Memoirs of a Geisha
How does everything start and end in our blog posts? With us drained and exhausted from our adventures but finding renewed energy upon arrival in a new area. So as we turn up in Kyoto we drop our bags at the accommodation and head straight out to try a gyoza restaurant! The menu outside is so appealing we’re willing to stand and queue in the rain until they can seat us. It’s worth the wait, the chicken and mozzarella and the plum and pork varieties are especially tasty. I also sample my first taste of Sake (rice wine) on this trip, it tastes much smoother than I remember…
Our accomodation in Kyoto is located in the heart of the Gion district. If anyone has seen the film mentioned above, it’s where that is set. We’re staying a stone’s throw away from stunning pagodas, beautiful streets lined with traditional wooden buildings and endless shrines and temples. As we return to the apartment we walk down the picturesque main street, written on the wall are adverts for various Geisha shows, one of which Alex will attend tomorrow. Geisha’s are of course the famous ‘entertainers and performance artists’ of Japan known for their distinct appearance, delicate customs and warm company.
We take a much needed nap at the peaceful accommodation before heading out in the evening for another wonderful meal… a restaurant where you “sizzle” your own katsu steak then dip it into one of many sauces in your set. It’s so good I even opt for an additional steak to use up all of the dipping sauces, we are eating well in Japan!
Exercising Our Trotters
Come gather now as we explore the beauty of Kyoto. I’ve planned a route that should cover most of the local landmarks and give us a good taste of the area we’re staying in. It starts with a walk past Otani Cemetery (you won’t find any other tour groups here!), a vast city of tombstones I haven’t seen on this scale since the war cemeteries in France.
Leaving the peaceful bliss we rejoin the swarming masses at Kiyomizu-dera. It’s hard to describe the spotless beauty of these temples, the only place that comes close is the Grand Palace in Bangkok in terms of the quality and the care taken to maintain these immense structures.
I leave most of the religious customs to the locals, in fear of upsetting the monstrous spirits that guard sacred grounds. I still cower in eternal wrath, though I do partake in ringing a giant bowl as there are instructions in English of how to use it properly… Even then most foreigners still get it spectacularly wrong!
We spend a couple of hours exploring the area, as usual this is best described with pictures…
Returning to the bustling streets, we make a pit stop to try Matcha ice cream in a cinnamon roll:
Heading across town we swap the old for the new, transitioning from the wooden buildings and narrow alleyways of Gion to the modern shopping malls of new Kyoto. Here we visit the Nishiki Market where crowds shuffle through a small pathway surrounded by vendors selling all sorts of wares. There’s fresh seafood, so recently skewered some of it is still twitching, dozens of types of sake, strawberry treats and deep fried delights. Once again I’m haunted by the sight of the ugly orange sea urchin flesh. We stop for lunch and devour some delicious Sashimi.
My original plan was to carry on to Kyoto Castle but we’re feeling a bit worn out, this is my own fault for planning too much in one day! Instead we opt for something much less historic but still somewhat cultural in Japan, an animal cafe. These strange establishments offer quality time with some unusual animals from hedgehogs to micro pigs. Figuring they’ll be more fun to interact with, we opt for the latter. It’s an odd experience being crammed into a small room full of others tourists sat in their socks and wearing blankets over them while micro pigs run riot choosing who should give them a scratch and a massage next. They even wag their little curly tails just like dogs. At one point the biggest “micro” pig makes a determined shuffle towards me and I realize I need to lay this beast to rest in my lap and soothe it, hoping it doesn’t get too boisterous!
Alex goes for a show…
No photos allowed here, so I’ll just give a brief recap of the main events. It was a quick run-down of seven different types of traditional performance, starting with a tea ceremony, some music and a display of flower arranging (called Ikebana). The delicate, patient, and precise movement for each display is incredible. Everything is done with intention, nothing is rushed, in a way, it forces you to be calm, taking in these minute small movements with such care. I’ve opted for a visual aid to help explain what is happening throughout (thankfully), and it explains that asymmetrical designs are favoured with the flowers, because the negative space is just as important as what you fill the space with. They all do a fantastic job.
