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Good evening!

Today we went into central Kyoto and walked to Toji Temple where they hold a massive market on the 21st of each month.

When I say massive… I mean it. Around 1000 stalls!!! It bewilderingly big!

There are a lot of antique stalls with ceramics and heaps of second hand kimonos and fabric.

Lots of wonderful plants.

They had a lot of new ceramic stalls, craft stalls, jewellry and clothes.

Heaps of food stalls of course.

I set Maureen loose and by the time I found her again she needed a loan!!!

Last purchase of the day, a swish new coat which she plans to wear at markets!

I thought I had covered most of the area, then found two new areas to investigate!

Over a small pond.

At this point a stall holder had come running up to me. I’d just bought a couple of lovely hand woven items from her. She was waving about a couple of hundred yen… I finally sorted out what she was saying. Apparently she had short changed me by accident (about two bucks) and was SO embarrassed and apologetic. I think I reassured her enough that I wasn’t upset … I hadn’t noticed. On the whole Japanese people are painstakingly honest so I never double check. She was so sweet!

I found Maureen again at a fountain where we had planned to meet when we were done. She had been there a short while and the local ladies kept coming up to chat and feed her sweets!!

I bought the above iron teapot in Osaka the other day… I’ve always wanted one!

Today I found two more!! Much older ones! One is tiny and so cute!

The last thing I bought was some market food which we brought home with us so we could collapse in comfort and eat up and generally have a quiet afternoon!

And then we did Show And Tell with all our new treasures and lament about future packing problems!

Xxx.

Hey there!

Tonight it’s a continuation of the sights seen on our drive in the country.

Mari scheduled in coffee and cake at a quirky place full of interesting hand made articles with an outdoor nursery!

We each chose a different cake – and sampled each others.

They were all delicious and beautifully presented.

There was a viewing platform attached where you could sit and have coffee… or relax.

The steps up were treehouse like!

Next was a walk down an old street.

I didn’t catch the name and I am too lazy right now to heave myself back up off the floor to find the information sheet I was given…

We will just have to enjoy the aesthetics of it all without the background information!

I love the potted plants squeezed into the front here.

Traditional kitchen!

Nearing the end of our day, we swung by a shrine in a famous area for saki.

There was a small showroom/museum.

They have a big festival every year through the streets carrying a shrine.

I would imagine there would be some drinking too!

Love all the labels and old advertising posters!

This shrine is also popular at this time of year for the beautiful flower ‘yamabuki’ which is in spectacular form!

Picturesque!!

Giving the turtle a pat to bring good health.

Fortunes!

You buy a fortune from the shrine. If it’s a good one, you keep it. If it’s not so great you tie it to the rack provided and ask the God’s to spirit away the bad fortune.

I really liked these fish swimming up the mossy rock!

Saki barrels!!!

All empty though! I love the artwork on each barrel.

Anyway, I need some shut eye as tomorrow we plan on finding a nice big temple market in the morning!!!

Xxx.

Back to our day out with Mari and Koichi… they drove us to this really interesting thatched village in Miyama.

39 thatched roofed farmhouses have been carefully preserved as a cultural heritage site and is home to a population of around 3600 people. Most of these buildings have survived from the 19th century.

All roads are mostly for people to walk on without cars. (No tourist cars anyway)

Again a lovely peaceful place to walk around and admire.

Lots of gardens and fields are being prepared for spring planting.

Everything was so picturesque.

I liked seeing the gardens.

The fences are to keep out deer and wild boar.

We found ‘The Little Indigo Museum’ which was a place where a family still made the traditional Indigo dyed materials.

We met Hiroyuki Shindo who took up the art in the 1960’s.

He took the time to chat to us which was lovely. Apparently his son has taken on the art now. He also has a great little museum of Indigo dyed fabrics in the attic of his thatched house!

Following is copied from a printout he gave me which I thought was interesting to share.

The Japanese Indigo Tradition and My Work – Hiroyuki Shindo.

I first met Indigo when I was student of Kyoto University of Fine Art in the 60’s. I just happened to go to a field trip to a traditional Indigo dye house in Shiga Prefecture where I saw Indigo dyeing done the traditional way. I was terribly shocked to hear an elderly artisan say “with my generation a tradition that has been handed down for four generations will come to an end.”

At that time not only did the artisan’s son refuse to continue the tradition but finding other young people to take on this old fashioned and troublesome work was next to impossible. It saddened me to realise this traditional craft was disappearing from Japan.

