Living With The Wild Boys…

December 27, 2024

We had an early start once again because I wanted to beat the crowds and catch the beautiful morning sunlight at Kinkakuji – The Golden Pavilion. Luckily my plan was successful. We arrived soon after the temple opened and we beat the rush. I have seen this temple at least 3 or 4 times and it always takes my breath away.

From the visitor’s guide: “Kinkakuji (金閣寺, Golden Pavilion) is a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. Formally known as Rokuonji, the temple was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and according to his will it became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect after his death in 1408. Kinkakuji was the inspiration for the similarly named Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion), built by Yoshimitsu’s grandson, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, on the other side of the city” almost a hundred years later. (Read on to see photos of that temple, we went there too).

“Kinkakuji is an impressive structure built overlooking a large pond, and is the only building left of Yoshimitsu’s former retirement complex. It has burned down numerous times throughout its history including twice during the Onin War, a civil war that destroyed much of Kyoto; and once again more recently in 1950 when it was set on fire by a fanatic monk. The present structure was rebuilt in 1955.”

After Kinkakuji we hopped on a bus to go to its counterpart- Ginkakuji, the Silver Pavillion. This Pavillion is not silver at all, but one source we read said that it was originally covered in lacquer that “shone like silver when reflecting the moonlight”.

Ginkakuji has beautiful traditional gardens surrounding it, as well as two unique zen fine sand meditation gardens.

From the visitor’s guide:

” 銀沙灘Ginsyadan

In front of the abbot’s chamber, white sand is piled up to form the stair-like Ginshadan and the truncated cone structure of the Kogetsudai. Folklore says that the Ginshadan was meant to reflect moonlight, and the Kogetsudai to appear as if it were sitting atop Higashiyama and holding the moon, but there is little evidence that these explanations actually go back to the Muromachi period and are not just recent inventions. However, these constructions are certainly fantastic and unlike anything else”.

After Ginkakuji we explored the shops around the area and found a Shabu Shabu restaurant (an item on Erez’s wish list). Shabu Shabu is a type of Japanese hot pot. Aubrey and I had the tofu set and everyone else had the full meal set including beef and tofu as well as all of the sides – Japanese pickles, vegetables, fried chicken thigh pieces, tempura and fruit.

Aubrey and I had a date with my Japanese Sister and her husband Hiroshi, so we left them to finish our itinerary. Next stop for the kids was walking the Philosopher’s Path. They stopped at a couple of temples and did their best to philosophize along the way. They also sought out more Pokemon cards. They went to enough stores to add the “Treasure Hunt” label to the last part of the itinerary.

I will bump the rest of our day with Norie and Hiroshi to the next post.

December 26, 2024

We got an early start yet again and jumped on a train for a day trip to Nara. We headed to Nara Park to first meet the deer. They are everywhere!

You can buy a package of deer cookies for 200 Yen. As soon as you have them in your hand, the deer follow you.

The deer are very well behaved, but there are many signs reminding people that they are wild animals; especially the males, who are said to be in mating season right now so “very feisty.” Every October, to protect the deer and the humans in Nara, the male deer have their antlers sawed off as part of a ceremony. As per the tradition in Japan to bow in greeting, these deer also bow (albeit as a form of head butting, thankfully without the antlers). Here is a video of Erez, Kerrie, and Noam bowing to the deer once the deer started bowing. I missed the beginning when the deer initiated, but here are the kids trying to reciprocate.

Our main objective today was to go to Todai-ji.

The largest bronze Buddha statue in the world (standing at 49 ft high and actually made from bronze and copper) is housed in the largest wooden structure in the world. It was originally built in 728 C.E. It was destroyed by fire twice and was rebuilt the second time at two thirds its original size (in width) due to insufficient funding.

One either side of the giant Buddha, there are two other very large, gold-leaf covered buddhas as well.

In the Great Hall there is a support pillar that has a hole in it which is meant to be a shortcut to enlightenment.

