Tag Archives: Kyoto

THREE TYPES OF TRAVEL

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In my mind there are three types of travel:

1. The relax trip:  this involves reading, eating, some exercise of the conventional nature (to balance out eating) and for us, usually a beach. Recently, that was a family week in Guam. Nothing to do but enjoy the beach and the sunset …. Barely brought out the camera. No point, but read a few books (4), swam and snorkelled, relaxed with the family. It was perfect.

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2. The experience trip:  This is about learning a new culture, adventure and activity. A trip in Europe fits into this category, or our recent trip to Kyoto where it was all about exploring a culture. On this vacation you often come home more tired than you left. This is what our upcoming trip to Palau will be.

3. The hybrid trip:  A mix of 1 and 2 – some relaxation, sprinkled experiences. To which I pose a question – do these trips ever work out how you want them?

I have the opinion that if you set an expectation to experience and relax, that something always comes up wanting, one of the items will be mediocre. To illustrate: Bali. We had hoped that Bali would be a great hybrid trip, a mix of culture and relaxation. On the culture front, we were not disappointed, it was an amazing trip filled with history, culture and wonderful sites. On the relaxation front, we stayed at a wonderful hotel but the beach was mediocre. Nusa Dua simply isn’t a place where we would travel for the beach – that was the mediocre part.

It seems to me, you have to choose one or the other, or be prepared to “settle”. Thoughts?

KIYOMIZU TEMPLE, KYOTO, JAPAN

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One of the more famous temples in Kyoto is Kiyomizu Temple, and it has a grand view of the city.

It is a hike up a hill to get to the temple, which is half the fun as the road is lined with shops. It was very hot in Kyoto (32C+humidity), so the ice cream shops were very busy with their special Japanese flavours.

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And a few uniquely Japanese treats on a stick.

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Our guide pointed out the woman in the hat (center near building in the hat). He said she has been standing there for 20 years and is a fraud. She chants nothing (he has leaned in many times) collecting gifts from tourists … he stops his clients.

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I could pop a Wikipedia reference in, or post this simple explanation. Thanks Fujicolor.

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It has a grand entrance and in 2007 was nominated as one of the “new” 7 wonders of the world.

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Inside the temple are the oldest wood based paintings in Japan, depicting the Samurai.

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And if you look across the forest, past the hydrangeas, you see a beautiful temple peaking out of the trees.

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We hiked over.

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A view of the Kiyomizu Temple from across the forest.

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Thanks for dropping by.

KATSURA RIVER, KYOTO

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Our 3rd day included the Monkey Park (previous posts) and a boat ride down the Katsura River which runs below it. Across the river is a famous bridge that people like to photograph, the Togetsukyo or “Moon Crossing bridge”. It provides beautiful views of the river and mountain.

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It was very bright and hot that day.

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At the base of the mountain (right outside the gates of the Monkey Park) are many boats. The covered boats are moved up and down the river by the boatmen using long bamboo poles.

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It was a very tranquil setting until a boat slid up beside us, engines blaring and food steaming.

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It all seemed to fit right in. Grilled octopus and squid, cold beer and other Japanese delicacies at your finger tips.

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I would imagine this is the most amazing of boat trips in the fall, when the entire mountain is coloured red and orange. I think we will need to go back.

THE MONKEY BABIES, KYOTO, JAPAN

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There were plenty of monkey babies at the Iwatayama Monkey Park. This little fellow didn’t look old and wobbled like a new born.

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He also stayed very close to his mom.

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It was interesting to watch the mothers. At one point a commotion broke out behind me between this very angry mother …. (baby hanging on tight) ..

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and this frightened male, who clearly did not want to tangle and kept retreating. Perhaps he forgot to take out the garbage?

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These two little fellows were having a great time, chasing each other around and playing.

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Glad we stopped at the park.

KYOTO MONKEY, JAPAN

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I am not sure if people know about Iwatayama Monkey Park in Kyoto. It wasn’t listed as one of the “must see” in Kyoto as I researched for our trip. But as an animal loving family, when we found out about it we quickly added it to our itinerary.

The park is on the top of a mountain and sanctuary to 140 monkeys.

