Kyoto’s Sakura, Neko and Buddhist food

On our final 3 days in Japan we stayed with Atsu in Kyoto.

We saw beautiful sakura near Ginkakuji along the Philosopher’s Path and at night time under illumination in Maruyama Koen.

We made funny poses and made photo seals in a purikura amusement centre.

We had tea with cats in a neko cafe.

We ate lots of plates of Japanese pickles at hale Vegan Organic restaurant, hidden down a little passage in the Nishiki markets.

We enjoyed vegan parfait and lunch at Mumokuteki, off the Nishiki markets.

We met up with Benno’s high school Japanese teacher at Cafe Proverbs.

We enjoyed vegan kara-age, gyoza and a huge curry at MikoAn, a Buddhist vegan pub/cafe that is even more hidden than hale, down a long alley behind the main street front.

Cherry blossoms and lanterns in Maruyama koen

Sakura over a bridge in the Gion area of Kyoto.

Sakura, Gion area.

Mumokuteki: no meat, no eggs, no milk, no suger [sic]. Very popular and busy- we had to line up for a table but it was worth it!

Mumokuteki curry lunch set.

Mumokuteki fried tofu balls with a great tofu tartare sauce and salad

Mumokuteki vegan parfait. Worth every 800 yen.

Mumokuteki can be a little hard to find – the cafe is on the second floor and below is their shop. It is on a side street off the Nishiki markets. About 2 streets to the left past the traditional knife shop in the markets (also on the left)

Can you find the neko cafe? We had trouble too. It’s on the second floor above the red sign in the middle building. neko is written in hiragana on the window, and if Lara couldn’t read her kanas we wouldn’t have found it.

A little house for cats to sleep in.

Lots of fun places for cats to play

Hiding in the cat house

A nekobasu cat bus clock from Totoro

Sleeping in a hidey hole

Cats are only interested in food

Sleeping in a bucket on the counter

Cat behind the sign advertising cat food for sale. Feed me!

The cat cafe (neko kaigi)

Cherry blossoms along the Philosophers Path near Ginkakuji

Benno gets arty

Lara and sakura

Sakura hanging over a river near Ginkakuji

Cafe Proverbs – tempeh sand XD

Cafe Proverbs- fried tofu bowl. The tofu was soft yet crunchy. Yum

Cafe Proverbs- tofu banana maple cheesecake

hale hidden down a short passageway off the nishiki markets

Miko An- a huge pottery bowl of curry for only 800 yen

Miko An- dinner set with ‘fried chicken’ and brown rice

Miko An- a little place with lots of atmosphere

Miko An- second serving of ‘fried chicken’ kara-age. Yum says Benno

Benno eats kara-age while Atsu looks on.

Miko An – cats have a special place and can eat at the counter

The alleyway down to Miko An…easy to not find it

Illuminated cherry blossoms in Maruyama koen

Benno and Atsu with the illuminated cherry blossom tree

kawaii Atsu

Final days in Japan- Kyoto

On our final 3 days in Japan we stayed with Atsu in Kyoto.

We saw beautiful sakura near Ginkakuji along the Philosopher’s Path and at night time under illumination in Maruyama Koen.

We made funny poses and made photo seals in a purikura amusement centre.

We had tea with cats in a neko cafe.

We ate lots of plates of Japanese pickles at Hale Vegan Organic restaurant, hidden down a little passage in the Nishiki markets.

We enjoyed vegan parfait and lunch at Mumokuteki, off the Nishiki markets.

We met up with Benno’s high school Japanese teacher at Cafe Proverbs.

We enjoyed vegan kara-age, gyoza and a huge curry at MikoAn, a Buddhist vegan pub/cafe that is even more hidden than Hale, down a long alley behind the main street front.

sakura over a bridge in the Gion area.

cherry blossoms, in the Gion area over a river.

Mumokuteki, no meat, no egg, no milk, no suger [sic]. Off a side street to the Nishiki markets, maybe 2 streets down from the knife shop on the left.

Mumouteki curry set.

Mumokuteki salad and tofu balls set. Yummy tartare sauce.

YES! Vegan parfait! Mumokuteki WINS!

Local trains to Kyoto

We had 2 trips on our seishun 18 kippu left so we embarked on another 8 hour local train journey from Tokyo to Kyoto. The highlight was seeing Mt Fuji from the train when it stopped at Fuji station.

Snow-capped Mt Fuji from the train window near Fuji station.

Expensive Kyoto Mushrooms

The picture speaks for itself.

