“The temple bell stops, but I still hear the sound  coming out of the flowers.” Matsu Basho, Japanese poet, Edo Period

Japan – Part 4

Kyoto

Kyoto, Japan’s eighth largest city, has become a favorite world city of ours. It was the imperial capital for more than 1,000 years (794-1868). Its glorious history has bestowed it the cultural capital of Japan, and is a major tourist destination with stunning gardens, traditional architecture and spectacular natural scenery. Its nickname, “City of Ten Thousand Shrines” is due to a tremendous amout of Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, and imperial palaces. Kyoto has a high concentration of UNESCO World Heritage Sites – an astounding 17! (There’s 25 in all of Japan).

The city, although bombed during WW II, was spared from large-scale destruction, and as a result, its prewar cultural heritage has thankfully been preserved.

We’d pack in as much as possible in exploring Kyoto and its environs, and immerse ourselves and partake in some of its famous local crafts and cultural wonders. Our tour guide, Koi, with her radiant smile, trove of knowledge, and easy personality, gave us the feeling that we were seeing the city with a friend. We’ve got lots of exciting destinations ahead of us in Kyoto …

Sennyū-ji Temple

The Sennyū-ji Temple is a Buddhist temple, founded in 1218 by the priest, Jien, and is considered one of the oldest and most historically significant temples in Kyoto. For centuries, it’s been a mausoleum for noble families and members of the Imperial House of Japan. Emperors eternally reside here.

The temple compound features a number of impressive buildings, and houses a statue of the Buddhist deity, Kannon, said to have been carved by the temple’s founder, Jien.

We strolled through its beautiful gardens, featuring a pond, waterfall, and a teahouse, and is known for its stunning autumn foliage. It’s springtime and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

Nara Park

A fairly quick train ride brings us south to Nara Park, a large public space covering an area of over 1,200 acres. It’s home to over 1,000 “wild” Sika deer, sacred animals in the Shinto religion, considered to be messengers of the gods. The deer, though roaming free, aren’t exactly wild nor sacred. I’d say they were more timid, but very people-friendly.

The park was established in 1880 and is one of the oldest parks in Japan. It’s adjacent to many important historical and cultural sites, including Todai-ji Temple, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, and Kofuku-ji Temple. Walking throughout the park, you’ll be accompanied by the Sika, especially if you’re carrying edibles, hidden or otherwise.

Don’t miss out on feeding the deer, who’ve become accustomed to interacting with humans over the years. There are kiosks found around the park that sell a package of rice crackers for two dollars. So where do you think those critters hang out? Yes ~ they lurk right next to the kiosk, and when a customer purchases a pack of goodies, they’re suddenly mobbed by a dozen or so, all vying for your attention with those big doe eyes.

Some of them are tender and gentle, but some will bully their way and push you to feed them. I had a few words with one pushy fella, and gave him The Cuban Stare. Guess what? That one got zip from me. Sorry, dear deer.  Hopefully, that will teach him a lesson (Not!).

To keep the fun going, I bought several more packages and I’d hand the treats out as I continued walking. Picture the Pied Piper with a line of deer following behind; all along, David’s snapping away with his camera, enjoying the spectacle.

There, too was a funny deer encounter taking place, where the Sika were taking treats from a driver sitting in their car; a new take on the drive-thru. Close by were some pretty patches of cherry blossoms at peak bloom.

Deer aside, the main reason to visit Nara is to experience Todaiji Temple, also known as the Great Eastern Temple.  It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most famous and historically significant temples in Japan.

Todaiji was originally built in 752 by Emperor Shomu as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples in Japan. The main hall, called “Great Buddha Hall,” was the largest wooden building in the world until it burned down in the 16^th century and was rebuilt in the 17^th century.

Today, Todaiji still remains one of the largest wooden buildings in the world, measuring 1188 feet wide, 165 feet long, and 158 feet high. Just imagine a building half the size of a football field and almost as tall as a 10-story building.

When you stand in front of it and take in the sheer size of it, you become awestruck with its immense beauty. Go inside and your mouth immediately drops upon gazing its most famous feature – the Great Buddha statue. The statue is made of bronze and stands 15 meters tall (imagine a 5-story building), making it one of the largest bronze statues in the world. It was cast way back in the 8^th century and has undergone several repairs and restorations over the years.

