Two days ago (Saturday) I went to Kyoto. The day started off very early, with me waking up at 7:30 and not being able to go back to sleep. I was able to catch the 9:07 train to Tennoji, and the entire trip to Kyoto was only an hour and a half. The train on the Keihan line from Kyobashi (on the Osaka loop after Tennoji) to Kyoto had one special car that was two levels, and that was the first time I’d ever seen such a thing. It also had seats by the door that you could pull down from the seats near the door. Hmm, I liked the Keihan Line. There was one part when we were about twenty minutes from the station I was going to (Gion, pronounced Gee-on) where after we rounded a corner, it looked like we were surrounded by mountains. Kyoto is basically surrounded by mountains on almost all four sides. There is only one part that is a valley, from the plain to the south going to Nara, and to the south-west going to Osaka. That’s about all, though.
Kyoto had a very different feel to it than Osaka and Nara. Because most of Osaka was destroyed in WWII, it has since been rebuilt, and even Nara was bombed to some degree. Kyoto on the other hand was spared from the war and the atomic bombing, and many of the buildings are the originals. Of course, there are new buildings, like a few malls that I’ll mention later, but it’s still very old.
I got off the train at Gion and headed for Nijo, the shogun (head general)’s palace. It was about a mile and a half walk west on Gion street (Kyoto’s famous Geisha district), and then north a bit. Nijo was very beautiful, moreso than I had thought before going there. The entirety of the grounds were surrounded by a white wall and a moat. There are actually two palaces, an inner and an outer. The outer is the more ornate of the two, and the only one open to the public. It is a newer building compared to the temples I’ve seen, started by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603, and finished by his grandson, Iemitsu, in 1626. They didn’t allow you to take pictures inside, probably to protect the paintings on the walls from being ruined. They also didn’t want you to open the sliding doors that surrounded the entire palace for the same reason, and you came in and went out the same door, far from the paintings. You also had to take off your shoes, in traditional Japanese style. They probably wanted to protect the floors, since there were carpets on them. Most of the outer walls were done in gold with rocks and glue, but the inner ones in the rooms were more like water colors on paper screens. The parts where they let you walk were made of boards that purposely squeaked. These are called “Nightingale Floors”, and were made to let people in the palace know when intruders were coming. The parts they didn’t let you walk on were the tatami mats, which were the actual rooms. Some of them had figures in them, like the room where the Shogun met feudal lords, and the Shogun’s office, but most were empty. I managed to run into a school group, and got to listen to their teacher a bit. Unfortunately, they were slow, and I lost them after we went out of the outer palace. Both of the palaces were surrounded by lovely gardens, and the outer one even had a pond. There was a moat separating the two, and I went on to see the inner palace. As I said, it wasn’t as ornate as the other, but it was still rather large. There was also a tea house you could visit for 700 yen, but I only took a picture.
When I left Nijo, I decided to go back the way I had come to try to get my travelers checks changed over because I had to pay rent that night for the next 10 days. Because it was Saturday, the banks were closed, and the only other place I could go would be a mall. I remembered there were a few along Gion. At the first mall, I decided to get a lunch of salad and bread because it was the cheapest one they had. It was very good, and had ham, corn, baby corn, tomatoes (I didn’t eat them), and baby tomatoes (WHICH I ATE AND THEY WERE VERY SWEET AND I ACTUALLY LIKED THEM, NO I TOLD YOU SOS, PLEASE, I WAS SO TIRED AND STRESSED [because my cards weren't working at the ATMs and I realized I couldn't possibly go everywhere I wanted to in one day] I DECIDED TO TRY THEM). You couldn’t pay with travelers’ checks, so I paid with real money. One thing awesome happened in that mall: Because it is connected to a train station, I SAW A MAIKO (Geisha in training). I had seen lots of girls in kimono because there are lots of shops where you can buy/rent them, but there are obvious differences. One is the face paint, but I only caught her back, so I could tell by the wig that had a bun in it. The hair was arranged in such a way that it was wrapped around a red cloth, and divided into quarters with two black parts on the left and right, and red on the bottom and top. My first maiko sighting of the day, and more to come (though I didn’t know it at the time!!). Next, I went to the mall down the street, Takashimaya, and decided to see what I could buy and still have money left. When I went to pay for my finding, the register ladies had to go and get someone because they didn’t know if they could take them or not. It turned out I had to go down to the first floor (I was on the fifth at the time) and get them changed at the Information Desk. I paid with real money again, and took the escalators down to get them changed over. Now I had enough money for rent and to buy omiyage (gifts) and the parfait I wanted!! After I got my money, I headed east on Gion towards Kiyomizu Temple. At the end of Gion, there was the shrine Yasaka, which is famous for hosting the Gion Festival, one of the most famous in Japan. I thought I would have time to go to Fushimi Inari Shrine after Kiyomizu, so I didn’t go in, and kept walking. I may as well mention that half of Gion street is covered in by overhangs, which makes it less hot. I was so glad for this and sad when it ended. There were, however, people handing out uchiwas (flat fans in a teardrop shape on a stick) which were actually advertising a sale. I wanted one, and I didn’t think the girl was going to give me one, but stuck out my hand as I passed her and she gave me one.