“Nothing more than a small, square hole in the base of one of the temple’s great wooden pillars, the so-called “nostril” is said to grant a degree of enlightenment in the next life to any worshipper who can fit through it. The magic hole takes its name from the belief that the tiny tunnel is as large as one of the nostrils on the giant Buddha statue sitting under the same roof. While no one has measured the actual size comparison between the Buddha’s nose and the hole in the column, nor can anyone verify the exact nature of the enlightenment granted by the architectural oddity, yet small-hipped visitors from around the world continue to get down on all fours to seek the wisdom of the Buddha’s nose hole.”

I had fit through this hole on three other occasions- the last one being in 2001. Four kids later, I was not sure I would be able to do it again, but I did it! Everyone in our family of course had to try and we were all successful. It was a tight squeeze though for most of us.

Nara park is home to many temples and shrines as well as a few museums. We found a great restaurant where we could eat some amazing noodle offerings in the park (both udon and soba noodles) as well as some rice bowls. They also had some excellent soft serve ice cream options. I had the yuzu flavoured ice cream 🙂

I was very happy to find a small forest path to explore, getting some quiet time away from the crowds.

Even though there were a lot of visitors, the energy in Nara was very laid back and peaceful.

We ended our time in Nara with some shopping. The kids wanted to buy some deer themed souvenirs, and there was no shortage of options to choose from. We even saw some restaurants offering deer shaped rice in a curry bowl!

Truth be told, the deer merchandising was a little out of control.

There were many interesting things we stumbled across as we were exploring. At one point I went into a McDonalds, not to eat, but to use their facilities. On the second floor, I was surprised to find a mini baby grand piano.

Here are an assortment of other points of interest:

We came home, lit the Chanukah Candles together and ate a bunch of interesting snacks. Around 8pm we went out for dinner. We couldn’t make latkes, so Aubrey and I had fried fish and the kids had Gyukatsu which is basically fried and breaded beef cutlets which they then seared on a small grill pan on the table, heated by a small fuel canister. Happy second night of Chanukah!!

After the exposure to the culture of a temple built in 1167 it was time to experience some iconic modern day Japanese culture – the Kyoto Pokémon Centre.

The kids spent over an hour and a half in the Pokémon store, which was packed with people trying to catch some exclusive merchandise only sold in the Pokemon stores in Japan.

Aubrey and I explored the shopping street and scoped out our dinner options. Shopping here is a bit of a tease for two reasons: 1) I only brought a carry on bag and I have zero room to bring anything home, although we did bring a small bag to check if necessary, but 2) I am also trying to purge things from my house, and not acquire new things. I have enjoyed window shopping though – so many cool things…

Which brings me to a highlight: introducing Mae, Noam, Zev and Teva to Kaiten Sushi (conveyor belt sushi). Noam, Zev, Teva and Mae managed to polish off an impressive 50 plates, while Aubrey, Erez, Kerrie and I only finished 36. it worked out to an average of $40/ per person and we were able to try interesting options we would never see at home. Delicious! Instead of explaining it, I will include some visuals to convey the 1000 words I could use to describe this experience.

We made it home at a reasonable hour , everyone exhausted and full of delicious sushi. We brought a mini Chanukiah with mini candles and an electric one as well. We lit candles, sang songs and then the boys played with their Pokémon cards. The perfect end to a great day. If you are reading this and celebrating- Chag Urim Sameach!

December 25 (continued)

After our lovely lunch we walked over to one of my favourite temples in Japan: Sanjusangen-do. 三十三間堂, Temple of thirty-three bays) is a Buddhist temple of the Tendai sect in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto, Japan. I have been there at least 3 other times and it always impresses me – the sheer magnitude of this project.

Full disclosure: Over my life, I have come to have mixed feelings about the concept of people in power building huge expensive buildings, monuments, and idols, sometimes literally covered in gold, in devotion to their diety – no matter what religion. The artist in my soul admires the art, the craftsmanship, the dedication of those craftsmen and artists to create devotional art, much of it extremely beautiful. It gave those artists a livelihood where they could dedicate their lives to creating art to support their families. Supporting artists to make the world more beautiful, or to create a beautiful environment in which to create a sense of awe for worship is one contribution to a wonderful world. As Teva quoted to Aubrey the other day – Earth without art is “eh” .

