MO-AN CAFE

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I finally went to Mo-an Cafe in Kyoto. I tried to go there after climbing Daimon-ji with some friends last Autumn, but there was a half hour wait to get in, and I didn't have time to wait. But last week I climbed the path up through the green, mossy garden once again, and had lunch in the beautiful old restaurant. On one side of the restaurant you can see out over the rooftops of Kyoto, and the other side overlooks the trees of the garden.


Athough the setting was absolutely perfect, the food was a little disappointing. It was alright, but nothing special (and kind of expensive for nothing special.) One of my companions used to be a regular at the cafe, and she said the menu had changed. Her favorite in the past was curry, but it was no longer available and so we ate udon, and pita 'sandwiches'.

If I go again, I think I'll just order coffee and enjoy the view.

TOJI MARKET

Every month on the 21st a huge market is held in the grounds of Toji Temple. Vendors set up their stalls starting at 6am. I've never been there that early, but one of my friends sells artwork there sometimes. There are food stalls and all kinds of crafts, antiques, junk, and vintage kimonos.




I've bought several kimonos there. I also bought my favorite bowl for just two hundred yen (It often appears in the photographs on my food blog.) My other Toji Market purchases include a head-scarf, dried fruit, fresh ginger root, and a pot plant.

The absolute strangest thing I saw there was a snake in a jar of alcohol. The alcohol is meant for drinking, not just to preserve the snake specimen. Someone told me it's an Okinawan thing. I wanted to take a photo, but the vendor wasn't happy about it.

PLUM BLOSSOM IN GION

Although we haven't had as much snow as Europe and North America this winter has been the coldest I remember since I came to Japan. But February should see the end of it and by next month the weather will begin to warm up. I was going through some photos of Gion that I took last March. Gion is the old area of Kyoto where geishas lived, and where the story of Sayuri was mostly set. Even today, if you walk around Gion  in the evening, you might catch a glimpse of a beautifully clad maiko or geisha heading to an evening engagement.

My photos were taken in the afternoon. There were no geishas, but there were beautiful pink and white plum blossoms - the first messengers of spring.

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JAPANESE TEMPLE IN THE SNOW

There's a small local temple in Yamashina called Honkokuji.  It nestles at the foot of forest clad hills. To find it you must walk up to Biwako Canal from Misasagi and cross the red bridge. Your first tantalizing glimpse will be the red gate amid the trees. Passing through that you will see a second gate guarded by two fierce looking golden  giants. Straight ahead the main hall with a statue of a stern but gentle monk with one arm outstretched, to the left a pretty bell tower with a large golden bell.

The fish on the roof of the second gate, a small torii, an elegant Asian dragon and various other details also also gleam gold against the wooden buildings and the trees. This temple has  a lot of gold, which I'm told is unusual in Kyoto (with the notable exception of Kinkakuji.)


I often visit this photogenic little temple to take photographs. I went there recently in the snow on New Year's Eve. If you're ever in neighborhood, it's a pleasant way to spend an hour or two.

Oh, and unlike Kinkakuji, it's free, and it's never crowded!

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• Winter Wonderland in Kyoto (eatplayrove.blogspot.com)
• Snow at New Year (eatplayrove.blogspot.com)

MY FAVORITE BRIDGE IN KYOTO

Kyoto has a lot of bridges. Some of them are very old and famous, like Togetsukyo over the Hozu River in Arashiyama. But my favouite bridge is small and off the beaten track. It's on a small road in Yamashina that ends with Honkokuji Temple. . In spring the bridge is surrounded with cherry blossom. In summer the startling vermilion paint and gold detail create wonderful contrast with the green leaves. In Autumn the colors of cherry and maple echo the colors of the bridge, and in the winter snow it was dazzling!

