The tame deer in Nara Park have become a symbol for the city...the park is quite large, but the deer are numerous, and are pretty dedicated to being fed the snacks that the vendors sell.
Sophia finally found one which was the right size for her.
There are some people that you can go without seeing for years, but within a few hours its like no time at all has passed. That's how I felt about seeing my Okasan again...Of course I wish I saw them more often, but after just a few hours it was comfortable to be with her again. We were always able to talk about any subject, and it was a real pleasure for me to watch her get to know my children.
Day 2 -- Meeting the Japanese "cousins"..the children of my host brother and his wife. The whole family came over for dinner, and the kids had a grand time playing Wii and Rock, Paper Scissors (see video clip) despite the fact that only the oldest has any English (and not much), and my kids don't speak Japanese.
Day 3 -- Daibutsu-den at Todaiji Temple. Okasan went to work so with a few reminders I was able to navigate us downtown on the train. The Daibutsu is a gigantic image of the Buddha, the largest indoor one in the world, if I remember right. The Temple is an important one for Japan, and the design is quite old. Thomas and I were intrigued by the similarities and differences with our Buddhist temple next door in China, with its ornately painted designs, and this one -- with its simplicity and use of the natural coloring of wood and stone.
This hole cut in the pillar is supposed to be the same size as the statue's nostril...fitting through it is some kind of a good sign -- Thomas and Helen had no trouble and the older members were wise enough not to try this time, although I know I did it long ago!
Quick shot of Japanese kindergartners in their uniforms -- almost all the school children wear uniforms here.
Traditionally the temples had wells considered to be the most healthy and beneficial sources of water, so we all had the obligatory sip, and Sophia really got into the spirit.
Afterwards we headed off to lunch, and I remembered one of the things I like about Japan...being able to see the food a restaurant has in the window before you go in.. makes ordering easier, too. Nearly every restaurant has a display of plastic food like this one.
Day 4 -- the Samari Park, as we nicknamed it, but it really is a theme park in nearby Kyoto. Kyoto, which was the capital of Japan for 1500 years, is a city filled with history, It is also the setting for period dramas shown on TV all over Asia. One studio has designed a full scale model of an 1800s Japanese town, and films a lot of shows there. The rest of the time, this set along with some theaters and other displays is like a small theme park of Japanese films, marital arts, etc.
Okasan was not feeling well, so she went with us as far as Kyoto station and then we were on our own. That turned out to present some challenges, as there were not a lot of English signs and we missed some events and got lost a fair bit. But we had some fun in between..Helen rode a pony of course...
We watched the other visitors walking around in the costumes they had rented..
And made friends with some cast members after the martial arts movie secrets show. don't you just love the little guy who snuck into the picture?
Michael in "fake" historic Japan, and Thomas and Helen faking it in the "jail."
There were action figures to pose with as well, not sure who this one is, but I do know what a Power Ranger is..
Dinner that night was Sukiyaki, a favorite of mine -- where you cook beef, vegetables, tofu and noodles at the table on a hot plate and everyone keeps taking what they like until its gone...I did feel like we ate so much of their food, but they were very tolerant and generous with the intrusion.
Day 5 -- shopping in Osaka. We were in the mood for an easier day, so we went into Osaka ( a bit closer than Kyoto -- 25 minutes on train). Had a great time shopping, including a toy store for the kids and lots of window shopping, Starbucks for Mom.
I guess we wore them out? We rode trains every day while in Japan -- the easiest,cleanest and safest way to get around.
Day 5 Heian Shrine in Kyoto. Since we had already seen a temple, we opted for a visit to a famous shrine in the Shinto belief system, which is the native religion of Japan, primarily concerned with ancestor and nature worship. Michael and I were here 10 years ago with my mother in law and --- we talked about her many times this week and remembered what a good trip we had.
This arch is the hallmark of a Shinto shrine, although rarely this big!
The Heian shrine is surround by a lovely Japanese style garden, which we walked through.
spotting a Helen...
and a graceful bird in the water..a crane maybe?
The lines in a Japanese garden just lend themselves to photos, I think.
Afterwards we walked through Gion, one of Kyoto's oldest neighborhoods. Here is a street side shrine with the ancestors images wearing little clothes.
A rickshaw along the canal.
Walking the narrow lanes lined with shops and tea houses. All of Gion looked newer and more touristy than I remembered.
Last Day
May 5th is Children's Day in Japan. On our last day, although it was a few days early, we set out to have a kid friendly day. The traditional festival was in honor of boys, with the flying of carp flags to signify strength ( since they swim upstream). We went to a big park in Ikoma for a picnic where the older kids did an obstacle course with Okasan while we took Sophia to the playground. Afterwards we went back to the house for some Japanese green tea and traditional May 5th snacks made from sweet glutinous rice wrapped in leaves (some also contained red beans). Can you guess which ones are to signify boys?
I am so glad that we had this chance to be together, even though it was very brief. Hopefully we can visit again in a few years -- at least Thomas is likely to go since he has been invited to come in the summer on his own, and the older cousins invited to come to us. We had dinner with the whole family at a sushi restaurant where the food rolls by on a conveyor belt and you can just take it...it was a blast and everyone ate a ton, as you can see.
I even got a rare photo of Otosan .
So hard to say goodbye to friends who live so far away. Saying goodbye at the bus station to the airport was very emotional for me, as was talking on the phone to me host sister in Tokyo that I did not get to see...I vowed to return. We all enjoyed our time there very much.
No comments:
Post a Comment