In Judaism we have the concept of “Hiddur Mitzvah” (loosely translated to mean beautification of the commandments). From Jewish Learning.com: “Beauty enhances the mitzvot by appealing to the senses. Beautiful sounds and agreeable fragrances, tastes, textures, colors, and artistry contribute to human enjoyment of religious acts, and beauty itself takes on a religious dimension. The principle of enhancing a mitzvah through aesthetics is called Hiddur Mitzvah.“

As the parable goes: When a starving man spent his last two coins on bread and a rose, he defended himself by saying that the bread is to help him live, and the rose is to give him something to live for. I cannot imagine life without any art, music, theatre, or dance. Appreciating the arts is one way to make sense of the world we live in.

On the other hand, when people in power dedicate a disproportionate amount of resources into creating a place of worship or an idol, sometimes literally covered in gold, instead of properly feeding their people while they are starving, it makes me both sad and enraged.

So, as usual I am forced to hold two truths in my heart at the same time, something that I sometimes struggle with. Can I separate and appreciate the beauty of the art, even if I have a problem with either the artist as a person, or the circumstances under which it was made? This question could be a whole university level dissertation.

That being said, this temple is truly impressive. There is a gigantic statue of the goddess Kannon (the goddess of mercy and compassion) which has been designated a National Treasure of Japan. The statue itself is then surrounded by 1001 human-sized statues of the goddess Kannon. In addition to the thousand-armed Kannon statues, the hall displays 28 guardian deities whose origins lie in Hinduism. There are various theories as to how the concepts spread, but they somehow made their way across Asia in the form of Sanskrit texts and over the sea to Japan where the Hindu deities of Shiva, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Brahma and others found new lives as fusion deities in Buddhism. They now serve to protect the goddess Kannon.

Each individual statue of the mythical thousand-armed Kannon is said to have eleven heads to better see the suffering of mankind, and one thousand arms to save everyone in need. Though the statues only have 42 arms, each holds a different item or is posed in a Buddhist symbolic gesture.

Each sculpture was made with wood, then covered in lacquer, and then finally in gold leaf. The building that houses them is 120 metres long and was originally built around 1164. It took sculptors and craftsmen approximately 100 years to complete all of the statues housed there.

For more information about this fascinating temple click here: https://www.discoverkyoto.com/places-go/sanjusangen-do/#:~:text=Arranged%20in%20ten%20rows%20and,in%20the%2013th%20century.

We are not allowed to take photos. but here is one from the internet 🙂

And, as in the other times have been here, I am still impressed. and was glad to share it with my family. Stay tuned for part three of our day…

December 25th

This morning we left in two groups because we weren’t totally on the same page, and Zev and Mae had their appointment at 9:30. Aubrey and I bought Zev and Mae a photoshoot dressed up in Kimonos. I wanted to be there early in case they needed more time to get Mae’s hair done. Unfortunately, with a comedy of errors, we were 20 minutes late instead of 20 minutes early. First, we didn’t get on the right train at the right time, then we went past our stop because we were chatting. When we tried to go back, we got on the wrong train and had to take a third train. Never in all of the times in Japan, have I messed up a train journey like this. The Jet Lag has short-circuited my brain, I think. It all worked out ok in the end. We were a bit late, but we still had time for them to get ready before their photo shoot.

I think they looked pretty great. We are looking forward to seeing the photographer’s photos when they are ready, Here a couple of sneak previews:

After the photoshoot we toured the Kiyomizudera temple grounds. Wikipedia says: “The temple was established in 778, during the late Nara period, by Enchin Shonin, who was a priest from Nara (the capital of Japan from 710 to 784). He is said to have received a vision telling him to leave Nara in the South. He moved North and discovered water flowing part way up a mountain. He decided to construct the temple next to this Otowa spring. Many of the temple’s present buildings were constructed in 1633 on the orders of the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu.^[4] There is not a single nail used in the entire structure. It takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means “pure water”.”

After the temple complex, Zev and Mae returned the kimonos. Their feet were killing from all the walking in their Japanese thong sandals and split socks. We all accompanied them, and the staff at the store were amazed by our big family, and let them all choose a cute little keychain as a gift to remember their experience in Kyoto. We headed for a Japanese curry lunch at a nice, non touristy restaurant. Food was decent and it gave all us all a chance to get off our feet. We have been walking SO much since we have been here.