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• Winter Wonderland in Kyoto (eatplayrove.blogspot.com)
• Autumn in Kyoto (eatplayrove.blogspot.com)

WINTER WONDERLAND IN KYOTO

There's a canal carrying water from Lake Biwa to Kyoto that runs along the foot of the mountains behind the JR station in Yamashina. The path beside the canal is a lovely place at any season, and one of my favorite places to bike or walk. It's very lovely in Spring because the sides of the canal are lined with cherry blossom trees, and in Autumn the colored leaves over the canal are so beautiful. But over this New Year holiday it snowed in Kyoto, and turned the canal walk into a winter wonderland.

Even though I am so familiar with the path, it seemed like a brand new place. Branches weighted down with snow hung over the dark water. The whole world seemed to be changed to monochrome, all shades of gray except for occasional splashes of color - a red bridge, a pink camellia, a yellow light reflecting on the snow.

I walked along, my boots crunching in the newly fallen snow, until the light faded away and left strange shapes glowing whitely in the darkness. Finally I turned off the path and walked down the road to Yamashina JR Station. Even the station looked other-worldly that night.

SNOW AT NEW YEAR

 

When I woke up on 31st December it was snowing. Probably it had been snowing most of the night because all the rooftops and the ground were well covered.  

I really LOVE snow! 

I suppose I've never lived somewhere that has snow all winter, so I've never had a chance to get tired of the inconvenience. But I'm certain I could never become immune to to the breathtaking beauty of snow. And I suspect that for me it would make the cold and the slippery paths and the snow shoveling and the wet clothes and the dirty, damp thaw all worth it.

I bolted my breakfast, dug out my only pair of waterproof boots and the rest of my wet weather gear, and set off with my camera for the supermarket... the LONG way. I think that the most magical part of snow is while it is falling. All sound is muted, all color covered or blurred with white. 

I really LOVE snow!

I took many photos of the streets near my apartment from beneath my umbrella. I'm going to write several posts about the New Year snowfall in Kyoto. More coming soon.

FIRE FESTIVAL

Every year on October 22nd, in the small and picturesque town of Kurama just North of Kyoto, they hold a fire festival. Although I've lived in Kyoto for nearly seven years, reports of long lines and ridiculously crowded trains always put me off going. But last Friday I finally went to see it.

The festival starts with bonfires being lighted at 6pm, but my friend and I missed that, arriving in Kurama just after 7pm. The train from Demachiyanagi in Kyoto was packed, but that was only what I expected. The main street was lined with braziers tended by locals sitting or standing outside their houses. We walked down the street to a shrine where two huge bonfires roared and hurled sparks into the night sky.

Every now and then men and youths in  festival costumes carried flaming torches of various sizes along the road. We saw one youth being helped to shoulder a huge torch. He was carrying the fiery end, and sparks fell from the torch onto his bare back. I thought more protective clothing would have been a good idea!
At one point we followed the crowds along the street thinking there must be some action up ahead, but policemen were pushing people into a narrow space along the side of the street behind a yellow tape. The people were 4 or 5 deep, and probably wouldn't see much form the back.

No doubt the nature of the festival and the crowds of people who attend make it potentially a very dangerous situation, but it was just like being on the train again. My friend and I pushed our way back along the road out of the crowds, then ducked under the police tape and joined some locals tending a brazier on the other side of the street. I was expecting to be moved along and forced to join the crowd again, but it never happened. Free from the pushing and shoving, we were able to enjoy a good view or the procession which came along after a while.

After the procession we headed for the train station, hoping that by leaving early we would avoid the worst of  the crowding. No such luck - everyone else had the same idea, and we were forced to queue for two hours before being tightly crammed into a small train for the journey back to Demachiyanagi. A friend told me he caught the last train back, at midnight, and that it was relatively uncrowded, and most passengers were even able to sit down.

I wish I had done more research about the event before we went. I'm sure we missed some of the good bits. I'm also sure I don't want to go back next year.  I really loved the festival, but I find it difficult to voluntarily subject myself to that degree of crowding. Crowds are okay if you can still move around freely, but when I'm trapped in a train or a queue it feels really unpleasant and frustrating.