Settling In and Exploring Our Surroundings

The Lion Bakery

 Thursday, November 13th

While prepping for our trip, Alan found the Lion Bakery just around the corner from our hotel. We started our day there and had some breakfast sandwiches and pastries. In the spirit of trying something new, I had a green matcha doughnut for my treat with “milk for bread.” The doughnut didn’t thrill me. The “milk for bread” tasted like the milk that is left in your cereal bowl after your cold cereal is done. Too sweet. However, we both liked the breakfast sandwiches. At least I tried something new today! Deidre says I have to try one more matcha item before giving up on that flavor! Matcha is ground-up green tea leaves.

Our first breakfast in Kyoto, trying a green doughnut!

From there, we walked two more blocks down our main road to the Life Grocery Store to pick up lunch items and snacks for our rooms. I needed help finding French’s yellow mustard (for Alan’s sandwiches) and hot cocoa packets for our room. Just like England and Wales, the hotel rooms have kettles for coffee and tea, and I like to make hot cocoa in the evenings. I used the Google Translate app and showed it to a store clerk and they led me to the items. Not everyone speaks English here (who knew?).  

Life Grocery, a place we will be frequenting!

We returned to our room around 11 a.m. and dropped off some food to Deidre and packed some lunches for ourselves. Our goal today was to scout out the JR train, the subway, and the bus stops for all of the places we plan to visit with Deidre. We started at Nijo station, which is just across the street from our hotel and purchased our ICOCA cards. These cards allow us to tap in and tap out of all the transportation. Riding the train and subway was fun, once we found the right ones to board. Thankfully the electronic signboards change back and forth between Japanese and English. 

Nijo Train and Subway Station

Two places that Deidre and I will be visiting are located in the Gion District, a historic area famous for Geisha and Maiko (apprentice Geisha); so Alan and I went there to find Gion AYA for the Maiko makeover for Deidre and the Akagane Resort for a Kintsugi class. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer and powdered gold.  

In Gion, a narrow store alley filled with lanterns.

The Gion District was very crowded with tourists today, and it seemed like there was a certain kind of celebration going on with young ladies--and sometimes their boyfriends or husbands--being dressed up in kimono and walking around taking pictures. Every street had a kimono rental store. I asked a young man sitting near me on a bench why the young ladies were dressing up--was there a festival? He said, no, it was just a local custom. Young ladies and tourists dress up year round. The Maiko makeover for Deidre will be a little different. She will be made up with the white face paint and other make-up, a wig, and a more elaborate kimono. 

Yasaka Shrine entrance, with kimono clad young ladies.

We passed two different shrines in the Gion District and walked around the Yasaka Shrine. This Shinto shrine was founded in the 7th century! On the main shrine, three bells are connected to the edge of the roof, where followers could donate some coins in a box and then get in line to ring a bell after clapping and bowing. I took a short video of this from a distance, and only later saw the sign to not photograph this ritual. 

Yasaka Shrine Prayer Ritual

Ringing a bell at a Japanese shrine is a way to greet the deity and is part of a prayer ritual, which includes making an offering, bowing, and clapping. The bell, known as a suzu at shrines, is used to announce your presence so the deity is aware of you. For Buddhist temples, a larger bell called a bonshu is rung by a priest, often 108 times during New Year’s Eve to purify people of worldly desires.

Here is a good time to explain the symbolism of a thick rope and lightning shapes hanging from the rope. The thick braided rope (called a “shimennawa”) signifies a boundary between the sacred and the ordinary, warding off evil spirits. The lightning shape (called “shide”) adorning the rope is a symbol for lightning, but it also represents a prayer for a good harvest, as lightning is crucial for making crops grow. We have seen the rope and lightning used in many places so far. We first saw it while watching a documentary on Sumo wrestlers. The prize of honor for winners of tournaments is a belt of thick rope with three lightnings hanging from it. And today we saw it on a small street-side shrine, where a man stopped, clapped his hands once, bowed and then went on his way. 

Yasaka dance hall surrounded by lanterns.

Another feature of the Yasaka Shrine is its dance hall that is surrounded by numerous white lanterns donated by local tea houses and restaurants, which are lit up at night creating a magical atmosphere. The dance hall (called a “buden”) is where ceremonies and weddings are held. 

Gion Starbucks in a historic Machiya area.

The last thing Alan and I did in the Gion District was visit a famous Starbucks that is on the Ninenzaka Path in a historic area of machiyas. A machiya is a home with a business on the street level and the living quarters above. We ordered our hot cocoas on the street level,and carried our drinks up a narrow wooden stairway to a series of rooms to sit Japanese style on the floor. However, all those rooms were filled and we sat Western style in a small room overlooking the street. 

Looking out the window upstairs in the Starbucks, Machiya district.

Penni enjoying her hot chocolate.

Tour of our hotel room will have to happen in tomorrow’s post. Hopefully, Deidre will have energy to get out to our scheduled tour of Nijo Castle. She slept most of the day today, and we visited with her when we brought her breakfast and dinner.