Seoul

A morning to sleep in. After yesterday’s full day of touring, we needed the rest. We found our way to the Royal Asiatic Society and bought a ton of books (and had them shipped home). We also made a wonderful discovery- Dunkin Donuts has real American coffee and free refills.

We made our way to the Antique Market (which we never did find), but did find a group of antique/junk shops that were quite interesting.
Dinner at, where else- McDonalds! There is nothing like a Big Mac when you’re travelling.

Panmunjom - A Trip to the DMZ

A very early start to get to the USO by 7:10 am for our tour. Two busloads of white faces heading to P’anmunjom and the DMZ. Dress code was very strict- no sneakers, no sandals, no jeans, no shorts, no short skirts, no sleeveless tops. The North Koreans evidently take photos of scantily or poorly clad tourists and use them as propaganda to point out the loose morals of the west.
Our tour started with a visit to Camp Bonifas, the advance camp for P’anmunjom. We got a briefing from an American corporal from the MAC (Military Armistice Commission). We were required to sign a release of liability, got a visitors badge and headed to the DMZ.
The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) stretches for 241 km, and was established at the end of the Korean War. Placed at regular intervals down the entire centerline were 1,292 white markers holding signs that indicate the actual borderline, the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). The zone is a no-mans’ land- barbed wire fences with guard posts at regular intervals.
There is only one village within the southern half of the DMZ, called Freedom Village (Taesong-dong). It is a tiny farming community of 236 people. Villagers are exempt from taxes and conscription and earn a healthy $82K a year (tax free!) They farm an average of 17 acres. They do have to spend a minimum of 240 days in the village and have to be in the village by dark.
Straddling the actual border area near the west end of the DMZ is the Joint Security Area (JSA), known as P’anmunjom. It’s less than one square kilometer in size and is the only place where mutually agreed upon contact between the UN and North Korean military representatives takes place.

We were escorted to a two- story pavilion overlooking the blue and silver building in the center of the compound, used for MAC meetings.

Beyond that is North Korea’s most prominent building. P’anmun-gak is a three story building with huge windows on the upper floors…and it is only 6 meters deep. You can look directly at the North Korean guards- who are looking right back and taking pictures.

The MDL runs through the center of the building and through the central table. When going around the table, you actually enter North Korea. It was quite dramatic- with ROK (Republic of Korea) soldiers standing in ty-kwan-do position by the table.

From the observation post next to the building, you can see “Propaganda Village”, North Korea’s only village within the DMZ. There are a number of new high-rise apartment buildings in the village- but we were told that no one lives there. Maintenance personnel and farmers are bused in from Kaesong and bused back in the evening. In the center of the village is a 160-meter tall flagpole (built to be taller than the flagpole in the South Korean village).
We drove past Checkpoint 3- “the loneliest guard post in Korea”.

It sits at the south end of the Bridge of No Return (the bridge crossed by the crew of the USS Pueblo in 1968). In 1976, there was an “ax-murder” incident at the foot of the bridge when North Korean troops attacked American and South Korean troops as they tried to cut down a large tree. Two Americans were killed in the attack.
Lunch was back at Camp Bonifas and we got to visit the Officers Club (“The Monastery- Home of the Merry Monks of the DMZ”).

After a buffet lunch, we headed for the Third Tunnel of Aggression. The tunnel, discovered in 1978, was started in the northern half of the DMZ and dug into the southern half before its discovery. It is 150 feet below ground, about 2 meters tall and two meters wide. According to estimates, it was large enough to carry a full division of fully equipped North Korean troops per hour. An interception tunnel has been dug to meet this tunnel (which was never completed).