I will continue the rest of the day in a part II as I can barely keep my eyes open…

Oyasuminasai

After some shopping in the covered laneway tourist mall, we walked the 40ish minutes back to Kyoto Station to retrieve our luggage from the locker and then hopped on a quick train ride to check into our house. We quickly dropped off our bags and then headed to the Fushimi Inari Shrine – one of my favourite spots in Kyoto. The Shrine was only a few minutes away from our home. The Shrine compound is quite large, including a hike up Mt Inari following through a tunnel of vermillion-coloured torii. The effect is quite spectacular. Considering the timing (the sun was just setting) and the amount of walking we had already done that day, plus jet lag, and not eating enough calories, we decided not to hike all the way up the mountain, but it was a good workout nonetheless. We did hike up to a pretty nice view though.

The front gate:

Erez and Kerrie:

The earliest structures from the Shrine Compound were built in the year 711. Pretty incredible. There are over 10,000 of the bright vermillion torii (gates) in the area around the temple, but there are at least 800 which were installed right next to each other, winding up the mountain like a giant orange tunnel.

After the shrine we (mostly the kids) sampled all sorts of street food (wagyu beef on a stick, wagyu beef sushi, mini octopus on a stick, gyoza, grilled green tea dango rice paste balls on a stick, and sweet potato chips), which was fantastic and then we went to a food court and sampled a whole bunch of other foods (mostly ramen and ramen bowls). Aubrey and I shared a bowl of Taiwanese (pork free) spicy ramen which was the perfect end to a great day.

Teva at sunset

We arrived in Kyoto before noon, put all of our luggage in lockers and then set out for a 43 minute walk to the Samurai Ninja Museum. It was an interactive guided experience where we moved as a group through a series of rooms filled with artifacts. Our guide, Nobu, was great, peppering his presentation with many self-identified corny jokes. We learned a lot about the hierarchy of Japanese society throughout history. We also learned about the duties, armour, clothing and weaponry of the Samurai and Ninja.

Nobu then passed us over to Nami who showed us how to throw Shiruken (Ninja Stars – but ours were rubber).

The final activity was dressing up in samurai costumes. A great time was had by all.

Aubrey and I went to sleep around 12:20am and tossed and turned a bit, but we got up for good just after 6. We gather everyone by 8, checked out of our hotel and walked about 20 minutes to Shinagawa station to catch our Shinkansen (bullet train). Navigating a busy morning train station with an entourage of 8 people is definitely different from my last trip where I was alone all of the time.

We scouted out the multitude of prepared food options at the station, bought a smorgasbord of items, and then broke with Japanese convention and had a floor picnic before we headed down to our Train platform. We were a bit ahead of schedule, shockingly enough.

The Shinakanasen here are amazingly efficient, clean, and roomy – quite a pleasant experience. The ride from Tokyo to Kyoto was only about 2 hours. We managed to get some nice views of Mt Fuji on the way. Can’t wait to see what adventures we have next!

photo credit Kerrie Ye:

December 23rd, 2024

We were happy to arrive – the plane landed at least 30 minutes early. We got through customs smoothly, and met up with the BC contingent who had arrived an hour earlier than their expected time. We managed to get the tap cards for those who could not get it added to their phone wallet, and purchased our train tickets. The journey from Narita Airport to our hotel was about an hour and a half. We checked into our 4 hotel rooms, dropped off our things and then ventured out to find food.

Erez took up the challenge of finding a sushi place nearby, and boy, did he deliver! He found a place that didn’t even have a sign out front. It was called “Sushi Bar Cozy”. We had to go into a tiny elevator (we didn’t all fit at once, we had to take two trips), and went into a nondescript door that looked like someone’s studio apartment.

When we walked in, this is what it looked like:

There were 10 seats at the bar, one table for 4, and 4 “stand up” tables that fit 3 people max, each. There were three people making sushi and two servers All of the seats were taken, so we took up three of the “stand up” tables. There was a minimum order of one drink and one food item per person. Food was good, it was a good first meal in Japan. The downside was that the food came out slowly, as it is primarily a bar, that has sushi to go with your drinks. It was a fun experience. I loved eating the “kosher options” Our favourite was the fatty tuna – ( it got eaten so quickly, no pictures were taken), and the horse mackerel. Yum!

