We arrived a few minutes before Kinkaku opened, so we waited in line with thousands of school children on their class trips. When they saw us, a group of about twenty westerners, they yelled in unison, "good morning." Then one of the women in our group called back "ohayo gozaimasu," which drew great laughter from the children. The children seem to be very amused by us, always saying hello, waving and having their pictures taken with some of the taller men in the group. They also are usually very well behaved in public. When we were at the zoo in Ueno, we watched a group of about twenty-five students sit on a long bench in an orderly fashion and begin quietly eating their from their bento boxes.
It was still raining in Kyoto, but even without the sun the Golden Pavilion still shone brightly. Apparently, in full sunlight the Golden Pavilion is so magnificent that in 1950 a disturbed student monk burned Kinkaku to the ground because he was jealous of the pavilion and did not feel that he could ever live up to its perfection.
We departed Koyoto and made the short drive to Fushimi, a traditional sake-brewing district. Fushimi has some of the purest water in Japan and sake-brewing started there in 1637. We visited the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum. Our tour guide, the sweetest looking old lady, explained the complicated brewing process to us in Japanese and Hide-san translated. Sake uses only the innermost thirty percent of the rice grain. It is carefully washed, cooked, fermented, strained and bottled. The guide showed us that the sake is stored in double walled ceramic jugs so that if one layer breaks, the sake does not leak.
As we were driving into Fushimi, Hide-san explained that you can tell a sake brewery because the outside wooden walls are stained black with fungi from the malt. He also showed us that the sake breweries hang a cedar ball outside. When a new cedar ball is hung, you know that the next batch of sake is ready.
Our lunch was at the Food Bar Shioriya, a short walk through the town of Fushimi. This was another absolutely gorgeous restaurant. We removed our shows and walked upstairs to a private room where we sat on the faux-floor like the restaurant to which Hiromi took us. Lunch was served on a tray filled with individual dishes of meats, vegetables, soup and rice. I am coming home with all sorts of new idea for inspiration in the pottery studio. Dessert was served in a set of three stacking ramekins. One contained green tea glutenous rice, the second a type of cheese cake and the third ice cream. This restaurant had a super high-tech bathroom, but I especially liked the sink. The water was suspended from the ceiling and trickled down in a stream to the sink below.
We left Fushimi and headed to Nara, working our way back in time through history. In 710, Nara became Japan's first permanent capital. However, this was short lived as 74 years later, the capital was moved again.
In Nara we visited Nara Park, which covers 520 hectares (1,300 acres) and is home to more than 1,100 deer, which are considered divine messengers in Japanese culture and therefore are allowed to roam freely around the park. Those of you who know me well know that I have been anti-deer since hitting one with my truck about fifteen years ago, so I was having huge issues with considering deer to be sacred.
We got off the bus and walked through the front gate of the park and the deer were everywhere just roaming slowing amongst the people. It was a bit of a hunter's paradise. These deer were shorter and fatter than the ones I've seen in the U.S. and many of them had two and three point racks. You could go right up and pet the deer. You could also buy deer cookies and feed the deer, which Kevin and I did. We were a little surprised by how aggressive the deer became when they knew you had deer cookies. No sooner had I turned around from the stand that we were surrounded by deer. I had a hard time even handing Kevin his share of the cookies. I managed to feed them one by one, but Kevin was forced to give all his to only one deer all at once. As we were leaving the park, we noticed the warning sign about how deer could bite, kick and ram visitors. We obviously missed that when we entered.
The premier attraction in Nara Park is Todaiji Temple, which houses the Great Buddha, the largest Virocana (celestial) bronze Buddha in Japan. The statue was commissioned in the mid-700s by the Emperor Shomu, who had intended to make the temple the headquarters of all Buddhist temples in the land. It took eight castings to complete the statue. It stands more than 15 meters (50 feet) tall and is made of 437 tons of bronze, 286 pounds of pure gold, 165 pounds of mercury and seven tons of vegetable wax. There is a pilar to the left of the Buddha with a hole at the bottom that is said to be the same diameter as one nostril of Buddha's nose. According to the legend, if you can fit through the opening, you would attain enlightenment. The school children had no problems fitting through.
As we were driving to Nara, Hide-san told us the legend of the fish Shachi, which we frequently saw on top of buildings. This fish had swallowed up all of the water in the world, so if the building ever caught on fire the fish would spit out the water and extinguish the fire. Unfortunately, this fish did not protect Todaiji Temple, as the building that houses the Great Buddha, called the Daibutsu, has burned to the ground several times. The current structure only dates back to 1709. Even Buddha lost his head once in an earthquake.
Walking through the temple gates to the Daibutsu, Hide-san stopped to explain the different colored stones on the walkway. The innermost stone was from India, the next set of stone came from China, the third from Korea and the outermost stones from Japan. This was to symbolize the spread of Buddhism.
Our final stop of the day was Osaka, so it was back on the bus for another hour or so drive. One of the things I have enjoyed on the bus rides is being able to see the way the countryside changes as we've moved from east to west. Japan is 70% mountains, so once we leave a city or town we quickly get into the lush, green mountainside. Nara and Osaka are divided by a mountain range. To pass between the two, we drove through a tunnel that was ten kilometers (6.6 miles) long. I was surprised that a country so prone to earthquakes would construct a tunnel that long.
Osaka's history can be traced back over 1,500 years, but it gained prominence in the 16th century when Toyotomi built Japan's most magnificent castle here. Toyotomi persuaded merchants from other parts of Japan to settle in Osaka, and today Osaka, the third largest populated city in Japan, is still known for its international and progressive business and high-tech industries. Hide-san told us that everything in Osaka is larger-than-life. The people are more outgoing than the humble and shy Tokyoites and frequently great each other by saying, "Are you making money?" rather than "hello."
Osaka castle was built in 1580 under the order of Toyotomi and was used as a military stronghold from which he waged war against the rebellious feudal lords. His style of architecture is depicted in black on the castle. When Toyotomi died and Tokugawa seized power, he added his own style of architecture in white. The original Osaka castle was destroyed in 1615 in a war between Tokugawa and the Toyotomi heirs, who eventually regained power. The castle was rebuilt in 1629 only to be destroyed again by lightening thirty-six years later. The current replica was completed in 1931.
We were able to climb to the to the top of the castle where we could see the Shachi fish up close. It was also impressive to look out and see just how far away the moat walls are from the castle itself. The remainder of the castle is a museum that explains the history of the castle and the rise and fall of power between Toyotomi and Tokugawa. I especially enjoyed looking at the calligraphy scrolls. Although I could not read the inscriptions, there is an artistic beauty about the script which I don't think can be found in our own alphabet.
Before going to the hotel, Hide-san took us to Dotonbori Street, a restaurant and shopping area with large neon lights and billboards and oversized signs advertising the cuisine of each restaurant. We walked all the way out to the canal and then were given time to explore on our own.
Our hotel this evening was a Sheraton -- very nice but nothing special. I guess we had been spoiled by the first two nights. This hotel did have the nicest lobby and restaurant area of any of the hotels in which we had stayed.
There was a large shopping mall next to our hotel, so we went over to explore and let Kevin choose a western style dinner, this time Subway. The menu was slightly different than the U.S. menu but very good. Again, the staff was very patient with us.
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