Kyoto, Gion

August 5
Kyoto Gosho was built for a shogun and then used as the Imperial Palace of Kyoto. In the corner of the grounds stands Nijo Castle.

In this section of the castle are famous nightingale wooden floors. Wooden floors are laid and after a hundred years or so they begin to creak like the sound of nightingales. Due to the heavy traffic flow there has been discussion as to whether or not to ban the public from walking on them. So far, the decision remains to share the floors with the public, although no shoes, no running, and as always.....be respectful!

Outside of a business........and why?? Don't know! Just gave us a laugh.

Off to Gion Corner. We took in a small production that gives you an overview of some of the traditional arts of Japan.

The Way of Tea



Flower Arranging.



Maiko Dance

August 6th (Saturday) International Manga Museum

The kids had manga artists develop a character of them.

They created vinyl manga characters.

Great weekend in Kyoto before we headed "home" to pack for HOME!!!!

Kyoto, Arashiyama, Monkey Park, Cormorant Fishing

August 4th (Thursday) We headed back to Kyoto for our last weekend in Japan.

Arashiyama is a district just west of Kyoto. It sits on the Oi River.

We headed up a trail on Mount Arashiyama.

When you hike to the top you arrive at Iwatayama. There are 150-170 wild macaque monkeys who live in community at the top. Jane and Michi (from our last visit to Kyoto) joined us for the fun.

Monkeys drinking water.

Monkeys chillaxin'!

There is a viewing/feeding area you can enter.

Essentially, we are put in a cage and allowed to feed the monkeys.

We hung out for an hour. Jane and I chit chatted. Matt and I fed monkeys together. I looked over and saw Spencer crackin' peanuts for a baby monkey. It was just precious.



And then....my own monkeys!

What a good big sister!

Jane had us back for some Johnsonville Brats, baked beans, corn, and ice cream!!! Yeah!!!

Kaz and Yoshi were able to join us.

We had a wonderful...quick...dinner before heading back to the River for night fishing.

Here's a brochure pic overlooking the boarding area.

 Cormorant Fishing has been practiced in Japan and China for at least 1000 years of recorded history.



 To view the fishing, we boarded a boat that sails alongside the fishermen.

The cormorant birds wear a ring around the neck that allows small fish to be swallowed but prevents larger fish from being digested. The fishermen bring the birds to the boat to spit out the fish.

Several interesting conversations came out of this experience.

Tokyo, Shinjuku, Shibuya,

July 28th Matt had his last meeting in Tokyo. We went with him for a few days.

 Hannah had learned about Hachiko the faithful dog from Grandpa Don. So we went to Shibuya and visited Hachiko's statue and experienced the crowds crossing at the famous Shibuya crossing.



This was a distinct memory that Matt and I had from previous trips.

The Emerging Science Museum entry is wonderful. There is a 22 foot (diameter) globe hanging with 851, 000 LED lights with the capability to show real-time climatic changes.

We spent a day at Disney Sea.

When we returned home, Hannah tried her hand as a beautician and shaved Matt's hair.

Kobe steak

We finally went out for a Kobe beef lunch.

Spencer loved it and wanted to eat Hannah's.

So here is a piece of the meat.......and you might be wondering what that awful looking thing is in the beef.......no, it is not bone from the cattle.......

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It's Hannah's last baby tooth that came out in her steak. We couldn't pass up a photo.

Nagoya, Sumo, Tsushima, Tennoh Matsuri

July 21-23 Nagoya

 There are 6 Grand Sumo Tournaments a year. Each tournament is about 2 weeks.



 In the higher ranking, each rikishi has one match per day tournament.

 The pomp and circumstance usually lasts longer than the actual match.

 Sumo's origin is religious. It was a ceremonial ritual performed with dances and dramas for a bountiful harvest.

 In the 8th century it moved from the religious ritual into an era of a more aggressive sport.

 July 23-24 After Nagoya we took a train to Tsushima. Our hostess had arranged for us to join a matsuri (festival) weekend at the home of one of Japan's leading drum makers.

 Little did we know how much of a highlight of our trip we were about to experience!

As you make your way through the store front and exit to the back, you enter a lovely home space. Here is Spencer just outside the gathering/dining space.

This is the main socializing room. Brunch was served for 50 in this main room and down the hallways.

The main room opens to a beautiful garden.

A delightful place to sleep.



We were escorted to the bank for our spot on the water for Tennoh Matsuri. 

Here's our group for the weekend.



Our deck had a private boat that would take us out on the water throughout the evening.

Spencer and Hannah made a friend and loved going out on the boat with him. 

 Our 2nd boat ride seemed indulgent. The "captain" took us out on the water and put us right up to the fireworks. Matt hung back and let the women and children have the boat. Little did we realize that we would be gone for 90 minutes and experience the festival up close. (I left the camera with him.)

 The floats have hundreds of candle lit lanterns, hanging by bamboo. They were gorgeous.

 Sunday morning, we return to the water for the rite of passage of young boys becoming men. They have to jump from the boat and swim to shore, wearing their loincloth and carrying bamboo poles with cloth.

When we returned to the home, the Hotta's had a few drums set-up and the musical director of a current Japanese film played (along with a few others).

The brothers entertained us during lunch. This was part of their fun piece.