Kimono and Kaimono

The need for sleep (especially after the overnight bus ride) overtook us so our first outing was for brunch at noon. We went to Cafe Proverbs 15:17 as we had enjoyed it so much last time we went. There seasonal menu had changed for autumn so there were new dishes to choose from. We feasted on the tempeh burger XD and teriyaki tofu set. Then we had the fig tart with tofu cream and cinnamon for dessert.

We caught the bus to the Nishijin Textile Center and watched the last few minutes of a kimono fashion show. However, there was a bus load of Chinese? tourists with all their cameras out so it was difficult to see. After the show the tour-group raced upstairs, tore the shop to pieces and then ran out the their buses again. We looked around at the silk kimono fabrics and watched people working the looms.

Although it was raining we next went for a walk along the Philosophers Path. From below Ginkakuji we wandered along the river, doing some shopping along the way for omiyage (chestnut yatsuhashi, a bamboo water gun, a wooden doll) and followed the path all the way to Nanzenji where we got on a bus back to where Atsu lives.

After dinner we went to the station near where our overnight bus was departing and found a Karaoke place. We sang songs until it was almost time for our bus to leave. Our bus was a ‘relax’ bus so we had these space-age seats. They tilted back 140 degrees, had extra padding around the sides and head, a little canopy to pull over your head when sleeping and long leg/foot rests. See the futurist seats here . We slept much better on the bus home, and then caught the express bus from Tokyo to Kisarazu where it was still raining, just as we left it.

The distant future, the year 2000, futuristic space seats on overnight buses - the canopy you can pull over your head to sleep well on the bus.

The Philosopher’s Path, Kyoto.

Kyoto tower by night, just north of the station.

Warm fig tart with tofu cream.

Tempeh burger XD

Teriyaki tofu with miso, brown rice, salad, tea.

Benno becoming wise on the Philosopher’s Walk.

Kimono show at the Nishijin Textile Centre.

Hand weaving fabrics on the loom.

The distant future, the year 2000, futuristic space seats on overnight buses – the canopy you can pull over your head to sleep well on the bus.

Meeting the Vikings in Kyoto

One of the temples/shrines that we hadn’t visited yet was Sanjusangen-do. While not a big complex, the one big wooden building houses 1001 statues of Kannon, each with 42 arms (which each save 25 worlds and somehow that adds up to saving 1000 worlds each). There are 500 statues in 10 rows either side of a larger central Kannon. At the front are 28 life-size statues of guardian deities e.g. thunder god, wind god etc. The kannon, made in the 12th century, were carved from wood and coated with gold leaf.

Unfortunately, photos were prohibited inside the building. However, there are heaps of photos on the internet so someone(s) obviously took photos anyway…

We were feeling hungry so decided to go to viking, which is a buffet in Japanese. We went to Obanzai and enjoyed fake meats, potato croquettes, salads, rice etc. Most of the food offered was vegan. While we were eating we met the director of the movie ‘The Cove’. He was in Kyoto promoting the movie, then heading to Tokyo for the film festival where ‘The Cove’ is being shown.. We also met the 2 main people behind the ‘Vegan Society of Japan’. After a long lunch-time chat we went with them to Nishikidori Markets and to Mumokuteki that has vegan ice cream and desserts. The icecream was totally delicious, as was the cheesecake we had. We wandered around the markets, got some yaki-tofu for dinner then headed our own way back to Atsu’s. We had BBQ for dinner and skyped his younger sister so Benno could practice his Japanese.

Cheesecake with tofu cream and fresh berries from Mumokuteki.

Lunch buffet.

Garden around Sanjusangendo.

Awesome. Soft-serve style vegan vanilla icecream with mochi balls, fresh berries, cake pieces and awesomeness!

Atsu and Benno busy supervising the BBQ – tofu, pumpkin, carrot, bean shoots, leek, eggplant and sukiyaki sauce.

The long wooden building of Sanjusangendo that houses 1001 kannon statues.

Croquettes and other things from the viking buffet at Obanzai..

The Internet is full of photos of Sanjusangendo, even though it’s prohibited to take photos of these statues from inside or outside of the building. This photo comes from wikipedia.

Kyoto Veggie Festival

We took the overnight bus from Tokyo to Kyoto. It left around 11.30pm from outside the Tokyo bus station and arrived around 7am in Kyoto. While we may not have gotten much sleep, it was very quiet (as Japanese people are), we were in the back row and the lights were all out most of the night.

