Wandering about the Capitol

Kyoto is a far more urbanized city than Saijo, and as a result, the amount of walking one does is huge. Today was no different from the other days. I did so much walking, but it was mostly due to the fact that I got lost a lot. When I visited the flea market at 東寺 I got lost in the endless walkways of vendors. When I walked to Tower Records and ended up back at 寺町, I got lost looking for the Nishiki Market. But I did have lots of fun, and enjoyed myself. And of course, I made a generous contribution to the economic condition of Kyoto. Unwillingly, of course. ;)

I had a late start on what I wanted to do today because I was skyping with my parents. I managed to get along without it during the greater part of the semester, but I've grown to enjoy these sessions. Thank goodness for the wonders of the Modern Age! Anyway, I because of that, I only left my hotel at about eleven-ish. I grabbed a bento and headed for the station. One of the teachers in my Family Life in Japan class mentioned that one of the temples in Kyoto, 東寺, has a big flea market and that we should go to it if we can. A little bit of internet searching turned up that it's the 21st of every month. I planned the dates of my trip around this event, so it was most imperative that I go. I wasnt sure what to expect, to be honest.

I havent found a very good map of the Kyoto, but from what I surmised, I needed to take the 近鉄 from Kyoto Station to Toji Station. However, I've never ridden on that line. I had to ask several people for directions, but I finally managed to get to the temple. My friend had told me that she wasnt interested in the market, but I had the completely different reaction. I LOVED IT THERE! There were simply so many vendors. I wanted to see as many as I could, so I tried to walk in a regular pattern, but it is likely I missed some vendors because there were so many. I would go up one row, and see a side path. I'd walk the side path, only to realize that there was another branch! And this all before I saw the rest of the original row I was walking on! The items for sale ran the gamut of junk, antiques and collectables, to handicrafts and vegetables. There were a lot of vendors selling 漬物 and I really wanted to buy, but because they need to be refridgerated, they would be difficult to handle. Also, there was a lot of pottery type things, but those too would be easily destroyed. But what I really wanted to buy was kimono! Specifically a yukata to wear to the bon dances, but I was really open to anything. And especially because I had just bought an obi yesterday (which is a bit too small for me! T_T), I was interested in getting some use out of it. I ran into one of the few vendors that had mens wear, and she convinced me to buy one of the men's kimono she had. While at the time, I felt bad that I bought it because it was so plain and slightly resembled the kimono I already have, I have grown more attached to it when I realised that the pattern of the weave is slightly similar to the blue yukata that Uemura gave to me. I also picked up a haori at the 寺町 market (more on that later!), so if I get my zori sent to me from Hawaii, and some new tabi, I have more or less a complete ensemble! But that means I need to wear it. I refuse to wear kimono to school, so I have no idea when I'll wear it. I suppose the next time we go shopping in Hiroshima City, or we visit some part of Hiroshima prefecture, I'll be the most traditional guy there. Anyway, my haul for the day was pretty good. I got some two bags of dried ika, one for me and one for my father. I also got a tiny set of 七福神 dolls. And when I say "tiny", I mean tiny; they're probably an shorter than an inch. But they're so cute! I had to get it.

東寺 is not only the host of a monthly flea market. It is also a functioning temple complex, with religious services, and the largest pagoda in Japan. It is one of the many properties that have made Kyoto a UNESCO World Heritage site. As a religious site, the temple sells omamori and other good luck type charms. As a Shingon temple, they do a lot of esoteric rituals; one of the more intense ones is one where you write down your prayer on a piece of wood, and the priest burns them while chanting a sutra. There was a lot of that going on, as well as people making offerings of candles and incense to...um, okay, I dont know Shingon too well, so I dont know who, but they were making them. I made one to Kobo Daishi. He has a statue in the courtyard, and I prayed for the health of all the old people in my family. I also gave some money to one of the priest guys that was chanting by the gates.

