Tuesday May 13 2008

Japanese culture has long held an absolute fascination for ‘outsiders’, and Australians are no exception with more than 43,000 visiting Kyoto last year alone, says Setsuro Nakashima, general manager of the Japan Travel Bureau. And, having spent time there recently, I can understand that allure.

Kyoto is located in the middle of Japan’s main island of Honshu, in a valley surrounded on three sides by mountains. The best time to visit is autumn and spring, when the city is resplendent with natural wonders. Autumn (around November) brings fiery displays of Japanese maples turning the city streets red and gold, while in spring (around May), the pale-pink blossoms of thousands of cherry trees create countless Kodak moments.

One of the best places to enjoy Mother Nature’s handiwork (for free) is the Philosopher’s Walk, the name given to a two-kilometre-long path that runs along a tree-lined canal not far from Kyoto’s city centre. My travelling companion, Japanese-Australian photographer Gorta Yuuki, and I decided to walk the Walk on our first day. I had keyed myself up for the crowds every guidebook warned me I couldn’t avoid in Kyoto, yet that first day, they failed to materialise. Gorta explained it was because the day was overcast and Japanese people don’t like going out in the rain! Whether this theory was true or not, the soft light and misty mood made the walk feel all the more magical.

We meandered along the canal, peering down at the long-necked turtles clinging to rocks on the riverbed below and marvelling at the maple trees fanned out across ancient stone bridges. Miraculously, there were no advertising banners to spoil the scene – unusual in a country which seems to have a fetish for neon lights and garish billboards.

Taking the Philosopher’s Walk is just one example of how easy it is to explore Kyoto on foot. You can wander down an intriguing alleyway and you’ll invariably find some hidden gem. One of our best accidental discoveries off the beaten track was Honen-in, a secluded temple with broad mossy steps leading to a thatched gate under a deep green canopy of trees. We happened upon the temple as a funeral procession was weaving its way up the wooded slope to the cemetery with funeral flags fluttering, incense smoking, monks chanting – and still no other tourists in sight. Magic.

Honen-in is just one of several thousand ancient Buddhist temples in Kyoto, and one of the main reasons both local and overseas tourists flock to the city. Visiting a temple is a wonderful way to catch a glimpse into the Buddhist way of life, an important part of Japanese culture as one of its two main religions (Shintoism is the other). It also allows you to experience firsthand the awesome artistry of Zen gardening.

Pause for a few moments in one of the temple gardens and you’ll realise the true magic of these picture settings lies in the minute details. The longer you sit, the more you’ll appreciate: a carefully positioned rock, a trickling water feature, a peaceful scene framed by an open window, sunlight falling on a carpet of moss, the sculptured branches of a Matsui pine… amazing.

Visit the popular temples, such as Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion) and Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) early in the morning to avoid the crowds. But take time to visit some of the lesser-known monasteries in the suburbs, too (the moss garden of Gio-ji Temple is very special).

Plan your day to include a few hours of wandering through the ancient temples and gorgeous gardens, then make way for those other holiday essentials – eating, shopping and people watching.

Eating

Kyoto has literally hundreds of small eateries, most of which specialise in one particular style of dish. So if you feel like eating noodles, tempura or sushi, you’ll need to go to a different place for each. The benefit of being specialists in only one dish is that they tend to do it very, very well. The drawback is getting everyone – or even two people – to agree on what they want to eat.

In addition to their culinary talents, the Japanese are masters at creating restaurants with atmosphere, which makes you want to linger over a meal. A typical traditional restaurant consists of a small room with a tatami platform, overlooking an immaculate courtyard garden with only the sound of water trickling from a bamboo pipe into a stone basin. Even the least expensive restaurants strive for a bit of atmosphere, which makes eating out a real pleasure. A word of advice when dining out: wear slip-on shoes, as you’ll need to remove them often! I wore my RM Williams boots – great for walking but not easy to pull off in a tiny, often overcrowded, restaurant hallway.

One of the standout eating experiences for me was in a tiny restaurant called Misoka-an kawamichi-ya, which specialises in buckwheat soba noodles. I had read about it in a guidebook by Diane Durston, enticingly titled Old Kyoto: A Guide To Traditional Shops, Restaurants And Inns (Kodansha International, $37.95), first published in 1986. The copy I had was the 20th anniversary edition, and I’m happy to report that the restaurant was still there, being run by the same family and exactly as described – outstanding.
 
The open-air Ichiwa restaurant, located on a street just outside the Imamiya Shrine in the Daitoku-ji Temple complex, provided another memorable foodie moment. Ichiwa specialises in aburimochi, a delicacy consisting of skewers of rice dough, chargrilled and served with a very thick sweet miso sauce. A pot of jade green tea was the perfect accompaniment. We ate it sitting on a woven-top bench seat while indulging in the third activity – people watching.

People watching

Temple forecourts are great for people watching but one of the best places is Gion, Kyoto’s old entertainment quarter. This is where you’ll find Kyoto’s famous geishas out for an evening stroll. I was told the best time to catch a glimpse of these exotic women is around seven or eight in the evening, when they leave their studios and walk to the ochaya (tea houses) where they regale clients with their charms.

Happily, Gorta and I spotted two geiko, their brightly coloured kimonos shimmered under the street lights, and they obligingly lingered for a moment so we could take photos – completely comfortable with being a tourist attraction.

Moving on

Having spent a few days exploring the main city sights, we went to stay in Kameoka – a small village about 20 minutes by train from Kyoto at the base of the Japanese Alps. What a great idea this turned out to be. It was a fantastic experience, providing a completely different view of life in Japan. We stayed with English-speaking local Yuki Teramachi, who welcomes tourists into her own home for an authentic slice of rural life.

Yuki’s house is built in the traditional manner, with sliding shoji screen walls and nary a nail in sight. At night, the screens are drawn to divide the living area into bedrooms, and futon mattresses are simply rolled out from their daytime hiding places for a very comfortable night’s sleep. Yuki also has a studio annexe with a conventional double room for guests who prefer Western-style beds.

Each evening, Yuki cooked us a traditional Japanese meal using vegies from her own garden and invited us to join her to pray at the little temple of her ancestors (in the living room) every morning. In the Shinto tradition, she offers her ancestors whatever she is eating – in this case, coffee and a croissant.

We spent two nights with Yuki and found plenty to do despite the distance from town. Being more game to ride a bicycle here than in downtown Kyoto, Gorta and I set off to explore the surrounding paddy fields, villages and temples, returning through the long shadows and cool crisp evening air of autumn – another wonderful day.

The next day, Yuki took us for a drive to the picturesque Hida Minzoku Mura folk village. Hida Minzoku Mura is a collection of 30 traditional farmhouses located in a stunning mountain setting, about 10 minutes’ drive from the village of Takayama. We encountered many artists with their easels set up on riverbanks and road verges trying to capture the rustic charm of these houses with their thatched roofs, flower gardens and vegie patches against the magnificent alpine backdrop.

With attractions like this, it’s little wonder Japan holds such fascination for ‘outsiders’. From the geishas in Gion to the secluded Buddhist temples, fabulous food and incredible scenery, the longer you stay, the more delights you’ll discover.