Kiyomizu is in a beautiful part of town called the Higashiyama (literally eastern mountain) district. It has tons of shops selling souvieners, food, kimono, yukata, zori (sandals worn with kimono), etc, etc. I decided to wait until I was done with the temple to look through the shops, so I booked it up the mountain. At one point, I encountered not one, but TWO rickshaws carrying two maiko each!!! I was so surprised, because they kind of appeared around a corner, that I just stood there a second before getting out of the way. I was still in shock as they went past, but recovered and fumbled for my camera. I only caught the last two going around a corner. I feel extremely lucky, because most people only see one maiko, if any, but I saw five. Anyway, I saw a five story pagoda on the way up, but I didn’t pay much attention, and only snapped one picture, because I thought I could make it to Toji Temple, which has the tallest pagoda in Japan. I kept heading for the temple, and finally made it to the entrance gates, which surprisingly were orange. Most shrines have orange gates, and temples have brown, non-painted ones. Next to it was the belfry and the three story pagoda was behind it. I don’t think I’ve explained this before, so I will: When I say ‘wash your hands at the temple’, you are really ‘cleansing’ them. You take a dipper from the bar over a trough of water, and pour one dipper over each hand while holding it over the bigger trough with a drain in the bottom. You can also pour the water into your mouth if you want, but that isn’t so popular. There were many people crowding the two troughs in the complex, because it was a hike up the mountain, and it was also really humid that day. Before you even went into the actual complex, there was a great view from the entrance gates looking down on the city. Next, you paid 300 yen to get in and be able to walk around the complex. The main hall was rather grand, as expected. It had terraces that you could look and see down to the city again. On the terrace, three students came up to me and asked me in English if I would write a “Peace message”. I asked what it was, and they talked among themselves (in Japanese) about how to explain it, and one of the two girls showed me the paper they had with English sentences written on it. It was only introductory things, like, “How are you?” and “Would you write a peace message?” so it really didn’t help at all. Finally the boy said, “love and peace!” The girls kept talking, but I said in Japanese, “Is it alright if I just write, ‘love and peace’?” They said it was, so I wrote on the paper they gave me. One of the girls asked in English if I could speak Japanese, which made me laugh to myself, but I just said in English, “only a little” because I didn’t feel like talking anymore since I was so tired. I handed the paper back to them, and they thanked me and went on their merry way. I’m guessing it was for a school project… Anyway, you could walk on the other side of the main hall on the mountain, which was beautiful. There were still ajisai (hydrangea) blooming, which was impressive because ours in Osaka are dead now. There were also quite a few shops along the way offering kaki-gori (chipped ice with flavored syrup) and a few lunch dishes, but something told me to wait because I wanted a parfait. They were a bit expensive, too, as one was 600 yen. I left Kiyomizu behind, and went back to the Higashiyama district. I think I went in six shops right in a row, and they were all selling the same thing, or close to it. There were a lot of phone straps, stuffed cats, wallets, small brocade purses, Japanese katanas, kimono, zori, stuffed animals, figurines of all varieties, postcards, handkerchiefs, socks, t-shirts, boxers(!?), etc. I only got one thing (and it’s a secret!!), and went looking for my parfait. The one I had in mind had ice cream, green tea cake, mochi (rice flower balls), and crunchy things all layered together, and was about 850 yen. I knew where the shop was, so I was on the lookout for it. However, I saw a shop that offered kaki-gori with ice cream on the side for only 350 yen, and I couldn’t pass it up. I ended up getting matcha (green tea) syrup out of the six flavors they offered. They gave you a really hefty serving, as the bowl had to be a good six inches in diameter, and the ice was mounded up to about four or so, and of course don’t forget the ice cream on the side. It was very filling, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes tea. There were these two adorable kids with their parents, and they kept looking at me. I’m pretty sure I was the only foreigner in there, which was impressive because Kyoto was swarming with more foreigners that day than I think I’ve seen my entire time in Japan.