Iwatayama Monkey Park (Japanese: 嵐山モンキーパーク, Arashiyama Monkī Pāku) is a commercial park located in Arashiyama in Kyoto, Japan. The park is on Mt Arashiyama, on the same side of the Oi River as the train station. It is inhabited by a troop of over 170 Japanese macaque monkeys. The animals are wild but can be fed food purchased at the site.

It is a 20-25 minute climb up the small mountain and as you get closer to the top, you start to see the monkeys in the trees. The macaques are everywhere.

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This was a very different experience than Bali. The sanctuary is very well controlled, you do not feed the monkeys as they are conditioned to 2 feeding patterns; pre-set feeding times (we arrived at for the 1pm feeding) and the option to buy food and feed them from behind caged windows in a single building.

Upon reflection, this makes the entire experience safer for both the animals and humans.

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This fellow made me laugh. The entire time we were there he sat on the post, waiting for a tourist to hand him some nuts.

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I could have stayed all day photographing the macaques. These are the same monkeys that enjoy the hot springs in the winter.

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This fellow was sitting on the edge and a big yellow koi kept flitting around his feet. Every once in a while he would just reach down and flick it away.

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Fun to watch them .. just “hanging out”.

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A Kyoto must-see .. and all of the babies were an added bonus.

GOLDEN PAVILION, KYOTO, JAPAN

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One of the more famous sites in Kyoto is the Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji:

The site of Kinkaku-ji was originally a villa called Kitayama-dai, belonging to a powerful statesman, Saionji Kintsune.[8] Kinkaku-ji’s history dates to 1397, when the villa was purchased from the Saionjis by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and transformed into the Kinkaku-ji complex.[8] When Yoshimitsu died, the building was converted into a Zen temple by his son, according to his wishes.[7][9]

A few shots from across the pond.

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Our guide explained that it is not an original, having been burned down by a young monk who felt that the gold was contrary to the Buddhist ways:

During the Onin war, all of the buildings in the complex aside from the pavilion were burned down.[8] On July 2, 1950, at 2:30 am, the pavilion was burned down by a 22-year-old novice monk, Hayashi Yoken, who then attempted suicide on the Daimon-ji hill behind the building. He survived, and was subsequently taken into custody. The monk was sentenced to seven years in prison, but was released because of mental illnesses (persecution complex and schizophrenia) on September 29, 1955; he died of tuberculosis shortly after in 1956.[10] During the fire, the original statue of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was lost to the flames (now restored). A fictionalized version of these events is at the center of Yukio Mishima‘s 1956 book The Temple of the Golden Pavilion.[2]

The name’s origin:

The name Kinkaku is derived from the gold leaf that the pavilion is covered in. Gold was an important addition the pavilion because of its underlying meaning. The gold employed was to mitigate and purify any pollution or negative thoughts and feelings towards death

I cannot remember the exact cost, but the gold cost is significant (20KG of gold rings a bell?). I could not find it, so feel free to drop a comment if you can fill in that gap in my memory!

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The pond is filled with koi and turtles, including a few very long necked and rather vicious looking snapping turtles.

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Beside the pavilion is a main building with a tree that has been shaped to look like a ship over hundreds and hundreds of years. The mast and bow are clearly seen, with the pebbles representing the ocean.

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Our guide mentioned a few interesting facts:

You clean gold walls very carefully, every day.

The pipes are for shuttling the rain off the roof.

On the right you can see a single wire going to the top .. a lightening rod protecting the wooden building.

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A beautiful garden and sight.

KYOTO FIELDS, JAPAN

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Part of having a guide is that he takes you into different places (if  she is good). Our guide took us out of the city of Kyoto to show us the countryside and the rice fields. It was a 15 minute detour, but worth it.

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I didn’t get a shot of their planting machines but they reminded me of a celery planting machine that relatives used on their farms in Canada.

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As mentioned, the hydrangeas were in full bloom. Not a white one in view.

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This pond is privately owned and once a year the farmer who owned it would drain it and “harvest” the fish.

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It is beautiful land. Which reminds me of a random observation on Kyoto. If you do travel there, you will find it a city of contrasts. The city itself is like many Japanese cities, clean but wall to wall people, large drab concrete residential buildings with shops jammed in-between. Rather uninspiring, until you turn a corner and come headlong into Japan’s historic buildings which are beautiful, unique and well crafted.

