We almost witnessed a drama this morning at the Osaka station! We had checked out of the hotel and were making our way to catch the train to Kyoto, when we suddenly heard a woman screaming and we saw a few people running and shouting. It was just a little too far away for us to see what was going on, but we’re guessing it was a bag snatch. We didn’t think that such things happen in Japan. If it was a bag snatch, I’d put my money on the culprit being a foreigner.
Anyway, when that little drama was over, we worked out how to buy our tickets for Kyoto (only 540 yen each) and made our way on to the train. The trip was supposed to take 28 minutes, but part way through the journey, the train slowed down considerably. We have no idea what was going on, and the only things I could pick up from the announcement that came over the PA were “this train” and “sorry”. But we’re on holidays, so we weren’t in a hurry.
Rice straw drying. Among other things, it is used for making tatami mats
When we arrived in Kyoto, the first thing we did was to put our backpacks and coats in a locker so we could roam freely without our burdens. The Kyoto railway station is amazing! We didn’t see it last year, because we were riding scooters when we were in Kyoto. It’s really massive and Wikipedia tells me it’s the second largest railway building in Japan after Nagoya. We took the escalator up to the roof to get a good view of the city. The roof has a nice little ornamental garden, complete with the recorded chirping of crickets. Unfortunately, the Kyoto Castle is hidden by other buildings, but the view was impressive nonetheless.
Kyoto Railway Station
We then picked up some brochures and maps from the Tourist Office and looked through them over a cup of tea in a café. We discovered that there was a flea market on at one of the shrines, so we bought ourselves a one-day bus pass for 500 yen each, found the right place to catch the bus and set off on an adventure. Fortunately, there was a lady on the bus who was going to the flea market, so we knew when to get off. Otherwise, we might still be cruising Kyoto on the bus!
The flea market was like no other flea market that we’ve ever seen. There were more stalls than we could count and the items on display were so varied and interesting. It did cross our minds that this den of thieves was operating in the grounds of a house of prayer, but markets and shrines seem to co-exist quite comfortably in Japan.
Markets at shrines - very common in Japan
Calligrapher
We found some Japanese fans that appear to be very old and we couldn’t resist them. We also sampled a few nice things from the food stalls. I could have filled six suitcases with crockery, bags, ornaments etc. so it’s probably a good thing that we are short of space. I did buy a couple of tiny pottery pieces that will squeeze in somewhere.
A fun day in Kyoto
Filling buns.
This man did a rapid-fire 'squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt' with his dough,
always putting in just the right amount and never getting a drop out of place
Lots of kimonos in Kyoto!
The old and the new
Taking a break with a serving of okonomiyaki - yum!
This beautiful old book was beyond our budget
Pretty umbrellas. The flowers only appear when the umbrella is wet
We caught the bus back to the station to pick up our backpacks and that’s when we discovered that our locker was on the wrong side of the station gates! We went to the station staff to explain our plight. They’re obviously used to silly foreigners doing this as they immediately handed me a ‘pass’ which allowed us through the gates and which we then returned to the staff as we came back out. We won’t do that one again!
We then caught another bus, this time to the stop nearest our hostel. It was only a couple of minutes walk from the bus stop to the hostel, a fact which pleased us no end as we were lugging our packs this time.
After we checked in, I got myself ready to go to Gion Corner to see the ‘Japanese Culture in One Hour’ performance. This isn’t what it’s called, but it describes what it is. It is a one hour show that gives the audience a sample of various aspects of Japanese culture including tea ceremony, music performances, dance, ikebana (flower arranging), traditional drama and a bunraku (puppet) performance. John wasn’t interested in seeing the show, but he walked with me to the theatre and then came back to the hostel. I really enjoyed the show, particularly the dance and the bunraku. I was very disappointed that I didn’t have the camera as it was announced that taking photos was OK. I’d assumed that it would not be allowed so didn’t even consider taking the camera.
We spent the rest of the evening in the hostel. There are many people from many lands here – all relaxing and chatting and watching TV in the lounge area. Tomorrow we plan to enjoy the two festivals that are happening around the city. Rain permitting, of course. It started drizzling tonight and rain is forecast for tomorrow. Bad timing!
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