Japan 2025: Kyoto: Tenryu ji Temple (Temple of the Heavenly Dragon); Bamboo Grove; Octupi balls

First, the balls of octupus. After our sweaty climb up and down Monkey Park (see previous post), we'd worked up an appetite. The park exits next to the Hozu river where several vendors have food stands, including one stand specializing in octopus balls and crab sticks. See pictures above as proof. Steven had one of both. "Chewy" is how he described the octupus balls. I elected to have the more kosher fried chicken skewers and sweet potato spears.

We ate al fresco, on a bench near the river, where traditional Japanese boats where maneuvered by large poles. If you have the muscle, you can rent a boat.

Here too we found many tourists in rent-a-kimono. This pair are not geisha (or geiko, as they say in Kyoto). Real geikos are not allowed to use cell phones!

Food and rest revived, we worked our way down the main drag in the Arashiyama area to the Tenryu ji Temple, otherwise known as the Temple of the Heavenly Dragon. The tale is that koi in a nearby pond transformed into a dragon. After seeing many Shinto shrines (marked by distintive red Tori gates), this was our first Buddhist temple of the trip. Shinto is the original religion of Japan, but over centuries the Japanese have also adopted Buddhism, imported from India and China.

The Temple of the Heavenly Dragon is not only a World Cultural Heritage Site, it is also the head temple of the the Rinzai Zen Buddhism branch. Established in 1339 by a shogun in memory of a recently deceased emperor, it had originally been the site of the first Zen temple in Japan. Alas, fire has destroyed the temple eight times over the last 686 years. It was last rebuit in 1864.

However, the garden behind the temple looks as it did when Muso Soseki designed it in the 14th century. It is a "borrowed" Zen garden, making use of existing features in the environment. I was especially fond of the lily pond, which apparently has bright pink blossoms in the spring.

The temple features a fierce dragon and an even fiercer shogun or (was it a monk?) at the entrance. His scowl is meant to wake you up bring you to full attention. He certainly woke me up.

After admiring the garden, we visited the famous Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. You have to come early to miss the crowds. With crowds, it is a little less serene, but a wall of bamboo still bends over you for a quarter mile, the wind rustling through the leaves. A natural wonder.

Japan 2025: Kyoto: Gion District

As part of the conference, we signed up for a tour of Gion. Our guide was a tiny Japanese woman with limited English vocabulary. Our busload, many for whom English was a second language, were often confused, as was I. A lack of microphone did not assist, nor did the melting humidity. I did learn a few things. The Gion district is the historic home of geishas, loosely translated as "professional artist." However, in Kyoto, with its variant Japanese language and dialect, the geisha are called geiko. Apprentices are called maiko. Maikos are apprenticed at the age of 15 for five years to study traditional dance and music, and the art of making tea. Our Japanese guide emphasized how expensive this apprenticeship is. It appears the family has to foot the bill for the costumes, as the apprentice just gets room and board. I also learned the costumes can weigh up to 15 kg (33 lbs). The real deal geikos are rarely seen and are never to be photographed. (However, there are so many tourists wearing kimonos in Kyoto, you will always manage to snap a "traditional" shot of the city.) According to a video I stumbled across, Why No Color in Kyoto, the streets are not lit up in neon at night as you would see in Tokyo. The citizens of Kyoto decided to ban such garishness. So walking down traditional streets in Gion is a muted affair.

On the way to Gion we wound our way through several Shinto Shrines. Our Japanese guide did tell us about the lanterns next to a shrine. These are local businesses who donate to the shrine and are allowed to place their name (dare I say, advertise?) on the lantern.

Japan 2025: Kyoto: Arashiyama Monkey Park

Today we travelled to the outskirts of Kyoto to see a troop of macaque monkeys endemic to Japan. Also sometimes referred to as "snow monkeys" as they live so far north, a big troop of about 120 monkeys lives in the Arashiyama area of Kyoto, near the Hozu River. Why such a big troop? Because they get fed.

It works like this. After a sweaty climb of about 20 minutes (with a stop in the "Air Conditioner Room" along the way), you come to a viewing platform at 160m (524 ft) that has to-die-for views of Kyoto and the surrounding mountains. That's good, but as you ascend, you catch sight of roving monkeys. They are really everywhere. And everywhere there are signs not to display water bottles or feed them "outside" or stare directly at them (sign of aggression). "Visiters give Monkey's Feeds only in the Rest House. You can't be brought in Monkey's Feeds" my park ticket helpfully informs me. Instead, you enter a cage for humans, where you purchase cut up apples or peanuts for 100 Yen (less than a dollar) and then you are pemitted to feed the monkeys through the bars. Just like us, monkeys have very facile hands and pluck the food expertly through the mesh. Unlike us, they also easily scamper to the top of the feed house roof and swing from the trees.