There is a long descent on slippery, wet rubber matting down to the original tunnel. Once in the tunnel, you can walk another ½ km to the point just below the MDL where a military guard post has been created. The walk back up the slippery slope was quite a challenge (we stopped at what we dubbed, “The Western Rest Areas”) (none of the Asians appeared to need the rest stops, but they were filled with Caucasians).
One last stop in the DMZ was at an Observation Building and we had a short briefing. Unfortunately, the skies were cloudy and we couldn’t see much of North Korea.
We headed back for Seoul and dumped the group in downtown Seoul We walked by the Hotel Lotte, the largest hotel in Seoul and were shocked to see about 3000 riot control police lining the subway staircases, the hotel driveway and roof. They were outfitted with riot shields, batons and helmets and in military formation. It turns out that they were getting ready for a pre-dawn move on a group of protesting unionist doctors.
Rather than stay around for the action, we headed for the Westin and found the only Korean-Irish bar in town, O’Kim’s. Too expensive wine and lasagna- but it was worth every cent. Sometimes you just need to feel that you’re not in Asia anymore.

Kyongju to Seoul

It was time to say goodbye to Mr. Kwan and head for Seoul. The first class seats in the train were quite comfortable and we had a pleasant 4-½ hour journey. We got a taxi to take us to our hotel- not knowing that the street leading to the hotel was closed due to construction. Our wonderful taxi driver stopped his car, took one of our bags on his head and walked us to our hotel several blocks away. The hotel rivaled Mr. Kwan’s for “character”. No one spoke English and our room was complete with exposed florescent light, a TV almost falling off the wall and no sheets. A true flop house- but in a great location- and once again, a bargain at $25/night.
We took a trial run to the USO- using the amazing subway system. The subway system has 7 lines and criss-crosses the city with utter efficiency. It took us quite a while to find the USO. Either we had a problem with communication- or no one in this country knows where anything is! Maybe a bit of both. After confirming our tour for Thursday, we spent the next few hours at the Korean War Museum. It was spectacular- 3 floors of wonderful exhibits spanning their entire history of warfare (which is substantial). Most of the museum was oriented around the Korean War. The only distressing part of the museum was the lack of English subtitles on the video clips and the minimal coverage given to the sacrifices of the American troops in the Korean War.
Exhausted, we grabbed a taxi to It’aewon. Located close to the largest UN military base in Korea, it was a typical GI rip-off area- lots of bars and shopping. Even with the military base close by, we still saw very few Caucasian faces. Craving anything non-Korean, we headed to the Moghul restaurant for some very bad and expensive Indian food.

Touring Kyongju

Interesting notes:
** They number all of their cultural assets and their intangible cultural assets- but they don’t number their buildings or houses. They don’t have an address system!
** They’ve developed a strange mixture of Shamanism and Buddhism which seem to co-exist without problem

Our hotel was quite an experience. Our host, Mr. Kwan, spends most of his days hanging out in his shorts and baseball cap and entertaining his guests with his “pet scorpion”. The scorpion is supposedly in a paper envelope and harmless. When you open up the envelope to look inside- it has a noisemaker that scares the crap out of you- no scorpion. After the ‘scorpion show’, he demonstrates his ability to stand on his head.
Our bed was comprised of a mattress on a plywood board, balanced on plastic beer crates. The towels were the size of washcloths. But, it was only $25/night.

Today was our tour outside Kyongju. Our guide, Mr. Kim, picked us up in the pouring rain and we headed out along with another young kid from Singapore, Pan

Note:
** The Koreans don’t like informality in names- and hate nicknames- so everyone is Mr. or Mrs. Kim, Lee, or one of the few other names in the country.

Our first stop was Kolgul-sa Temple. The focus of this temple is the practice of Sonmudo (Zen martial arts). The practice was started during the Silla Dynasty when the priests taught the discipline of mind and body to the elite corps of soldiers. It was practiced by successive generations of monks.

Part way up the hill, we got to watch a group of monks practicing the art of Sonmudo. Then it was a tough climb up a slippery slope to get to the group of shrines at the top. In the niches in the rock face were various statues of Buddha.

