Outing to Kiyomizu Temple

We made our first adventurous outing yesterday to Kiyomizu-dera Temple--one of the most recognizable and beautiful sites in Kyoto. The pagoda roof is world famous. Kiyomizu means "pure water." Drinking the water at this temple is said to have powerful healing qualities.
Skylar though was skeptical about taking "healthy" sips out of the same metal cup that thousands had also sipped from. Walking up the narrow, steep path to Kiyomizu, we spotted our first geisha. (see her beautiful but blurred kimono back as she swept past us). While I was excited at this "celebrity" sighting, Skylar was definitely more enthusiastic about spotting soft chocolate ice cream cone vendors on the same path.
Inside the main temple, we took a tour through the pitch black basement: It's so dark down there you cannot see a thing and must hold on to large wooden prayer beads on your left as you slide your feet down the stairs and along the smooth wooden floors. As you shuffle through the blackness, and turn each corner, a large granite stone suddenly appears bathed in its own light and seems to be floating in space. We each touched the stone, and pushed it counter-clockwise, and made a wish.


The streets that lead up to both sides of Kiyomizu are famous for their vendors--who sell everything from world-famous blue and white Kiyomizu pottery, to tacky Japanese chotzky, snacks, and little statues of tanukis. Skylar says I'm obsessed with these cute "tanuki" statues. Tanukis are a small brown badger like creature with a pointed nose. These statues are everywhere and are like the Japanese equivalent of plastic garden gnomes.

There are so many famous temples and shrines in Kyoto, it's hard to decide which ones we must see next. Stay tuned.

Bicycling Fools & Skylar's New School

Skylar and I have nabbed two bikes for the entire summer thanks to the AKP (Associated Kyoto Program). Our soft suburban feet are so tired from all the walking on pavement--but life is looking up now that we have wheels!

Yesterday, we practiced navigating the crowded city streets on our bikes (old-fashioned one speeds with bells but no whistles). We looked like a Laurel & Hardy mother/son duo weaving in and out of the crowds & narrow sidewalks. By some miracle, we didn't run anyone over, and no one mowed us down. We kept passing the same group of high school students though who thought we were such oddballs they screamed everytime they saw us.

Today, Skylar visited the Kyoto International School for his official interview. The school is 50 years old and is a 15 minute walk from Doshisha University. The 4th and 5th grades are combined into one classroom. There are 11 girls in this class, and 1 boy--a fellow soccer player who was, as you can imagine, extremely happy to see Skylar today. The program at the school is so mouth-watering rich in creativity that we were blown away. The 4th & 5th graders have been practicing for the past few months to perform the Maypole Dance this week--on unicycles. Apparently, all the kids have now mastered this double art form--and Skylar's challenge will be to ride a unicycle by the end of his summer program. It looks like he will be able to enroll starting Monday. As far as he is concerned, he thinks he has "hit the Ivy League jackpot of elementary schools" and couldn't be more thrilled.

Tomorrow, we will pick one fun place to visit and explore in the city. . . .

Kyoto Arrival

We made it!!! After 17 hours of flying between Boston, Detroit, and Osaka, we arrived last night. We are back at Guin House, Doshisha University's guest residence in Iwakura (North Kyoto). This is exactly where we were seven years ago: Since then, Skylar has gotten bigger and Guin House has gotten smaller. Skylar's Pine Hill teacher would be proud of him: He read "The Lightening Thief" cover to cover on the plane---while I made a dent in a Japanese women's murder mystery. Neither one of us could put our books down.

Here is Skylar's first cultural observation about Japan: Why is it that for a country that is so technologically advanced, everyone rides on such old-fashioned, single-gear bicycles?

This morning, we decided to explore the neighborhood in search of breakfast and are happy to report that there is a MacDonald's just up the road. Cultural Observation No. 2: Pancakes and Egg McMuffins taste the same no matter where you order and eat them.

Our neighborhood is in north Kyoto, right up against the surrounding ring of mountains. It has a very "small village" feel and our nextdoor neighbor is the tennis court from Doshisha High School. The houses are crowded together, but then there are rice paddies squeezed between some of the streets as well as a stone cutter's yard where they make gorgeous and gigantic stone lanterns for one's garden.

We look forward to visiting the Doshisha University campus today--and trying to remember our way around the city. Stay tuned for more. . .

What's smaller than a beaver and bigger than a rat?

For the past month, Skylar, Mark, and have been keeping a vigil for what we thought was a very cute backyard beaver swimming in our frog pond. Skylar went so far as to name him"Beavis" and the island in the pond was dubbed, "Beaver Island."  On beaver-patrol yesterday, however, I noticed that Beavis was swimming with the aid of  a long, thick, whip-like tail--no "ping pong paddle" here.  Turns out, Beavis is no beaver. No. Instead, we have a resident muskrat in our pond. He is much cuter than a rat--and about fifteen times bigger too. 

Get ready, get set, almost time to go

I guess we should be grateful that the State Department figured out how to speed up their passport process. Better late than never, but Skylar and I finally received our new passports (in the nick of time) for our Japan trip. We leave in five days. We are practicing "positive thinking" and assume we will be packed and ready (once we buy those new suitcases) and will make that long Osaka-bound Northwest flight on Monday out of Logan Airport. This Friday will be his last day at Pine Hill. For a ten year old, he sure is intrepid. If you ask whether he's nervous or excited about his trip, he practically says, "bring it on." He's so ready for an international adventure and looks forward to making new friends at the Kyoto International School, enrolling in a kendo martial arts class (he has fabulous visions of whacking folks over the head with a long wooden sword), and to riding the Shinkansen (bullet train) again.

I am looking forward to eating green tea ice cream cones (from street vendors), having bento lunch boxes and/or summer soba noodles every day, and to playing with "Hello Kitty" sparklers and fireworks before, during, and after the 4th of July. (The American Studies Program at Doshisha always celebrates the Fourth with abundant (and legal) fireworks down on the banks of the Kamo river (which is probably not so legal).

Cultural question of the day: Will the super stylish urban Tokyo/Kyoto girls still be outfitted like high fashion anime characters? Or have current avant-garde trends become more subdued?