22. SO LONG JAPAN

Thursday March 7, 2013

Our month in Japan feels like several months. We have packed a lot in. Mostly work, but as seen in our 21 blogs, we have had a lot of fun too. Along the way we have made a lot of new and dear friends. We have been shown a lot, a lot of hospitality. We have introduced you to just some if these people but there are a whole lot more who are not in the blog but we love them to.

Thank you Maho and Shinsuke for making our stay so comfortable.

 

Sayonara,

Lloydnalex

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21. OUR LAST DAY IN KYOTO

Wednesday March 6, 2013

As you know, we are rather enamoured with bamboo, and so cannot pass up an opportunity to visit another famous bamboo forest, this time at Arashiyama on the western outskirts of Kyoto.

And it did not disappoint.

Right next door another must see, Okochi Sanso Garden... This is the former villa of the late well known kung-fu actor film Okochi Denjiro whome we had never heard of... Never were Kung-fu film fans... Anyway, it seems he put together a beautiful Japanese gardens and traditional houses built in the 1930s and 40s... What a coincidence, so are we.

So lets go up this path and take a look.

The main house

Here are the brothers who so generously brought us here today, Seiji whom we met the day before and Kazu.

Further up the hill

The tea house

Kazu in the tea ceremony style bow.

The inner sliding doors with the white paper are called a shoji. Notice the outer sliding cedar panel night time doors that are kept in the box on the wall during the day.

Sliding doors called fusuma ("foo-SOO-mah")

 

At the end of our self guided garden tour we enjoyed matcha

Next we visited a very unique and special place. A Japanese resturant owned and run by a brother and his family

 

 

 

A multi-course Kyoto style meal that was fabulous.

No complaints from Seiji or Kazu.

No complaints here either.

The family

Bamboo shadows

Togetsukyo Bridge

And now for somthing completely different...

Monkeys

Japanese macaques at the Iwatayama Monkey Park on the slopes of Mount Arashiyama. Over 130 monkeys live at the park. While the monkeys are wild, they have become accustomed to humans.

It's been a long day.

 

 

"Mummy, I'm hungry, can I have your fleas?"

Kyoto as seen from the monkey hill

Sister Sawako and her husband, Hiroyuki

Being mobbed by my newest friends at the meeting

This is Kazu's smiley wife, Mami.

It's now approaching our time (11pm) to say good by to our new and generous and hospitable friends from Kyoto and jump on the night bus back to Ebina. Thank you to all for making our stay in Kyoto so enjoyable.

Lloydnalex