Tuesday’s report will offer some insights into life in Kyoto for Westerners in the age of Covid.
east mountain
The mountains in eastern Kyoto are a great place to spend time.
For Buddhists, they have a special meaning.
I am not a Buddhist.
But I still love the terrain of this part of Japan for exercise, walks, contemplation and stunning panoramic views.
Last weekend, we cycled from our home in Kawaramachi, Shogoin, about 10 kilometers to the northern border of Kyoto city, near Yase Heizanguchi station, ending on the railway line in that direction near the Koya River.
The ride travels northeast along the Kamo River, then at the fork, you follow the Koyagawa trail, and finally, after winding through small streets and forest paths, you arrive at the Eizan Cable Car terminus at the foot of Mount Hiei (i.e.
There are shrines throughout the mountain, which historically gave the region enormous political power, as Kyoto was the imperial capital.
There is a historical significance to Mt. Hiei that took me a while to understand – but it’s huge.
Anyway, everyone is- Eizan Cable Car – This is the steepest mountain in Japan, climbing seemingly straight up 561 meters (vertical) over a distance of 1.3 kilometers.
Here’s our starting point:
As we climbed the hill, I was conferring new status on the relevant engineers working on how to make the cables strong.
This is a very steep trip.
Halfway down, the track diverges on the switch to allow the carriage to descend and connect to the rising carriage (this is a cable car system) passed.
10 minutes later, a man at the cable car terminal and- Eizan Ropeway – This is a chalet running on an overhead cable, driving the last 0.5km of the mountain face to the top of the mountain.
The entire return fare is almost nothing – around $A16, which includes admission – Garden Museum – At the top, it’s sensational.
Some people think that if the mountain is tall, it would be a good idea to recreate a French Impressionist-era garden at the top of the mountain.
They are right.
It’s beautiful.
There are easels throughout the garden with all the famous paintings, right down to the replica of Claude Monet’s boat in the lily pond.
Gardens are definitely OTT, but when you have too many beautiful flowers and plants, as the saying goes, you hardly have enough!
This is what I am trying to fit into the picture.
deep in the flowers
Then when you look into the distance, this is what you see – looking down – Lake Biwa – The largest lake in Japan, just over a mountain from Kyoto.
Last time I was in Kyoto in 2019, I learned that a canal built in the 1890s to supply water to Kyoto from a lake through a mountain range was a major step in rebuilding the city’s prosperity after the emperor set off for Tokyo and left Japan’s declining city.
Being Covid-haters, we decided to get a little closer to people on our journey up the mountain, so we decided to go down the rails, which proved to be an adventure and a great thing to do.
This is our trip to Mt. Hiei.
demand a minimum wage increase
The other day, we went to buy some bread at our favorite Teramachi-dori bakery, which is a really nice place that runs parallel to the Kamo River south of the Imperial Palace and Gardens.
It takes up to 10 minutes to ride our bikes.
By the way, Japan is a place with huge regional differences.
In the north, in Hokkaido, they like cheese. I have reported that good cheese is hard to come by in Kyoto.
But in Kyoto, they are particularly fond of baked goods and produce very good bread, reducing anxiety about lack of cheese.
At least one can eat the bread portion of the bread and cheese!
But as we waited at the traffic lights, I saw all these cops running wild with bollards and putting them down to block a lane.
Um, what to cook?
Then the ubiquitous vans with loudspeakers (which we often see here providing information on the street) arrive, with a group of people in the back chanting and holding flags and banners.
Speakers in the van say “we want a big minimum wage increase” and “rising electricity bills aren’t just bad for pensioners”.
Solidarity.
The entourage had great support from the pedestrians along the street, and when people protested, I felt as if there was hope. There should be more.
That’s what they lobby for.
There are two types of minimum wages in Japan: (a) regional minimum wages, which apply to all workers in a given region, regardless of industry differences; (b) specific minimum wages that apply to workers in specific industries.
Data from – Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare – Generate regional variances and provide national weighted average figures that include all regional and industry variances.
The graph below shows the national weighted average minimum hourly wage from 2002 to 2021.
The chart below shows the same data in exponential form (2002 = 100), the line is the CPI in 2002 also with an index of 100.
What you’re seeing is that the recent rise in the nationally weighted average minimum wage since around 2010 has delivered real benefits to workers.
But the minimum wage remains low and needs to be raised “significantly” – as demonstrators point out through their slogans.
There’s still a lot to do, and I’ll report on that next week.
This Saturday – my day at work from here today – we’re cycling up the hill again to see – Tanukiya Fudoin – In Kyoto’s Higashiyama, this involves parking your bike on the way down and walking 250 steps to the building.
Actually, it was just a route that took us out of the temple area and into the mountain trail to the hot springs a few kilometers outside the temple. That’s our goal.
We hope that the following do not apply:
In order to ensure the safety of worshippers, the mountain may be closed when Kyoto prefecture issues warnings, warnings, landslide disaster “evacuation preparations”, or when it snows or the road is icy. Please check this information on our website or official SNS.
Still, the outlook looks good and the sun is shining.
Still had a great time.
Enough for today!
(c) Copyright 2022 William Mitchell. all rights reserved.