It seems to me that during their post war rush to modernization, their architects discarded the intricacies and beauty of Japanese style for function, people per square meter, concrete and efficiency. This isn’t a stretch of the imagination as one colleague imparted that when he was a child living in Tokyo, the city was rapidly industrializing and as polluted as Beijing until the government took drastic action (as the country became wealthier and was able to afford it).

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Too bad. Even concrete can be beautiful, with some thought. (Above: The entrance to Chion Temple)

NIJO CASTLE, KYOTO

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Our first stop on our big “day tour” was Nijo Castle, samurai and shogun home.

In 1601, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, ordered all the feudal lords in Western Japan to contribute to the construction of Nijō Castle, which was completed during the reign of Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1626. Parts of Fushimi Castle, such as the main tower and the karamon, were moved here in 1625-26.[1] It was built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns. The Tokugawa Shogunate used Edo as the capital city, but Kyoto continued to be the home of the Imperial Court. Kyoto Imperial Palace is located north-east of Nijo Castle.

There is so much history hidden in these very thick walls.

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A few interesting facts from our guide on the castle:

The building is raised off the ground. The shogun would sit on his mat with a large piece of wood under him to protect him from someone shoving a sword up and through the floor

The 500 year old paintings were made from crushed shells to add white color

In the main hall where the shogun received guests he would keep 15m between himself and the guests. Beside him was a sliding door filled with samurai ready to jump through in the event of a threat. Although the threats often had a large preamble, where someone would stand up and honourably declare “I (insert name), son of (insert name), grandson of (insert name) from the city of (insert city) will kill you” – giving the samurai lots of time to line up.

The roof of the entrance to the main hall is made of thatch. It is a small section, but costs millions to replace. (The brown sections at the front)

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The floor boards are built with a U shaped device to hold the board and a nail through it. This is built to make the floor boards creak when someone walks on it to warn of intruders. I got the sense that being a shogun was not the most “secure” of positions.

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A corner guard house.

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The handle on a large bell in the main courtyard.

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The gardens beside the main hall.

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The entrance to the main castle, which is a reproduction as the original burned:

In 1788, the Inner Palace was destroyed by a city-wide fire. The site remained empty until it was replaced by a prince’s residence transferred from the Kyoto Imperial Palace in 1893.

In 1867, the Ninomaru Palace was the stage for the declaration by Tokugawa Yoshinobu, returning the authority to the Imperial Court. Next year the Imperial Cabinet was installed in the castle. The palace became imperial property and was declared a detached palace. During this time, the Tokugawahollyhock crest was removed wherever possible and replaced with the imperial chrysanthemum.

We crossed the bridge, but did not enter.

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What I found amazing is how the intricate work has survived, even though it is exposed to the elements.

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Thanks for dropping by.

10,000 TORI GATES, KYOTO, JAPAN

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Fushimi Inari is one of the more famous Kyoto temples, known for one prominent feature – 10,000 Tori gates.

Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社?) is the head shrine of Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari which is 233 metres above sea level, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines.

Since early Japan Inari was seen as the patron of business, and merchants and manufacturers have traditionally worshipped Inari. Each of thetorii at Fushimi Inari Taisha is donated by a Japanese business. First and foremost, though, Inari is the god of rice.

This popular shrine is said to have as many as 32,000 sub-shrines (bunsha (分社?)) throughout Japan.[1]

An amazing temple, on the mountain.

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More on the gates in a moment. It could also be known for some very cool fox statues and probably the most orange paint in one area.

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The gate to the temple.

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A side temple with more 1,000 origami crane offerings than you can count. The sheer quantity of time invested in those cranes is mindboggling. There were a lot of them ….

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As mentioned above, the temple is a popular place for business people to come and seek good fortune. What most people probably don’t notice is this sign, which lists the prices. Yen is simple to translate .. simply drop 2 zeros to get an approximate USD price. A 5 foot Tori gate is $1,750 and a 10 footer is $13,020. Seems reasonable.

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The temple inscribes your name/business and address into the Tori. It lasts for about 20 years at which time they call you and you have the option to buy a new one or have it removed (the foundations rot).