We were worried that it might be pouring with rain for the festival as the day we left Kisarazu a typhoon had passed. However the day was perfect – warm and sunny and around 26 degrees.

Before heading to the festival we first went to Chion-in. It has a bell that reportedly so big it needs 17 monks to ring it. There were lots of people and some sort of service going on in the main hall with lots of people singing/chanting.

Then we went to the park in front of Heian Shine (with a massive vermillion torii) where the Veggie Festival was held. There were lots of stalls – 98 different small stalls. There were (raw) vegetable stalls, curry stalls, ethnic food stalls, lots of cakes, scones, a ‘bar’, bread stalls, NPO information stalls, drink stalls, soap stalls, massage stalls, jewelery and clothing stalls… most of them were small but all had delicious food. The flyers encouraged people to bring their own cutlery and plates. We brought bowls fro home so had our lunch served out into our own crockery. If you didn’t bring your own you could buy cups/plates which you could return for a refund after use. There was also a stage with different music- flamenco guitar, indian dance, steelpan, african drums…

We ate hemp seed scones, fried gluten with green salad, the JSDA veg curry, tempeh from the Indonesian stall, chai, a hot blueberry waffle, a tortilla with salsa from the Nagoyan Vegetarians…an excellent feast!

Atsu joined us in the afternoon, then we ate tofu tonkatsu for dinner at his place. We watched TV – on a funny travel show some people went to Italy and collected magnets – “No picture, yes magnet”. 3 overweight woman went to Mexico to eat chillies and try to lose weight. Then some boys went around the world and got haircuts. Interesting…

Fried gluten with adzuki beans in brown rice and green salad from the ‘Sunny Place’ stall. The cook recognised us from when we ate at Sunny Place in August so he gave us extra food :-)

Benno in front of the giant bell at Chion-in.

Stalls and people at Okazaki Park, Kyoto, for the 2009 Vegetarian Festival.

Veggie Sweets stall had lots of cookies and cakes plus samples!

Lara in front of the giant bell.

Front entrance of Chion-in. A massive wooden gate with a steep stairway leading up to the temple ground.

The stall that sold blueberry waffles (being cooked by the guy on the left). Yum!

JSDA veg curry and rice. We again got lots as we were the last serving from the particlar rice and curry pot so we got whatever was left in the pot/pan!

Massive vermillion torii entrance to Heian shrine area.

Atsu and Benno in front of the entry banner to the festival.

Maiko Makeover

The professional photos from the Maiko Makeover at Yumekoubou Studio in Gion, Kyoto, 8th August 2009.

A Maiko is an apprentice Geisha. Sorry a lot of the images are the wrong way up but I just copied them straight from the CD and couldn’t be bothered rotating them.

Final day in Kyoto

We had two more ‘essential’ sites to visit on our last day in Kyoto. It was still hot and humid so we took it easy. We made pancakes for breakfast, slowly left the apartment, caught the train to the eki, bought a day bus pass and waited for a bus to Ginkaku-ji. However, lots of other tourists seem to have had the same idea and the sightseeing bus was crowded. We waited 20 minutes for the bus, then it took 30 minutes to go a few stops and it was totally packed with standing room only. So we changed plans, decided to head for an early lunch first and then go back to Ginkaku-ji. We caught a local (non-sightseeing) bus to our lunch destination and it was almost empty (hint number 1:use local transport, not tourist transport). We ate a lunch set at Sunny Place which was cheap and delicious.  Soy chai, brown rice, fried gluten chicken and millet burger,  various salads… lots to eat.

After lunch we caught a bus (not full) a few stops to Ginkaku-ji. We walked up the hill, following the path of the ‘Philosophers walk’ for a while until we reached the temple grounds. The main building was going to be covered in silver but never was so maybe the name ‘silver pavillion’ now refers to the silver sands in front of the temple. The gardens were lovely and mossy. We wandered out and past the shops with sweets, souvenirs and yukatas (cotton kimonos for summer). We refreshed ourselves with a traditional Kyoto cider. Lara bought a dark yukata with pink flowers and a yellow and grey obi (belt).

It was getting late in the day so we caught a bus to Nijo-jo (Nijo castle), stopping off on the way to see if Vegie Sweets was open (it wasn’t). Atsu met us and we wandered around the palace on the nightingale floors (floors that squeek to alert the residents of intruders) past all the wall paintings. We wandered the gardens, past honmaru which is flat and quite different to other castles built as tall defences on mountain tops.

