Friday, March 29, 2024

What a difference a day makes. From the overcast, rainy day yesterday to a sunny day today with a high of 23 celsius! Perfect day to get out and explore a bit of Kyoto.

We had not been too impressed with Sukiya’s breakfast the other day so today decided to see what the breakfast options from Yoshinoya would be like. We ended up with the “Ham & Egg Meal with Beef (small bowl)” (567 yen) which had two eggs, cabbage salad (with dressing), rice, (miso) soup, ham and an egg.

Our first stop of the day was a subway trip to “Nijo Castle”, a heavily fortified shogun residence built in 1626 by Tokugawa Lemitsu. The castle is roughly rectangular in shape surrounded by a wide moat. The low stone embankment emerges from the moat at an angle and is topped with buildings and grass mounds.

Arriving just after 11:00 am at the “Higashi Otemon” (great east gate) there was a bit of a queue to purchase tickets and a lot of tours wanting to visit the site. The moat has fish in it which we stopped to observe for a few minutes as we crossed the moat before passing through the impressive east gate with it’s black wood pillars with gold accents.

We followed the recommended route while inside the castle, turning to the left to pass through a gate in an inner wall surrounding the “Ninomaru Goten Palace” and gardens. This gate, the “Ninomaru Palace Karamon”, was altogether far fancier than the one on the outside with much more ornate woodwork and gold as well as elaborate carving decorations all topped with a magnificent thatch roof.

The palace itself is asymmetrical with several, differently sized white walled buildings topped with various levels of tiled roofs connected via a series of walkways.

Entering the palace via the elaborate entrance topped with more thatch, we were told to remove our shoes before we could walk on the tatami floors. No pictures are allowed but we found several tourists taking them anyway (of course). We tried not to be hurried along as we followed the route through the palace taking in the elegant simplicity of everything.

We were not allowed to enter the rooms but rather followed the tatami walkway around the exterior of the palace. The windows are all closed to prevent sun from damaging the sensitive interiors. Each room was separated from the rest by traditional Japanese sliding panels and the floors were all topped with tatami mats. They were not overly high but some did have grills above the panels to allow air to circulate. The most elaborately decorated room had only painted room dividers but not much more. In the main reception room they had some mannequins set up showing how the shogun would have received visitors, sitting on a slightly raised platform above the rest who sat on the floor.

Listening carefully you can hear a bit of a chirping sound coming from the floors as you walk around. These are “nightingale floors” with the sound coming from a nail rubbing against a specifically designed jacket. Evidently this sound was either by chance or by design, to allow the occupants to hear if someone was approaching. In any case it is quite interesting.

Retrieving our shoes we continued around to the back of the palace and admired the Japanese formal garden (“Ninomaru Garden”) with its elaborate watercourse, waterfalls, and decorative rocks and trees. Of course, much of this is symbolic with the multi-coloured rocks likely positioned very carefully. Sadly, this time of the year the garden lacked any colour due to the brown grass and bare trees though there were enough evergreens to make it at least presentable (!).

Leaving the grounds of the Goten palace we passed over a bridge across another inner moat to the grounds of the “Honmaru Goren Palace”.

This palace, sadly, we could not visit but was a much simpler and smaller affair than the Goten palace. The main building was a “modest” wooden structure with simpler roof tiles while other buildings mimicked the main palace with the familiar white walls.

In the far corner of the Goren palace grounds we climbed steep stone steps to the top of the Tensyukaku (“Keep Tower”) which offered great views of the grounds, Kyoto and the mountains surrounding the city. Interestingly, we could only see the moat of the Goren palace at the base of the tower and not the moat surrounding the entire complex just beyond a surrounding garden embankment and trees. Perhaps this was on purpose so the occupants did not have to look at it?

Returning to ground level, we passed through the “Nishihashi” (west gate) of the Goren palace and over the moat.

There was a toilet here so we had a bit of a break, purchasing a (cold) Coke from a machine and sitting down for a few minutes. We had been walking all around the palace and our backs were starting to hurt a bit. A few minutes later we continued along the route around the north past the “North Dozo” (storehouse) then walking along the north side of the complex past a tea house “Sabo Maeda” (Wakaku-an) nestled amongst the beautiful gardens. There was even a couple of cherry blossom trees in bloom!

We completed our circuit along the east side of the complex, passing by a small museum and large indoor café (and gift shop).

We stopped at the café as we had spotted they did Costa coffee - a favourite of Mel’s back in the UK. Having a very poor memory I purchased a castle guide book so I could read about the details at my leisure.

