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 =)

The Botanical Gardens

sakura at a shrine by my house

Hanami festival at a nearby shrine

The Philosopher's Path

Well that's it for tonight, I'll try to be more consistent with posts in the remaining months!

peace, love and sakura from Japan,

Elisse

Ice Sculptures and Meli's Hokkaido Host Family: Hokkaido Chronicles part 2

Here are some pictures of an ice village that Meli's host family took us too. The ice was made from water from the nearby lake!

An ice shrine

An ice cave. Those are actually pine boughs that have been frozen over with icicles! It smelled really good =)

Ice Sculptures from the Yuki Matsuri:

T-Rex

Gundam

Yes those are real fish!

Snow slides

In addition to all the beautiful ice sculptures, we got to experience the wonders of Hokkaido food! Tsukiyaki - a kind of dish where you cook everything right then and there in the pan in front of you (meat, veggies etc) and then dip it into raw egg! It's actually really good!! Sushi, yaki torii, these HUGE salmon rice balls...Meli's family was super nice and they also took us to an onsen, where there was a rotenburo - an outdoor hot spring. It was amazing to soak in the hot water while snow was falling on top of us and all around us was a snowy landscape...We ended up staying in there for almost 3 hrs (not just in the rotenburo, but also hopping in and out of other baths and then finally the sauna). We totally didn't realize that much time had passed...apparently you're only supposed to stay in for 2 hrs max!! oops!

Meli and her host family!

White Lovers and a Winter Wonderland: Hokkaido Chronicles Part 1

久しぶりですね (It's been a long time).

Sapporo Tower

I now can say that I've experienced Japan from top to bottom - from the glorious beaches of Okinawa to the snowy mountains of Hokkaido. This past week, Meli, Max, Adam and I traveled to Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan and spent two nights in Sapporo and two nights in Muroran with Meli's old host family. It was amazing. Everything from the food, to the VIP penthouse suite at our Sapporo hotel, to the widespread use of central heating was spectacular...and of course, I can't forget the main attraction: the Sapporo Yuki Matsuri (snow festival)!

Our Journey Begins...

...with a medical check up?!

Since when did airlines start handing out stethoscopes instead of headphones??

On Monday afternoon, we arrived in Sapporo, Hokkaido's main city and set up camp in the VIP suite of Clark Hotel, thanks to Max and his magical google fingers. I don't know how he did it, but he got us the penthouse for a price cheaper than regular hotel rooms! It had a balcony from which we could the whole city and the snow-covered mountains that surrounded us on all sides. The best part, though, was that it had a jacuzzi and the heater made everything nice and toasty!! In Kyoto, there's no central heating and so even though it's not as cold as Hokkaido, it always feels like you're walking around in an ice box when you're in the house (sometimes I get so cold, that at night I curl up on the floor next to the portable heater in my room and fall asleep...which actually doesn't sound like such a bad idea just about now...).

Our amazing suite

After settling in, we made our way over to the Shiroi Koibito (literally "White Lover") chocolate factory. Shiroi Koibito are these cookies that have white chocolate on the inside, and which according to my host dad aren't as good as they're made out to be. After having a sample, I guess I agree with him though. I mean, they're as tasty as cookies+chocolate can be, but not so amazing that I can understand why they are the famous food of Hokkaido which everyone has to buy when they go...

Where's the Wonka Glass Elevator???

Anyway, I was super excited to go to this chocolate factory and to eat a lot of chocolate samples, because that IS what you thinking of doing when you go to a "chocolate factory" right?? Wrong.
No chocolate samples except for one shiroi koibito cookie in the beginning and chocolate fondue (which we bought because it wasn't included) at the restaurant inside. Oh well. Even if it wasn't the Willy Wonka extravaganza that I was hoping for, we did get to see a bunch of fancy little chocolate cups from around the world. HaHa. I do have to say this place did an excellent job of getting people to buy their chocolate and food at the restaurant. I mean, after going through a chocolate cave where the walls look like melting chocolate and somewhere a scent machine is pumping the air full of chocolate-y fragrance, it's no wonder that you get a little (okay a BIG) craving for chocolate, right???