As you walk around the Buddha, other important Buddhist statues and artworks greet you, including the 12 Heavenly Generals and the Thousand-armed Kannon.

One word best describes it all: B–I–G!

Kasuga Taisha Shrine

Kasuga Taisha Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Nara, founded in the year 768 and is dedicated to the deity responsible for protecting the city. It’s designated as a national treasure of Japan.

Here a lantern, there a lantern … lanterns are everywhere here! If I can remember anything about this shrine, is the many bronze and stone lanterns found all throughout. They’re lit twice a year during the Setsubun Mantoro festival in February and the Kasuga Wakamiya On-matsuri festival in December. When lit, they create a magical atmosphere.

The shrine itself is made up of several buildings, including the main sanctuary, decorated with hundreds of bronze lanterns. The sanctuary is connected to the inner sanctuary by a covered corridor, also lined with the L-word.

One of the buildings contains a darkened room, and is lit only by thousands of flickering lanterns. By the way, all lanterns have been donated by worshippers over the years.

After all the Sika deer feeding, temples and shrines galore, it was time for a light refreshment. Koi knew exactly where to get away from the throngs of tourists. Just outside the park, we head upstairs of an unimpressive building to a lovely little café. Here I had the best Cuban coffee of my life, which is saying a lot. It was presented in a well-used cafetera with a cup of steaming milk. I’d love to know what type of beans and roasting method they used. The coffee was robust, creamy and being in Japan, full of umami flavor. The next day I ask Koi, “Could we please go back to that coffee shop?”

Matsuyama Sake Brewery

Sake! My first introduction to Sake wasn’t a very good one, since it led to a terrible hangover. But over the years I’ve learned to appreciate its nuances, and especially enjoy some while dining on Japanese food.  And like any alcoholic beverage, quality matters. A fine sake makes a big difference in whether you slowly sip or slug it down.

Sake is simply made from rice, koji, and water. Like wine and beer, it requires fermentation of the ingredients – it’s not a distilled spirit. 

Matsuyama Brewery, is a small, artisanal sake maker on the outskirts of Kyoto, where many fine purveyors dot the area. As we’d soon find out, making sake involves many steps.

As we toured the factory learning the sake process, we realized just how small this operation is. The factory itself has been in existence for over 100 years, providing sake to the big guys in the industry, but the new generation decided to return to the old ways and create a more artisanal product. We were privileged and honored to be among the very first visitor-guests.

First step is polishing the rice to remove outer bran layers; the degree of polishing will determine the quality of the sake. Washing removes any impurities. Steaming allows the rice to become more porous for better fermentation.

Lucky for us, today we’d be privy to witness the rice steaming process, a very important step. We’d watch as 200 kilos (500 lbs.) of rice steamed in large vats, and even got to take turns in stirring it up.

Koji-making: Koji is the starter culture for sake production. It’s made by inoculating steamed rice with a mold spore called Aspergillus oryzae. The koji mold converts the rice starches into sugars. Yeast starts to form after the Koji has been made. The rice is then mashed with the koji and water in fermentation tanks (this takes about a month). The mixture is then pressed to separate solids from liquids; which then stops the fermentation process and stabilizes its flavor.  Wphew … thanks for sticking with me.

At last, the final step, and we’re at the bottling stand. Who knew that we were going to manually pour, seal, and label our very own bottles? How cool was that?! Yes – the two bottles that we bottled, capped and put a label on became a gift from the brewery.

This was from their first batch of unfiltered sake. The only problem was that it had to be kept refrigerated, and drunk within a short amount of time. We’d also buy two additional bottles of their regular sake to shlep back home.

Like Tequila, sake can be bottled immediately for sale, but some types are further aged for several months to develop a deeper and more complex flavor. There’s a spectrum of flavor types, ranging from sweet, slightly acidic taste to smooth, silky, subtle floral flavors. You can consume sake cold, hot, or unfiltered, the last being my favorite.

What’s more appropriate after touring a sake brewery than to visit a shrine dedicated to the god of rice and fertility?

