So I have managed to lose my cell phone. Note: I cannot actually USE my cell ph0ne in Japan. I brought it "just in case." Now I am out a phone, many numbers and any means of telling time. :-(
This last week of not posting felt like an eternity. I went on 3 trips in 5 days and had multiple revelations on each trip. I also went with different people on each trip. I will only post about the first one today.
Friday:
8:30AM I met my boss, Watanabe-san, at JR line next to my house. We headed to Kyoto. (A little history: Kyoto is located on the southern shore of a large lake and the mouth of a locally famous river. Kyoto is home to many buddhist and christian temples as well as a large castle. It was the original capital of Japan.) He and his wife knew English, but were very hesitate in using it when we first started the journey. The long train ride broke the ice and once we were in Kyoto, talking commenced to a normal pace.
We walked along the river, forget the name, and up to a small tea shop near a temple. We had traditional green tea. This might sound unspectacular, but the etiquette for mixing and drinking the tea is quite complex. The tea tasted very good and I learned a weird fact about Japanese cooking: when you stir food in a bowl, you don't stir in circles, but rather in an up-and-down motion.
Mr Watanabe told me of a traditional play with samauris. I was under the impression that we were going to see a play or musical. I was wrong. The highlight of historical Kyoto: a Japanese film studio. It turns out there was an old Japanese TV show filmed in Kyoto and they turned the studio into an amusement park. Revelation: I thought samaris and ninjas were an AMERICAN thing that Hollywood overplayed. Apparently, the Japanese public is very fond of these warriors as well. The performance was a live drama of a friend's betrayal. There was a lot of fighting and falling and sound effects that were a little off and I didn't understand a single word that was said and ... it was pretty sweet. After that, we stayed in the theatre for a comedic performance of a salesman that trys to sell his product by cutting himself with a sword. Again I didn't understand anything, but that was the beauty of his show. You didn't have to hear a word; the acting was all that really mattered.
We toured the studio some more and Mr Watanabe and his wife thought it would be funny for me to dress up like a samari and get my picture taken. I will post it later, once I find a scanner. The sandals I wore were at least 8 sizes too small. The very end of the sandal didn't even reach the front of my heel.
The day ended with a visit to the Hankyu station in downtown Kyoto. It is 14 stories high and is a modern building. Just magnificent. We ate at a Chinese restaurant and I had real ramen. It is my favorite dish thus far.
This last week of not posting felt like an eternity. I went on 3 trips in 5 days and had multiple revelations on each trip. I also went with different people on each trip. I will only post about the first one today.
Friday:
8:30AM I met my boss, Watanabe-san, at JR line next to my house. We headed to Kyoto. (A little history: Kyoto is located on the southern shore of a large lake and the mouth of a locally famous river. Kyoto is home to many buddhist and christian temples as well as a large castle. It was the original capital of Japan.) He and his wife knew English, but were very hesitate in using it when we first started the journey. The long train ride broke the ice and once we were in Kyoto, talking commenced to a normal pace.
We walked along the river, forget the name, and up to a small tea shop near a temple. We had traditional green tea. This might sound unspectacular, but the etiquette for mixing and drinking the tea is quite complex. The tea tasted very good and I learned a weird fact about Japanese cooking: when you stir food in a bowl, you don't stir in circles, but rather in an up-and-down motion.
Mr Watanabe told me of a traditional play with samauris. I was under the impression that we were going to see a play or musical. I was wrong. The highlight of historical Kyoto: a Japanese film studio. It turns out there was an old Japanese TV show filmed in Kyoto and they turned the studio into an amusement park. Revelation: I thought samaris and ninjas were an AMERICAN thing that Hollywood overplayed. Apparently, the Japanese public is very fond of these warriors as well. The performance was a live drama of a friend's betrayal. There was a lot of fighting and falling and sound effects that were a little off and I didn't understand a single word that was said and ... it was pretty sweet. After that, we stayed in the theatre for a comedic performance of a salesman that trys to sell his product by cutting himself with a sword. Again I didn't understand anything, but that was the beauty of his show. You didn't have to hear a word; the acting was all that really mattered.
We toured the studio some more and Mr Watanabe and his wife thought it would be funny for me to dress up like a samari and get my picture taken. I will post it later, once I find a scanner. The sandals I wore were at least 8 sizes too small. The very end of the sandal didn't even reach the front of my heel.
The day ended with a visit to the Hankyu station in downtown Kyoto. It is 14 stories high and is a modern building. Just magnificent. We ate at a Chinese restaurant and I had real ramen. It is my favorite dish thus far.
posted by Bruhaha at 1:57 AM
1 Comments:
Fact: Bruni is a mammal.
Watch out for pirates Bruni-san, Always have your guitar ready in case robots try to kill you while you are eating a hamburger.
Ninjas are totally sweet.
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