We left Kanazawa at about 8:30 am and headed for
Kyoto. The drive was pleasant. I had a few views of the Sea of Japan, but
unfortunately couldn’t get my camera out in time! I did get a picture of some of the rice
paddies next to the highway. We stopped
once for a “bio” break at a highway stop and then continued on. We stopped at about a half hour outside of
Kyoto for lunch at another highway rest area.
Lunch was order by inserting money in a machine and then pressing a
button to represent your food choice. We
then went into the restaurant and waited till our number (from the ticket) was
called. Since I don’t understand
Japanese, I just showed the lady the ticket and get my lunch. While it wasn’t haute cuisine, it was
definitely eatable. After eating, we
loaded back on the bus and continued on to our first stop of the day which was
the Fushimi Inari Shrine. We saw a dance
performed by the Shinto I guess you might call them nuns, which we were not
permitted to photograph. The two girls
were perfectly synchronized. I enjoyed
watching the performance. Some of the
people went up on the stage. I didn’t
because I didn’t want to take my shoes off (again). I’m sorry that I didn’t. We climbed to higher points in the shrine
area. There is a place where they have
two rocks. You are supposed to mentally
decide by feel how heavy the rock is. If
it feels lighter, your wish will come true.
It felt heavy to me consequently, I guess I’m out of luck!
Our next stop was the golden pagoda. Apparently a number of years ago, it was
burnt down buy a monk who was attempting suicide. It was rebuilt using the original 600 year
old plans. The gold on the pagoda really stands out. The area was crowded particularly with school
children on field trips.
Our next stop was at the Yuzen Handmade Corner where
we were shown the hand dying technique which involves painting the design
directly on the fabric. While it was easier than the gold leaf class which we
attended yesterday, I can see that it is not easy especially if no mistakes are
permitted.
We stopped at the hotel where I left my rolling
backpack and immediately headed back downstairs. Our guide had offered to take us on a tour of
the Geisha quarter. Most of the houses
are closed. The number of Geishas is
dropping as fewer girls are interested in the profession. We were in front of one house, when a geisha
who lived there returned from an assignment.
Unfortunately when I tried to take a picture, I shut my camera off
instead! As we were walking, another
geisha came along heading towards a very famous tea house. I did manage to get her picture. Another geisha left the tea house with a
man. I didn’t succeed in getting her
picture. Our guide indicated that the
girls we saw were not actually geisha girls, but rather apprentice geisha
girls.
Our guide loaded four of us into a cab heading back
to the hotel. He indicated that the fare
should be about 1,000 yen. As we got
out, Emily handed the driver a 1,000 yen note.
He called her back to give her 40 yen change!
Most Famous Tea House in district
All in all a fun and exciting day.
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