"Ikebana"
By Bea
Turned out we are staying almost next door to a teaching school that specializes in calligraphy, tea ceremonies and ikebana, which I'm really interested in! So yesterday I spent two hours with Kimi who was charming, patient and very well travelled, having visited 30 countries and going to Christchurch in February! She told me a bit about the history of Ikebana - basically hundreds of years old - and the styles (5 main ones) and the philosophy - 'All things change, nothing lasts'.
. Very tied in to nature and the seasons, it is much more complicated that just plonking a few bits in a vase, that's for sure! I was stunned to find that Kyoto is the home of Ikebana so I feel very fortunate to have learned from a master with 13 years training. Kimi still has not attempted several of the styles as she does not feel she is good enough yet!! I fumbled around with the materials and had a go and then she waved her magic over it all and made it look great. It was a great experience.
"The Bike Ride"
By Declan
Yesterday was full of surprises, from the thrills of the Japanese winter weather to the fun of the philosopher's path. So here's what happened:
We set off on the journey to the electric bike store at about 12:00 PM and on the way we briefly stopped at a traditional gyoza dumpling cafe.
(You could have anything you want - as long as it was gyoza)
Once at the store we had to decide which bikes to choose, I ended up with a nice green electric bike with a leather seat and only 3 gears!
So we were off, along the busy streets of Kyoto we rode, our feather coats blowing in the wind.
We could see the temple up ahead, with broad pillars the size of multiple tree trunks, the gate to the temple stood high like a big mountain of wood and metal.
We locked our bikes on a nearby fence and strode up the polished concrete steps to the most beautiful temple ever.
Nazen-ji was its name, it suited it perfectly for a big temple full of squeaky corridors.
Suddenly there was a flurry of bald heads and robes as all the monks gathered in a room, the meeting had started. We headed outside and saw a very nice garden. Hidden in the forest was a working red-brick aqueduct that at first we thought was a bridge.
But we had to leave, so off we went.
The Philosophers Path lay ahead. This is a mixture of gravel and paving stones next to a small canal. At the start of the path lay a very small dog park but most of it was filled with cats. Although there was one dog - in fact the one and only "Doge" - a Shiba inu. Near the end we found a tea house that sold tea, soft drinks and Japanese cakes (which were actually potato and gravy on a stick!). We quickly navigated back to the bike shop and returned our just in time. By the way the bikes were very cheap - only $12 each for three hours!
"Cooking In Kyoto"
By Que
There are pros and cons to a Japanese supermarket. The good side is that everything is so cute and fascinating one can spend hours just looking. It's wonderful for buying small quantities - a single carrot carefully wrapped up and so on. The downside for somebody who can't speak, let alone read Japanese is that there's a bit of guessing involved.
We won't get many chances to cook until our time in Iceland next year and many local restaurants are closed on Monday so it seemed a good opportunity to try a meal in our little house (which has a fully equipped kitchen). The first purchase was some fish - a couple of pieces I took to be fillets with the skin on but were actually half fish with the bone in. Also it turned out to be smoked, but I cooked it anyway and it was fine. Rice was a bit of a challenge and an exception to the "small quantities" rule as 5kg was the minimum amount. After much looking we found what we hoped was some microwave single serve packets - the rice was sticky and included beans but at least it wasn't rice pudding. Some fresh pickles, sauteed vegetables and miso soup made a pretty good meal. Perhaps not any recognized form of Japanese cuisine but good enough for foreigners!
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