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The path winds up the mountain. We didn’t have time to hike it. Perhaps next time. It is about 2 hours round-trip. The path to the top ….

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And one of my favourite shots.

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Definitely worth seeing.

BAMBOO FOREST, KYOTO

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It is one of those must go places (they say). A simple bamboo forest where a single stock of bamboo can grow up to 1.3M overnight. Another ‘short’ visit location on our day tour of Kyoto. Our guide drove to the top, we walked down and back (perhaps 300m each way).

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Yes, it is beautiful. Serene.

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What I found most interesting was not the bamboo but this long, long line of ants walking along the bamboo fence. They went on and on and on .. until near the top of the hill the started to thin out, heading down the fence into the forest.

In this shot you can see them on the posts …

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A little clearer .. the march on and on.

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Thanks for dropping by.

THE MOSS TEMPLE, KYOTO

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Off the beaten path is a small temple called the Moss Temple, or Gio-ji. It is lesser known than the famous and Y3,000 larger moss temple. The history of the temple is one of lost love:

A Shirabyoshi dancer Gio was loved by Taira-no-Kiyomori but was jilted when he was enslaved by the beauty of another Shirabyoshi, Hotoke-Gozen. Gio, her sister Ginyo and their mother Toji left Kiyomori and after all they entered a nunnery that was present day Gio-ji. Then, Hotoke-Gozen joined them as she knew that she would be eventually jilted also by heartless Kiyomori. It was when Gio was 21 years old and Hotoke-Gozen was 17. The four women lived here remainder of their life.

Best viewed during a wet period in time (dry seasons see the moss go brown) and down a remote road, the temple makes for interesting viewing.

Walking down the entrance path you are covered by a thick canopy of leaves.

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The moss is everywhere, growing on every roof and fence.

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Turning the corner you come upon an open area in front of the temple. It was a bit surreal, the glowing greens. Looked like a movie set (I don’t know why, but that is what popped into mind).

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If memory serves me, there are 19 different mosses. A few that are quite invasive and needed to be regularly culled back to ensure they do not take over the other mosses. Including this moss that was furry to the touch.

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Of course, hydrangea. At least I think it is a hydrangea ….

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Rounding the corner there is a cemetery and in the hundreds and hundreds of times Yoshida-san our guide has been here, something he had never seen. A lone monkey.

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Sad to say he was injured (bad left hand). He did sit and enjoy eating a few daisies though.

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Interesting place. Not busy, serene and the vibrancy of the mosses were visually stunning.

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Worth a visit.

DINNER WITH A GEISHA (Maiko): THE CONVERSATION

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As mentioned in my initial post on Kyoto, we enjoy learning the history and culture of Japan. We did not know what to expect with our dining with a maiko/geisha/geiko experience. When the maiko-san originally arrived, our interpreter quickly helped us make introductions.

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She sat down with our family and the conversation began, a free flowing discussion of her life over 2 hours.

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In no particular order, a few highlights from the conversation.

She is 17 and grew up in Nagoya. She chose to become a maiko after going on a school trip to Kyoto. She watched a geiko perform and decided that she wanted to join the profession.

Her upper lip is white as she is a maiko. When she becomes a geiko she will decorate both lips.

Every month she changes her hair decorations. This month I believe it is the willow.

She often entertains school groups and when asked what the funniest question she gets, she laughed and said one question always come up – does she have a boyfriend? (answer is no – not allowed to).

In her first year prior to becoming a maiko it was like an apprenticeship. She learned what the years ahead would be like, and whether she wanted to continue.

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It is not an easy life. She starts the day at 10am with training in the arts. She then dresses, doing her own make-up (it takes 40 minutes) and having assistance from a man who comes to the house daily to assist with the kimono which weighs 10kg. The sash is 7m long. She then visits 20 tea houses that her house is affiliated with, and starting at 6pm does 2 hour hosting sessions until midnight. At midnight she heads home, has a hot bath and a few hours of personal time (reading, TV, music) until she heads to bed at 3am.

She is not allowed to have a cell phone.

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When she contracted with her mama-san to become a maiko, she made a 5-7 year commitment until she becomes a geiko at 20-22 years. The mamma-san pays for everything (training, food, clothing, lodging) and in return takes all profits from the days work.

