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As mentioned previously, we rented bikes near the Arashiyama train station and road around the area and up to Sagano (嵯峨野). Along the way we traversed the famous path through the bamboo forest. It was take-your-breath-away fantastic. I road down one bamboo path with my camera taking a video the whole time. I’ll share that video with you in a later entry.
Can you see the one blossoming flower in the above picture? You may need to click on it to expand it to full size.
This yakiniku restaurant can be found on the top floor of the Shinjuku NS Building.
I have been reading Chronicles of My Life: An American in the Heart of Japan for the past couple weeks with my son. Last night we read an illuminating passage that I thought I’d share. From page 124…
“I went to the Kitano Tenmangu, where the plum blossoms were first opening. Although I knew from many poems how much the fragrance of plum blossoms was appreciated by innumerable generations of Japanese, I had never really been aware of any special fragrance even when I stood directly under a plum tree in bloom. Obviously, my sense of smell was deficient. This time, in order to savor fully the most typical fragrance of Japan, I pressed my head against the blossoms… Only then did I manage to catch a whiff of the celebrated scent. I suppose that people who have grown up in the West think of the scent of flowers in terms of the strong perfume of the rose or the carnation, and it takes some effort to catch the delicate fragrance of plum blossoms, but it was natural for the Japanese to praise this elusive fragrance rather than the heavy scent of the lily. The Japanese of the past (and probably of the present too) found strong fragrances cloying and prized instead the clean but almost imperceptible perfume of plum blossoms, just as they preferred faint coloring to bright primary colors in paintings or avoided strong flavors in Japanese cuisine. This moment of recognition brought pleasure.”
The Golden Pavilion (金閣寺) is gold. Hence the 金 character. So you would think the Silver Pavilion would be silver since it has the 銀 character. Nope; it’s all made out of wood. I think the plan was to cover it in silver once upon a time, but that never happened. They should call it Mokukakuji (木閣寺) or the Wooden Pavilion.
If you ever go visit Ginkakuji, it isn’t the pavilion that will likely impress you. The Zen sand gardens, ponds, and green gardens are what most tourists are there for. And there are lots of tourists at Ginkakuji. If you must go, make it early in the day. Or, even better, check out the nearby temples on the Philosopher’s Path instead. They don’t charge you an arm and a leg to fight the crowds like Ginkakuji does, and, better yet, they are practically empty.
When we rented bikes in Arashiyama we road up to Adashino-Nenbutsu-ji (化野念仏寺) in Sagano (嵯峨野). The above photograph was the view from where we parked our bicycles right across from the temple entrance. The thatched roofs in this area of Kyoto really take you back.
As I’ve previously mentioned, I really like “Nazotte…” for the Nintendo DS for Kanji review and practice. It’s mobile, and you can learn lots of new vocabulary in the process as well.
For a little different take, while I’m on the computer I’ve found this site to be very good:
http://www.manythings.org/kanji/q/
It’s especially useful for getting a kanji you are studying, or having problems remembering, to really stick in your head. What I really like is how it focuses on the most common vocabulary and jukugo.
If you aren’t quite at the kanji level yet, click on the “romaji” or “kana” link at the top of the page for Japanese learning more in line with your current abilities.
Happy studies!