Japan 2009-2010: Sakura, Sakura, Sakura!

Easter Morning by the Kamo River

めっちゃ久しぶりだね(It's been a long time, hasn't it)! So I know that I have been far from consistent lately, and I'm sincerely sorry for the uber long hiatus! Things have been a little crazy this semester and time has flown by (indeed, it is already the second to last week of school...What?!!?). So many things have happened...but I'll start with my parent's visit to Kyoto. At the end of March I was lucky enough to have my lovely parents come visit me for two fantastic weeks, here are some highlights:

The ryokan (Japanese-style inn) in gion. There we had kaiseki, which is a traditional multi-course Japanese meal that is served to you directly in your room at a ryokan. The first night they brought us our food I thought it was going to be just the first plate they brought out and then maybe some miso soup and rice. But no! The dishes kept coming and soon enough it seemed as if we wouldn't have room for everything. We just kept watching as the plates piled up and sitting there awkwardly because we didn't know whether to start eating as the food kept coming out, or until all the plates were placed on the table...we ended up just waiting and in the meantime, whipped out our cameras and went picture crazy like Japanese tourists. The people at the ryokan laughed at us.

Someone's happy!

soo much food...sooo good

At first I thought this was the only plate we were going to get...and I thought, okay, that's cool, we get to eat a slightly creepy fish with white balloon eyeballs...oh my.

traditional Japanese breakfast

The first night we were there, they were doing a light up around Gion at Yasaka jinja and Maruyama Koen and so we went out to take a look as they were cleaning up our dinner and setting up the futons for the night. This one really impressive sakura tree in the middle was lit up and all around the park there were ikebana displays. There was also a section of lanterns made by the students at the design school here in Kyoto.

crazy ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement)

Sakura tree at Murayama Park - Apparently during sakura season, a lot of companies and people in general will hold parties called 花見(hana mi - flower viewing) at night. And why would you have flower viewing at night? Good question. In reality, it's not really about the flower viewing so much as the drinking and food! ;)

The next day we went to Ginkakuji and Philosopher’s path and Heian Jingu. It was pretty wet and cold so it wasn’t that fun, but the Philosopher’s path, even though the sakura haven’t started blooming yet, was gorgeous nonetheless. I think it is my favorite place in Kyoto! Besides all my cafes that is of course. We also found this Coffee and Dango place by Heian Jingu. It was an old place, like pre-war style old, but the matcha and snacks were good and the people were really nice!

Sculpted sand at ginkakuji...it took me all my strength to suppress the urge to jump on it!

Later in the week we went to Kokedera, which I think is one of my most favorite gardens. It is absolutely gorgeous and seems like it could come straight out from a fairy tale. It definitely takes the most effort out of all the temples to get in though, as you have to make a reservations beforehand by sending in a postcard, paying a hefty fee of $30/person, and sitting seiza and writing sutras beforehand.

When we went, in the room where everyone is busily writing there are two sections divided by a central aisle where the ceremony and chanting is performed and where the butsudan is at the front, along with the incense and ceremonial stuff. The sections are filled on a first come first serve basis and so after the first section is filled up, they move on to the second section across the room. What ended up happening is that the first section was filled rapidly by all the Japanese tourists who came in on time, and the second section was filled with all the foreigners who were later (we were in the second section, but were in the very first row as the first ones seated). Then, while the first section silently and determinedly copied their sutras, the second section (ours) was filled with all this rustling and whispering and noise and in the end, when our section emptied out, the first second was still diligently working away. Hm yes, very interesting cultural study.

The garden at Kokedera is amazing. It was like it came straight out of a fairytale! Even though there were quite a lot of people, there was still a sense of hushed peace that gathered over the emerald green moss. The opalescent pond was shaped like 心 (kokoro) which means "heart" and carp moved silently within its shallow depths.

soo pretty...yeah it reminds me of a book about a unicorn and a princess I loved when I was a kid, though pictures just don't do this place justice.

One of the great things about my parents visiting is that they got to meet my host parents! On one of the days my host parents took us to the Miho Museum tucked away in the mountains. It was a beautiful museum (designed by I.M. Pei) and had exhibits of art from all over the world, from Japan to Egypt to the Middle East...

Miho museum!

Dinner with the parents!

The two weeks my parents were here were amazing and it was really sad after my parents left...but one thing that made it a little better are the sakura! Spring is finally here in Kyoto and it's great to finally be able to walk around in short sleeves! And the sakura here are absolutely amazing. They make the cold winter months worth it...even though I think I would appreciate spring here no matter what, I think it's even more special after going through the winter and finally feeling the warmth and seeing the flowers bloom. Suddenly the city has become so colorful and green again! I love riding around on my bike and seeing sakura popping off the tree branches and the poppies and tulips and yuki yanagi along the road side. It's beautiful =)