This Tuesday’s presentation will provide some insight into the life of a Westerner (me) who has been working at Kyoto University in Japan for several months.
lost on a mountain
Last weekend we rode our bikes to the Philosopher’s Route in eastern Kyoto, which is the last flat stretch of road before it starts heading up the Higashiyama Mountains, which are actually a series of connected peaks.
That day, our destination was Mount Daimonji, which is the peak south of Mount Hiei, the highest mountain.
We had to ride our bikes up the last section of the sealed section (see map below) and once we parked our bikes we set off towards what is called the Kyoto Ring Road, which you can see on the map as a dotted circular track .
The way up the mountain was really steep and quite dangerous and of course we were the only ones going that way.
We later discovered that there was an easier trail to the summit a little further north, which helped us understand why some not very fit elderly Japanese walkers looked so fresh at the summit when we reached the lookout
But we brave souls climb mountains every day, so the toughest routes seem like a snack to us (he said afterwards).
In fact, when we set out, we had no idea what was ahead and we just kept climbing, over slippery rocks, fallen trees, and any terrain that was really steep and wild.
About halfway we came across the beautiful Lomond Falls (picture) and stopped to admire the sound of water cascading down the vertical rock face, similar to the track we were walking on at the time (-:
When we reached the top we encountered a less harsh area and we saw a sign that said this was part of the government’s plan to rebuild the forest after a major typhoon a few years ago destroyed a bunch of trees.
In fact, it’s the best on the trail – almost walkable!
After about an hour, we reached the fork near the summit and headed left to the summit and the lookout area for Daimonji Mountain, marked with an X on the map.
There were a few people there – but not many – it was a hike after all.
But the views to the west and southwest of Kyoto city and further south to Osaka are simply stunning.
We were so happy, sitting on a rock and eating delicious French bread filled with lotus roots, eggplant, peppers and other dreamy goodies that we had bought earlier from our favorite baker near our place pear pastry.
At that favorite bakery – the store opens at 8:30 and if you get there around 9:15 there’s nothing left.
This is everyone’s favorite in the area.
Kyoto is famous for its bakeries, which means it’s a favorite of mine.
This is a view from the top – photos don’t do it justice.
The good thing about the location is that it’s away from the tourist spots, so mostly locals go there.
The tourist ant nests are all further south (Yasaka, Gion, etc.) – avoid them at almost all costs.
So we decided to go down the other arm of the loop, which seemed to be marked with yellow stone markers – it was pretty easy, or so we thought.
We looked for the yellow markers all the way down, occasionally consulting Google Maps to see where we were in space!
Best laid plans.
At the last yellow marker we followed what looked like a path that stretched out seemingly over a steep cliff.
Um.
It was already late afternoon.
Just then another hiker appeared and announced to us in Japanese that he was looking for the way to the top but was lost.
We uh-huhed and did all kinds of analysis together – considering we’d been walking down the mountain in opposite directions for about an hour to his intended destination, he was really lost.
Regardless, it seemed ridiculous that the path marked with yellow markers would run out, although Google Maps indicated that we had strayed off the dotted line.
what to do?
go back.
As soon as we showed the missing Japanese traveler our way down, he disappeared upwards. Just then another father and son showed up and we talked – in Japanese as best we could – and he assured us he knew the way down, but he didn’t.
Long story short – 2 hours later and it was getting dark – after going up and down the mountain a few times on various rather questionable routes we met another guy who told us that if we followed him we would eventually reach Nanchan near the waterway temple.
Third time lucky.
As we returned to civilization and crossed the rocky path into the temple grounds, the sun was setting over one of the shrine’s beautiful buildings (see photo) and we realized we didn’t have to use flares we didn’t need to notify the authorities that we were somewhere in Daimonjiyama be lost.
The afternoon sun shines beautifully on the building.
The only problem was that we had a few kilometers to walk along the road back to our bikes and back up the steep hill.
The initial plan was 2 hours, but the hike ended up being about 5 hours, and we returned to the bikes in the dark.
However, recommended.
What a great day.
Followed by a hot shower.
Cycling to the show
One thing that is very different from Australia is that back home, all construction workers drive large SUVs and utility trucks to the construction site every day.
There are these huge vehicles all around the construction site.
In Japan, when I go out for an early morning run, I see construction workers walking from a nearby train station to a construction site with tools, helmets, etc.
The construction site was very tidy, with barely a truck on site.
differ greatly.
Talking about the night I played a gig with some of Kyoto’s top musicians at one of the best live venues in Kyoto – Shide.
We had a great evening and some footage will appear in due course.
But in Kyoto, if you can ride your bike to a show – one of them was mine.
I just slung the guitar over my shoulder and a box of tips in the basket (amps provided) and rode a few kilometers back to my house.
It’s a big change compared to the hassle of finding a parking space near the Melbourne venue to unload your gear.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t work for drummers!
Games played by ancient Japanese nobles
The other day, I was wandering around the Imperial Palace – a central facility near where I live – and came across this little gem that I had missed during my previous stay in Kyoto.
What do you think these gentlemen are doing?
Answer: Meandering Water or Kyokusui or “Meandering Water Feast”.
This logo says it all.
Basically, the court aristocrats, dressed in finery, sat down by the palace’s meandering garden stream with brushes and ink, and had to improvise a poem before a floating sake cup passed them.
They are repeated every year on April 29th and November 3rd (Culture Day) at the Kyokusuinoutage Festival in Kyoto.
This is what it looks like.
I can see myself doing that, except with alcohol.
I’ll write more about Culture Day next time – it was one of my serendipitous discoveries on the bike and it turned out to be a wonderful experience.
That’s enough for today!
(c) Copyright 2023 William Mitchell. all rights reserved.