I returned many times to the dye house to study the fermentation and dyeing technique. The more I studied the more fascinated I became with indigo.

Today we are profiting from chemical developments, living a life of ease. But environmental destruction is the other side of this development. One reason that I have been able to continue this work for more than half a century is that indigo does not damage the environment and is completely recyclable.

It is a traditional Japanese value to live as one with nature. I hold this value close to my heart – Hiroyuki Shindo.

Nothing more from me xxx.

Hello!! Skipping forward to last night’s little adventure with Mari. There was a chanting ceremony at a nearby temple so we decided to walk on over to check it out. Maureen stayed home to rest after our busy day.

Mari found a great spot to have some dinner as we were early for the event.

I love tonkatsu!!

We decided against the bus. I did have my sturdy heels on but thought I would be ok. Wanted to look slightly nicer than my grotty hiking shoes.

Chion-in temple looked amazing lit up at night. But the line to go in was really long so Mari decided to try to sneak into the back way to check it out but….the security guard caught us!! He politely directed us back down apologising to us the whole time!!!!

So…we went on a random night walk.

It’s amazing what you just come across walking around.

I think this is Yakushiji.

Everything looks so much better and more dramatic at night.

see the lantern top row, third black writing back from the right? That’s the sign for Koichis traditional shoe shop that is in Gion!!

I am going to have to drag Maureen along here one evening when we are not too tired… although Mari has told me what bus to get so there is less walking. (Plus wearing the heels wasn’t my greatest life choices yesterday but I soldiered on!!!)

And to finish up we walked through the Gion district which is so old and traditional!! We came across a couple of Maiko (Geisha)!!! I got some terrible photos but I didn’t want to be all fan-girl and rude so didn’t get all close and obvious. I’ll post them below anyway!

Xxx.

Good evening! Another short story on our day in the country!

Mari and Koichi took us to this interesting place that served Udon with hand made soba noodles!!

I got mine in a hot broth (as did Mari and Maureen) but Koichi had his cold.

When you eat them cold you just dip them into the side sauce as you go.

And you need to do lots of slurping! (They were SO GOOD)

The building was built by the owner and has many interesting features. Like the different natural colourings used on the walls.

The amazing slab of wood tabletop (ummm husband dearest… we have one of these in our carport… do you think you could…???)

The inner workings of the wall exposed.

And outside there was an example of each layer of the rendered wall from the inner structure on the right to the finished product on the left.

Out the back in a small bathhouse was an old iron bath!

Outside of the bathhouse was the fireplace where the bath was heated from! Usually the bath has a wooden rack at bottom…so you don’t burn yours! Actually a long time ago I got the chance to bathe in one of these! So nice!!

Woven slippers! Next project for me??

Better get to bed…big day planned in Osaka tomorrow!

Xxx.

Good evening! Another lovely day of sightseeing done.

A little story from yesterday.

The material above I bought for Jeff along with a couple of others. My clever Mum has said she will make them into scrubs for him. We’ve always been taken with these characters but didn’t know much about them.

When we went to the craft market the other day I spotted this fabulous bag that was exactly right for days out here…

Then by chance on our driving day out with my friends they realised I loved these characters and we drove right past the temple where the monk who drew them resided!!! (A very very long time ago!!!)

Up we go into the cool green forest.

Then on a small hut I could see the characters.

Chouju-jinbutsu-giga. “Scrolls of frolicking animals”

It’s said that the monk, Toba Sojo was the artist but it can’t be said for sure…it was all so very long ago.

The temple is Kosan-ji and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site!!

It was founded in 1206!

There were no photos allowed inside the building but it was ok to take them on the outside. The scroll replicas in the temple are so beautiful… of course the original ones are housed in safer museums.

The temple is nestled in the mountains and the views from the verandas that surround the temple are serene.

I love the way the temple has sliding doors that essentially opens up entire rooms to the outside.

Another interesting fact about this temple is that it also is the site of Japan’s oldest tea field! They also serve green tea here if you would like.

Why not finish up with a couple of selfies??

I’ve known Mari and Koichi for 33 years now!!!!

Getting Maureen in on the act too!

See you later with the next Japan story!

Xxx.

Hi! I am going to be hard pressed to keep up blogging with the pace of sightseeing! We had an amazing day out today but I better finish yesterday’s adventure.

From Ginkakuji, we veered away from the main area to walk down the side of the stream under green leafy trees to some lesser visited shrines.

It was so much quieter here.

