Mo 13-06

I was back to riding alone on this day, so I figured I’d do some more touristy sight-seeing. I started by heading up north to the Kinkakuji temple, the famous Golden Pavillion. On the way there by bus, there are two bus stops for the Kinkakuji: Kinkakuji-mae and Kinkakuji-mae (mae meaning first) and Kinkakuji-machi (machi meaning street). I did not know this at the time, and we drove past Kinkakuji- mae. Of course I thought I had missed the stop, but some helpful 15 year old boys offered to show me, as they were going to the temple as well. So I got chatting to them (kids in Japan, and a lot of adults actually, love to practice their English with foreigners). So we chatted and strolled into the temple grounds, and we took photos of the Paviliion and I think I have a photo with them. On my way round, and in the middle of taking a photograph, I was ambushed by another group of school kids wanting to practice their English and fill out a work book. I was happy to help, and again there were more photos. The questions they ask are mostly the same, things like “Is this your first time in Japan?”, “What is your favourite Japanese food?”, “Can I take your picture?”. For the most part I’m happy to go along with it. After seeing the Golden Pavilion, which is very picturesque and impressive, the whole building having been covered in gold leaf, I headed back down to the exit. From there I followed the road to another temple, the Ryoan-ji. This one is where the famous 13-stoned Zen rock garden is. It could have been an incredibly peaceful place if it was not full of other tourists and school trips. I can easily imagine sitting there for a long time just lost in thought and the beauty of the mountains around Kyoto. Despite the other people, I still took plenty of photographs, though I have not looked at how well they came out yet. It’s a shame that many of my photos are taken on the fly, so they often have poor quality.

That night, Saskia and I were invited to a 70s music bar called “Slow Hands”, and we were happy to tag along. We were invited by an Artist/clothes designer/musician named Mayumi, a very nice and very chatty girl from Nagoya. This bar was a small place, where you couldn’t possibly fit more than 15 customers. It was in a basement, was cool and smelt damp, but the atmosphere was nice. The barman, despite not speaking any English, was a very nice guy and knew a lot about 70s music. On learning I was from England, he started playing a BBC DVD of 1970s English music. In fact there were many other things I would prefer from the 70s, but I didn’t say that. It was a nice thought of his.  We sat and drank there for quite a long time, and eventually some Japanese people arrived. Mayumi started to play an impromptu piece on violin accompanied by a Japanese woman on piano. The Japanese people there, again not speaking much English, were very nice none the less. Drinking really helps things along in a conversation when neither side speaks the same language. The Japanese people called Saskia a “Dutch Wife” when they found out where she was from. I had to explain to her that a “Dutch Wife” is a Japanese name for a sex doll. I don’t think she was impressed, but it was funny for the rest of us. We stayed there until maybe 2am, then made our way home, got some combini food then went to bed.