Before leaving the site we noticed a lone bare tree off to the side: It is a “Phoenix Tree” (Chinese Parasol Tree) the offspring of an “Aogiri” tree exposed to the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.

Earlier I had checked the map and found a nearby site that I though Mel might be interested in. It was a bit of a walk so we decided to catch a local bus. This was the first time we had caught a bus so we had to figure out how to use it. You enter by the back door then when you get out you pay a flat fare of 230 yen (day tickets are also available) and leave from the front door. As with all public transport, they accepted our SUICA cards. Not being so central in the city there are not so many subway stops and the bus was a quick and easy alternative. Our modern bus even had digital signs on board showing the upcoming stops in both Japanese and English.

Our stop dropped us outside of a temple (of course) then we turned to the right for the short walk to our destination. We passed by a local petrol (gas) station which I noted had the petrol hoses dangling down from the roof meaning that you can pretty much park anywhere and just grab a nearby hose to fill up.

Our destination was familiar to me from previous visits: Nishijin Textile Center which teaches about traditional Japanese textiles but, of course, also has an extensive gift shop. A nice thing about it is that it is free to visit. The building is big and open plan with a modern, clean interior with stylish, minimalist, but artistic furnishings. Very tasteful.

The ground floor was playing a looped film on how silk textiles are made from harvesting the silk to the traditional weaving of the cloth. On the far side of the shop up the escalator, there was even a weaver sitting at a loom but sadly, she was busy threading it so we did not see her weaving.

Nearby there was a display with REAL silkworms and cocoons showing the process up close.

Of course, we spent some time looking around. I thought about getting a tie but I don’t wear them anymore for work. We ended up getting a small bamboo wall hanging, some cards and a small geisha doll ornament.

When we first arrived at the textile center there was a tour group but as we returned downstairs to use the toilets was quite quiet. We were able to stop and watch more of the video and had a closer look at some of the other exhibits including an old-style loom before we left the center. We were never rushed or pushed into buying something. A very pleasant visit.

We decided to walk a short distance to “Otsunegoten” (the Imperial Residential Palace). This area is fairly residential so we walked on narrow sidewalks alongside busy roads passing by local shops (with little or no English). The alleyways are narrow as well. Everything is very clean and orderly with people seeming to be relaxing and not really in too much of a hurry.

Leaving the busy streets behind we passed into the park surrounding the palace grounds with its many trees. As it was such nice weather there were a number of people around enjoying the space. The palace was hard to miss surrounded by a low yellow rectangular wall topped with traditional Japanese roof tiles. Inside we could see many trees and the tops of the palace buildings. The walls surrounding the massive grounds stretch 1.3 kilometers, north to south, and 0.7 kilometres, east to west.

During my visit to Japan in 2007 I was with my mother and we had stayed at a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) just south of the palace. It was quite difficult to get tickets at the time, requiring you fill out an application form, present a passport, etc. So, this time I was not all that optimistic about visiting and, besides, it was about 3:15 in the afternoon and I knew they stopped allowing visitors at about 3:20, closing completely at 4:00. We decided to simply enjoy the gardens, taking pictures at the lesser-spotted cherry blossom tree that was actually in bloom (just look for the large numbers of people hanging around it) then stopping for a frozen ice cream (cinnamon and caramel flavours; 540 yen) in a small tourist shop.

We noticed there was a small queue still entering the palace despite it being 20 minutes past the last entry so decided to give it a try. To our surprise we were let in and were only required to go through normal airport-style security. MUCH simpler than my previous visit.

We had missed all the organized tour but instead did a “self-guided” tour, following the path through the grounds surrounding the palace buildings. No visitors (self-guided or not) are allowed access into the buildings but many have their doors open so you can see inside. The grounds themselves are spectacular anyway.

Of course, we were in a bit of a hurry as we had been told we had to exit by 4:30. Having said that, we did stop and take in as much as we could…snapping pictures throughout. The route took us past the black wood and gold, thatch topped west gate (“Gishumon”), past various palace buildings, familiar to us by now - black wood supports, with white panel walls, topped with either tile or, often here, thatch. Walking south we passed by waiting rooms and other visitor facilities. As with Nijo Castle the buildings are all different sizes and shapes, not at angles with one another but aligned so that all the spaces between them are perfectly rectangular or square.

Having passed by the “new carriage porch” with it’s now familiar black/gold structure topped with thatch on the south side of the complex we came upon a massive walled section strikingly painted orange outside of the spectacular ceremonial palace (“Shishiden”). This was the only place in the grounds where we saw orange being used, so it is quite special. Not only is the building itself spectacular but it has a courtyard of small white stones raked into perfect rows. Of course, we were not allowed to walk on the stones, instead a small cleared area in the courtyard where we were able to take pictures.

Leaving the ceremonial palace behind we continued the route, walking north on the east side of the complex. There was an interesting display here showing the construction of the roof which is NOT actually thatch (made of reeds) but rather layers of Japanese cypress bark.

On this far side of the site is the residential palace (“Otsunegoten”) which has a series of large, lovely Japanese gardens and ponds with decorative elements throughout: Bridges, statues, and small shrines perfectly reflected in the calm water of the pond. Though obviously meticulously created by man nature is everywhere with big, old, twisted trees growing out of the rocks and moss growing over everything giving it a real sense of permanence and calm. Even this time of year it is still very pretty.

Here we were also able to glimpse inside the simple interiors of the buildings with their tatami floors and delicate paintings on the panels. Religion, of course, plays a key role here with several religious buildings that fit in with the aesthetic of the palace.

Having pretty much outstayed our welcome, though, to be fair, we were in no way rushed other than the occasional message on a loudspeaker, we left the palace to continue our walk through the surrounding park. Near the southwest corner of the palace we admired an obviously revered old tree being held up by strategically placed large wooden poles.

We paid a short visit to a small Shinto Shrine (Munataka Shrine) on the site with it's now familiar set of black wooden buildings and prayer boards.

Further on there were some more cherry blossom trees just starting to bloom with one massive tree in full bloom attracting huge numbers of people. We paid a short visit to a small, quiet temple before passing by a row of white flowering bushes to leave the palace grounds behind.

We were now in search of something to eat so Mr Google found that a few streets away was an excellent place for Japanese curry “Kyoto Curry Seisakusho Karil”, one of the best places in the city. It is a small understated place down a small back street that had only just opened at 5 pm shortly after we arrived.

There were a few people waiting to enter ahead of us. We were shown to a small table in the two-room restaurant near the front of the room to the left and given a short A4-sized menu on a clip-board to review. It was in Japanese but helpfully had written in basic English translation but it was simple enough, divided into curry, salads and drinks. We ordered two green salads (250 yen each), two “mango lassie” (yoghurt, traditionally Indian) drinks (300 yen), and a “Beef Curry” (1,250 yen) for Mel and a “Bamboo Shoot Keema Curry” (1,200 yen) for me.

We waited about 15 minutes for our food to arrive. While we waited we soaked in the atmosphere. There were small tables in both rooms and at the front of each room there was bar-style seating with plastic-dividers separating each space for separate diners to eat alone. At each table there were pickles in small glass jars and bottles of water.

The rooms were simply furnished with wooden furniture and very little in terms of decoration. This is a restaurant for eating, not lingering.

The small green lettuce and tomato salad was served with a creamy dressing and the mango lassi quite nice (home-made evidently) but, of course, the highlights were the curries.

The generous portion of beef curry had a small portion of rice smothered with copious amounts of a dark, rich curry sauce with large chunks of tender, succulent, beef.

The bamboo curry dish consisted of a plate with a thin layer of curry sauce topped with a mound of rice and then topped with the bamboo/meat topping and crowned with a soft boiled egg.

Both curries were amazing with a depth of flavour in the sauce that we have not experienced before. Despite the simple nature of each dish they had a wonderful mixture of textures and flavours that blended together very nicely. There was no spice heat at all, just warm, almost gravy-like thick sauce and perfectly cooked ingredients.

As with most non-central, independent restaurants they accepted only cash which meant I was getting a bit low so after catching the subway back we had to stop to get some money at a 7-11 near the hotel (20,000 yen should do me). For a bit of dessert Mel bought a soft ice cream cone from a freezer and some cinnamon whirl snacks, while I picked up some “takoyaki” (deep fried squid ball) flavoured ring-shaped snacks and a “big katsu” snack that I thought looked interesting (despite being at room temperature it turned out to be real pieces of cured chicken strips with katsu coating).

Back in the room while eating our snacks we have been watching an oddly mesmerising (Japanese) baseball game on television (several channels appear to be showing baseball tonight). I know the rules so it is easy enough to follow. Some of the players are REALLY good.

Tomorrow is another travel day and another early alarm.

>> Next: Day 15