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Horror of horrors, this famous shrine wasn’t even listed on our original itinerary. David immediately remedied that after seeing its famous Instagrammable bright red-orange gates pictured in every online Kyoto photograph.

Fushimi Inari Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Fushimi-ku, the southern part of Kyoto. It’s dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god, and protector of rice cultivation and a bountiful harvest, fertility, and foxes, and is one of the oldest and most important Inari shrines in Japan.

The shrine complex is known for its distinctive torii gates, which form long paths up the mountain slope behind the shrine. Torii gates are traditional Japanese gates that mark the entrance to a sacred or holy site, such as a Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple. The gates are typically made of wood or stone and are painted bright vermillion red, a color that is considered sacred in Japanese culture.

The purpose of torii gates is to demarcate the boundary between the secular world and the sacred world, and to signify the transition from the profane to the divine. Visitors to a shrine or temple are meant to pass through the torii gate as a symbolic gesture of purifying themselves before entering the sacred space.

Here, there are thousands of torii gates, donated by individuals and companies over the years, and the path is a popular hiking trail and tourist attraction. The hike up to the top of the mountain takes about 2-3 hours and offers stunning views of Kyoto and the surrounding countryside. We’d skip it in order to spend more time at ground level.

The main hall of the shrine was first built in 711, but it has been destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries. The current buildings date back to the Edo period and feature traditional Japanese architecture, including sloping roofs and wooden beams. The buildings are decorated with intricate carvings, paintings, and other artistic details.

The Shrine is also famous for its fox statues, which are believed to be the messengers of Inari. The foxes are often depicted holding symbolic items, such as keys or scrolls, and are thought to bring good luck and prosperity to visitors. We’d buy a fox trinket for both the former and latter.

The most famous torii gate in Japan is coming up on our agenda in a few days.

Rice Farm

After visiting a sake brewery, and the shrine dedicated to rice … what’s missing in this picture was a visit to a rice farm, also in the Fushimi ward. And that’s exactly where we went next. It so happens that this farm also supplies the rice to the Matsuyama Brewery (also nearby in Fushimi, the perfect farm-to-table scenario).

Yamada Farm is run by the Yamada family and has been operating for several generations. We met with the charming Koichi Yamada, a very personable young man dedicated to the continuation of his family’s farm. He relayed to us about his early California farm training.

The Yamadas are well-known for growing premium high-quality rice and vegetables using traditional Japanese farming methods, including the use of natural fertilizers and no-till agriculture. The farm is particularly renowned for growing Miyama Nishiki rice.

Miyama Nishiki is a premium short-grain variety of rice that is primarily grown in the Miyama region of Kyoto prefecture. It’s highly valued for its delicate and mildly sweet flavor and grainy texture, and is often used in traditional Japanese dishes, such as sushi, rice bowls, and most importantly, sake.

The cultivation of this rice is a complex process that requires careful attention to detail throughout the growing season. This includes hand planting, careful fertilization, and precise irrigation methods.

During our visit, they were getting ready to start rice planting, but we were able to pick and taste their rather large carrots that were sweet as candy. It was hysterical to watch David grab hold of two big carrot stems/leaves and yank them up together, toppling back with his forceful pull. Silly boy.

Koichi surprised us with departing gifts of two bags of Yamada rice! Now that’s what I call the best kind of souvenir. I had a chance to cook some a few nights ago, and really enjoyed its soft, slightly sticky texture, and subtle, sweet flavor; it’s well suited for whatever it accompanies … with the rice becoming the star ingredient.

Sadly, after our two precious bags are finished, then only tasteful memories will fondly remain.

We’ve been eating so well and so much Japanese food, we needed a culinary change and some familiar food. We happened by Pizza–LA near our hotel; a take-out/delivery only pizzeria. We happily carried back two pies to our hotel, and sat Japanese style on the floor, devouring them in a flash; all washed down with cold beer.

David had the simple Margherita, and mine was a combo of 4 generous toppings, each separated in its own quadrant: seafood, veggies, meats, and cheeses. For the moment, it was the best pizza ever!

As seen on the street………..

Exploring Kyoto continues next …