John climbed the rock face to get to the Buddha cut into the rock…I stayed behind. The idea of balancing myself and my umbrella on a steep rock climb didn’t sound too smart.

At our next stop, Kirim-sa, we arrived to find the temple filled with women attending a service for the dead. The temple is one of the largest and most important Silla temples- and was by far, one of the most interesting. We must have seen well over 1500 Buddha statues- and most interesting of all, was the temple dedicated to the Buddha guarding Hell. That was a new concept for us.

Finally, on a small rocky islet 200 m. off the coast was the site of the underwater tomb of the Silla King, Munmu (661-681 AD). It’s said to be the only underwater tomb in the world. The story goes that Munmu had made it known that on his death, he wanted his body to be burned and the ashes buried at sea close to a temple. The idea was that his spirit would become a dragon and protect the eastern shores of the Silla Kingdom from the Japanese.

It was time for lunch- and drenched, we headed to a traditional Korean restaurant. Once again, we were surrounded by dozens of bowls filled with strange things; kimchi (multiple versions), all sorts of fish in spicy red sauces, bowls of soup with unknown things in them, sauces and peppers (which the Koreans eat raw- after dipping it in spicy sauce).

Once again, we used the “packet” concept- using lettuce and other leafy things as the container for the various fillings. At the same time, Mr. Kim gave us an interesting cultural/history lesson that had us shaking our heads…
Our last stop was the Yangdong Folk Village. The Korean government has designated several villages around the country as preservation areas and these villages give you a chance to see what Korea was like in the 15th and 16th centuries. The village consisted of about 150 houses, most of them inhabited.

Wet and tired from walking in the pouring rain, we headed back to our hotel. We thought we’d “graze” at the food stalls for dinner- but with the rain, none of them were open. Craving pizza, we asked Mr. Kwan where we could get it. He sent us to the local bakery- where they microwaved something that looked like pizza. It was horrible- doughy and filled with cocktail wieners and sweet pickles. Don’t think they’ve got the concept down quite yet. We topped it off with some stale ice cream. What a meal!

Another day in Kyongju

Lots of housekeeping stuff to do. We managed to pin down our flight from Seoul to Beijing, our train tickets to Seoul, tour to Panmunjom and a hotel in Seoul- plus get some cash. Then it started to pour.

Our walking tour was looking less attractive, but we decided to continue. We took a taxi to the furthest point and started our self-directed tour. Anapji Pond, constructed by King Munmu in 674 AD as a pleasure garden was mostly destroyed by the Mongols. What’s been reconstructed was lovely- set near a pond with beautiful gardens. Then we trudged on to the Ch’omsongdae observatory, built between 632 and 646 AD. The 12 stones of the base symbolize the months of the year and from top to bottom there were 30 layers, one for each day of the month…totaling 366 stones.
Finally we made it to Tumuli Park, in the heart of Kyongju. It contained 20 tombs of the Silla monarchs and members of their families. One of the tombs, the Ch’onmach’ong (Heavenly Horse Tomb) had been opened in cross section to show how it was constructed. The tomb was 13 m high and 47 m in diameter, constructed in the 5th C AD. The construction was amazing.

Exhausted and wet, we headed back to Han Jin and spent the rest of the afternoon talking to an Aussie who was scoping out Korea for teaching opportunities. Evidently the best pay for teachers is in Korea, Taiwan and the Gulf States.
Dinner was a “bulgogi burger” at McDonalds.

Kyongju

A 9:30 tour with Mr. Kwon’s nephew and his mini-bus. It was the two of us and four Canadians here on a one-year contract teaching English.

Kyongju is Korea’s ancient cultural city, the capital of the once great Silla Kingdom (similar to Kyoto in Japan). UNESCO selected it as one of the worlds 10 most important ancient cultural cities, both for its position in the historical and cultural development of East Asia and for its role in the formation of the Korean nation. For nearly 1000 years, Kyongju was the capital of the Silla dynasty. It had origins back to 57 BC and survived until the 10th century AD when it fell victim to division from within and invasion from without.

