Our original plan was to go to Mibu temple then go to Heian Shrine. We hopped on the bus to Mibu temple, but a bit down the ride we found it odd that the bus ride was taking a bit longer than we thought it should take to get where Mibu Temple was.  Turns out, we hopped the bus going in the opposite direction! We got off the bus and walked around for a little bit, looking for a bus stop on the other side of the street, and I saw something like looked like some type of temple. I said "Hey, I wonder what that is??", and we walked to the gate. Sure enough, it was Heian Shrine! Beautiful place.

 

We did manage to find our way to Mibu temple....we went to visit the graves of Shinsengumi members and possibly visit the old garrison where they lived and trained. Another beautiful place, surrounded by a nice quiet neighborhood.

 

I don't know how Jo did it, but she packed about 30 pounds of Manga and more pounds of other gifts for friends, in her suitcase.....her suitcase was smaller than mine, too! I didn't buy any Manga, but I had a bear of a time stuffing my clothes and gifts into my big suitcase. I just need to learn how to pack better, I guess!

 

 

It was a most enjoyable time Tokyo and Kyoto. I almost didn't want to go back home! We took the "Haruka Express" train to Kansai, and the cool thing was for much of the 1 hour ride, we had car #4 all to ourselves! When we first left Kyoto station, Jo, Jesse and I were the only people in the car. We got only about 5 other people in our car at the following stops, which made for a relaxing train ride.

 

The 9 hour plane ride to San Francisco was excruciating for me....not painful, but I just wanted the ride to be over with.  I watched "Curse of the golden flower" twice, "Eragon" once, a few playlists on my iPod, snoozed a little (but didn't actually "sleep"),.....But I was BORED on that plane. We got to San Fran, had some breakfast with a Mimosa (alcohol at 8 in morning! What was I thinking?). After breakfast, tiredness hit me and I fell fast asleep on a chair at our departing gate for about 30 minutes. I think I might have hit REM sleep instantly, because I remember waking up and 30 minutes had passed, and I felt as if I just closed my eyes for a second.  

 

Funny....we left on Monday, got home on Monday an hour earlier than we left.  Gosh, it felt like it was Monday for two whole days.

 

Most people would probably just go home from the airport and kick their feet up and rest after the trip. But, right after I got off the plane, my brother in law picked me up and we went to my niece's track meet. Went home afterward just long enough to open my luggage and put my everyday stuff into my daypack......you know where I went?......straight to the studio!!! Yup, I just couldn't stay away for another day. My biz partner Sherril and I, and some students went to dinner and I told them all about the events of the vacation.

 

Jet lag reared its ugly head. Tuesday night/wednesday morning, I didn't get to sleep until 6 a.m. ( I wasn't tired at all), but only got about 4 hours of sleep because my cell phone started ringing alot at almost 10 a.m. Ugh. But, I got through wednesday without feeling drained or tired from lack of sleep. TODAY was when I felt drained and altogether out of it. I got to sleep at about 2 a.m. thursday morning and had to wake up really early to take my Mom somwhere , Then straight to Downtown Seattle to teach my Wushu classes at Morningside Academy. I know that I was saying stuff in Wushu andTai Chi class today, but I have no idea what I said.....I found it sort of difficult to find the right words for what I wanted to say, and when I spoke I didn't think I was making any sense!

 

Speaking of which, it is now 1:19 a.m. Friday morning. I should get to bed. I'm not tired anymore, but I should force myself to get used to the time change, huh? Strange, I didn't have problem when I got back from China!

 

4/19/07

I love the temple hopping! We wanted to check out other temples today, but we didn't get out of the hotel till around 11 a.m., and Daikakuji was the only place we had time to see (All temples close to tourists around 4 or 5 pm). All the walking today did my feet in......it almost feels as if my plantar fasciitis is back. (I better get myself an appointment with Reggi when I get back to the States!).

 

4/20/07

The "Golden Pavillion"....Oh my gosh...what a sight!!! I've only seen pictures on the Web of Kinkakuji, but it sure is better to see it in person. We walked through a walkway lined with hedges, came around a corner, and BAM!....the Golden pavillion just jumped out at us. I heard some tourists behind me gasp in awe...as did I. I felt my jaw drop as I took in the sight of this building that glistened of gold, reflecting off of the pond in front of it. I spent a good 15 minutes just standing there and going "Oh wow...."  The rest of the grounds were incredible. Everywhere I looked in the gardens and the scenery, was a whole new "universe".

 

After Kinkajuji, we went to the Imperial Palace. We had to get to the Imperial household agency office before 1:30 to apply for the 2:00 tour (passports needed to apply). It was a wonderful tour, and we had a great tour guide.

 

Today did my feet in again. All I wanted to do was kick my shoes off and plunge them into hot lavender scented water and just chill out. Funny how things work out when you want a break from your vacation!!!