She lives with 8 other maiko.

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She only does her hair once a week, sleeping with it made like this (which can be awkward)

Because she keeps her hair in this style all the time, she must be careful where she goes when she does have time off as people will recognize her as a maiko. (i.e. no junk food places)

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She only gets 1-2 days off a month and time at New Years to go home.

When asked what do people think at home – she said that she is growing apart from her old friends. Her grandmother has never approved.

If she needs money she has to ask the mamma-san. I got the impression that was not something that was done often or lightly.

She enjoys listening to music on her Sony Walkman. She likes Avril Lavigne.

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Dinners are mostly with business men, although they are starting to see women. If it is after dinner, it often involves karaoke and evenings at bars.

Tourists are always trying to take her picture. She would prefer if they asked first.

She will often take the train to Tokyo for events (entertaining events, Sumo tournaments) fully dressed.

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To formally enter her maiko apprenticeship, she had a ceremony involving her performing for the mamma-san and an important client.

Many maiko do not become geiko (50/50). They decide to go back to their homes, head back to school or get jobs. In effect, starting a different education.

Will she continue on and become a geiko? She didn’t know. It is a hard life.

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Fascinating.

DINNER WITH A GEISHA (Maiko) Part 2

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Using the concierge at the Westin we booked Yoshikawa in Kyoto with a room overlooking the garden.

Attached to a Japanese Inn that has played host to the rich and famous, it was a beautiful traditional restaurant and amazing staff who quickly settled us in for our dinner.

Our room was on the left.

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The dinner received mixed ratings from the family (Two really enjoyed it, two were not impressed). It was a traditional 8 course Japanese meal, tempura, sashimi, seasonal grilled fish and all. I really enjoyed it. Although on the seasonal grilled fish … I never eat the head, too bitter for me .. the rest is delicious.

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Our interpreter was already waiting for us. She had done this many times before and her English was perfect. She quickly started answering our questions and explained that “Yes”, I could take 400 pictures if I wanted (I didn’t – I took 99).

She also corrected our first misperception. We would not be joined by a geisha, we would be joined by a maiko – a geiko in training.

Maiko (舞妓?) is an apprentice geisha in western Japan, especially Kyoto. Their jobs consist of performing songs, dances, and playing the shamisen(three-stringed Japanese instrument) for visitors during feasts. Maiko are usually aged 15 to 20 years old and become geisha after learning how to dance (a kind of Japanese traditional dance), play the shamisen, and learning Kyō-kotoba (dialect of Kyoto), regardless of their origins.

The term Geisha is not a term they used in Kyoto. On the internet they assert that this is a dialect issue, but it was explained to us that the difference between a “true” geisha and a geiko relate to training. A geisha does not go through the arduous and extensive training in the arts, dance, culture and protocol that the Kyoto maiko/geiko goes through. Perhaps this is related to the post WWII occupation and the rise of the geisha girl:

“Geisha girls”[78] were Japanese women who worked as prostitutes during the period of the Allied Occupation of Japan. They almost exclusively serviced American GIs stationed in the country, who referred to them as “Geesha girls” (a mispronunciation).[78][79]

These women dressed in kimono and imitated the look of geisha. Americans unfamiliar with the Japanese culture could not tell the difference between legitimate geisha and these costumed prostitutes.[78]

It also became clear that this was a dying profession. 100 years ago there were 80,000 geisha where we were told there were only 300 left in Kyoto.  In Kyoto there are 5 Hanamachi, or houses that Geisha align themselves with:

Hanamachi typically contained a number of okiya and ochaya, along with a kaburenjō; the kaburenjō was a meeting place for geisha, usually with a theatre, rooms where geisha classes can be held, and the kenban offices, which dealt with geisha’s pay, regulation and similar matters. Gion also has a vocational school, called Nyokoba. Many of the teachers there are designated as Living National Treasures. Today, hanamachi are rare outside of Kyoto.

At which point, our maiko-san entered; a term that would catch me off guard multiple times through the night as the pronunciation is close to Michael-san.

With a kneel and a bow, our dinner with a maiko began.

