| | hey ya'll
can`t write too much because internet is really expensive in japan, but i just wanted to let you guys know that today was AWESOME.
started out going to sanjusangendo hall and kyomizu temple, which were both amazing. sanjusangendo has literally 1,000 statues of the buddhist diety, kannon. each kannon has 33 arms (supposed to be 100 theoretically) but i suppose that would have been a pain to make. anyway, they are lined up in rows and span this lonnnggg hall (we are talking 200 meters). in the middle of course, is a huge buddha whose name i cant even begin to pronounce, and all around the kannons were japanese gods, like the wind god and thunder god.
kyomizu temple is just amazing because its got a deck that leads to a drop-off overlooking the side of a mountain. and there is a waterfall that has really clean water (kyomizu literally means clear water in japanese). you take this 3-4 ft. long poles with cups at the ends and reach out to catch the water. then you wash your hands with the water and then drink some for good luck and health. or if you arent religiously inclined, just because thats the thing to do.
the rest of the day was spent in Nara (more on this later), and then i was off to see some traditional Kyoto arts in Gion, Kyoto. I was picked to participate in a tea ceremony showing Sado/Chado, the Japanese are hardcore about their tea, that much is for sure.
Ok, so after the show, the two best things that have ever happened to me in Japan . . . happened:
1. i ran into a geiko. geiko = geisha = japanese girls powdered whiter than my teeth and wearing kimono and cute little geta sandals. i saw one turn into an alley on Gion-dori, which is an older part of town that retains the old look of Kyoto. The restaurants on that street are astronomically expensive, and lucky for me, because geiko serve wealthy privileged clients in above-mentioned restaurants. and just as I was going to go back to the hotel, I saw the geiko pass into the alley.
quick background: i saw a geiko the other day, but when i asked her to take a picture with me, she said, and i quote: sumimasen, ji-kan nai desu, i.e. sorry i dont have any time. i was pretty bummed because there are only about 8,000 geisha left in the world (down from 100,000 in the 1930s - yeah WWII kind of killed it for them).
so when i saw the one tonight i decided to drop my bags - literally - and run after her, if not to take a picture with her, at least to take a picture of her walking.
so i ran up to her and i remember trying to say "sumimasen, shassin issho ni tote mo ii desu ka?" but i think what came out was more along the lines of "sumimasen, issho ni tote ii?" ok so i was nervous, whatever. to my surprise she said yeah, and stunned, i had murai take a picture of us. i thanked her about 10 thousand times and went home.
2. i went to a sento tonight (a traditional japanese public bath - back in the days when normal families werent wealthy enough to have own bathrooms, everyone went to these). anyway, to make a long story short, i ran into a yakuza ganster there. HOLY CRAP, them boys have got some kind of tatoos. i have seen them before in movies only, but this dude comes up, stark-naked and might as well have been clothed because he had tatoos all up his back, shoulders, and through the hip and butt. it was scary in an interesting way.
i will post pictures later (including the pic of me and the geiko, who btw was really cute). i didn't take a photo of/with the yakuza ganster because i think he would castrated me for it or something. no but seriously, i would've been hurt badly.
anyway, im on a high right now, so im gonna go eat some o-nigiri (rice balls). classy i know. alright thats all for now, more when i get back to shanghai. g'night ya'll.
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| | Posted 2/17/2006 9:45 AM - 39 Views - 8 eProps - 5 comments
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