Our first stop was Pulguksa Temple. It was built on a series of stone terraces and is known as “Buddha nation temple”. Originally built in 528 AD, it survived intact until the Japanese destroyed it in 1593. Reconstruction was done in 1972. The roof tiles were spectacular and the sites were active Buddhist temples.

Next stop was the Sokkuram Grotto. On the way to the grotto, our guide took out his karaoke microphone and started signing to some Korean song. Fortunately, none of the others in our group sang along.
The grotto was high in the mountains above Pulguksa. Inside the grotto was a huge seated image of Sakyamuni Buddha. It was constructed in the mid-8th century out of huge block of granite. Surrounding the Buddha were temple guardians, bodhisattvas and disciples of Buddha.
The Kwaenung Tomb was most interesting- the carved figures guarding the tomb are unlike any other in Kyongju. They’re said to represent Persian mercenaries who were known to have served in the court of Silla (wavy hair, big noses, and heavy beards). Around the tomb were the 12 figures of the zodiac.



Lunch option was “warm or cold”. We all opted for warm and got some relatively tasty curry rice. The Canadian teachers were an interesting group. They were teaching in the SW corner of Korea at a private school. Evidently the pay is quite good and they get set up with their own apartment and one free meal per day in the school cafeteria. Since it’s a private school, the children come to learn English after their full day of regular schooling. So, they start teaching at 3:30 p.m. and teach until 10:30. The students then go home and finish their homework!
Our last stop was the National Museum. Outside the museum was the Emille Bell. It’s claimed that when the bell was cast, a child was sacrificed and you can hear her cry of “Emille” (mother) when it’s rung.

The museum was beautifully done with spectacular relics from the Silla dynasty- beautiful gold jewelry and decorations, pottery, and the Korean National treasure, a general sitting on a horse.
Our guide explained that the Koreans descended from Mongol stock….they’re “people on the move” (which he claimed, explains their preoccupation with cell phones??!!) He made an interesting analogy when he described the game of “go”, a form of flat warfare, no ranks, no hierarchy- the Mongol way, with chess (much hierarchy, division of labor)- the European way. The Koreans/Mongols stream at their enemy taking advantage where they find it. He said that the Internet is also similar to the Mongolian military- flat, no formal structure.
He also told us that Korean babies, like the Mongols, Eskimos and American Indians, all have a blue spot at birth- that disappears with age. He said that the Mongolian slitty eyes were an adaptation to the dust of the plains, the square jaw developed as a result of eating meat only. The Koreans are a very handsome people and very Mongolian in features. Both the men and the women are good-looking.
We were exhausted after a full day of touring and settled for noodles and wine in the garden.

Pusan to Kyongju

We had second thoughts about driving in Korea- since our ability to make any sense of Korean characters was nil and traffic was crazed. So, we cancelled the car and got on the express bus to Kyongju. A one-hour drive and we arrived at the bus terminal, got some maps and headed off for a recommended hostel, Han Jin Hostel. The proprietor, Mr. Kwon, spoke reasonable English (although he was a bit eccentric) and knew how to cater to the foreign traveler. The rooms were reasonably clean, travel info was everywhere, he had Internet access (2000 won), a washing machine (4000 won), a refrigerator with cold beer (1500 won) and the place was packed. All the other hotels in town looked to be completely empty. Amazing what a little ingenuity will buy you.
We walked around town- through an entire area filled with Korean X-er’s, music blaring from all the stores. It was good to see that it’s not only the US who has a clueless generation.
We met Mr. Kwon’s nephew who recommended a restaurant down the street, the Korean Tourist Restaurant. It was Saturday night and the place was packed with Korean men drinking beer, eating bulgogi and having food fights.

