Kyoto is such an interesting city. Here I am at our modern apartment building. Yet, a few minutes on our bikes and we can be lost in one of dozens of shrines and temples that are scattered around the city. Speaking of bikes, it is remarkable just how many bikes are in use, and how deeply integrated the bicycles are into the lifestyle. For example, outside the supermarket, here's what you'll see....
Anyway....
Yesterday, Saturday, we rode a short distance to "ginkakuji" which is "the silver pavillion." It is one of the most popular temples in Kyoto so it was very crowded. It was so crowded, in fact, that it was difficult to get a clear picture of the place! However, I really enjoyed the place, as I remembered enjoying it 35 years ago. There is something very precious about the place. It is a prototype for Japanese tea rooms and gardens, and with some imagination (OK, a lot of imagination) you can imagine it as a peaceful retreat from the city, as it was hundreds of years ago. Enjoy these pictures.
After the temple, we had to walk back down the hill to our bikes, We had promised the girls a treat, and we searched the many stalls for the perfect treat. There was this cool shop selling all kinds of pickled vegetables, including what looked at first like plain cucumbers on a stick. They turned out to be soaking in seaweed and brine, and they were really crisp and refreshing!
But for the girls, crisp and delicious pickles did not take the place of ice cream. And after all, you can't "wear" pickle like you can "wear" ice cream!
(This is one of those pictures that Benna will want me to get rid of when she grows up!)
Today, Sunday, we went to a flea market at a shrine that was even closer to the house, about three minutes by bike. There were dozens of vendors, lots of handmade things like pottery, carved wood (chopsticks, platters, etc.) woven stuff, handmade clothes and shoes, glass, ink-stampers, the list would go on for a while. Then there was the food - many types of fresh pickled vegetables, baked things, honey, coffee, dried fish things, and more pickled vegetables. It was really fun!
The only downside was the heat - it was really hot and really humid. This is the "kyoto summer" that we were warned about! The kind of heat where you are damp with perspiration within minutes just standing in one place! The girls were not in the mood to walk around looking at the crafts and foods, so we got them cold drinks and told them to wait at the entry gate. We left them for quite a while. When I went back to check on them, I found them like this - playing hand games in the shade. Aleeza told me that some Japanese people had stopped to take their picture! She whispered that "we might be famous!"
Jana's friend Harufumi was there selling vegan food products and a cool book that his son wrote - a diary of their family trip to Nepal. (Why didn't I think of that?!) Next week we will go to his home for a visit, which I am really excited about. All the places we have been to have been on rail lines, but his town (village?) is not reachable by public transportation at all. The area is very rural and their kids do not speak english, so it will be interesting and challenging but a great way to wrap up this amazing summer vacation.
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