Kyoto: Part 2

Post two about Kyoto as promised!

Right in the middle of the city is Nijo Castle, ordered to be built by Tokugawa Ieyasu (see post about Nagoya Castle if you need a little history recap) as a fortress for the Imperial Palace situated nearby. The complex was completed in 1626 but as with many castles in Japan it has seen much destruction from both internal and foreign powers and is undergoing some reconstructions at the moment. Unfortunately the castle had just closed when we arrived so we only got a few shots from the outside. More details on Nijo Castle here.

The complex that I thought was even cooler than the castle was the Imperial Palace and adjacent grounds. The grounds more like are a public garden and walking path today and it was very peaceful to walk around. It's pretty cool to see normal people just going for in an afternoon stroll in what was once the royal quarters of the ruling family in Japan!

 

One more cool sight nearby is the Philospher's Path so named because Nishida Kitaro, a Professor of Philosophy at Kyoto University, is said to have walked through it on his way to class. Though the path is supposed to be very pretty during cherry blossom season it was still a very cool walk even in August. There are a few different temples along the way but the two we stopped to visit were Ginkakuji Temple (the Silver Pavillion) and Nanzenji Temple, coincidentally the temples at the two ends of the path.

The path:

Two modern day "philosophers" walking the path...

Ginkakuji Temple:

Nanzenji Temple:

And that's it for part 2 - more to come later!

Kyoto: Part 1

Back to a travel post. I've had the privilege of spending quite a few days Kyoto, one of the prettiest cities in Japan. Kyoto is most well known for being a very Buddhist town, with lots and lots old big temples and shrines. It's very cool to be able to walk around and see so many interesting things, typical old-school Japanese picture postcard type images to take. That being said though it is still a very modern town with a large population and a lot of tourists.

Many of these temples have been deemed "National Treasures" by the Japanese government which means that they have something unique to present and preserve, historically and/or artistically. Trying to visit and fully appreciate the significances of every single temple in Kyoto would be a year long task to undertake, but we can always try and hit the highlights.

Because Kyoto is such a big city so I'm going to break up this post into a few different sections. I thought it appropriate to start off near the Kyoto Station.

Kyoto Eki is a bustling hub of transportation with buses, trains, subways, and shinkansens constantly flowing through it. The station in and of itself is a tourist attraction. There is a large shopping complex and a nice observation deck with a bunch of restaurants.

View from the Observation Deck

Sanjusangendo is a very famous attraction in Kyoto. Inside are 1001 Buddhist statues of different devis and bodhisattvas. Just appreciating just how intricate all of the statues are is very interesting.  Photography is not permitted inside the hall but here are a few snaps from the outside which is also very peaceful and serene This link has a few more pictures taken from the inside as well as some more information about the temple. 

The area around Chionin Temple seemed to be another very popular attraction. There are various entrances and exits and different halls and temples and shrines to see. The compound is so big, I'm actually not sure that I managed to see the entire thing!

 

 

That's it for this post. I'll upload a second one sometime mid-week. Cheers!

Television!

One more lifestyle piece. One thing that I've had a really difficult time acclimating to in Japan is television. This sounds silly, because television is something that you don't think you really have any opinions on, but Japanese television is in a class of it's own. In America we've all heard about the infamous Japanese game shows that are as a completely absurd and I've noticed that that enthusiastic over-the-topness does seem to spill over in to all of their TV programs. Everything is very exciting and eye catching, even the news!

Let me just let the pictures do the talking. Here is just a small selection of the ever entertaining variety of programs you might happen upon when you switch on the TV.

Little kiddos singing songs and eating lunch...and just sort of being adorable!

Program where groups of people tried to act out scenes from manga books.
Not easy to categorize, but definitely entertaining!

Televised sumo competition. Rawr!

British TV program dubbed in Japanese.
I got wee bit excited when I saw Jamie Oliver on me telly!

Just two of the very exciting sketches on a morning kid's TV program.

A lifestyle program that is teaching Spanish to a Japanese audience.

Recycling!