The following acts are a battle dance, and a comedic play, which provides some surprising levity, something we’ve not yet experienced in Japan. It’s a simple but clever comedy, about a lord tricking his two workers, who keep stealing his sake whilst he’s out, into being tied up. However, they are more determined than he can imagine, and they still manage to get into his sake cabinet and get wrecked, with their hands tied to a pole and behind their backs, being caught in the action upon his return. It’s nice to see the comedic side of this stoic and serious nation.
The penultimate act is called a Noh play, where a rather large, old, man dresses as a beautiful, fallen, female spirit/angel. He dons a mask too small for his face, with the delicate features of a woman. This is not meant to be a comedy, but I really find it difficult to imagine the man as the beautiful maiden he is meant to be. Perhaps this is part of the expertise, to dance so gracefully the audience forgets they’re watching a man. And he does a great job with his movements, if it weren’t for the stubbly chin overflowing from the mask I probably wouldn’t have known. Here’s an image of the brochure for context:
The final act is the Kyomai dance with two maiko (geisha/geiko in training). Now they are beautiful. The costumes and make-up and dancing with the fans is mesmerising, peaceful, graceful. You can see why people pay good money for their entertainment, everything is a precise art.
Nietzsche said it .. “All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.”
A brand new day and plenty more exploring to do. Today’s adventures take us further afield, as we take a bus to the edge of Kyoto to visit Arashiyama Bamboo forest. It’s not a huge area considering the hour long journey it took to get here, but it’s worth it for the pictures…
There’s no time to lose as we head from West to East, all the way back across the city to visit Higashiyama Jisho-ji a.k.a The Silver Pagoda. There is also a Golden Pagoda in another part of Kyoto, but it was too much of a dog leg to get to. The golden version was created to (literally) reflect the sun and all its glory. Therefore the silver version was built for observing the moon.
Next up we take a walk down the Philosopher’s path. So called as it was used by two university professors who used to walk the path for daily exercise. We wonder what these people pondered as they walked this route. Did they question why all tides are married to the moon or simply discuss where to go for lunch. I can answer one of those questions. I’ve found a nearby “diner” and they’re serving Philly Cheese steak and pulled pork sandwiches. Not quite local cuisine but we’re fancying a change and when I tell Alex they’re served with french fries there’s no saying no.
Full from lunch we continue down the Philosopher’s path, something floating down the canal catches our eye. We walked to the edge to see there are several boats made from bamboo and decorated with flowers. We follow the trail and are surprised to find a local man perched on a small bridge creating the boats by hand. He beckons us over. Having been in SE Asia for a few weeks we fear a tourist trap but you’ll find no such thing in Japan. He simply instructs us to take one of the boats, folded together from a bamboo leaf, hold it out above the water, and gently let it go. If it floats down the river facing up then luck is on our side, if it lands upside down or sinks, then just think of it as a rehearsal. No money is suggested, just a man passing the time and bringing joy to people with a simple idea.
We complete the path and head back towards the Gion district. We take a detour to see a humongous Tori gate and more stunning shrines.
Having once again decided against visiting the castle we instead opt for a visit of the landscaped garden behind the temple. To think that I believed my hay-fever symptoms would have subsided by now was naive as I’m still suffering greatly! Perhaps spending all of this time in parks and gardens is not the most sensible idea after all… But how can you say no when they are this beautiful?
We barely have time to stop at the flat as we must head out to catch the sunset. The evening light’s not gone but fading fast as we try and catch a meta photo, hopefully you can see why.