Meanwhile human staff in bright green shirts make sure there are no bad interactions between monkeys and humans. One anxious staff member scampered up a steep hillside, just like a monkey. Perhaps to get a group of monkeys off a human path? Not sure, but I was impressed.

Japan 2025: Kyoto: Nishiki Market

Nishiki Market is kinda the Japanese version of Seattle's Pike Place Market. But only kinda. Pike Place is about a hundred years old, the Nishiki market dates back 400 years. And I've never seen whole octupus stuffed with an egg available for sale at Pike Place.

Or an entire store selling hair picks. Or a store selling bonsai starter kits. Or a store completely devoted to Snoopy. Nishiki abuts other, newer covered markets. You can walk from one to another, should the not infrequent thunderstorm strike in Kyoto. The furnace blast of heat and humidity on the streets of Kyoto was lessened a little under cover as well. Great for people watching and for sampling unusual foods.

Japan 2025: Kyoto: Ippodo Tea

A colleague from work told me about Ippodo, a tea shop in business in Kyoto since 1717. After a sweaty walk from our hotel, winding through quaint Kyoto streets, we cooled off in the Ippodo's tea room, Kaboku. The menu reminded me of an exclusive wine list at a fancy hotel, except that it the beverage was tea. They do take it seriously here at Ippodo.

We both had matcha tea, which comes with a "confection" of your choice. Steven ordered his tea hot; I ordered mine iced. Iced in this instance means one square ice cube centered in your bowl. The tea comes in a bowl, not a teacup. Our matcha was a brilliant green color and somewhat thick. It was a new taste for me, but delightful. Ippodo has made a concession to the modern world, and now sells tea in bags. I got a box of ten Matcha To-Go packets and a tea bag assortment of Gyokuro, Hojicha, and Sencha teas.

Japan 2025: Kyoto: Nijo-jo Castle

The Nijo-jo Castle saw the beginning of the shogun period of power in Japan (1603) and its end (1867). Today it is an UNESCO World Heritage site, well worth viewing. I recommend visiting when the humidity is well below 90%, as it was for me.

The castle has not one but two moats, each a brilliant green and filled with carp (koi). The outer moat protects palace number one, the Nimomaru-goten Palace. Moat number two inside the first moat protects palace number two, the Honmaru-goten Palace. I just toured the first palace as I began to wilt in the heat, even with the presence of a few fans in the palace. In the 17th century, all the shoji screens were apparently opened to catch the breeze. Modern day tourists must suffer with closed shoji screens, to preserve these 400 year old buildings. That aside, it was fascinating to view the place, laid out in step stone fashion.

Visitors to the castle were first entertained in a large reception room decorated with tigers. My audio tour guide helpfully pointed out there were no tigers in Japan in 1603. So why paint them on the walls? Yes they were foreign, but their fierceness was a signal of the shogun's power. In rooms where the shogun held court, he sat a step above his audience, and the roof over him was higher than his underlings. But he did not site on a throne. The shogun had several receiving rooms depending on the status of his guests. He also had a small sitting room where he could slide his doors closed for a little me time.

While the wall paintings are reproductions (the real paints are in a nearby gallery) they still stun with their vibrancy. Inspired by nature, the subject of the paintings were also symbolic. Tigers, pine trees, hawks, cranes, peonies, crysanthemums, cypress, willows, and even mountain scenes from China are featured, many with gold leaf. The floors are special too - they were meant to sound like nightingales when trod upon.

Japan 2025: Kyoto: Nishijin Textile Center

I had about two hours to explore Kyoto while Steven studied PKU diseases at ICIEM 2025. I elected to take the subway one stop from our hotel, to the north end of the Imperial Palace gardens, where the Nishijin Textile Center is a shortish walk away. While there are historic displays (see loom diorama below) and there is a movie you can watch (languagues alternate), for me, the big draw was the textile shop on the second floor, with beautiful silk and cotton goods, including kimonos and ties and purses. Kyoto was the center of hand loomed textiles for the imperial family and priests during the Edo period (1603-1867), until the capital of Japan was moved to Tokyo. My Frommer's guidebook tells me 7,000 looms (which are the size of a small room) were in the Nishijin district of Kyoto alone. The museum is located on the market street where woven goods were once auctioned. Tiny Japanese ladies now demonstrate some of the weaving techniques, though I was too shy to ask any questions. The center also has experential events for a fee (the museum itself is free), which includes rent-a-kimono, geisha in training, and the less involved weave-a-centerpiece and make-a-kaledidoscope classes.

