Kyoto Temples

September 26th--Today we had a full day planned in Kyoto so we were up and moving pretty quickly this morning. Plus the sun rises right into our window around 5:00 a.m. so it makes it a little difficult to really sleep in. Anyway, our first stop was the bus station to buy a day pass for the bus. We then hopped on a bus heading to Kinkakuji Temple (Temple of the Golden Pavilion). The first thing we saw upon entering the temple area was the magnificent Golden Pavilion which is a three-story pavilion covered in gold leaf with a roof topped by a bronze phoenix. We were lucky to have a gorgeous day so the Golden Pavilion reflected onto the pond. After taking in the beauty, we walked around the grounds of the temple area. Along the way, we were stopped by 2 different groups of Junior High students wanting to interview us to practice their English. It was an awesome experience being able to talk to them about their country and to see how remarkable their English was. We were thanked by them and presented a hand-made Japanese thank-you card. From the Kinkakuji Temple, we made the 20 minute walk to the Ryoanji Temple. Right outside the Ryoanji Temple though was a cafe that we stopped off in for a quick lunch. Upon entering the Ryoanji Temple, we were immediately greeted by the 1,000 year old pond that was filled with lily pads. The main thing to visit at this temple is the Zen rock garden, probably the most famous in all of Japan. The Zen rock garden is filled with fifteen rocks set in white pebbles and are surrounded on three sides by a clay wall and on the fourth by a wooden veranda. We had to take our shoes off before entering the building and when we reached the veranda, we took a seat for a couple of minutes. It is here that we tried to take in the peacefulness of it, but we had 2 kids that didn't want to sit still for very long. So, we made our way out of the temple and caught the bus heading to the Kyoto Handicraft Center. We were told that this was the place to shop, but we were afraid it was going to be like the Silk Market in Beijing. We were wrong. It was totally the opposite of it. We were in no way pressured to buy anything and there weren't a lot of people there. We were able to browse the 7 floor building at our own leisure and actually weren't there for very long. We left the center about 4:30 and got on the bus heading to Kiyomizu Temple. The bus dropped us off at the bottom of the mountain. We had to walk a pretty good ways up to the Kiyomizu Temple which is located on Mount Otowa, but it was well worth it. We were immediately greeted by a beautiful gate and a three-story pagado. After passing the pagoda, we went into the main hall which was built over a cliff. The hall is dedicated to the goddess of mercy and compassion. This is the location where the kids took their turn praying. We then wandered around the area for a little while taking in the magnificent view of the area and Kyoto at sunset. From here, we went down the stairs to the Otowa springs. Here we got to taste the purity of its water. Kiyomizu translates as "pure water". It is said that any wishes made here will come true. By the time we were done drinking the water, it was time to head back down the mountain and head to dinner. We had decided on a place in the downtown area of Kyoto. We ate at Kushiya Monogatari which is an all-you-can-eat, do-it-yourself kushiyaki restaurant. We chose our skewers of various items (fish, chicken, vegetables, etc.) from the refrigerated cases, brought them back to our table, dipped them in a paste, covered them with bread crumbs and deep fired them right at our table. Needless to say, we left the restaurant extremely full and happy. What a cultural experience today was...all 3 temples offered us something completely different and the food was like no other.