We got a table (low table on the floor with a grill in the middle. They put hot coals in the hole and a grill over it and you cook your own beef and garlic. Once cooked, you put it in lettuce leaves, smother it with hot sauce and kimchi and stuff it in your mouth). It was so good- although we must have stunk of garlic for the next few days.

Pusan

Leaving Japan for Pusan, Korea. The hydrofoil, called “Beetle II”, was packed with Japanese. The seats came complete with seat belts and barf bags. Travelling at 80 km/hr (about 50 mph) over the seas could get a little rough. The boat was powered by a jet turbine engine. It was quite comfortable- complete with snack shop, duty free and TV- the Detroit Lions vs. the Blue Jays baseball game. The Japanese men settled in at 9:00 a.m. with their beer, everyone took off their shoes and watched the game. The Japanese men have this horrible way of speaking- like a low frequency growl. The women’s voices were like high-pitched cotton.
We landed in Pusan, got a hotel and happily found the cost of living much more to our liking. A first-class hotel, the Phoenix, for $60/night. We grabbed a cab, got to the hotel. While the standards are not quite up to the Japanese (not quite as clean and efficient), the price was right (although, the A/C didn’t come on until 3:00 –or so they said).

John called to get a rental car. We tried all the Korean agencies and not a soul spoke English. Finally, we called Avis and got someone with some English. It was hysterical to listen to the conversation concerning price. John would ask the cost and he would get a response of “po”. He’d repeat “po” back and the guy would say, “po, po”. He’d say “po, po” and the response was “18 tauziman” then “po po tauziman”. We gave up trying to understand and just agreed to take the car.
Then we had the challenge of lunch. The charming woman at the front desk walked us to the local bibibap place where we had a feast- at least 12 side dishes along with the main course. We walked to the subway- a deal at 50 cents. It was amazing- people here will stop and ask if they can help when you look confused. It’s nothing at all like Japan where they act as if you’re invisible.

We walked down “Texas Street”- named for the days when American GI’s were stationed here and came here for shopping and drinking and other things.

Today, it’s filled with Russian petty traders, sailors and hookers. All of the signs were in Cyrillic and on every street you could find a “shot bar” set up- just in case you needed a shot in between shopping for your cheap clothing and luggage. The street scene was amazing- tons of Russian men drinking at the shot bars, hookers parading their wares, and Korean families with their children sitting around in front of their stores.

We headed back towards the hotel and took the escalator to the top of the hill to Pusan Tower. Riding the elevator to the top afforded wonderful views of the city and the harbor.



The city stretched on forever and the port business was larger than any we’d ever seen.
We walked down in search of a place for a cold beer and were hustled by some Korean women. They raced from their restaurant down the street to get beers for us- then tried to charge us $30 for 4 beers and an un-ordered plate of dried fish, dried ginger and bag peanuts (a beer sells for about $2.00 elsewhere). We made a huge stink- old Mama san was pretty upset. We finally got the bill cut in half and left yelling “rip-off”.
On the walk back to the hotel, we saw the newest Korean X-er craze- DDR, Dance Dance Revolution. The machines were set up for easy street side viewing and the purpose of the game was to follow the patterns on the screen and match the steps to get points toward the perfect dance. Well, it’s true that white men can’t dance- but Korean men really can’t dance. It was the funniest thing to watch these guys trying to act so cool-when they in fact looked like nerds.
We grabbed a glass of wine on the hotel roof top restaurant and watched the sun come down. A great day.

Korea Map and Route

Nagasaki

An early start to head to Nagasaki. Since our 7- day rail pass had expired, we had to actually buy a ticket. Sticker shock- it was $75 round trip- which, in hindsight, for a 4 hour train trip was pretty cheap- but we were used to just getting on the train and travelling first class. The coach reserved seating was not bad…leather seat and hardwood floors. In no time, we were in Nagasaki.
It was actually an attractive city- the “San Francisco of Japan”- built on a hill. The interesting thing was that you couldn’t tell which cities were a-bombed and which ones they just screwed up on their own. Their cities are so ugly- like living inside a factory. The construction is Soviet-esque and they haven’t bothered to bury any of their phone/electrical wires. Given the beauty of their gardens, it’s hard to believe that they don’t see the ugliness of their cities.
We took the tram to the Peace Park and saw the huge statue. It appeared to be pointing to the next town, saying, ‘Bomb over there”.

