Kyoto!!! Ichi-go ichi-e

I'm in KYOTO!!!

Last night, at our closing party for our group, Professor Akihiko Takahashi said something that totally resonated with me...Ichi-go ichi-e "One chance in one lifetime." Basically this saying describes the choices we make in life and the unrepeatable nature of a moment. Every moment and choice you make in life should be cherished because it can never be repeated. What a profound thought to have as I headed to Kyoto this morning.

Coming to Japan is a trip of a lifetime but being in Kyoto is my dream of a lifetime. I battled a very crowded train east to get to Tokyo station and then took the Shinkansen (bullet train) west to Kyoto. The train goes about 200 mph and is a completely smooth ride. It's close to 290 miles to Kyoto and it took about 2 1/2 hours.

It was about 90 degrees and really humid when I got out of the train station and I had to lug my suitcase about a 10 minute walk to catch a bus to the hotel. I decided to take a taxi instead. For about $14 it seemed like the right thing to do. I am staying in Kyoto for 8 nights and taking day trips from here. It's not fun travelling when you have to schlep your suitcase around all the time. There are so many day trips I can take from this location and having a home base makes things so much easier.

Beautiful spacious room and itty bitty bathroom.

I did a bunch of research about where to stay in Kyoto but I knew I wanted to be in Gion. Kyoto was once the capital of Japan and the Gion district was the area visitors stayed when visiting the Yasaka Shrine. It was, and is, known for geisha, tea houses and entertainment. The term geisha (or geiko) means a woman of art. So much of the district has been preserved so the traditional architecture and structures are breathtaking. I read my first book about Japan as a teenager and I fell in love with Kyoto. More books like Memoirs of a Geisha and many movies have only added to that fascination.

After checking in, the moment I walked out of the building I captured this photo. There are many shops where you can rent a kimono for the day so I saw hundreds of women and men dressed in traditional kimonos. 

I decided to just walk around, even in the heat, to see where I would end up. I took a right and immediately found the Yasui Konpirago Shrine. This shrine dates back to the 7th century.

This shrine has pretty much what I now expect to see at a shrine in Japan but this white thing below was different. I found out it's called an enkiri. From what I understand, you crawl through the center of the stone when you are breaking off a bad relationship. You write down your wish on a white paper, crawl through the stone, crawl back through again and paste the paper onto the rock. Performing this ritual can break up or initiate a relationship and also ends illness or other harmful associations.

I left the shrine and meandered through the surrounding neighborhood. The buildings, plants and architecture are just amazing in Kyoto. 

I just love the design and roof lines - I wish I could truly capture the beauty of this place! I didn't know where I was going and ended up in this amazing shopping district along Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka in the Higashiyama District. These crowded streets lead to a beautiful temple (which I will get to later) and are lined with restored traditional shops and restaurants that help you imagine what Kyoto looked like a hundred or more years ago.

There were many tea houses and incense shops so the air was perfumed with the smells of jasmine, green tea and sandalwood.

 Look closely at the picture above on the right. Can you tell what that building is?

It's a freakin' Starbucks!! It is the world's first tatami styled Starbucks located in a 100 year-old traditional Japanese townhouse. Everybody was trying to get their picture taken in front of the building.

Being here is just blowing my mind!!

Wow!

 I'm trying to capture the magic of this place. I hope you can see it.

At this point I had been walking for about 2 hours and decided to head back closer to the hotel to get some dinner. I had skipped lunch so wanted something like sushi because it was so damned hot out! I ended up walking about a mile toward a sushi place I had read about that serves Kyoto style sushi. Along the way I bumped into more shrines and beautiful buildings.

 I mean...come on!! So much beauty in every detail!

 Homes are small here...they make use of every inch of space.

 All the shades were pulled down over the windows to keep things a bit cooler.

I ended up eating at a little place called Izuju. I figured I'd try Kyoto sushi since I had eaten so much Tokyo sushi. I picked out 4 different items from the menu (which, thankfully, they had a very funny English version of). Kyoto is not close to the sea so, a long time ago, to preserve the fish, they added a little salt and vinegar. Let's see if I can describe the items on my plate.

 At the top is a chub mackerel roll wrapped in sea kelp. To the right of that I got only one piece of the house specialty, hamo sushi. Hamo is a type of sea eel known for its sharp teeth. It is supposed to help you gain energy. (The menu said, "You are how in Kyoto, so why don't you eat Hamo. After eating this sushi, you must feel taste good." That's what sold me! One piece was $6 so I only get a little energy I guess.

In the middle is aji sushi (another type of mackerel) with green perilla. Perilla leaves are really common here in Japan. It's in the mint family and has a grassy with a hint of licorice taste.

And, yes, at the bottom is a whole fish that is a house specialty called ayu sushi. It's a freshwater fish that is similar to a trout. Yes it was cooked and yes it was delicious!

A cold beer to cool me off along with hot green tea. Kyoto sushi does not use wasabi and soy to flavor the fish. Instead they serve the sushi with a tiny bit of vinegar. This was the whole amount and it was the perfect touch to the fish.

I'd say that I prefer the Tokyo style sushi a bit more but this was truly a wonderful experience. Tomorrow I'm thinking ramen or the Japanese pancakes called Okonomiyaki. I haven't had those since Taiwan and they are delicious!

 "One chance in one lifetime!" That's my motto today, tomorrow and everyday.

Kanpai!! Cheers!