Japanese Pancake

September 25th--Unfortunately this morning we had to check out of the Rickshaw Inn where we enjoyed many a Japanese bath, but oh well...at least we were moving on to a hostel. :-) We checked out of the Inn at 10:00 and were able to leave our luggage for about an hour. We didn't need to head to the train station until about 11:00 so we decided to go back down to the morning market and find ourselves some snacks. Our first stop was the street stand by the bridge for our first try at mitarasha-dango (grilled rice balls in soy sauce). Yummy! They were so good. Abby even went back for seconds which is amazing for this picky eater. We got a couple of more sweet treats along the way before heading to get Abby a shoe horn. I'm pretty sure she's the only 6 year old begging for a shoe horn. She got hooked on them after being in Takayama and always having to take her shoes off when entering houses. She has slip on shoes and has always had issues with getting them on by herself. So, a shoe horn was like magic to her! After the big shoe horn purchase, we walked back to the Rickshaw Inn, picked up our luggage and walked to the train station. We had plenty of time before our train left so the kids and I headed into the convenience store to pick up some snacks for the train ride. We boarded the train at 11:30, had front row seats for the ride (very different because we could see straight through the front of the train), and arrived in Nagoya a little after 2:00. We quickly located the platform for our next train to Kyoto. This train was a Shinkansen (bullet train) that was a 30 minute ride. When we arrived in Kyoto, we had about a 15 minute walk to the Budget Inn (hostel). This was our new home for the next 4 nights. The one downside to Japan is that it is very expensive. We decided on a hostel for our time in Kyoto to save money (we had to rent towels and only rented 3...we figured the kids could share!). We are very blessed to have 4 mattresses (on the floor) and a private bathroom though. The room is very small but it is really like camping out....or staying in an RV. After getting settled in, we ventured out to find dinner. The Budget Inn had some restaurant recommendations so we decided to go to one of them. The restaurants name was Kyo-Chabana. It is okonomiyaki style food which translated into English means "As-You-Like-Pancake". We all enjoyed Japanese pancakes that were brought to our table and placed on a hot grill in front of us. The pancakes consist of batter and cabbage. You also select what you want in them, like shrimp, beef, chicken, pork, etc. It was a fun and different experience from the beef in Takayama. We've also decided that it doesn't matter what restaurant you go to in Japan, somehow it's going to end up cooking on your table. We are loving the food in Japan!!!

Takayama

September 23rd--Our day started at 6:30 this morning with the alarm going off. We had to get up, dressed, eat breakfast, and catch the shuttle bus at 8:15. Before we could leave, we had to finalize our packing. We have transferred our stuff around in order to get all our necessities into only 2 suitcases for the next 6 days. Japan has this wonderful service where you can ship your luggage ahead to a future location. Since we knew we were going to be moving around over the next 6 days and we would be staying in traditional inns with small rooms, we decided this would be a great idea. So, off we went with only 2 suitcases and our backpacks. We are starting to wonder if we could have traveled the world like this the whole time, but we came to the quick conclusion that "probably not" was the answer. Anyway, the shuttle bus dropped us off at the Narita train station. We had plenty of time to get some money (our debit card only works at select ATMs and 7-11's here) and find our platform. We took the express train into Tokyo arriving about 10:00. We changed trains in Tokyo and boarded the Nozomi bullet train. It was a very nice train that seemed wider than most. That was good, because we were flying through the Japan countryside at close to 200mph! We arrived in Nagoya at 12:15 p.m. Here we had about 30 minutes before our next train left so we had plenty of time to grab lunch to eat on the train. We boarded our final train for the day that arrived into Takayama at 3:15. We had great views of the Japanese Alps along our journey into Takayama. It was very peaceful and somewhat reminiscent of the trains in Switzerland. All 3 trains were really nice. We had heard that they were clean and they win that award by far. In all the train rides, we've never seen cleaner bathrooms and that is saying a lot. After getting off the train, we navigated our way to the Rickshaw Inn. The Rickshaw Inn is a traditional inn with traditional Japanese style rooms. We are in the "Bamboo" room with a bathroom, small kitchenette and a tatami sleeping area. We have 3 futon style mattresses on the floor and it keeps reminding me of Girl Scouts camp. We do have a private bathroom (which is not common) but it is set up Japanese style. The best way to describe it is like a large RV bathroom. The Japanese take very hot baths, but completely bath and wash before getting into the bath. In a traditional, shared bathroom, everyone uses the same bath water so it is imperative that you are squeaky clean before getting in. So you have a shower nozzle outside the bathtub that allows you to soap up and clean, then get in the hot bath to soak and relax. After settling into the room, we ventured out to walk around the town. We chose Takayama because of its location in the Japanese Alps and its traditional neighborhoods. We walked through some of the traditional streets with various crafts stores and shops lining the streets. We finished off at Suzuya Restaurant where we had a enjoyed Takayama cuisine with Hobamiso Beef Steak and Butter-Yaki (chicken, sea food and vegetables cooked in butter). All of this was cooked over open flames at our table. We actually did the cooking being responsible for stirring the food until it was cooked. It was great...we are loving the feel of a small town in Japan and really getting to experience the culture. So much so, that we came back and enjoyed baths, traditional Japanese style! Very relaxing way to settle into your futon mattress on the floor!


