The Essence of Japan (continued)
Ryoan-ji's claim to fame is its rock garden, a composition of white gravel and fifteen stones that many consider to be the ultimate
expression of Zen Buddhism. The rocks symbolism is said to be only unravelled by silent contemplation, which is what we do, but can
only conclude that it is an enigma in a peaceful place. Of equal attraction is the remainder of the garden with a pond that has water
lilies and a small stone bridge
The coach then takes us to the Gion District, Kyotos best-known geisha quarter. It is now raining slightly as we explore
the alleyways of the area, seeing a number of girls in traditional kimonos. Akiko leads us to Gion Corner, a theatre/museum, which
has evening demonstrations of geisha arts, but where we are able to watch a short video of the same instead. Overall, this is not
a very interesting walk, although, with Akikos descriptions and explanations, we learn something of what being a geisha means
We now have a free afternoon in Kyoto and we decide to utilise this time by first visiting the Imperial Palace Park. On the map, we
can see that this is a spacious oasis in the city, located just to the north of the hotel. It takes us about 20-minutes to walk
to the garden entrance from the hotel. The park covers a very large area and first impressions are not favourable as we walk
along paths between the stately pine trees; compared with all the other gardens we have seen, this one seems uncharacteristically
neglected.
However, this feeling of neglect only applies to the southern part of the garden, as after a short walk we reach the
Sento Palace. This palace is closed, but an attendant directs us to the nearby Imperial Palace. This area is free to enter and contains
a superb collection of buildings, which we explore as it rains slightly. Our walk takes us amongst these buildings as we make our
way to the Keyakibash Bridge in the Oikeniwa Garden. We then get a taxi to the Nishiki Market
Nishiki Market is Kyoto's largest traditional food market. While modern food shops and souvenir shops have now moved in, there are
still enough traditional shops to give us a glimpse of what a traditional shotengai (shopping street) must have looked like. After
exploring this fascinating area for some time, we start to look for somewhere to eat
We select a restaurant that is located down a dark, narrow alley, and with some misgivings we walk down it, to find a large
restaurant with no customers. It is now about 4:30pm, and other customers arrive shortly afterwards. From a menu with some English,
we choose the zen set which appears to be (and is) tempura food. Jeanette chooses chicken, and David has large prawn and chicken.
The set comes with miso soup, a large bowl of rice, cabbage, and pickles, but the meal commences by the waiter bringing us bowls
of sesame seeds. From some sign language we gather that we are required, with a pestle and mortar, to make our own dip from the
seeds and a choice of sauces, and we set about this task. The miso soup is very filling, as is the rest of this excellent meal.
There is unlimited rice, but the amount initially provided is enough for us. An adventurous as well as a very tasty experience