Not the most inspiring park in the world. The whole site was filled with Japanese school children. The A-bomb Museum was actually very well done- with maps and videos explaining what happened that day and the following weeks, months and years. At the end of the exhibit, they had a chronology of the events leading to the bomb and once again, the Japanese managed to ignore their part in the war. It left a really bad taste in your mouth for the whole museum. Interestingly, the detailed chronology on their wall exhibit was only in Japanese- the only place in the museum without English translation. It made you wonder what bits of historical inaccuracy they were pushing on their citizens.
We had a great lunch at yet another Indian restaurant…more vindaloo, perfectly spiced. Then, with the rain clouds approaching fast, we did a hit and run at the Fukasai-ji Zen Temple. The original temple was built in 1628 but burnt down by the A-bomb fire.

The replacement temple, built in 1979 is in the form of a huge turtle, carrying on his back an 18M high figure of the goddess Kannon. What a strange site.
We jumped back on the train and headed back for our last night in Japan. Tomorrow- Korea.

More observations:
** The Japanese look through you. It’s almost as if we don’t exist. There are no children yelling, “Hello” or anyone smiling or even acknowledging our presence. It’s as if they have a mask on- showing no emotions at all and have no interest whatsoever in foreigners. On the other hand, if you ask them for help, many of them will drop what they’re doing and walk you to the place you’re looking for- as if it’s their obligation to do the right thing for you.
** Their entire society seems to revolve around commercialism. Everywhere you look there are more shopping opportunities. Their train stations are completely surrounded on all sides (including underground) by malls and stores and kiosks selling everything imaginable.
** These are truly the strangest people in the world.

Kyoto to Fukuoka

Another 7:42 train to Hakata/Fukuoka. We got to the station, arranged for our ferry to Korea and got a hotel by the station. Clustered around the station were tons of businessmen’s’ hotels (they call them ‘sarariman’- salary man). The hotels have miniscule rooms, with adult movies, a stocked refrigerator and no room to move. We figured out that our room measured 4 tatami mats. There was barely enough room to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom without tripping over something.

We headed out to the “Anti-Mongol Museum”. In 1274, a reconnaissance force of some 30,000 Mongols landed near Fukuoka, just to the north of Kyushu. They had tremendous success but the death of their commander forced them to retreat. Seven years later, in 1281, Kublai Khan dispatched another force of 150,000 troops, the largest amphibious assault recorded in history prior to WWII. They were on the brink of victory when a typhoon (kami-kaze- literally, divine wind) sent most of the fleet to the bottom of the sea. To this day, the word kamikaze has survived based on this incident. The museum was sad- all in Japanese and not very user friendly, but it was interesting to see the Mongol weapons and clothing and see the farthest point they got in the East.
Then it was on to lunch- an Indian restaurant- we thought we were in heaven. A beaming Indian behind the glass window cooking up curries and vindaloos; the next table filled with Indians. One of them was the owner- he has 21 restaurants across the Far East.
After a filling lunch, we walked around the Naka-gawa River to see the street stalls being set up- there were hundreds of them set up to catch the saraiman when they emerge from the bars drunk and hungry.
Fukuoka was a very strange town…everyone was talking on their silver cell phones (and when they weren’t talking on them, they were fondling them or playing games on them. It’s an obsession. They also ride old 50’s style one-speed bikes.
We’d had enough of walking and headed back to the hotel for cheese and crackers and cheap wine..