But what I enjoyed the most (and I HIGHLY recommend to you if you go to Kyoto) was the area around the pagoda. While I was slightly miffed that I had to pay admission, I am totally okay with it now. The pamphlets and explanations were all in Japanese, so I dont know exactly what was going on, but from what I understand, the pagoda was built under Kobo Daishi's direction. It was built to commemorate someone's death (「つまり墓というものなのです」) or something. Enshrined within are four bodhisatvas. They're to protect either the capital or the pagoda itself. Unfortunately, photography was banned within, so I cant show you one of the things that blew me away. The walls of the structure are painted with the various heads of the Shingon sect! While this may sound boring, I'd point out that they seem to be the original paintings; not reproductions, not restorations, but the real deal that was put on when it was built. And it's not behind the glass, or under some kind of touching; while you are expected not to touch them, you could put your face just inches away from them. You cant get that up close and personal with historical artifacts in most museums or displays. It was fascinating to be so close to something that was made hundreds of years ago. After the pagoda thing, I wandered about, and made it to the lecture hall. I dont know why they call it that, because there's no space for a lecture, but it was another fascinating and pretty amazing thing. There are twenty one sculpture things, each depicting a different Buddha, bodhisattva, or other important being in the Shingon theology. Again, you werent allowed to touch them or anything, and photography was banned, but I was so amazed by it. I dont know what it was about it, but there was just something so...awe-inspiring about them. I think the sign said that they were there to help protect the nation or something. To be quite honest, I was more impressed with these statues than I was with the Great Buddha of Todaiji in Nara. I cant explain why, but I was simply captivated.

At this point, I headed back to my hotel, to drop off my purchases and use the bathroom. I wanted to hit the Kyoto Tower Records, because the Hiroshima store doesnt have one of the (many) cds that I wanted to buy. It's a Korean boy band, MBLAQ, and you should click the link. I could go on about them, but that should probably be its own post. Anyway, I had a general idea of how to get there thanks to Google Maps, but it was mostly a lot of walking. According to what I understood, I basically had to walk up 河原町通り and eventually I would see it. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that I was simply a few blocks away from 寺町 and basically the entire 四条 area I had been to in the last couple of days! I simmered in mild irriation as I made my way up the building to the ninth floor where Tower Records is. But that all disappeared when there was not only one, but TWO copies of the album I wanted! After looking around to see what else this store had, I bought my cd, CELEBRATED, and then made my way back down. I had planned to go to 寺町　again tomorrow, but specifically to go to Nishiki to buy my parents scallops. However, by the time I made it to the market place, a lot of the vendors were closing up shop. I raced to where I needed to go, but I guess the special price they had was only for yesterday, because today's price was slightly more expensive. But because it's for my parents, I dont mind spending money. I stuffed my お土産 into my bag, and headed back to 寺町 to look for dinner.

Before I leave Kansai, I wanted to try 関西風のお好み焼き. There are two types of お好み焼き: 関西風 and 広島風. Because I've been in Hiroshima all this time, I've had a lot of that kind of お好み焼き. However, I have never had the 関西風 before, so since I'm here, I figured that I should have it. I walked around and made it to a restaurant that had it on their menu and ordered it. While it was delicious and filling, I think I've gotten used to the 広島風, and prefer it more. In my opinion, 広島風 has more vegetables, and because there's noodles in it, its volume is comparatively higher. Thus, you get more bang for your buck. If I get the chance, maybe I'll try the 関西風のお好み焼き, but if I dont get a chance to, I think I'll be okay. 関西の友達、ごめんね。やっぱり広島風の方が好きなんだ！

I spent another wonderful day here in the city of Kyoto. I had so much fun walking around 東寺, and got a real kick out of the national treasures housed there. While there, I also injected a lot of money into the city's economy. Another long walk netted me the KPop cd that I have wanted to buy for a very long time, as well as helped finish my お土産 shopping. Tomorrow is my last full day here in Kyoto. I'm not exactly sure what it is I'm going to be doing. But I still havent been to the 本願寺, which are just a few blocks from here, and neither have I been to 松尾大社. Hopefully I can hit the 本願寺 in the morning, and see 松尾大社 in the afternoon. And during the night, I can spend it packing up. But now it is late, and Terrence needs to go to bed. おやすみなさ～い。