Although it was a great choice for the fun factor, it was not an efficient enough choice to fill up the boys (also known as the walking stomachs), so on the walk back to the hotel, we stopped at a family mart for the boys to try the famous “Famichiki”. After filling up with some fried chicken and snacks, and of course, buying some Japanese Pokemon cards, we headed back to the rooms to chill out. The hotel was 11 floors of 8 small rooms per floor, all along one side of the hallway. The hallway outside the elevator was outdoors, as were the two staircases on the other side of the hallway from the rooms. Aubrey and I took advantage of the small deep traditional o-furo (Japanese tub) and each had a soak before bed (definitely no room for two!) The rooms were small, but very clean and convenient, and came with pyjamas that we could borrow 🙂

We are off to Kyoto in the morning!

This trip has been at least 5 years in the making. We have been dreaming of going to Japan with our boys forever, but started really thinking about making it happen at least 5 years ago. In their own ways, the boys have been dreaming of going to Japan for many years: they have heard many stories from my previous adventures in Japan, and they have been eating sushi since they could eat food.

For months I have been researching and planning every detail. I really enjoyed my time here in May, and I was researching a bit for this trip when I was here in the spring. I have planned many things, but also have left quite a bit of room for flexibility as we are travelling with 8 people with different interests and needs. 

The best laid plans…

I had purposely not booked a direct, non-stop flight from Toronto to Tokyo, so we could all meet in Vancouver and arrive together- 5 from Ontario and 3 from BC. Our trips home would be separate, but I wanted us all to travel there together and arrive in one group to make it easier. 

Fast forward to last night… around 9:30, the Toronto-Vancouver leg of our flight was cancelled due to some kind of “mechanical issue”. Air Canada decided to cancel our whole flight and reroute us through Mexico City with a 12 hour layover, resulting in us arriving in Tokyo a whole day late. I couldn’t reach a person quickly enough, so 20 minutes later we jumped into the car to go to the airport to talk to a real person while still on hold on the phone.  We were hoping to get a flight to Vancouver straight away, so we could make our connecting flight to Japan.

I will spare you all of the boring and frustrating details, but the “Coles notes” version is this: 

Air Canada was not helpful. Pleasant…but not helpful. I spent many hours on the phone, as well as with a lady at the check-in desk for Air Canada, running countless scenarios that would not involve us losing a whole day, as well as the money for several hotel rooms in Tokyo. 

Needless to say we turned around and went home, and I continued to talk to Expedia.

The solution involved us requesting a refund for our whole Air Canada flight, and booking a new, not non-stop flight, routing through Calgary both ways with West Jet. We were very lucky. The flight was leaving around the same time as our other flight and is arrived only a half hour after the Vancouver flight, so we could all head to the hotel together from the airport. The five of us secured 5 middle seats sprinkled around the plane, but beggars can’t be choosers when you are booking a flight less than 7 hours before it takes off.

By the time I got off the phone with Expedia and then West Jet, I got just under 2 hours of sleep before we had to leave for the airport. So much for the six hours sleep I was supposed to get as part of a plan designed by this app I was trying out to prevent jet lag. Unfortunately, the airport was predictably crazy and we ended up having to sprint to catch our flight. We splurged for valet parking but in the rush of the sprint, we did not leave keys in the car (the curse of keyless ignition keys), so the car is getting towed! At the suggestion of one of the security officers, we also got a lift in one of those buggies to help get us about halfway there. Our gate was really on the complete other end of the terminal, and they had started boarding before we even reached security.

We made it, but then there were some problems on our plane and we ended up leaving over an hour late. Luckily we had a 3.5 hour layover, so it gave us some breathing room. We ate, recharged our devices, and stretched our legs. I spent a lot of time trying to work out logistics for the trip, including unfreezing our credit cards due to the “suspicious” remote Japanese transactions.

All in all, the journey has been much more eventful than I had hoped. I am looking forward to getting there and starting our real adventure, one filled with food and fun and family, rather than phone calls, frustration and forms to fill out.

Ja-a-neh!

Koren

The Ontario Contingent finally boarding the plane in Calgary:

The BC contingent boarding in Vancouver: