Travelogue: Japan, part 1

Tokyo to Kyoto

Tuesday, March 28th

Milo has been asking to go to Japan since he was tiny. I’ve always said that I would take him for his tenth birthday, and here we are! We got in last night. It took us about 20 hours to get from our house to this hotel in Tokyo.

We’re staying right above Tokyo Station because we were only here for the night. Today we take the Shinkansen to Kyoto. The hotel is nothing special and our room is incredibly small, but we have a thrilling view. Last night I sat by the window, drinking beer and eating pork curry, and I watched the lights of Tokyo blink on in a delighted, jet-lagged stupor.

Wednesday, March 29th

I ate a traditional Japanese breakfast and I loved it. The Shinkansen was fast and the view was beautiful. I had bento for lunch that I bought at the train station and it was as great as I was told it would be. Now we’re in Kyoto.

The very first order of business was to visit a cat cafe.

We have a great view from our hotel room again. The window frames a Kyoto skyline that is just wild. So many antennas, so many right triangles (if that makes sense), and a single bright white spiral staircase improbably attached to the outside of an apartment building.

I regret not bringing any paint. I guess I have to seek out one of these famously great Kyoto art supply stores.

Friday, March 31st

Yesterday we visited Kiyomizu-dera, a buddhist temple. It’s an excellent place for cherry blossoms, which are blooming now, so it was teeming with people. We went with my good friend Amy and her family who happen to be here at the same time as us, overlapping by a couple of days and staying in the same hotel. Small, sweet world.

Kiyomizu-dera is very old, built on the site of a sacred waterfall in the 8th century. The current buildings in the temple complex date to the 1630s. It’s famous, among other things, for its stage.

From wikipedia:

The popular expression "to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu" is the Japanese translation of the English expression "to take the plunge". This refers to an Edo-period tradition that held that if one were to survive a 13-meter (43-foot) jump from the stage, one's wish would be granted. During the Edo period, 234 jumps were recorded, and of those, 85.4% survived. The practice was prohibited in 1872.

The stage at Kiyomizu-dera circa 1880 by Adolfo Farsari

Later in the day, Milo and I ventured out with no plan except to buy a tiny figurine at an antique store that I had seen on a walk the day before. Wandering through chaotic Teramachi-dori, a covered arcade of shops, we found a stone passageway on the left that led to what seemed to be a little temple in a quiet garden. Nobody was there but an old man who approached Milo and handed him a gift. We don’t know what it is, but it was a beautiful and mysterious moment.

I have, of course, been taking a million photos. Here are a few:

At the Rokkaku-dō or Chōhō-ji temple, a few blocks from our hotel.

I didn’t eat here and I don’t know anything about it, but I love this little Kyoto scene. It turns out exterior spiral staircases are everywhere.

Kiyomizu-dera.

I got my fortune at the temple at it was a good one.

I don’t know how you feel about this look. For what it’s worth, we talk about cultural appropriation a lot. But this kid has grown up totally obsessed with ninjas and Japanese folklore and he’s got a pocket full of birthday money.

Enigmatic produce.

Another nice Kyoto scene.

It’s just an umbrella.

Good signage everywhere.

Sayonara

Well, that’s it for now. We are headed to Osaka for the day to see the bright lights of Dōtonbori.

Until next time,
Carson

The view from our hotel room high above Tokyo Station

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