I opted to purchase the kaleidoscope kit to make when I get back home. It comes with Nishijin textile fabric. It was difficult to choose just one, the fabric is so vibrant. Of course, I picked up other lovely items, including paper geisha magnets, and several Tenugui cloths, made by a company (Eirakuya) celebrating its 410th anniversary. Tenugui was originally used instead of paper bags to wrap items in, but in a much more colorful and beautiful way.

Japan 2025: Kyoto, Calligraphy

As an "accompanying person" at the ICIEM 2025 conference, I was able to sign up for a class on calligraphy, taught by Shofu Koyama, who "carves beauty and life with her unique brush." She opened our conference with a calligraphy demonstration writ large. Ms. Koyama and the president of ICIEM took brushes the size of elephant tusks and wrote out the Japanese words symbolizing the conference.

Later that afternoon Steven and I sat down for a calligraphy lesson. The flow is all, and I really didn't have it, but I managed to scratch out a passable "Happiness" while Steven worked hard on "Serenity."

Japan 2025: Kyoto International Conference Center (ICC)

Today I registered as an "accompanying person" for the 15th International Congress of Inborn Errors of Metabolism (ICIEM 2025). Along with about 2,000 other participants (including Steven) who actually know something about all this. With my "accompanying person" registration I can enter the exhibit hall (mostly to get the free beverages), participate in networking events, and get a backpack.

Don't tell anyone, but I also snuck into a luncheon seminar, where I learned about a new drug for PKU patients. Steven listened closely; I ate my boxed lunch (which, by the way, is a thousand times better if it's a Japanese boxed lunch). Even the box it came in was a work of art.

I also participated in a kimono wearing experience, where a tiny Japaneses lady manhandled me into a kimono. I looked like a beautifully wrapped sausage to be honest. Perfectly comfortable but more suited to tiny Japanese ladies.

After relinquishing my kimono, I explored the ICC. I'm not particularly fond of concrete buildings, but I will make an exception for the ICC. Sachio Otani’s proposal was selected in 1963. According to the ICC website, Otani mentions in his notes that, “I felt the atmosphere of the ancient capital of Kyoto in the tranquil scenery of Lake Takaragaike nestled between the mountains with Mt. Hiei in the background. I allowed the forms of nature to frame my design to avoid disturbing this atmosphere.” While I am told the design is "trapezoidal" there are prominent "V" shaped pillars throughout the main gathering area, which looks out on ponds and bridges and contented geese.

Japan 2025: Tokyo: Nihonbashi, Ningyocho, Mitsui Memorial Museum

Tokyo is suffering through a heat wave. Hence, our partial day in Tokyo was dictated by the presence of AC. We started with Wagyu Burgers at the nearby Coredo mall (an exceptionally good full lunch for two was just $25) after some shopping and an iced latte at Motoya Express, then decided we'd see the neighboring Ningyocho district by taking the (slightly) air conditioned metro to the eponymous named subway stop.

Here our Tokyo Travel Guide assured us we would see a downtown neighborhood that has "been busy and lively since the Edo era." It was here that we visited a neighborhood Shinto shrine (Suehiro-jinja Shrine), with instructions in English on how to worship and miniature dueling frogs on a rock.

And while it did seem to have some of that old time Edo flavor, we (by that, I mean mostly me) began to wilt in the heat and humidity. A Starbucks saved us with blessed AC, where we had iced lattes and were able to sample an interesting sweet potato coffee beverage. We let the sweat dissipate while we planned our next move. We wanted to go to the Edo Tokyo Museum with its life size recreations of Edo period interiors, but it was closed.

We settled on the Mitsui Memorial Museum near our hotel, but took a taxi to get there. Here we joined elderly Japanese women in looking at Japanese art and ceramics from the 13th to 20th centuries owned by the famous Mitsui family. The kimonos and silk screens were spectacular, but no photos allowed. In this room, a young masked employee circled the room spot cleaning the glass panels. In one of the two rooms where photography was permitted, I was able to take pictures of a 1790 triptych of rooster, hen and mountains that were finely detailed. This early evening, we take the bullet train to Kyoto.