Yummmm....Delish

Also, I think the Shiroi Koibito Chocolate Factory should stop masquerading as a chocolate factory and admit that it's actually Santa's workshop. It was kind of funny, there we were in Hokkaido, Japan at a chocolate factory that looks for all the world like a Swedish village (at least, that's how I imagine a Swedish village would look like) with a snow-covered, light strewn park in the middle, complete with tiny elf cottages and a giant Christmas tree. It was adorable.

Christmas Again!!

Santa's Elves

After getting our fill of chocolate artifacts and random facts and garden gnomes that shouted at us in different languages when we got too close, the park workers started to lock up the elf-cottages and we took it as our cue that it was time to leave, so we left headed out for the real fun: the snow sculptures at Odori Park.

Mickey and Mini Mouse!
Yes, that's snow!
Look at that detailing!
The Korean Imperial Palace

As you can probably tell from the pictures, the snow sculptures were pretty crazy. And that pretty much sums up day 1.

So that I don't fall asleep on the floor next to the heater again, I think this is where I'll wrap up for now. More to come later about the ice parade, food, hot springs, food, and Meli's host family (and food)!

Happy New Years!

Chionin Temple

New Years Morning

silence inside
the lip of a bell;
morning melts
a frosted sky-

under city street lights
the snow alights

soundless: still

the camellias
breathe softer
and softer
with the night

The new year stole into town on one of the coldest nights of the year. At least, that's how it felt to us. On the one night when we could spend traipsing (aka biking) around town until the wee morning hours, it was freezing cold and snow fell for the first time. At around 11:00 we went over to Chionin temple over by Gion for the traditional ringing in of the new year. All around Kyoto at midnight on New Years all of the temples ring their bells, and Chionin is the most famous of the temples. It has a massive metal bell which the monks ring 108 times in order to welcome the new year. From the rafters from which the bell hangs, a giant wooden beam is suspended by a multitude of ropes, and in order to ring the bell thirteen or so monks holding on to the ropes attached to the beam sway forward and backward, chanting, in order to gain momentum. There is then one monk at the front end of the beam closest to the bell holding on to the rope and when the optimal momentum is reached, this monk uses his body weight to yank the beam forward so that it hits the bell, his body sweeping bellow the beam just before it strikes metal. Quite a sight. And sound.

The Bell

It seemed like all of Kyoto was out and about on New Year's eve, and a good portion of it was there at the bell-ringing. The line was incredibly long and we only got to spend a few minutes actually in front of the bell before being swept, literally, towards the exit. Everyone was jostling around the area with the monks and the bell, phones held aloft, trying to catch a video/picture to commemorate the first minutes of 2010 (which, by the way, is hard to believe is here...it sounds so futuristic!). After we were pushed and shoved around and finally deposited at the exit, we headed over to Yasaka jinja, which is at the very end of Gion and next to Chionin for the bell-ringing after party. There were, again, swarms of people, but this time they were more spread out thankfully. The grounds were all lit up and there were stalls selling all sorts of festival food like kare age (fried chicken), corn on the cob, oconomiyaki (lettuce, egg, meat and other stuff mixed together like a pancake), baked sweet potatoes cut in thick strips, piping hot and sprinkled with sugar, chicken and beef kabobs, yaki soba , taiyaki (kind of like pancakes in the shape of a fish with sweet red bean, chocolate, or custard in the middle...mmmm delicious!), oden (which I don't even know how to describe except that it's kind of like a stew filled carrots, radishes, potatoes and other mysterious food stuffs)...We spent some time there eating and walking around and then headed back towards home. I think most of the big shrines have some sort of festival like this with lots of food and when we passed Heian jingu (another big shrine) there was a street full of more vendors.

Heian Jingu with all the food stalls!

When I finally got home it was about 2:30 AM and freezing cold. The snow came down in big wet flakes that swirled plentifully in the headlights of cars before dissipating on the ground. After turning off the main street and into my neighborhood all the crowds and noises faded away. It was so utterly quiet and the snow falling down with the almost-full moon shining above was so beautiful that I had to pause for a moment and just stand in the driveway, drinking it all in. All I could hear was the faint buzzing of the fluorescent street lights and the only movement was the snow drifting down onto the roofs, the street, my bike, the open camellias next to me with their wide pink petals stretched beneath the moon, soaking in its cool light...