Kyoto to Hiroshima

We headed for our 7:42 Shinkansen train to Hiroshima. We got another look at the train station in Kyoto. The entire station was open to the outside- and their climate is like ours. So, in the summer, it’s very hot and humid. It’s hard to imagine what the winter must be like. It was very amusing to watch the people running through the station to catch their next train.. the life of the “sarariman”- the salary man.
The train, as always, arrived on time and left on time. Every time any of the rail staff exits the car, they turn around and bow to the (mostly empty) car. The trains don’t appear to be crowded at any time of the day. They must be heavily subsidized.
Once in Hiroshima, we took the local tram to Peace Memorial Park. The park was filled with Japanese school kids of all ages.

At one end of the park was the “A Bomb Dome”, formerly the Industrial Promotion Hall, a charred and twisted skeleton that was allowed to remain as a reminder of the destruction. On August 6, 1945 about 8:15 a.m. the bomb exploded, killing half the population of 400,000 people (about 80,000 died immediately) and almost totally destroying the city.

The Park was primarily a series of monuments to the bomb victims.

The Children’s’ memorial was inspired by Sadako, a girl dying from radiation poisoning who believed that if she folded 1000 paper cranes she would recover. She died after folding 664 and now children fold paper cranes in her memory and leave them at the statue.

The memorial to the Korean victims was only recently put up. Over 20,000 Koreans, who had been brought to Japan as slave labor during WWII, were killed in the bomb. To this day, Koreans and their descendants suffer discrimination in Japan (weddings can be cancelled if any Korean blood is found in the family tree). The memorial, of course, doesn’t call these victims slave laborers, but refers to them as civilians working for the military.
A Peace Flame burned in front of the Memorial Cenotaph, never to be extinguished until all nuclear weapons are abolished..
The Peace Museum was, once again, more of a memorial to the victims- and to the “victimization” of Japan by having to suffer through the first Atomic bomb. While the photos and exhibits were moving, it was also disturbing to see the intellectual dishonesty. There was no mention anywhere in the museum of the role Japan played as the aggressor in the war. One of the plaques said, “A surprise attach on Pearl Harbor catapulted Japan into World War II”. We were under the impression that the surprise was on the part of the US, not Japan!
We’d had enough of the A-bomb and headed through town to find a place for lunch- more noodles, this time Italian.

Then it was a stop at the liquor store for a few cold frosties for the train and we were headed back to Kyoto. 2 hours and we were back “home”.

Kyoto

We fell asleep at night to the PA system of the hotel thanking us for staying with them- and then running through all the things we should do- don’t smoke in bed, lock your door, make sure you know where the emergency exits are, follow instructions in case of emergency…..and all we wanted to do was fall asleep.

This morning we woke up to the Monday morning fire department inspection. All the firemen were lined up in their uniforms and had a complete military inspection. What a sight!

Our morning walking tour with Johnny Hillwalker was interesting. We saw the local sights and sounds of Kyoto by walking the back streets, seeing where the locals manufacture fans, kimonos, tatami mats, prayer beads, etc.



We stopped at one of the largest, active Buddhist temples, Higashi Hongan Temple. This temple controls over 10,000 temples across Japan and is headquarters of one of the two main sects of Buddhism in Japan. This particular sect features an easy path to salvation- in fact, the Jodo Shinshu sect doesn’t even require you to be good to be reborn into Paradise. On display was a length of rope made from hair donated by female believers. It was used to haul the timber for the reconstruction of the temple (our guide claimed it was the largest wood structure in Japan). Inside the temple, there was a service going on to consecrate the ashes of the dead. If you give enough money, you get a private service. Otherwise, you get group mode.
We continued the walk to the Kikokutei Shosei-en Garden, built by the shogun for the Buddhist elders. It was amazing how a small oasis of trees and water in the middle of the city makes such a difference.

