenugui" which is a rather thin towel made of cotton. It's mostly a multi-purpose piece of fabric. You can use it as a hankachi (handkerchief), a scarf, kendo head gear, a wall decor, and well...a towel. Before the advent of terry cloth, they were a household must have. They are still considered a popular souvenir item. Thad bought three of them. 

After that we went and had a late brunch at this non-Japanese theme cafe called Urth. I had an Italian omelette and this kawaii usagi matcha latte. 

Now this building here...is heaven! Kiddyland! Four stories of KAWAII OVERLOAD. I didn't go crazy in there, though. I mentally prepared and reminded myself that I have not won the lottery therefore my money in the bank still has to pay for boring crap like bills. I did afford myself a few niceties: two boxes of Re-ment, two Sentimental Circus plush charms and three gashapon balls that had miniaturized versions of vintage games. See? Not crazy. 

                                                

Two of the very popular toy lines to ever come out from Takara: Transformers and Licca dolls. 

The ever trooper Thad, not minding being the cool presence amidst my squeals of delight 

at every kawaii turn.

Lisa surprise me and bought me that super cute Hello Kitty eyeglasses so that we match. We sat down for some cake and tea before heading out to get some omiyage (souvenirs) from this shop called Oriental Bazaar. I bought myself a yukata (light kimono) because I've been wanting one for ages! Thad wanted to get a pair of geta sandals but it was getting late, dark, still dreary and we were getting hungry plus trains stop running around 11 going to Lisa's direction in Shizuoka. We want to come back another day anyway when the weather is not working against us. 

This was still a wonderful way to spend a rainy day in Tokyo. Thank you Lisa for taking me out on this most epic of dolly and toy dates! I've had the most amazing time. By epic, it doesn't really pertain to the amount of money spent on amassing toys and kawaii knick knacks. Today was more about hanging out and getting to know Lisa, more than anything. 

Thank you, Thad for all always being a trooper. 

My love for you is greater than any ten million Kiddyland stores!