The officially broken air conditioner is now officially fixed. Yesterday was a very casual day. After our first midterm we (and many other Augie students) went to Shakey's Pizza for all-you-can-eat (but not all-you-can-drink) lunches. Most types of pizza had sauce, but some were just dough and vegetables. Yes, there was corn on almost everything, and fried potatoes too. To add some flavor we put tabasco sauce on everything and it ended up being great. It was a pretty good meal for about Y800 each. We stayed in the shopping area for the rest of the afternoon. It was kinda nice to just stroll around, not looking at anything historical, for a while. I stopped and bought new dress shoes- the largest size the store had- and G... wait.... G didn't buy anything at that point. Later he bought some sweet Golden Graham things, but that was much later.
We decided to walk up to the Kyoto version of the Oriental Bazaar. It took a while to get there, and my new shoes turned out slightly less comfortable than I thought. There were tour busses parked out front, and inside it was filled with tourists, usually Westerners. I went up to a counter to look at jewelry and the Japanese woman said, "Hello. How are you?" in perfect English. I stood totally still for a full 20 seconds. I couldn't really understand that she spoke English. I'm so used to hearing "Shamimasen" or whatever it is they shout at you when you get near a store. I stammered back, "You speak English!" and she smiled and gestured down the line of counter-women. "We all do!" I backed away slowly and found G.
We spent a long time there, and a lot of money. G bought two kimono for his sisters. He had me try them on first and the sales lady dressed me all up with the special white tying thing and all. It was kinda fun. Then we went upstairs and G bought a CD player. I bought a (gulp) Kittens of Japan book and some postcards. They filled out tax-free forms, but I'm not sure what to do with them now. They said something about the airport, but I don't really have a clue. On our way down we got to try our luck and get free prizes. G got a fan. I got a bookmark. They probably cost Y25 each.
We passed the Heian Shrine on our way back, but it had already closed. Dinner, shower, studying. Except for a half-hour mission to find CD's at the Book Off (which netted exactly 0 CD's) our night was boring. I fell asleep very early and did not like waking up.
Today was much more interesting. After our second midterm, G and I hopped on bikes and headed West. He finally got the CD's he wanted at a CD store in a covered mall.While he was inside I tried to park my bike. As I was doing so a security guard came up. I looked around and saw a sign that had a picture of a bike with a green line through it. I looked at the man and tried to convey a sense of confusion. He spoke at length with me in Japanese. So I left my bike there and went into the store. Once inside I watched the man through the window. He turned both bikes around so they were facing out and ready to ride. He did the same for another guy who parked his bike there. When G was finished we walked out together and the bike guy moved the other bike out of the way so we could get out. This "security guard"'s job was to be a sort of bike valet. Later on in the day I saw several such bike valets.
It was a rough bike ride up to the Ryoanji Temple. The map doesn't have all the street names so we tried to just count side streets. A nice lady on a bike tried to help us but the only word she knew in English was "straight". G claimed to have understood every word, so he led the way. We found it eventually after a 2 hour trek. Parked the bikes, paid admission to a UN historical place, and walked towards what was supposed to be the ultimate rock garden in the world... I thought it would be bigger. I took a lot of notes in my field journal, and got a pamphlet, so I don't really want to get into it again. Plus, I have to write a 3 page paper for the Culture class.
We left there and found the Golden Pavilion or Rokuon-Ji to the North. Again an admission charge, but the Golden Pavilion was very impressive. The gardens were more extensive, and the pond surrounding the pavilion reflected the light back onto it, making the gold sparkle. There were many tourists there, but not as many as at Ryoanji. We walked around for a long time, passing a waterfall and other small shrines. I stood downwind of a pile of incense for a while, just to feel more sacred. We took lots of pictures here and bought huge amounts of postcards. Something felt different here than at Ryoanji. Here, we didn't have the pressure of being moved on purpose. We weren't looking for enlightenment at Rokuonji. It made the whole experience more of an experience than an assignment.
I'll take a few minutes to describe bike-riding in Kyoto. It's like a driver's ed video from hell. There's other bikes coming at you from all directions, and cars, and people who don't get out of your way, and other cars and bikes parked on the sidewalk and streets. Little old ladies with walkers that look like strollers, mothers with babies, and sidewalks that are 3 feet wide at the most- not including the lampposts so often blocking the way. My handlebars glanced off a scooter's rearview mirror, and I hit another biker once also. She stayed on the bike so I assume she's ok. I fell off dozens of times, lost my balance and narrowly avoided crashing into fruit several times. But overall it was a great experience. I could never have made that walk, and this way I got to see more of the city, while learning about bicycle riding in Japan.
Density: Kyoto must be less-dense than Tokyo. People drive faster and crazier, bike crazier, and generally do things faster. There aren't so many high-rise buildings for apartments and parking garages. The bank had very high ceilings and was bigger than those in Tokyo. Maybe space is more available here, cheaper maybe?
No comments:
Post a Comment