Five hours later I was up again having a traditional new years breakfast with my family. My host mom prepared ozone, miso soup with mochi - a thick glutinous rice cake - which is a traditional food always eaten on New Years morning. She also made egg rolls, mashed chestnuts and sweet potatoes, these tiny salted fish with a soy sauce glaze, fish eggs, and kuro mame (sweet black beans). The fish eggs were really small and were thousands were packed together in a shape no bigger than an almond and when I bit into it there was a crunch and then lots of popping...it sounded like I was eating chips, except I was eating fish eggs. I won't lie, it was hard to swallow down.

A Mound of fish eggs at Daimaru Department store

Nishiki Market with all the New Years food

After breakfast, I went with my host parents to their local shrine, where they paid their respects and prayed for an auspicious new year. 2010 is the year of the tiger, so tiger images were everywhere. Later in the day, my host parents' daughter's family came over. There are three grandchildren and they are absolutely adorable! And incredibly well behaved. The seven-year old plays the piano and the six-year old plays the cello and they gave a performance. I was so impressed!

The next day, Saturday, the rest of the family came over for lunch and I met my brother's doppelganger...ok, not quite, but almost. My host parent's grandson looked so similar to Jon that it was surreal. I couldn't stop staring! haha. Even some of the movements were the same...weird.


On Sunday, I went with Meli to Shijo to go shopping! After new years, there are tons of sales going on and you can get things for really really cheap...which means, of course, hordes of people, yay! It was amazing. We went to OPA, this one department store, and there were GUARDS stationed on every floor with megaphones. MEGAPHONES!! with which they were directing traffic and telling people to watch out and proceed carefully. It was like they were controlling a mob scene, which, I guess, is close to what shopping after New Year's is like. The people who go are serious, and the stores are so crowded you get pushed into stores you don't even want to go in! I feel sorry for the sales people who have to work...their voices are probably gone by the end of the day. It's a tiring environment...

And now after all the excitement it's finally back to school for round 2! How does time fly so?

Happy New Year's everyone!

Onsen: The wonders of the Japanese Bath

Onsens. If there's one thing that you can't leave Japan without experiencing, it is the onsen, aka hot spa. Recently I went with Meli to Tenzan-no-yu onsen for my first onsen experience. For those of you who don' t know, at Japanese onsens you enter only with the barest of necessities. In other words: you get naked. There's no ifs or buts about it, and you'd look even more out of place if you tried to sneak in a bathing suit. With this is mind, naturally I was filled with a little trepidation, however after reading about Tenzan-no-yu in Kyoto Visitor's Guide (a wonderful resource for those of you thinking of visiting Kyoto), I couldn't help but give it a shot. I mean who could resist after reading this description:

Tenzan-no-yu Onsen

"If you want to enter paradise, then this place is a great place to start. Indoor/outdoor soaking and warming (on stone beds!); sauna; massage; private stone bathtubs full of herbal blessing from the Japanese alps; lots of reclining lounge chairs; a killer restaurant that allows a bit of napping right after, during or before your meal..."

I was hooked and indeed the description was not a let down. Meli and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, so much so that we stayed there from one until nine at night. Eight hours!!?!?? Yeah, we could hardly believe it ourselves, but its definitely feasible at an onsen, where you can get in and out of baths and eat a little food, then read some and doze off in these really comfy chairs, eat a little more, get a massage/facial etc, get back in the baths for round two...what ever cycle or permutation you like until before you know it, it's time to go home and, still warm from the baths, to fall into a deep, relaxed sleep once you hit the bed...or not. At the onsen there are also these pools you can dip your feet in which have little fish. These fish then nibble at your toes and clean your feet of any dead skin or bacteria and, if it's indicative at all about my feelings towards these fish, that night I had a dream about them clinging to my feet like magnets...yeah, borderline nightmare. Needless to say, that was one thing Meli and I haven't tried, but who knows? If we can get up the nerve to go naked in public, maybe that'll be the next step: letting little fish get comfy with our feet. HaHaHa.