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DINNER WITH A GEISHA (Maiko) Part I in KYOTO

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This is a very interesting post to write as it elicits mixed feelings.

Part of living in a different culture is that never ending quest to understand, learn and to grow while trying not to use your own cultural biases to judge. After all, perception is reality.

As I have often joked with friends back home, living in Japan is like living on Mars. It is just so fascinatingly different.

The Japanese think differently than North Americans, and different than Canadians. How can it not be the case? Canada is a country of every culture (Asian, European, African) where Japan is comprised of 98.5% Japanese and non-existent immigration. Canada is a country with only a few hundred years of history while Japan is one of the world’s oldest societies, with 3,000 years of history and a clear isolationist bent where foreigners were killed on sight until the late 1800s. Canadians are individuals, in a society where they cut their lives out of the unconquered wilderness with an understanding that merit leads to fortune while Japan is about the group good, where the notion of paying a high performer more than others in the team is at odds with their values.

At a very fundamental level, culture, history, education and values, Japan is different than most other countries in the world and the Geisha is one of those cases.

Prior to leaving for Kyoto, we watched Memoirs of a Geisha and I could not help but find it disturbing on many levels. Obviously the selling of young girls into a brothel and a Geisha house was disturbing as were many of the scenes, but this type of abuse is unfortunately, common around the world.

The uniquely Japanese part that was disturbing was the whole notion of the Geisha. Reading broadly, the information was varied. Prostitution is disputed and the truth hard to determine; in this post it is clearly stated it does not happen yet another quote says that in 1929 3/4 of geisha were prostitutes.  While there is an elegance to the appearance of a Geisha, the information on “what a Geisha is” left us wondering about the profession … Noble undertaking or a veneer hiding a seedy underside of sex for sale?

Nothing made us wonder more than this question: what does it mean that this profession is funded by older business men, where the Geisha’s sole purpose is to entertain them every evening? I find the feminism assertions hard to swallow and cannot think that it is good for marriages.

It is with those questions in mind that we did something that is not common for a gaijin.

We booked a dinner in a wonderful restaurant with a room by the garden, a Geisha and an English interpreter to learn.

We were not disappointed.

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NISHIIKI MARKET, KYOTO

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After our first temple we headed to Nishiki market. A cab dropped us off at one entrance and we started down this very long covered walkway past hundreds of interesting stalls.

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Uniquely Japanese is a good way to describe it; pottery, restaurants, fish markets, vegetable stands and everything in-between.

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Lots and lots of pickled choices. The Japanese love to pickle things.

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I believe this is grilled eel. Had I not just eaten, I would have grabbed some. Love grilled eel.

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The young lady at the stand tried to sell me one of these .. only a couple hundred yen. Look closely, it is a small octopus with a quail egg stuffed where the head use to be. I regret not trying it. Had to chuckle at the little cartoon ad guy saying “It will eat” …  not sure what that means.

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At some point in the near future, our family will be buying special chopsticks. As of right now, we use them frequently but haven’t made the “special” purchase yet. Perhaps metallic is in order?

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This fellow was making the circular Japanese cakes. They are delicious.

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And last, check out this flower stall. My Uncle Frank would have loved the colors .. I know I did. So vibrant.

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Thanks for dropping by.

SANJUSANGENDO HALL, KYOTO

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After checking into the Westin our first stop (after a big Japanese lunch) was this hall, home to 1001 life-sized wooden statues of Kannon, goddess of mercy.

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Like many of the temples, they offered souvenirs and in this case, an important question.

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The temple itself is amazing (but as you can see – no pictures allowed).

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It is the home to a ritual where Buddhist priests touch people’s heads with a sacred willow to cure headaches and popular for an annual archery (long bow) contest that started hundreds and hundreds of years ago. As you can see by the length of the building, there is lots of room for the 1001 carvings in this 800 year old building. I wish I would have been allowed to shoot the carvings, the detail was jaw-dropping.

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Surrounded by other shrines and beautiful gardens, it was a great first stop on our Kyoto tour.

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Good start.

SHINKANSEN TO KYOTO

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Last year the Shinkansen (bullet train) faced an average delay of just 36 seconds. Said to be so punctual that a salaryman can finish his noodles 2 minutes before departure time and count on the train being there .. it is very reliable.

