#japan day 4

[ultimateaclrecovery]

Japan day 4! More Kyoto!

Started with a photo op of the yasaka pagado part of the hokan-ji temple. And then we were off to the kiyomizu-dear temple known for its city views. It was a little cloudy but we still got some great views!

From there went the silver pagado temple and then down the philosophers path. It was raining but the path was very peaceful as we walked along the river. It ended at the Eikan-do temple. Eiakan-do had a really cool art exhibit inside and then the gardens were full of fall colors.

We then went to our tea ceremony experience. It was very curated for tourists but felt very respectful and informative. It took a lot more whisking to get the tea right than I thought, but it was all very delicious. And I got to wear a purple kimono so I obviously had a good time.

Overly long travel diary

Anthony 400 yen first temple kitomizu dera

Emma 500 yen each second temple, silver temple

Anthony 1000 yen each eikan do

We start the day at kiyomizu temple, stopping on the way to take pictures of a pagado. The view from the temple is really nice even if it is a bit cloudy. The temple itself is also a really pretty red.

We then walk for a bit and find a dog park to have breakfast in.

We take a bus over to the philosophers path. The bus is super crowded buy we survived.

We then decide to walk up to the silver pavilion the counter part to the gold pavilion we saw yesterday. Because sulver tarnishes more quickly it’s not as shiny but the grounds are still lovely. Sadly they don’t have a silver temple key chain to match my one from yesterday.

After we head back down to the philosophers path which runs along the river. Some of the leaves are really pretty colors but a lot have fallen already. The philosophers path was so full of cute bridges. It was pretty rainy but it kind of added to it in a way. There are also people with signs at various crossroads of the philosophers path to help direct tourists. There are also various public maps with the major tourist sites on them.

The philosophers path ends very near to our next temple so we head in. The ticket is more than a lot of them but we quickly see that it’s because they also have an art exhibit in the temple. They give you a little plastic bag to carry your shoes in while you walk through the temple and see the art. It’s pretty cold today so my feet are cold and the wooden floor feels extra cold.

Eikan do had lots of art and explanations about the pure land where you go when you reach enlightenment. The monk who more or less founded the temple thinks that anyone can reach enlightenment and you don’t have to spend endless hours in mediation. The temple also is one of the few or maybe only places where the two competing art schools of the day would have their art side by side.

The fall foliage around the temple is really gorgeous and their are some adorable bridges. I try to get a picture with a bridge from on another bridge but didn’t get the angles right so you can’t really see the bridge. But there’s still pretty colors and a pond. We also walk up to the pagado at the top and take in the views of the cities. I love how all the temples are nestled into the mountains/hillsides so you can get pretty views from them.

There are other temples nearby but we’re feeling pretty templed out and will see more temples tomorrow so decide to just head back to the area out hotel is in and get lunch.

Twntenyu for lunch ramen. Anthony paid 2180 for both. They had up little dividers between all the seats. It was in a big building full of mostly offices with stores on the bottom floor. Most of the other people seemed to be business people on their lunch break. I got ramen and gyoza and it was delicious but the gyoza burned the roof of my mouth a little. The warm ramen tho really hit the spot on a cold and dreary day.

We head back to the hotel to regroup. We end up taking a nap (and having some quality time)due to not finding anything else to see that we are willing to walk to. And I’m tired.

After we head out to go to a tea ceremony I booked online previously. We start with getting dressed in kimonos. They braid my hair and pin it up into a bun. I am allowed to picked my own kimono and I find a dark purple one with pink flowers. Putting it on is an experience. There are two ladies working together wrapping you all up and tying you in. There are a lot more little skinny ties than I would’ve expected. And then there’s a hard thing for your middle for the shape and then finally the big sash that goes around the middle and ties into a bow. It’s a little constricting but not too bad. I wouldn’t want to have run or need to do any deep breathing in it but fine for standing around and sitting.

They give you a pretty bag so you can take your phone and whatever with you (they know people want to take pictures in the kimonos)and then a big numbered bag to leave the rest of your stuff in. They also give you little toe socks to wear with the shoes.

We head back to the waiting room and take a couple pictures. My boyfriend tolerates the pictures. There’s a lovely women from Portugal on her honeymoon who takes a couple for us and gets one of my hair and the bow in the back

We head into the room where they show us how we can sit and how to arrange the kimono. She tells us to stay comfortable. I do not succeed in the little sweeping motion she showed to get the kimono to look pretty while sitting and it keeps gaping funny at the bottom but it’s fine.

She starts with a detailed explanation of what tea ceremony is. It’s all about the one moment and one time we have here together. And being full of respect harmony tranquilly and balance(?). She then shows us how to make the tea. There’s a lot of cleaning and the tools and doing everything deliberately and respectfully.

We start by eating the little sweets. One is hard like a smartie and has a swan on it and the other is rice paper wrapped around red bean paste. She has cut the pastry in half with a toothpick and it’s surprisingly difficult. She then shows us how we are supposed to whisk the tea.

I thought i whisked mine enough but when she comes around she says I need to do it a lot more.

The tea ceremony involves a lot more whisking than I tried to do at first, but it’s fun. The sweets before it our lovely.

We take a couple more pictures after in the pretty tea room. There’s art in the panels. The lighting isn’t great for my face (I think my head blocked a can light or something but otherwise the pictures are great.

It’s very much an experience curated for tourists and a bit of a sampler or intro to traditional Japanese cultur but it felt respectful and not gimmicky. Our tea group was all couples from different countries and about half were on their honeymoon.