The fallen Camelia flowers in the rain added a nice touch.

I didn’t really know where we were going so we just followed our noses.

Everything looks nicer in the rain.

Such a nice entrance.

It was so peaceful here. I think this was Honen-in temple.

Maureen still having a wow of a time!

I like the way someone added the flowers to the lip of the fountain.

I know nothing really about this place, it was just nice to wander about and enjoy.

I seem to have discovered another excellent example of a wisteria trellis.

Lovely weathered stone lanterns.

We sat on the temple steps for a short while to rest and enjoy the serenity.

And from there, we retraced our steps to catch a bus home to dry out and rest for the evening!

Xxx.

Hello!! Today’s excursion was to Ginkakuji (the silver pavilion) in the rain.

We did stop by a craft market which was held nearby in the grounds of a shrine. All nice and muddy underfoot but it was great to see what people are making and selling here (professional interest from Maureen and myself!!)

Ginkakuji has its origins in 1482!!!

The moss gardens and area surrounding the buildings are gorgeous

The raked sand is fabulous

I did a lap of the garden area with Maureen and used my usual camera, then put that away and did another quick lap with the tablet so I could blog something.

You get a bit of elevation and a decent view.

All so lush and green!

Even a glimpse up through the forest.

It’s still raining here as I sit and type. Got most of our clothes dry and ready for tomorrow. We’ve got a day planned out with friends!

Xx

After enjoying seeing the Big Buddha in Nara Park, we slipped down a side road to visit one of the local gardens, Yoshiken Gardens.

It used to be part of a temple but in the late 1800’s it became a privately owned site.

In 1919 ownership was transferred to Nara Prefecture and since 1989 it has been open for public viewing and tea ceremonies.

It’s lovely the way these small areas lay out their garden paths with turns and mysterious steps leading here and there. You feel it’s a much bigger space.

The moss garden area has a detached teahouse.

Inside the teahouse.

Cheeky photo of Maureen!

I am not sure what this seated shelter is for but I like the photo! Thanks Maureen!

It was nice to get away from the throngs of people.

The garden brochure has a boxed serious warning:

Deer may eat your brochure. Please pay attention to deer approaching you.

That amused me.

Some of the small plants growing over rocks and up trees were so sweet.

We rounded off our Nara day by going back to town for lunch and a bit of shopping before heading ‘home’.

xxx.

Hi there!

It was a long day yesterday so I went to futon instead of blogging!

We took ourselves off earlyish to Nara for the day.

It took about an hour by train – our wonderful landlady gave me instructions on how to get a direct one without mucking about changing.

I used to live in Nara… crazy how tourism has exploded since I first came to live here. Nonetheless, it was so nice to go back.

Gosh…there’s another of those excellent wisteria structures… (Snicker)

Fairly famous five storied pagoda.

And the more famous Nara deer.

The man on the bike ran out of deer bikkies but one chased him anyway. Kinda cracked me up watching tourists sitting down with little sticks trying to scrape the deer poo off their shoes. This country girl just thought it made a change from chook poo.

See?? tourists everywhere!!

These are the massive gates before getting to Todaiji.

Maureen thoroughly enjoying herself.

Me also enjoying myself!

How awesome is this structure? This is the Nandaimon Gate and inside are the two Nio Guardian Kings. All are national treasures.

Super fierce dudes.

We moseyed along and made our entry into Todaiji. Until recently it was the world’s largest wooden building. Keep in mind that the present reconstruction done in 1692 is only at two thirds it’s original size!! Boggles my mind.

You can light incense at the entryway and at the very front of the building.

The hall was first built in 752 to house the Buddha who is seated inside at a massive 15 metres tall!

I don’t think I am improving at selfies but here I am.

Love looking up at the massive doors.

Finally inside.

The scale of this never fails to impress me.

All the stunning flower arrangements! We found out tonight that the 8th was Buddhas birthday. There was a monk chanting the whole time we were there that really added to the atmosphere.

I should have counted how many flower arrangements there were!

Was so happy to go and say hi to my favourite guardian, Komokuten, Guardian of the West.

He probably doesn’t remember me, but I’ve always had a soft spot for this grumpy looking fellow. The detail in the carving is amazing…and again he is quite the impressive size!

More flowers and then looking over to who I assume is the Guardian of the East… I didn’t look up his name.

I guess he is pretty cool to, he just doesn’t strike my fancy like Komokuten.

Anyway I will continue with more on our Nara visit when it’s not after midnight!!

Xxx.