Sun From The Sky
Trip Start
Nov 16, 2007
1
31
40
Trip End
Aug 2008
Tokyo,
Kanto,
Japan
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Checked in, Dad and I go out to explore the area near the hotel. South Kyoto is dominated by two controversial buildings facing each other, Kyoto Tower and the enormous new Kyoto Station. Ultra-modern, the station has a vast central space that stretches up 12 storeys to a glass and metal lattice roof. Up either end work a series of escalators connecting the station`s platforms, shops and observation garden at the top. After some quality photo ops, we head down into the plaza below the station and grab a beer before getting some postcards, a seemingly hard task based on the last week. In the evening we have okonomiyaki in a local restaurant
Kyoto Station
. More dancing fish flakes.Overcast and threatening to rain, we head off towards the west Kyoto suburb of Arashiyama next to the Hozu river. To the west of the station lies a bamboo forest, a hilly stretch of towering green trunks with several large temples lurking within. At the top of the park you reach a viewpoint over the Hozu gorge. A small longtail chugs up stream as the towering hills on either dwarf the buildings below. After enjoying the view we head back into the centre and get brunch in a little coffee shop. The owner is a petrol head and the whole place is covered in die-cast models of classic cars. At one end lies a mock up garage festooned with air pumps and tool racks.
Back at the station we catch a train back into town and head our separate ways. An afternoon of individual exploration. My first stop is Nijo-jo (literally two castles castle). This was the Kyoto residence of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, a complex designed to show the power of the new Edo (Tokyo) based administration. Inside the huge moated walls lie two palaces, Ninomaru being the largest. Ninomaru is made up of five buildings including the living quarters of the Shogun and the various offices and meeting chambers. All of them are finely decorated with ornate paintings of animals and stories (sorry, no pics allowed). The building housing the Shogun`s living quarters includes `nightingale floors` that chirp as the stream of visitors shuffle through in stocking feet. This was a security feature to catch potential assassins
Kyoto
. Back out into the rain, I walk through the set gardens and round the other palace (which is not open to the public).Back into the bustle of Kyoto, I head east to a shop that sells tenegui (head cloths which can be used in kendo). Eirakuya has been in business since 1615, providing printed fabrics to housewives and daimyos. After buying a couple of things I head further east and over the river to Heian-jingu, a massive shrine complex which is modeled on the original Imperial Hall of State from the eighth century. Several weddings are being conducted in the various shrines lying off the main square. Next south and over the canal to Murin-an, a stroll garden designed and built by Marshall Yamagata Aritome, a senior official at the turn of the twentieth century. Heading south you reach the east side of Gion and Maruyama-koen, a large park with a number of large temples. After a chance meeting with Dad heading in the opposite direction, I climb up the Sannen-zaka (three year slope) and Ninen-zaka (two year slope) to the hilltop temple of Kiyomizu-dera. This has been a key religious site in Kyoto since 778 AD, and the series of pagodas and halls are a beautiful sight above the Kyoto skyline. Back down the hill lies a vast terraced cemetery, symmetrical channels filled with grave stones. Back on the flat, I head back to the hotel to meet up with Dad and Natalie. In the evening, we brave the rain and eat at an izakaya nearby. Delicious.
Up and out early the next day, we head to Kyoto station and onto the Shinkansen bound for Hiroshima
Kyoto Station
. A short tram ride from the station lies the Industrial Promotion Hall. Built in 1914, it is known as the A-bomb Dome, a twisted hulk lying a few hundred metres from the centre of the blast from the world`s first atomic bomb attack. Now protected, girders have been used to reinforce the structure. Without this building, it would be hard to imagine the destruction 63 years before, when 140,000 died due to the attack. Now Hiroshima is a bustling city; bright sunshine and blue skies.After visiting the Children`s Peace Memorial (a large bronze of a girl called Sasaki Sakado holding an origami crane aloft) and the Memorial Cenotaph, we head into the Peace Memorial Museum. This shows the devastation of the bomb, presenting models and pictures showing the damage to people and buildings. The most compelling exhibits are the objects and clothing that were damaged in the attack. Melted watches, charred tiles, burnt and torn school uniforms. The museum also shows some of the history behind the attack, and discusses the role of war in the world, but the strongest point is the attack itself. Back out in the sunshine, we get some lunch and wander up to the stroll garden of Shukkeien. A beautiful reconstruction with all kinds of wildlife. Then back to Kyoto on the train.
The next day, we meander our way back to Tokyo, passing round the back of Mount Fuji on the train. Catching glimpses of Japan`s highest mountain as we go. Back in the capital, Dad and I head to the Tokyo National Museum the next morning
Arashiyama
. Similar to the British Museum in terms of size and breadth of interest, we focus on the Japanese antiquities and Asian antiquities, still much more to explore. Meeting up with Natalie, we head over to Ueno Zoo. A good collection of animals in Japan`s oldest zoo, the cages are a little on the tight side for my liking though. We collect our things from the ryokan we were in the previous night and head out to Narita Airport. After a night in a hotel, they catch an early morning flight back to the UK. I head back to Emi and Gibbo`s to await my new armour.The next few days involve waiting around for the armour. After hearing news of delivery in a couple of days, I spend a day exploring the Shinjuku and Shibuya districts in the west of the Tokyo. Another day Gibbo and I head to the Budokan to watch the Kanto Region Companies Kendo Competition.. The Budokan lies in the grounds of the Imperial Palace and is the national martial arts centre, which was built to host the judo events at the Tokyo Olympics. While at the competition, the armour arrives. Monday, I move over to the dojo in Nakano in the west of Tokyo. This will be my home for the next month. My first practice in 7 months comes that evening. As expected tough, but good to get back to kendo. Hopefully things will improve, and the new holes in my left foot and hand will heal.