We then walk through nishiki market and buy chopsticks. I buy some pretty purple ones. 6100 yen. I get three, two lavender and one sparkly. I realize too late that I probably could’ve gotten another of the sparkly and gotten a set of four but it’s fine. I also get three chopstick rests that are some sort of adorable sea slugs (I get three, one purple, but there was a fourth design but it was orange and I didn’t love it. The other two were blue and polka dot.

Apparently the yen hit its lowest in 30 years relative to the dollar.

Dinner is at a sort of americaish small plate place after we can’t get into the restaurant my uncle recommended. I try brown sugar shochu it is good but not as sweet as I wanted. We get garlic bread (with pesto), gapao rice, pork loin, and fried chicken. We then get a Dutch baby with gelato for dessert that they unexpectedly add fruit to. I hate when desserts do that because I don’t like fruits and then it can kind of ruin the taste of whatever it’s on with its sauce or whatever. And with dessert if it’s not delicious I don’t really want it. I eat the edges of my half of the pancake and then have my boyfriend finish the parts that got soaked with fruit juice

[qualityrain]

mentally i am still here

shuake week day 7: feathermen / goro or joker palace / free day

[kth1]

BTS Cypher 4 - D Day Tour cr. @/jung-koook

[reunitedinterlude]

lofi phantasy: the album

track 3: tokens in

[sir-fluffbutts]

Alright anons fluff hasn’t posted on Tumblr for 2 days so I’m the new fluff y’all can call me sir anon

MOVE OUT THE WAY IMPOSTER CAUSE GEUSS WHOS FUCKING BACK!!!!!!!!!

[ed1c24]

cora-san? cora-san.

[flowerakatsuka]

just came to the realization that the sextuplets died a week before kuroba's birthday.

[x-heesy]

🦉

𝙰𝚔𝚒𝚛𝚊 𝚈𝚘𝚔𝚘𝚢𝚊𝚖𝚊 (1981) 🇯🇵

[amoderndayinhell]

Inktober Day 4: Exotic! Featuring the universe of our comic!

Art by @sol-ariium

[timely-nobi]

🏹 °○•.☆.•○° 🏹

Taking an arrow to school (1979 series)

Tbh I think the early style of the '79 series is cute 2 bc lookat my pookies.. /affectionate

[reineyday]

thinking about how proud kita must be to see atsumu, aran and suna on team japan :'))

[lemon-wedges]

...

[skitskatdacat63]

There's this nearly 4 hour movie I've been meaning to watch for a while and I was like "ah maybe ill watch it tonight hehe 🥰" and then I remember...quali is at 9 🫠

[knifebaby3000]

24 March!!!!!! It's my birthday!!!!! Thank you so much to everyone who's supported me, new followers, old followers, mutuals – every reblog means the world and every tag is such a gift, esp after being away for so many years and also as someone drawing [ checks notes ] the same 2.5 OCs over and over and over again!!!!! Thank u again I luv u so much!!!!!

[wookgerine]

There's this one wayv fan I keep seeing on twt and it's insane bc everytime they are going to a different concert

[wutaijiemei]

english tl from amis/japanese ❤️

o nani cowaay kita? where have we come from? nani tira i kahadakan no cidal from the place where the sun rises tatalacowa kita? micelemayto ko cidal where are we going? the sun has already set malingad to kita! we are setting off! pasiwali kita heading all the way east

a~a taiyō ni se o mukete katana o futte with the sun behind me, i will carve my path forward michi o terashite kureta hachibōsei as the eight-pointed star¹ guides my way yoru no tobari ga orita kuroku nure night falls and slowly dyes the sky black “sonata wa doko ni mukau?” “where are you going?” oshiete please tell me

awaay ma’araw ako ko soda i ca’ang no kilang. we may know nothing of snow-covered branches awaay ma’araw iso ko taneng niyam. but you know nothing of our wisdom latek cowa kafana’ kako to kararoman no miso. perhaps i am simply unable to understand your struggles kaorira i, caay ka patadoen ako kiso a malalo’od. but i will not fight your battles

tatalacowa kita? micelemayto ko cidal. where are we going? the sun has already set minokay to kita! we’re going home!

a~a higashi ni mukatte yama o koete to the east, past the mountains mimimoto de sasayaite ita hachibōsei the eight-pointed star whispers in my ear and guides my way boya no kiri ni daka reta aoku nure the fog of night surrounds us and slowly dyes the world blue “sonata wa nanto yoba reru?” “what is your name?” oshiete please tell me

a~a kyokujitsu ga iranai ya jū o sutete abandon the rising sun, lay down your guns hirahara ni shizunde ita hachibōsei as the eight-pointed star sinks beneath the plains akatsuki ga akete kita akaku nure day breaks and slowly dyes the sky red darenimo nozoki koma renai yukusue and we reach the end of our journey, safe from prying eyes

¹reference to an important amis/pangcah cultural symbol, visible in the cover art in the center of the soldier's hat. i could not find the actual word for it in amis and, interestingly, it only appears in the japanese sections of the song. will edit the post if i find it T-T

this song is the story lead singer (and lyricist on this song) Natsuko once heard from her father about her grandfather's experience as an amis volunteer soldier during the final days of WWII. full translation of the portion of the interview that talks about this particular song in very great depth here. brief excerpt for basic contexts:

In 1945, the US military began bombing Taiwan, and Japan was on the verge of facing the reality of their imminent loss. A group of young Amis men were at the Takasago volunteer military camp in Taichung, witnessing the chaos firsthand and fearing deployment under such circumstances. They resolved not to fight any more on another nation’s behalf, and a number of them decided to desert and return to Taitung on foot. Natsuko’s grandfather was among them.