Hitting speeds of up to 320 km/hr, with up to 16 trains running between key urban centers an hour (3 minutes between train) and carrying 353M people in 2007, it truly is an engineering marvel and a testament to Japanese quality and process management.

And it was our first time on …

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The fee from Tokyo to Kyoto in a reserved seat is roughly $133 one way and takes 2 hours and 10 minutes. The train is amazing to ride on. Smooth, quite and obviously very fast (not like the English trains I am use to when I rode from Virginia Water to London).

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I sat looking out the window as the Japanese countryside passed by. Building after building, with rice and other farming fields jammed in-between industrial buildings and the ever present mountains looming in the background.

If you ever wonder why Japan’s population is jammed into concentrated areas, it is because 73% of Japan is mountains. Only 11% of the land is arable. Just look out a Tokyo window and off in the distance you will see mountains on all side.

A great way to travel. Now that we have done it, we will be doing it a lot more often.

A 3 DAY TRIP TO KYOTO

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We spent 3 days in Kyoto recently and it was a fantastic trip, although complex to organize.

I present this itinerary for others, with a few suggestions that I hope help.

TripAdvisor City Guides. If you have not downloaded this application, you need to. I lived on it with my iPhone. It has all of the top restaurants, sites and hotels which you can easily search at any moment via a map. One of the best features is that I “saved” the sites we wanted to see and as we visited, I “checked-in” (turning the post to Facebook option off – no one needs to see we are not at home). At the end of the tour, it provides a complete list by day of what we visited, in chronological order as a journal and provides an area to write notes. Amazing app, available for many cities.

Our trip journal can be found at http://cityguides.tripadvisor.com/checkins/428596. The trip via Lightroom – quite a lot of ground covered.

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We spent 3 days there and that was the perfect amount for us.

The first day was the Shinkansen from Tokyo, arriving at 11AM. Quick check into the Westin, an afternoon of exploring followed by private dinner with a Maiko (geiko/geisha in training) .. and yes, the experience was a once in a lifetime.

The second day went from 9AM to 6PM with a private tour guide hitting all of the highlights of Kyoto. A private guide is expensive but as we found out in Rome and in Egypt, worth every penny as it leads to a very different trip than going from site to site on your own and really not learning anything.

One of our frustrations with Japan is that it is very hard to learn the history and culture due to the language barrier. 3,000 years of isolationist history means that Japan is not really fussed about not sharing what happens at a location. We connected with Kyoto Limousine which was highly recommended by expat friends of ours and is well known among the concierges. Our guide Yoshida-san has hosted many celebrities, princes and even Jean Chretien the former Canadian Prime Minister (I apologized on behalf of Canada) and he was UNBELIEVABLE. At every site he shared the deep history of what had happened there, different religious insights and more history than we could ever retain. It was 9 fascinating hours learning about the real Japan, seeing the best sites in Kyoto (including many hidden gems that are off the beaten path) and truly enjoying his company. He was an amazing host and even followed up our day with an email listing every site we saw with internet links. Just look at the 2nd day of our itinerary and you will see just how much we covered, and more importantly – learned.

On the third day we hit the Monkey Park, explored a shopping area, had lunch and then trained home.

For us, 3 days was perfect.

On the seasons, this is also difficult to understand until you get hold of someone. Here is a rough guide; May brings the cherry blossoms and millions of people. June brings the sun and lots of Japanese children on school trips. It also gets hot, it was 32C and humid while we were there, and we were lucky to avoid rain. July and August are insanely hot but the slow season if you are brave. The fall brings the spring colors, with October and November being the best seasons for viewing the fall colors. We were there in green June and I visualized what it would be like in the fall – beyond stunning.

As an aside, 50M people visit this city of 1.3M every year … 50 million.

As many Japanese will tell you, Kyoto is the cultural center of Japan. A thousand temples, beautiful forests, castles, amazing cuisine, culture (geishas) and incredibly rich in history. It truly was an adventure of a lifetime and I have a few pictures and stories to share ahead.

Hopefully these few simple insights help others. If you can get there, you will not regret it.

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(Golden Pavilion, Canon 5D Mark III, handheld HDR, Canon 28-70mm)