September 24th--We got up and moving early this morning since it was our only full day in Takayama. After a quick snack breakfast in our room, we were out the door and headed to the Miyagawa Morning Market. We walked around this area for a while enjoying the many stands and shops. After about an hour, we walked down to the river and enjoyed the beautiful weather. There were many fish and ducks in the area that the kids loved watching. From here, we walked to the bus station which was right next to the train station. We purchased our bus tickets for the 11:00 a.m. bus to Hida-no-Sato where we would visit the Hida Folk Village. It was only about a 10 minute bus ride. We entered the village and immediately got to experience some fun traditional pictures. Playing dress up, shooting water guns and finding special stamps along the way were the highlights for the kids. We also enjoyed walking through some old traditional Japanese houses where, of course, we had to take our shoes off before entering. We also got to see what rice looks like in the fields, a wooden workshop and a lacquerware workshop. It was fun to experience parts of old Japan. After exiting the folk village, we walked across the street for a quick lunch before heading back into Takayama. We arrived back in Takayama early afternoon and went by the Hida Kokubunji Temple. The architecture here is really neat and we even got to see a local lady come to pray. She dropped money first and then rang a prayer bell. It was really cool to see the process. From the temple, we went back by our Inn where we knew there was a small playground. The kids played here for a little while before we walked to find ice cream. Everyone enjoyed the ice cream while walking to the Shiroyama Park. We knew how to get to the park, but were not sure about the kids playground inside of it. After hiking up some steep hills, we finally reached a map of the park. Luckily, it was in both English and Japanese, but the signs along the way were only in Japanese. So, Mike and I picked up on the first 2 signs of the Ninomaru Park which were 2 horizontal lines and what we called an @sign. We did successful locate the park and the kids immediately made friends with 2 local girls. They all played really well with each other for hours. Austin found a soccer ball and enjoyed playing with that while the girls did their thing. We left the park about 5:30 to go find some dinner. At the park, Mike and I had planned our agenda for dinner. We were going to just pick up a few things along the streets and enjoy some local flair, but we quickly realized that these types of items are more like snack items and aren't open at dinner time. So, we went back by the Rickshaw Inn for a restaurant suggestion and her suggestion was back in the direction we just came from. So, we took her list and just picked a local spot that specialized in the local Hida Beef, Maruaki Restaurant. This turned out to be a great experience...it was bright and loud which is a perfect combination for the kids. We ordered a plate of special Hida Beef, rice, sausages and a salad. We got to cook it all on our little grill at the table. The meat was so good. It was so tender and the salad had a wonderful ginger dressing on it. It was a great choice for us considering we just walked upon the restaurant. After our bellies were all full, we headed back to the Inn for Japanese baths. The kids even experienced the baths tonight before bedtime.

Narita

September 22nd--Today was a "transition" day. We started the day by enjoying a great breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Then we split up as Amy took the kids to the pool, while I went into Narita to take care of some travel arrangements. I took the hotel shuttle to the Narita train station to purchase our tickets for our travel around Japan. After getting our tickets, I set out to find an ATM machine. This isn't easy in Japan because most ATMs do not accept US bank cards. I finally located a 7-11 and got some needed cash (along with some good, cheap grocery store lunch...it felt like college days). Then it was back to the hotel to meet up with Amy and the kiddos. It was 1:30pm and they were heading upstairs for lunch when I met them. They decided to just grab some snacks for lunch from the hotel store. I had surprisingly passed a Hard Rock Cafe in Narita and so we decided to head there for dinner. After lunch, I took the kids back to the swimming pool while Amy came back to the room and got cleaned up. We then came back upstairs and showered before catching the 5pm hotel shuttle into Narita. This shuttle made quite a few stops so, it was close to 6pm before we arrived at Hard Rock. We enjoyed another great Hard Rock dinner before heading back to the hotel and packing up for our early train departure tomorrow morning.