After my kaki-gori sundae, I resigned to the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to see Toji Temple, the one with the tallest pagoda in Japan. Reason was that it was almost 4:30 and the last entrance was at 5:00, and Toji was a good two miles away. So, I decided to head for Fushimi Inari Shrine, which has torii gates the entire way up the mountain behind it and is always open. I should have bought a magazine with a map in it, but those things were 800 yen at the least, so I didn’t. All I had was a map I had drawn myself, and I will say it was not quite to scale. I started walking south on 143 after Kiyomizu, and expected a bend in the road to the west after about a kilometer (.6 or so miles). I mistakenly had marked that the intersection for the road that Fushimi was on (24) was right after the bend, but it really was quite a way along 143. I didn’t even get off of 143, and turned around because I knew Fushimi was against the mountains, and the mountains had retreated by this time. I know now that I didn’t go far enough on 143 to even find 24. At this point, I started making my way toward the nearest station. I had to make it to the train by 7:30 to get back by 9 before the office closed where I could pay my rent. It was only about 5:30, but I wanted to see one more temple before I left. I saw a temple that I wasn’t really sure if it was open or not, but two people went in, so I went in. The name (I found out later) was Chishaku-in, which translates as “Temple to amass wisdom”. It isn’t on the list of most famous (Kyoto boasts 2000 temples and shrines, so not all of them can be famous), but I thought it was what a temple should be: quiet and peaceful, with no crowds whatsoever. I might have seen ten people in there at the most. They had the traditional main hall and other smaller halls, all of which were closed. The halls had colored banners on them and white banners with I think the plum blossom in black on them. I’m not sure what these were for, but it was interesting. There was also a small place to pray for the welfare of your children, and the altar had a Kewpie doll on it. Near the main hall was a small pond, and there was a trail leading up to the graveyard. I went up, because I wanted to see it. It looked like every graveyard I’ve seen in comics and dramas, but it was the first time I had seen one in person.
I left after that, and found the famous temple Sanjuusan (Thirty three….no idea what’s 33). It is said to have one thousand small bronze statues of Buddha (which I don’t see how that would be that interesting or worth the 500 yen entrance fee, though people rate as a good place to go in Kyoto *shrugs*). I at last found a station on the Keihan line, and ducked underground. Before I did that, I saw that I was really close to Kyoto Tower, so I snapped a picture.
Anyway, I had to wait 20 or so minutes for the sub-express, because I had just missed the one before it and they only came every half hour. There were other ones, but I wanted the fastest. The ride out to Kyobashi was long and crowded, and I only got to sit between the station before Kyobashi and Kyobashi. At Kyobashi, I caught the train going the wrong way, even though that line is in actually a circle, but I only wanted to go around 1/3 of the circle instead of 2/3, so I got off at the next station and caught the train going the opposite way. At Tennoji, I got on the local train (slowest), but I didn’t care, I just wanted to go home. At Mikunigaoka, I walked to the dorm, paid the rent, and sat down to have cold noodle soup (which was really, really good).
As I said before, I didn’t get to see everything I wanted to, which means I want to go back. We’re moving out on the 8th, and I might (that’s a big might) go stay in a guest house in Kyoto until the 14th or 15th, when I’ll take a night bus to Tokyo. I hope it works out that way, because I’ll be so happy to stay in Kyoto before I leave Kansai.
Kyoto
またさっし
My week was boring, so I searched my magazines again. These are from an interview with 生田斗真(いくた・とま), a semi(?)famous actor. Mind you I changed some of the hiragana into kanji so I could learn them (かかります→掛かります)
思い違いっていうか、うっかりする事って誰にでもありますよね。
思い違い misunderstanding
うっかりcarelessly, thoughtlessly, inadvertently
桜も散り、あの素敵な景色に出会えるまで、また一年掛かりますね。
散(ち)る to fall, to scatter (e.g. blossoms)
素敵 すてき
それぞれの一年の過ごし方があって…
過(す)ごす to pass, to spend, to go through, to tide over
また桜の花を笑って眺めたいもんですな。
眺(なが)める to view, to gaze at
どうもご挨拶が遅れました、生田斗真でござい。
挨拶(あいさつ) greeting, salutation
遅(おく)れる to be late, to be delayed
6時30分の「30分」っていう発想は一体どこからきたのよ!
発想(はっそう) conceptualization
超謝られたけど、こうしてまたネタを頂いたので、
謝(あやま)る to appologize
勢い重視な訳分からん文章になってしまったかもしれませんが…
勢(いきお)い force, vigor, energy
重視(じゅうし) importance, stress, serious consideration
臨場感だけはくみ取って頂きたい。
臨場感(りんじょうかん) presence
くみ取る to understand
義理人情とかそういう類いのものは割りと好きだよ。
義理(ぎり) duty, sense of duty, honor, honour, decency, courtesy, debt of gratitude, social obligation
人情(にんじょう) (1) humanity, empathy, kindness, sympathy, human nature, (2) common sense, customs and manners
類(たぐ)い a kind
割(わ)り rate, ratio, proportion, percentage, profit
長い週だった…
サンクスギビング休みはよかった!
ルーシーちゃんといっぱい遊んだ。
日曜は、ルーシーちゃんが中国の料理を作った。
チョーおいしかった。
月曜は、私たちがカレーを作った。
すごくおいしかった!
私は、カレーが食べたいので、wal-martで買った。
母も父も好きだった。
火曜は、おすしを作った。
それは一番おいしかった!
家族もおいしいと思った。
ルーシーちゃんは、おすしの作るのがうまい。
そして、2枚の日本の雑誌を受け取っていた。
チョー嬉しかった!
まだ読んでいる…
水曜は、弟と買い物に行っていた。
ルーシーちゃんと私は遅い買物客ので、弟がイライラしていた。
でも大丈夫だった。
木曜は、サンクスギビングの日だったよね?
親族は、祖父母の家に来ていた。
とにかく、そこで家族も行った。
でも…
またルーシーちゃんと私がおすしを作った。
たくさんの食べもんがあった。
そして、いとこがプレゼントを持って来た。
「花より男子」の17巻とか不思議遊戯(ふしぎゆうぎ)のVHSとかマーガレットのマンガの雑誌とか2つのVHSをあげた。
彼女の高校の時、マンガとアニメが好きだったけど、最近は、仕事ばかりだよ。
すごい人と思う。
金曜は、Black Fridayだった。
また、買い物に行っていた。
土曜は、また、買い物に行っていた。(笑)
ルーシーちゃんが買い物が大好きだと思う…
今日(日曜)は、IUPに戻っていた。
今はつまらないよ。(笑)
サンクスギビングの休み
漢字
This week I was looking at some magaine articles and searching for kanji I can’t read yet.
急きょ変更した事もあったけど、結束力でミスなくできた。
変更(へんこう) (n,vs) change, modification, alteration,
結束(けっそく) (n) union, unity
障害のある方達と触れ合いながら絵を描いて、
障害(しょうがい) obstacle, hinderance, difficulty
触れ合い(ふれあい) contact
凄くスケールが大きく迫力があるものになりそう。
迫力(はくりょく) (n) force, intensity, appeal, strength.
楽しく全ての公演に臨む事が出来たよ。
公演(こうえん) (n) public performance
臨(のず)む (v5m) to look out on, to face, to deal with, to attend (function)
そこで一日が決まるって言って過言じゃないじゃないですか。
過言(かごん) (n) exaggeration, saying too much
やっぱり、テレビ出たりする時に、全部解放しれたら…それは不味いでしょう。
解放(かいほう) liberation
不味(まず)い (adj) unappetising, unappetizing, unpleasant (taste, appearance, situation), ugly, unskilful, awkward, bungling, unwise, untimely
で、色も立体感も出してくれるじゃない。
立体感(りったいかん) feeling of solidity, three-dimensionality
なんだけど、坂道だから滑っちゃって滑っちゃって。
坂道(さかみち) (n) hill road
滑(すべ)る (v5r) to glide, to slide (e.g. on skis), to slip
北へ行く確率のほうが多いからね。
確率(かくりつ) probability
活動 【かつどう】 (n,vs) action, activity
因果 【いんが】(adj-na,n) cause and effect, karma, fate
我慢 【がまん】(n,vs) patience, endurance, perseverance, tolerance, self-control, self-denial
先週
Ohiopyle
先週の週末は、Ohiopyleに行きまた。
金曜、二時間ぐらいにvanに乗っていました。
夕食は、dinerで食べました。
そのところは込まなかったです。
九時ぐらいにcampsiteに着きました。
そのとき、雨が降ったので、大変な時でした。
Tentsは、本当に難しかったです。
夜中、雨が降っていました。
朝は、まだ雨が降っていました。
一日中、雨が降っていました
でも、火で朝ご飯を作りました。
オムレツを作ったり、パンを焼いたりしました。
チョー美味しかったです。
あと、vanでCucumber Fallsに行きました。
その場所でハイキングをしまた。
すごく美しい場所でした。
あと、川のきしべを訪ねました。
川が速くて冷たかったですよ!
でも、川の中でたくさんの岩があるので、上に座れました。
美しい場所もでした。
あと、昼ご飯も火で作りました。
三時ぐらいに出掛けました。
五時半ぐらいにIUPに戻っていました。
番組
いま、Keyhole TVでテレビ朝日を見る。
Ame ta-lkと言います。
どんな番組ですか?
トーク番組です。
ゲストは芸人ばかりです。
いま、おかしい表情をしたり、おかしい表現を言ったりします。
チョーおもしろいです。
「ハンサム」がよく使いています。
でも、意味が分かりません。
いま、まずは、一人男が眼鏡おを掛けています。
いますぐ、みんなは眼鏡を掛けています。
また、意味が分かりません。
「歯ンサム」と言いました。
あの男の歯がちょっと悪いです。
いま、ハンサム芸人イメージショートを見せています。
あぁ、この番組はチョー面白いと思います。
[truth]
I translated this song this week for another one of my blogs, so I figured I’d use it as one of my entries here.
歌手:嵐 (Artist: Arashi)
曲:truth (Song: truth)
魔王のテーマ (“Maou” Theme Song)
ゆらりゆれる 光一つ
Yurari yureru Hikari hitotsu
One beam of light wavers and quivers
痛み 癒すことなく消える
Itami Iyasu koto naku kieru
Pain goes out without healing
I take your life forever
You take my life forever
ひらり落ちる 涙一つ
Hirari ochiru Namida hitotsu
One single tear openly falling
思い 届くことなく消える
Omoi Todoku koto naku kieru
Feelings go out without reaching
I take your life forever
You take my life
止まらない (こぼれ落ちた涙のあと)
Tomaranai (Kobore ochita namida no ato)
I can’t stop (After the overflowing tears have fallen)
時に潜む (凍えそうな涙の色)
Toki ni hisomu (Kogoe souna namida no iro)
Hidden time (The color of tears that have frozen)
愛はきっと降り注ぐ雨のように
Ai ha kitto furi sosogu ame no youni
Love will surely fall like pouring rain
戻れない(こぼれ落ちた涙のあと)
Modorenai (Kobore ochita namida no ato)
I can’t return (After the over flowing tears have fallen)
記憶 巡る(凍えそうな涙の色)
Kioku meguru (Kogoe souna namida no iro)
The memory surrounds me (The color of tears that have frozen)
全て奪われた この世の果てに
Subete ubawareta Kono yo no hate ni
Everything was taken from me in this era
悲しみ
Kanashimi
Saddness and sorrow
たとえどんな終わりを描いても 心は謎めいて
Tatoe donna owari wo egaitemo Kokoro ha nazo meite
If I were to paint some kind of ending, the heart would still appear puzzling
それはまるで闇のように 迫る真実
Sore ha marude yami no youni Semaru shinjitsu