One other thing, for all you first time onsen-ers out there, I just want to let you know that you have to give yourself a good sudsing and wash up BEFORE you enter the baths, because otherwise it's seen as dirty. Also, (at least at Tenzan-n0-yu) the two shower stalls when you first walk in are NOT for this purpose. I think they're just for rinsing off? Meli and I stopped there first and after we got all good and soapy, realized that all the weird stares we were getting from everyone around us was not because Meli is obviously foreign, but because there is actually a whole area dedicated to washing off, complete with a multitude of shower stations and this season's themed brown sugar soap. Oops. Luckily it was still early in the day, so there weren't as many bathers!

More to come on New Years in a bit!

The Holy Spirit

Spectacular view of Mt. Fuji from the bus Saturday morning (a rarity I am told)

I have found the soul of Japan.

Maybe a month or so ago, a friend of mine said rather jokingly that Japan has no soul. Thinking of the souls and the spirit of the Christian friends I have found here, I disagreed vehemently with him, but at the same time I could understand what he meant. First of all, there is the salaryman image that for the past forty years has been the building blocks of Japanese society - the man who goes to work from early morning to late at night, dresses smartly in a suit and coat, gets a little tipsy (or more than a little tipsy) with coworkers into the early morning hours and then comes home. And then repeats the same monotonous routine the next day, and the next, and for the years to come at a job that he's not even really interested in until he is forced to retire.

Well I've been here, however, I haven't really seen much of the salaryman life as my host dad is retired and all my other acquaintances are my age. I have seen, however, a lot of people starting their search for a job and I have to say that it seems different from the states. It is during the junior and senior year of college that nearly everyone engages in job hunting. People apply to a lot of companies and there are all sorts of tests and interviews that one has to pass in order to enter the working world, very similar to the U.S., but what surprises me is how even at Doshisha - a prestigious university by Japanese standards - the way people select the companies is not so much out of personal interest, than through the fact that they are good companies and that they will provide the monetary support needed to sustain their lifestyles.

In the states, however, I feel like there is a much greater effort to align your interests and your career path (even if that doesn't always happen), and a lot of people go to college in order to gain the means of carrying out the career that they had envisioned for their future, or to find out what exactly it is that they enjoy doing - that they have a passion for - so that they can find the career that best fits them.

In Japan, however, what people want, what they envision as a life goal or a life purpose, isn't so clear cut and so it is harder for them to figure out what it is that will personally suit them. Until they start job hunting, kids are told what to do by their parents. Their parents make their decisions for them. They start going to cram school in elementary school (actually, I was told recently that kids start going to special schools from age 1!!!! How is that possible?!?!???) so that they can go to the best elementary, middle, and high schools that will feed them into the best colleges. It is all about getting into a good college and then getting a good job that pays; kids are told what their goals should be instead of discovering for themselves what they can contribute, what they're good at, what they love enough that they can do for a lifetime. Granted, a lot of college students in America don't know what they want to do or what their place in society is yet, but at least we are encouraged to find out for ourselves what we are best suited for and what is best suited to us, and we are raised to think that way from the beginning; in Japan, by the time people start job hunting in college, they've lost some major formative years in their life, they've lost out on a lot of personal growth potential, and so as their college career comes to an end - college, the thing they've been working toward for all their lives - and they begin to consider the ways in which they are to carry out their lives as active members of society, they often times have an identity crisis. Who am I? What do I personally believe in? What is my life goal? How am I to carry out the rest of my life? These are questions that maybe for the first time they begin to seriously entertain. And after a life of following the desires of parents, this naturally can be a shock to the system, especially if you have a year left of college during which you have to decide the course of a lifetime. It is no coincidence, I think, that a lot of the people in my church began believing during their college years.