Then we bussed to Gion to try to find a sweets shop. We wandered past the giesha district which seemed very touristy with every second person holding up a digital SLR and hoping for a photo of a geisha. We left quickly and headed for Nishiki markets. We found a suitable sweets shop before we even made it to the markets and ate lots of samples and drank green tea before buying a stack of traditional japanese sweets (wagashi). Most of the Nishiki markets were closing by the time we wandered past. There was one shop that advertised tofu doughnuts. We got excited but then found out that they use egg. We bought some tofu and vegetable slices for dinner and went on our way, catching the bus number 11 back to Uzumasa.

We ate forest rice and the tofu slices for dinner, then enjoyed leftover chocolate pudding and hot soy chai for dessert while watching funny tv on the computer.

View of Ginkakuji and Kyoto city from the gardens of Ginkakuji.

Rickshaws around the streets of Kyoto.

Nijo-jo palace with the nightingale floorboards that squeeked like birds.

Lunch set from Sunny Place – millet burger, brown rice, miso soup and various salads including potato and grilled eggplant and capsicum.

Lunch set at Sunny Place including other salads and fried gluten chicken pieces.

Sculptured sand at Ginkaku-ji.

Buildings around Nijo-jo were flat and not at all like other other castle buildings with several stories.

Ginkaku-ji.

Benno enjoying some traditional cider.

The silver sands and the not-so-silver pavillion.

Reflection in the moat water of the nijo-jo walls.

Kyoto over O-bon

O-bon is a Buddhist festival celebrated to remember your ancestors. In Osaka the O-bon meant holidays and many of the restaurants were closed and we had trouble finding anywhere to eat In Kyoto however, not so many places took holidays but there are some interesting celebrations. Giant fires in the shape of kanji are lit on the mountains around Kyoto to show the spirits where to go (it is believed they visit this world during O-bon).

Today we caught the local Randen train to Arashiyama, the hilly region to the north west of Kyoto. We visited Tenyru-ji and walked through the very peaceful gardens they had. Then we went out the north exit and strolled through the bamboo grove. There were lots of elderly walkers (maybe part of a hiking club?) in a big group all walking up and down the mountain. The bamboo grove itself was quite large but maybe not so similar to the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon movie. There are in fact bamboo groves in the Ginkaku-ji gardens and they looked just as good.

After the bamboo grove we walked down the hill, over the river with the fishing boats (used for cormorant fishing) and the up a hill to the Monkey Park. It was a bit of a walk to the top of the hill were the monkeys were and you can only feed the monkeys through bars. Since it was summer, there were lots of little baby monkeys born recently in spring and they were cute.

Taking the train back to Atsu’s house we had some of his delicious forest rice for lunch, relaxed for a bit then caught the JR train to Kyoto eki and then south to Inari eki. All three of us visited Fushimi Inari shrine, famous for its red torii. The red torii stretch on and on for 4 km or so, we reckoned, so we only walked a short stretch. Many of them had inscriptions – they had been donated by companies in the hope that they would have success and prosperity.

It was getting time for dinner so we heading back on the train, stopping in at the supermarket on the way. We made vegan okonmiyaki for dinner, with entree of salsa and avocado dip with corn chips, and chocolate self-saucing pudding for dessert.

At 8pm we stood out on the balcony and were able to see 2 giant fires lit on the mountain sides around Atsu’s apartment. From one side we saw a giant torii (shrine gate) and from the other side we saw the daimon-ji (kanji for big, dai). The fires only lasted for about 15 minutes then died out. It was great to be able to see them from the apartment.

View of the mountains over the pond in Tenryu-ji, Arashiyama

Atsu and Benno with some of the many red torii at Fushimi Inari shrine.

Red torii at the shrine in Inari.

Bamboo grove outside of Tenryu-ji

Lotus flower in a pond at Tenryu-ji

Foxes love fried tofu and there are fox statues all over Fushimi Inari shrine.

The big fire of a torii (shrine gate)

Atsu and Benno going through the torii.

The river through arashiyama with fishing boats and the mountains.

Got any food for me?

With a monkey, not looking so impressed because we didn’t give him any food.

Another dry landscape garden at Tenryu-ji.

Daimonji – giant fire of the kanji for ‘big’

The people go inside the building and feed the monkeys through the mesh. The monkeys hang around outside, on the roof, hang off the windows etc.

Bamboo grove outside Tenyru-ji

Red torii – these all have inscriptions of names of companies that sponsored them.

Baby monkey eating a piece of apple.