We walked through more small streets seeing small local shrines and temples. The old streets were filled with teahouses, now out of business. The geisha business is a dying art, now mainly sustained by tourists. In the olden days, the teahouses were the place for business communication, a way for businessmen to get together and talk. There was a certain sadness in our guides’ description of this way of life that is disappearing.
We stopped at the Kanshundo Pastry Shop and had a few samples of Japanese pastry- lots of presentation, not much taste.

Our last stop was the Toyokuni Shrine. They had the world’s heaviest bell- 80 tons.
We grabbed a cab to a junk shop we had seen the previous day- only to find that it was out of business. So, we made our way to our last Temple stop- the Chion-in Temple. It was built in 1234 on the site where Honen, one of the founders of the Jodo sect taught and eventually fasted to death. Today it’s the headquarters of the Jodo sect. The main entrance gate – two stories- is the largest in Japan. The main hall was connected to the Dai Hojo Hall by a “nightingale” floor- constructed to “sing” at every step.
“Templed” out, we headed down the antique street to the river, got a beer at our river view restaurant, Le Monument bleu, and watched the people on the streets.

More Japanese oddities:
** There is definitely a generation gap of serious consequence in this country. The young people appear to be rejecting the rigidity of their parents’ generation- wearing outrageous clothes, dying their hair orange, and rejecting the corporate lifestyle. When we asked our guide in Nara about the problem, she quickly acknowledged the problem- and said, “We must have done something wrong”. There is a Japanese word, giri, which translates to a sense of honor, but also communal and personal responsibilities of your group.
** Their maps are often upside down or sideways- north is not always at the top of the map, making it very difficult to know which way you’re going.
** On the streets, people put plastic bottles filled with water around their trees and houses to keep the dogs away.
** They measure the size of their rooms by number of tatami mats (a 3x6 foot mat).
** This is the lowest percentage of English speaking people we’ve ever seen. Even most of the young people know no English or are too afraid to speak it.

A day in Nara

We took the local train to Nara and met our ‘goodwill” guide, Yamiko. The YMCA has established a network of volunteer guides, mostly Japanese housewives, who want to practice their English and will give free tours. We did a brisk walk through the town of Nara to Nara Park. The park was filled with over 1200 very tame deer.

In old times, they were considered messengers of the gods and today they enjoy the status of national treasures. They roam the park in search of handouts from tourists (they sell rice cakes to feed them). They actually bow before taking the cake from your hands!

We saw the Kofuku-ji Temple, which was transferred from Kyoto in 710 as the main temple for the Fujiwara family. There are only a few buildings left- a three story and five story pagoda (the “Happiness Producing Temple”)

We continued our walk through the park to the Todai-ji Temple It was truly amazing. It is the largest wooden building in the world and houses the “Great Buddha”- one of the largest bronze images in the world. The Daibutsu-den Hall houses the great Buddha- a 50-foot high bronze Buddha completed in 752, surrounded by two Bodhisattvas and two Temple Guardians.

In the back is a wooden column with a small hole at the base (the size of Buddha’s nostril). Popular belief holds that those who can squeeze through are ensured enlightenment.

It was pretty funny to see adults trying to squeeze through this tiny hole.
Walking through Shinto Shrines and beautifully landscaped public areas; we climbed a set of stairs to the Nigatsu-do and Sangatsu-do Hall.

Finally, we got to the Kasuga Taisha Shrine, founded in the 8th Century and completely rebuilt every 20 years according to Shinto tradition, until the end of the 19th Century. The approach to the shine was lined with hundreds of stone lanterns and inside hung hundreds of bronze lanterns. It was quite beautiful- moss covered stone lanterns in a beautifully wooded area with deer everywhere.

After 4 hours of serious walking, we headed back to the station and to Kyoto. We found a great spot overlooking the river to watch people and grab a late lunch/dinner.

They had the most ingenious toilet so far- heated seat, combination bidet, and when you flush, the holding tank was filled by a faucet above the tank so you could wash your hands while the tank fills. Amazing!

River scenes