 

4/21/07

Wow, this flea market was huge. Jo and I got there pretty "early", about 9:30 am or so, and we got to see some of the flea market in relatively quiet surroundings until the swarm of people came. This flea market is only held once a month, and a good thing too.....if the market was held every weekend, it would be a constant madhouse for traffic! I found a couple of nice Haori (only 1000 yen apiece!) and a couple of nice kimono for my nieces (also 1000 yen a piece).....the quality is excellent for the price...maybe a minor stain in the linings of Haori or Kimono, depending on what your find, but don't let the "cheap" price fool you....its great quality stuff. I recommend the flea market to anybody that visit Kyoto.   I found myself an old Tsuba (sword handguard), and some cool trinkets. Best of all...the food booths!....I stuffed myself with sweet-potato fries and meat skewers until I popped.

 

Waiting for the bus back to the hotel was a nightmare. We waited for 3 of our buses to come, but they (actually, ALL the buses) were jam packed with people by the time it got to our stop. It didn't help that there was always at least 50 other people waiting at the same bus stop we were standing at. We decided to hail a cab back home instead!

 

After resting at the hotel for a bit, Jesse came by our room and we decided to go out to Gion again. We checked out a different area of the shopping district, where we found the 24 hour internet cafe that Jesse had mentioned to us a few days earlier. Jo and I got a little caught up on our email, just enough to let people know we were doing well despite not being to keep in touch with peoplel. It was a great walk through Gion, and it was nicer weather this time, instead of being wet and cold like the first walk through Gion that me and Jo took.

Since my internet access was spotty while I was there, here is the log of events after my last blog entry...

 

 

4/15/07

Hooray! I passed the exam for Shodan!! Jesse and Jo did, as well! My first shot was not very good at all.....I felt the arrow move up a little on the rattan above the grip, and as I tried to correct it, I realized I'd either bend the arrow and hit someone else target, or lose the shot. I ended up hitting the curtain on that first shot. My second shot was a little left of the target, but even with the center of the target. Yoshi had mentioned that I tend to aim a bit left most times, and he wondered about adjusting my aim and alignment. I think I might have found where my alignment was off.....now its just going to take quite a bit of time to correct it. That's the fun part though, the learning curve.

 

We went to Shakeys Pizza (yes, Shakey's! I hadn't been to one since I stopped working for Shakeys!) that night to celebrate. We met Miyuki (our Kyudo club's former teacher) there, and a fun time was had by all. When I figure out how to post pics directly to this blog, I'll post a pic of the "beer rocket" we got for our table! (a 4 foot huge tube of beer!!!....came with its own tap, even!).

 

Needless to say, I woke up a little bit...um...."under the weather" after the celebration. Not a good thing when taking the Shinkansen to Kyoto that morning. Ugh. Every time I looked outside and saw the landscape going by really really fast, I wanted to hurl. But, I got to ride a bullet train. How cool.

 

 

4/17/07

Nijo Castle: This castle is home to the "nightinggale floors"....floors that were specifically built to alert those inside the castle of intruders...the "alert" was a bird-like chirping noise that was activated with every step. There was a tour group slightly behind Jo and I, and with every step we took, it sounded like there was a recording of chirping birds playing in the background.....but it was really our walking on the floors that did the chirping! 

 

Next, we went to Sanjusangendo temple....what an impressive sight...many beautiful buildings on the site in addition to the temple itself. It was a peaceful feeling to walk on the grounds, even with other tourists around. I bought some great keepsakes there, as well as having the chance to stand in front of the temple and pray.

 

IMG]http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f68/Rusty301/Japan%20april%202007/DSCN4662.jpg[/IMG]

 

 

4/18/07

 

It was a rainy day, so the first thing I did was buy an umbrella! We went strolling around Gion, having a fun time going up and down the long street of shops and restaurants. I stopped off at another temple there in Gion (the temple was literally in the middle of all the bustle! I would have missed it if I was spacing out!), and prayed for my Dad's soul and the health and success of 2 wonderful friends. 

 

Great place to see exhibits of textiles, ceramics, swords and other cool stuff.

 

The hugest underground mall i've ever seen! Actually, its the ONLY underground mall I've ever seen, but anyway.....Jo and I were bored at the hotel after coming back from the museum, so we decided to spend the evening at the Porta. We found the neatest little french bakery there, and got a bunch of stuff for the next morning's breakfast! Great little shops, bunches of restaurants...pretty much a little city underground for bus/subway/train travelers!

 

Its late, and I'm still wiped out from the plane ride home. I'll finish writing about the rest of the trip a little later.

My classmates Jo and Jesse and I went to the Kyudojo to get some last minute practice before our exams....but the Dojo was chock full of people trying to do the same thing!! We wanted practice Taihai, just as we will do for the exam. Instead, we shot at the Makiwara (close range targets) instead, just to get our form cleaned up.