Another thing about Japan is that it is all about the collective mentality, and so it's harder for individuals to discern their individual desires and to thus go about finding a way to achieve their dreams. I'll give you an example. In Japan, they're all about the おすすめ (osusume) or "recommendation". In stores and restaurants, there will always be signs telling you what the recommendation of the day is or what is the number one selling product. You know immediately what pizza everyone else likes, what shoe is the number one seller, what outfit combination is currently popular, what make up brand everyone is currently wearing, what cd everyone is listening to etc etc etc. And what's key about the recommendations is that they change constantly. They're not static because they have to show the current trend so that people know exactly what is popular NOW and not three days ago. But by putting up the ubiquitous recommendation sign, stores find a way to draw people in and customers find a way in feeling safe about their purchase; if it's what the majority of people are buying then it must be a good product and it must be one that will get you into the "in" crowd.

In this way consumerism is taken to new heights here. I'll give you another example: In American there is only one kind of kit-kat bar, but in Japan there are TONS of different kinds (like tiramasu, ginger ale, soy sauce...) and they vary by region too! The varieties also change frequently so that you can only get a certain kind for a limited amount of time. Thus the kit-kat bar, that innocent (or not so innocent if you're counting calories) long-time favorite sweet has been suddenly turned into a collectors item. And in Japan, this is only a small example.

I've been tempted to buy things that are totally unnecessary and useless and which in the states I would never think of buying, but which here seem too cute to pass up and which seem to be a necessity. For example, cell phone charms. Little charms that dangle for your cell phone which everyone has (and which, I'll admit, I caved in and bought as well, yikes!! But it was just so cute you know??). There are also the accessory stores which are like giant treasure boxes filled with glittering pins and jewels and flowers. There they sell tons of different varieties of hair ties, some with flowers others with beads etc. Thankfully, though, I've been able to hold out on these little baubles so far...

A wall of cell phone charms (don't worry, if these don't do it for you, there's another wall and more tables that are available for your perusal as well!)

Hamburger anyone? Man, I miss In-in-out T_T

Personally, I don't see how anyone could buy a cell phone charm that looks like ice cream or any other delectable food. Every time I'd look at it, I'd want to eat it!

Anyway, sorry, I've gone off on a long tangent about materialism, when what I meant to talk about was its opposite: spirituality. On Saturday I went with my church to Tokyo in order to go to a conference about the Holy Spirit (perhaps something like Urbana in the states?). I have to say, I've never been so moved in my entire life. Before coming to Japan I had been worried because Christians are supposedly only about 1% of the population, and I definitely didn't expect to find any defining religious moments during my time here. But on Saturday, the passion and love and thanksgiving in that room was overflowing, was absolutely overwhelming. After the sermon, people were on their feet sobbing and praying and I have to say that I was one of them. There are absolutely no words to explain how I felt, except to say that the Holy Spirit was there. Over a thousand people were in that room and I saw Japanese people - people who if you met on the street would most likely be stoic and reserved, albeit polite - on their feet praising God and weeping. Halfway through the service, I remember looking around at the whole crowd and knowing if I went to any of the people there I would be met with nothing but love because of God's love that was flowing so strongly through these people's hearts. What an amazing feeling that was! To think that every single person in that hall was a brother or sister in Christ, that that great singing, weeping, praying, dancing crowd was God's family and I was a part of it and it was a part of an even bigger family world-wide. It was such a beautiful feeling and at that moment all I could think of was how wonderful it could be for everyone to feel this love and peace. For the whole world to be united in such joy so that every person you meet you'd have an instant connection with, just like how I felt securely bonded in love with the other 1000 people in that hall...

In a country where real religion - religion that is of the mind, heart and soul - is almost dead, where materialism has hollowed out the bones of spiritual stability, where the suicide rate is one of the highest in the world, where there are television specials on how the young people don't have dreams anymore, in such a country as this with all these heartbreaking problems, there is also belief that is stronger than any I've ever seen. Belief that has moved me (a Christian for all my life) in a way I have never been moved before. I prayed to God that he would guide me during my time here and that He would keep me close to Him throughout whatever trials and joys that would come my way, and He's done an amazing job so far. And for that I am forever grateful and my life has been filled with unimaginable joy.

God is good. He is great and His love is boundless, and I just wanted to share a little bit of that with you today.

Hopefully this month I'll be putting up more posts (I know I've been slacking off lately) because I'm finally on BREAK!!!!! :D

Merry Christmas everyone and God bless!

With all my love,

Elisse