Zaijian Beijing, Konnichiwa Japan

September 20th -- Today we woke up excited because while it is Sunday morning in Beijing, it is Saturday evening in the States and that means one thing...FOOTBALL. We knew that both Arkansas and Texas were playing games on ESPN stations and were excited to see which game would be on our ESPN. And the answer was...neither! Since football was on last week, we were sure one of the games would be on, but were disappointed to find football on, just not American football. So we found a site online that had the games and flipped back and forth between the two games. Actually, Amy gave up after a while and took the kids out to the playground while I watched the Arkansas game (bad ending!). After lunch, I took the kids back out to the playground. We met another family while here and their kids were outside as well. The kids played for a couple of hours while Amy went back and got another foot message. We cooked dinner in the apartment and then all piled up in the bed and watched The Last Emperor. It was a great movie to wrap up our time in Beijing! We took a break during the movie to call cousin Chance and wish him a Happy Birthday.

September 21th--We got up this morning and found the Cowboys game on-line and watched it while we were packing up (another bad ending!). We got all packed up and headed to the airport for our 2:00pm flight. It was a fairly smooth process at the airport and our plane was boarding when we arrived at our gate. We boarded our flight and were away from our gate on-time. Unfortunately, we then sat on the run-way for a little over an hour. We thought this would greatly delay our arrival time, but apparently this delay was built into our schedule because upon take-off, they announced our arrival time and it was only 15 minutes after our scheduled arrival. The flight was great and we were served a wonderful meal. We had in-seat entertainment and the kids were able to watch cartoons while Amy and I watched a movie. We arrived at Narita airport (outside Tokyo) and had a very smooth entry process. We went outside and caught a shuttle to our hotel in Narita. We ended up having to leave Beijing 2 days before originally planned because of a change with our round the world ticket, so we are spending the 2 nights in Narita before beginning our journey through Japan.

Summer Palace

September 19th--Today almost (notice I said almost) started off bad. As we were walking to the subway station via a back alley, there was a guy standing there that made a nice hacking sound and turned behind him to spit. Well, when he turned to spit, I was walking right behind him and almost got hit by a flying spit ball. Luckily, I dodged it and kept walking like nothing had happened. This is an example of one of the things that just happens around Beijing. It is very common for men to be hacking and spitting at anytime and anywhere. Why? Our guess is because of the horrible pollution (smog). It has to cause some respiratory problems over time. Anyway, we continued onto the subway towards our destination for the day, the Summer Palace. Unfortunately, the subway did not go all the way, so we had to take a taxi the final bit. The Summer Palace was a grand, imperial playground during the Qing dynasty. While it is over 700 acres, a large portion of it is a lake, so it is easier to navigate. We entered the grounds on the east shore and immediately walked over the Seventeen-Arch bridge. This marble bridge connects the east shore to an island in the lake. From the island, we boarded an "imperial yacht" for a journey across the lake to the north shore. Once on the north shore, we were in an area full of shops and cafes. We stopped for a quick bite to eat before beginning our journey up Longevity Hill. We made our way through a couple of temples on our way up to the crowning point of Longevity Hill, the Temple of Buddhist Virtue and the Tower of Buddhist Incense. This top of the hill provided some fun rock climbing for the kids. We then began the journey back down the hill towards the exit. We exited the Summer Palace looking for a taxi. What we have come to learn is any taxi waiting at a tourist stop will try to charge you a high rate by refusing to use the meter. Luckily, we are on to this and so we just walk until we can find a taxi driving by and flag it down. It is a little frustrating, but ends up saving quite a bit of money. We went back to the apartment and regrouped before heading out to the Silk Market for some more bargain shopping. I had to have a "talk" with the kiddos on how not to seem too eager so not to spoil Dad's bargaining skills. One of the main items we were going for was toy stuffed panda bears we had seen. After seeing the panda's at the zoo, the kids had really wanted them. Once we got to the market, we realized that a Saturday afternoon was significantly more crowded then earlier in the week when we had been at the market. This ended up being a good thing because it provided more "crowd cover" which kept the sellers from attacking our children. Plus, Abby and Austin couldn't have been better at walking through and constantly saying "No Thank You!" anytime someone approached them. It was priceless! We made it through with some very successful purchases. One of the best purchases was as a result of Abby's skills. I was trying to bargain with a lady and she was not coming down to my price. Amy had walked away with the kids to another lady to see if she could get her to our desired price. Abby, concerned that we were both about to buy the same item, ran back to me and shouted, "Daddy, Mommy is doing the same thing as you!". The lady I was talking with became concerned that the other lady was going to make the sale and immediately looked at me and said, "Ok, I accept your price!". Way to go Abby! We ate dinner at the silk market to celebrate our purchases before coming back to the apartment.