Back to a lifestyle post. I touched upon this briefly with in my post about safety way back in February, but I think it deserves a post of it's own. I love recycling, I think it's a great idea as for both environmental sustainability and progeny's sake...and it makes me feel very virtuous for doing a very simple thing. When I realized that Japan also promotes recycling, I was very excited. Japan doesn't just recycle though, Japan recycles like crazy.

Let's start with the basics: You're going to need to start with three different colored bags which unfortunately change from city to city. Here in Kariya the colors are as follows. Green for combustibles, yellow for papers, and red for plastic. Green is your normal trash - banana peels, tea leaves, egg shells, etc. Then comes the exciting part. 

The two basic levels of recycling categorization are plastics and paper, pink and yellow respectively in Kariya. Every bottle of juice, every tray of vegetables, every carton of takeout has a symbol on it showing which category it falls into. Be careful though sometimes the tray might be a paper, while the lid might be a plastic. Give it a quick rinse and into the bag it goes. In Kariya, combustibles are picked up twice a week, plastics once a week, and papers bi-weekly.

Recycling Labels!
graphic from webbdevlam.com

The more advanced level of the bagged recycling collection system is the return bag. For some of recycling categories the waste collection company needs to take the sack back to their sort facility and then they return them to you. As such, each family has their name and apartment building written on the sack so they get their own bag back.

PET bottles are particularly tricky. PET bottles don't go into the normal plastic recycling, which is caution number one. You're either going to need a collection sack or just drop them off one by one at the nearest convi or vending machine garbage bin. Many convis discourage disposal of household recycling at their facilities so you have to be a bit discreet about that one. There is a thin perforation line to take the wrapper off of the bottles which goes into the normal plastics bag.

There are some recyclable items which are solely collected at third party facilities, like some convis or grocery stores. One example of these is milk cartons. I usually take the cartons that have accumulated over the past month to the Apita grocery store to dispose of them. Make note of the proper unfolding procedure! 

So there you have it, basic recycling etiquette in Japan. It takes a few weeks to get into the groove of it, but once you've got it down, it's such an effective system that you have a tough time not following it! 

Gamagori

Cue customary apologies for another very belated update. Instead of making excuses for myself though, this time I'm going to offer reparations. Starting this week, I promise to have one new update by Monday morning of every week. They might not be the most interesting of posts, they might not even be completely coherent, but there will be one. I realized that it has been rather inconsiderate of me to not update this regularly when you, the brave souls who are still checking this blog, have been taking time out of your day, to read about my life in Japan. The least I can do is offer an coordinated flow of information and I apologize that it has taken me six months to come to this realization, but better late than never, eh?

On to the post, I suppose. Without sounding too ostensibly British, Gamagori is a quaint little coastal town in Aichi prefecture. The most popular tourist spot is Gamagori Takeshima, a large shrine set on a small island a few hundred meters from the mainland. To get the secluded shrine there is a long bridge for the daintier tourist, or for more intrepid folks (and excitable children) there is always the water route. The level of the clear ocean water is actually rather low all the way to the edge of the island, perhaps peeking at half a meter, so it is very easy to walk across on foot, though your jeans are might get a bit wet.

 





Walking around the shrine is very calm and relaxing as such places are inclined to be. The vast wooded areas and the proximity to the ocean gives off a tone of reflection and spiritual isolation. The occasional tour group led by enthusiastic microphoned tour guides can sometimes take away from the overall effect though. The shrine encompasses the whole island with various alcoves and pathways to ruminate and meditate through.   

After exploring the island shrine, we walked through the mainland in search of a famous statue. Resting on the hill top of the village is a bronze statue at the top of Mt. Kobo overlooking the little city. He is distantly visible from the main road but there is a very steep trek to actually get near the statue. Like the shrine, this path also leads through quiet woodlands so the whole experience was very much worth the extra effort and exercise. 

Overall, a nice little day trip. The fact that everything is accessible by foot is nice for those of us who enjoy walking and exploring. Given the accessibility, there were a lot of fish, squid and other marine critters for sale in the local shops, which will be a nice treat if you enjoy fresh seafood. :)