That is surely like the darkness that draws toward the truth
たとえどんな世界を描いても 明日は見えなくて
Tatoe donna sekai wo egaitemo Ashita ha mienakute
If I were to paint some kind of universe, I still couldn’t see tomorrow
それはまるで百合のように 汚れを知らない
Sore ha marude yuri no youni Kegare wo shiranai
That is surely like the lily who doesn’t know filth
願いは透明なままで
Negai ha toumei na mama de
My wish is to be made clean
白く染まる 花にひとり
Shiroku somaru Hana ni hitori
Dyeing one flower white
何も 変わることなく誓う
Nanimo Kawaru koto naku chikau
I vow that nothing changes
I take your life forever
You take my life
届かない (こぼれ落ちた涙のあと)
Todokanai (Kobore ochita namida no ato)
It doesn’t reach (After the overflowing tears have fallen)
声に残る (隠しきれぬふたつの顔)
Koe ni nokoru Kakushikirenu futatsu no kao)
The lingering voice (Two faces are barely hidden)
愛はそっと吹き抜ける風のように
Ai ha sotto fuki nukeru kaze no you ni
Love will softly come out like the wind
終わらない (こぼれ落ちた涙のあと)
Owaranai (Kobore ochita namida no ato)
It won’t end (After the overflowing tears have fallen)
夜に眠る(隠しきれぬふたつの顔)
Yoru ni nemuru (Kakushikirenu futatsu no kao)
It sleeps in the night (Two faces are barely hidden)
夢の傷跡に 残した痛み
Yume no kizuato ni Nokoshita itami
In the dream’s scar, a pain lingered
悲しみ
Kanashimi
Saddness and sorrow
たとえ僅かな光生まれても 嘆きは繰り返す
Tatoe wazukana hikari umaretemo Nageki ha kurikaesu
Even if only a little light is born, grief continues to repeat itself
それはまるで嘘のように 消える真実
Sore ha maru de uso no youni Kieru shinjitsu
That is surely like a lie whose truth has gone out
たとえ最後の羽を開いても 運命は変えられず
Tatoe saigo no hane wo hiraitemo Sadame ha kaerarezu
Even if in the end I open my wings, fate won’t change
百合の花は儚げに 痛みは消えない
Yuri no hana ha hakanage ni Itami ha kienai
The lily flower’s life is short, the pain won’t go out
夢なら愛したままで
Yume nara aishita mama de
If I dream, it was of something like love
悲しみ
Kanashimi
Saddness and sorrow
たとえどんな終わりを描いても 心は謎めいて
Tatoe donna owari wo egaitemo Kokoro ha nazo meite
If I were to paint some kind of ending, the heart would still appear puzzling
それはまるで闇のように 迫る真実
Sore ha marude yami no youni Semaru shinjitsu
That is surely like the darkness that draws toward the truth
たとえどんな世界を描いても 明日は見えなくて
Tatoe donna sekai wo egaitemo Ashita ha mienakute
If I were to paint some kind of universe, I still couldn’t see tomorrow
それはまるで百合のように 汚れを知らない
Sore ha marude yuri no youni Kegare wo shiranai
That is surely like the lily who doesn’t know filth
願いは透明なままで
Negai ha toumei na mama de
My wish is to be made clean
今週
今週、知恵さんがインディアナを訪ねました。
知恵のメッセージを受け入れたけど、ビックリした。
「今週、インディアナがいる。チェルシーに会いたい!」
本当にビックリした。
とにかく、火曜日、知恵が私の部屋にきました。
おいしい寿司を作ってた!!
私は、魚が好きじゃないので、魚がなかったです。
でも、チーズとかハームとかきゅうりとかアボカドとかたまごがありました。
おいしかったですよ。
私たちは、いっぱい話していました。
一時間ごろにあいました。
木曜日、Commonplace Coffeehouseと一緒に行きました。
私の友達もいたので、かのじょと知恵が初めて会いました。
また、私たちがいっぱい話していました。
大学のことを話していました。
そのあと、Indiana Mallに行きました。
まずは、買いものに行きました。
知恵は、黒いドレスを買いました。
私は、何も買いませんでした。
そのあと、Sinobiに食べました。
もっとおいしい寿司を食べていました!!
私は、魚の寿司を食べてみましたけど。。。
チョーおいしかったですよ~~~
そして、ぎょうざを食べてみました。
それもおいしかったですよ!!
ああ~~
今週、長かったと思います。