We’re in the mood to try sushi again, I guess I must have recovered from the dreaded urchin by now. I’ve found two highly recommended options on Google Maps, typically one is closed tonight so that makes the decision for us. We stumble upon option two, we wait at the front for a few minutes, eventually we sit at the counter infront of the kitchen… It takes fifteen minutes for us to be given a menu. We are slightly confused but not frustrated, the entire establishment is run by a man and wife, they are no spring chickens either, in their sixties at least. They wait, serve, chop, fry, cook, clean, organize and manage every customer in the place. Needless to say service is not fast but once we get used to it we gratefully wait for our food as it is prepared right in front of us. We don’t feel anything but gratitude for these two diligent, hard-working people who put themselves through this every night for frankly not a lot of money. Tipping is strictly uncouth in Japan so we can’t even show our thanks with a bit of extra yen.
And now it’s getting kinda late but there is one more place I want to squeeze in before the day is done. We head back into the shopping mall area which has a new personality at night…. “girl bars” galore! Alex jokingly(?) tells me not to look as we pass various posters of scantily glad women and several sirens attempt to lure men into their bars. I reassure her that’s not what I’ve brought her here for. Instead we head to another N64 cafe and try some unique cocktails and play games of Street Fighter.
Every Matcha Made in Heaven
The only question that you’ll ask, what’s left to do in Kyoto after all of this sight seeing? Well, there is one stone left unturned, the Fushimi Inari Taisha. The what? Let me show you…
Over 10,000 Tori gates line this sacred pathway up a mountain trail. We later learn that in Shintoism it’s customary to donate a Tori gate once whatever you wished for at a temple has come true.
We check out of our hotel but Alex has another experience up her sleeve before we leave Kyoto behind. This time we will both take part in a traditional “tea ceremony”. We begin with our host Zuka introducing herself and everyone says a couple of lines about themselves and where they’ve been so far in Japan. While we’re being served a refreshing green tea, we’re informed about the importance and history of tea ceremonies. Originating in China, a tea ceremony sees the simple task of serving a hot drink to a guest raised to an intricate art form. The “way of tea” is a microcosm of Japanese hosting and honouring a guest. We’re asked to remember various manners, procedures and even a handful of Japanese words that are expected to be spoken by a receiving guest. We head upstairs for the ritual proper to begin.
We sit in rows of three, sat opposite each other with a beautiful tea set in-between us. The friendly and cheerful Zaku disappears behind a paper wall and reappears transformed. She is in full ceremony mode now. Moving as gracefully and carefully as an expert geisha. Each movement is delicate and nothing is rushed. Without saying a word she creates a perfect cup of matcha tea, all of us watch on transfixed by her flawless form.
Next up it is our turn, one by one we must replicate the intricate ceremony (luckily with a few shortcuts) and present our creation to our chosen guest. Then the previous maker becomes the Sensai (teacher) for the next maker. It’s slightly nerve wracking as Zaku did it so elegantly and we don’t want to spill a drop on the floor of the beautiful room. Most of us forget the Japanese words we’re supposed to say while giving and receiving the tea but with a gentle nudge we get there without causing too much offense or so we hope.
So let me put to rest another wonderful experience in Japan. A country which is quickly becoming one of my favorites of this trip. Alex is incredibly excited about the next leg too as we’ll be paying a visit to Totoro in Ghibli Park. Until next time, sayonara!
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Adventure – Walking the traditional district of Gion. Dinner prepared and served by kind locals. Seeing as much of Kyoto as possible but we’ll still come back for the castle and the golden pagoda.
Excitement – Spotting an actual Geisha walking around Gion, a shame that a dozen tourists snapped their cameras at her like paparazzi dogs.
Trauma – The snuffleoppagus persists. Failing to remember a few simple Japanese words during the tea ceremony 🙈 Trying to figure out restaurant customs when unable to speak the language
1 Comment
Still moving sea food yuck 🤣. The parks looked very beautiful. Getting on , in the sixties pah flipping cheek 🤣. Loved the tea ceremony. Hope scnuffleopppagus, shuffles off soon. Excited for Totoro in Ghibli Park blog ❤️