Alice in Wonderland, Parfaits and Kitayama Cedars

Who needs a simple little cherry when you can have an ENTIRE ice cream cone to top off a parfait?

You can never have too much of a good thing...or so they say, but I think ten other AKPers and I discovered differently on Sunday at the Parfait parlor by Kawaramachi and Sanjo. So this was the plan: Gather ten hungry mouths, forgo lunch, pay 1000 yen each and shovel down one of the biggest - no THE BIGGEST - parfait I have even seen in an hour and a half. It started out beautifully, with gleaming scoops of multicolored ice cream - vanilla, chocolate, coconut, mango, ramune (this blue soda like flavor), strawberry, and who knows what else - giant pocky sticks, cream puffs, waffles, melon slices, and bananas all arranged as elaborately as a piece of artwork. Then it got a little tough when we hit the hidden slabs of frozen brownies and cheese cake, got even messier when we struck deposits of chocolate syrup, and then pretty much erupted in our faces when we hit the layers of yogurt kiwi and mango bits(??) at the bottom. As we neared the end, comments like, "I am dying a slow and painful death", "Is it time to start handing out bowls on the street yet??", "I don't think I can ever look at ice cream again", and "I now know what hell is: coming to this place and eating parfait...forever" starting cropping up with increasing regularity.

If you thought the first picture was intense...

check out the MONSTER

Us taking pictures of the monster, still excited and ready for battle

Twenty minutes in...still feeling okay, slightly sick but is that CHEESE CAKE on the spoon??

forty minutes in...苦しい，苦しい。。。put me out of my misery already...

One hour later...mission accomplished. Oh the things we do to ourselves...haha...owwww it hurts

Other recent news:

I saw Alice in Wonderland! Strange movie...sooo random and that dance that Johnny Depp does is so strange it made me laugh. What was almost more interesting than the movie, however, was audience watching the movie haha...It was a full theater, and yet pretty much no one made a sound throughout the whole thing....I mean no response whatsoever, I don't think I heard the slightest nuance of laughter except for the occasionally guffaw let out by Meli who was sitting next to me. Maybe it was because it was all in English and Japanese subtitles and some of the silliness just doesn't translate, but I've been to other movies and it generally seems as if there is less of an audible response in Japanese movie theaters...That and also Japanese always stay and sit politely until the end of the credits. Amazing!

That was Saturday, and then today I went to Kitayama with my host parents for a little day trip. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and we couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather. Kitayama is in the mountains to the north of Kyoto, about an hour by car, and my host parents wanted to take me there because I was reading Old Capital by Kawabata Yasunari, which is set partly in the mountains of Kitayama. I just finished the novel today, and I have to say that after living in Kyoto, it takes on so much more meaning. It is absolutely amazing being able to read the names of places and streets that I go to regularly in the pages of a novel! Everything is so much more vividly rendered...here's a passage in Old Capital that describes the place I went to today:

"The mountains were neither high nor deep. The trunk of each individual tree was visible even on the tops of the mountains. The cedars were used in the construction of tearooms so the appearance fo the groves themselves had the elegant air of the tea ceremony.

The mountains on either side of Kiyotaki River were steep, their sides dropping down into the narrow valley. One reason the famous cedar logs were raised here was that the area received ample rain and little sunshine. It was also protected from the wind. Were a strong wind to strike the trees, the softness of the new growth ring would allow them to grow bent or twisted..."

A really old temple hidden away in the mountains, absolutely beautiful!

After we went to the temple, we made another stop at this really old village. The roofs are still thatched like they were in the olden days. They are super thick and keep the houses really warm in the winter and cool in the summer...


Well, that's it for tonight. Other exciting things in the days to come: Monkey park at Arashiyama and Kurama onsen. woowoo! =)

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)!