 

After shooting, we decided to find a bank or post office to get more money.....the post office ATMs would not take my cards, and the banks were closed. Jesse suggested that we try the Tokyo government building, where he saw ATMs earlier in the week. Jesse and I walked in with our bows and arrows, and we promptly got searched and we had to "check" our gear with a guard office ("confiscated" is more like it). When I found that my cards would not work in the ATMs, a guard directed us to a building a few blocks away (Loooong blocks!)....my cards didn:t work in that building either. After getting back our gear, we did manage to find out that there was a Citibank near Shinjuku station, not too far from our hotel, so we walked there and my card worked fine. We still had to find a money exchange for Jo, which was successful after walking around for a bit.

 

We then went to Shinjuku station to reserve tickets for a train to Kyoto...that was an adventure....trying to explain to a clerk that didn't speak much English, what we needed. We did manage to communicate our needs, and had the clerk write down (in Japanese) what train we wanted, and directed us to Tokyo station to buy the tickets, as they did not sell them there. Off into the subway chaos we went, and luckily when we got to the travel agency, we got a clerk that spoke enough English so that we could book our train. Hooray! We're taking the Shinkansen!! The Bullet Train!!!! I've always wanted to do that!!! The Shinkansen leaves 11:56 this coming Monday....I'm sooo excited!

 

The exams are tomorrow, so I must sign off and get some much needed rest so I can sit in kiza for 5 minutes at a time without hurting myself. Try this sometime....take your shoes off, so you're in your socks, get on your knees on a piece of smooth fabric on a slick lacquered floor, sit back toward your heels (toes still on floor...not tops of feet on floor) with your back very straight, and stay there for 5 minutes....get up for 1 minute and sit the same way way again for 5 minutes. Just the effort of not slipping and collapsing the feet or the posture is enough to make me sweat and hurt alot. I need to practice the kiza posture more, for sure!!!

 

More blogging after the exam tomorrow!!

What a fun day! We spent the morning and early afternoon at the International Kyudo Taikai (tournament) at the Budokan. A wonderful program for the opening ceremonies, and we were honored with the attendance of a Princess from the Imperial family ( sadly, I forgot the her highness's name). There were alot of shooting demonstrations by masters....my favorite demos were Ogasawara style "Hikime no gi" ceremonial shooting and the battlefield style shooting by a lot of men in ancient field armor. (yes, they all looked like Samurai).

 

My classmates Jan and Jo, and I went to Nakano to visit its version of Broadway.....I've never in my life seen such a HUGE shopping area, all under one roof! I got my first taste of Tokyo's subway and rail system. Under the streets, a whole new "city" is under there!....shops, restaurants...everything you would need during a subway or rail commute. The subway terminals had thousands upon thousands of people....I almost went into sensory overload, and we almost got lost in there trying to find the right line back to our hotel area in Shinjuku. We made it back to the hotel okay, but my feet sure are sore from all the walking in Nakano! I should have taken Reggi (the energy healer I keep blogging about) with us to Japan to treat our Kyudo team for the week!!!

 

More blogging to come tomorrow!

After we put our gear away at the hotel room, Jo and I wandered through Shinjuku....wow, what a bustle! I've never seen sooooo many people walking so fast in my life! A far cry from our Downtown Seattle!

 

After wandering for a couple of hours, my feet started to hurt from the training today, and as we started back to the hotel, we found a curry restaurant and decided to grab a bite to eat. My gosh, what great curry! I had the pork belly curry,....yummy! I've got lots of picturesof Shinjuku nightlife, and will post them when we return to the states!

 

The funniest souvinir my friend Jo got over here........a pound of Starbucks coffee!!

Today was sort of tough...for me at least. Today we did Taihai (formal shooting), in the manner that we would for our Shodan exams (Shodan being a rough equivalent to a 1st black belt), and I was Omae for my group (the leader of my group). Being Omae is tough enough, i think, because it is considered the most important position of a shooting line...the group has to follow your every move, and you have to be attuned to them as well.

 

My foot cramped after my 1st arrow....trying to hide it was hard because at the Omae position, you're sitting right in front of the head judge or professor. I'd much rather get kicked in the groin that deal with that kind of pain again. I pulled off my 2nd arrow without looking like an injured bird, but now I'm feeling the after effects. At least I have a two day break before my exam. Wish me luck, everybody!

 

My classmate Jo and I are heading off into the sprawl of Tokyo to do some shopping....got to run....more blogging later!!  (pictures later, too!)

What a great couple of days! Yesterday, we did alot of Kihontai (fundamentals) and got to shoot 2 arrows by the end of the day. Just the kihontai was tiring enough!

 

Today, was really a learning experience. We got to shoot more than yesterday, but the size of my group was sort of big, so I only got to shoot 6 arrows at the 28 meter range and 4 boya (practice target arrows) at the makiwara (close range target). I agree with my classmate Jo....we've never worked soooo hard for 10 arrows. Up to 2 masters and a couple of interpreters helped each student, and the instruction was very intense. I got another commendation from one of the masters....I was honored, yet nearly embarrassed. He said that I had a good "oneness" with the Yumi (bow) and that I would make a good teacher someday. He asked through an interpreter "Do you do any other Budo other than Kyudo?"

 

  "Hai Hanshi" I replied. "Iaido, Tai Chi, Gung fu". 

 

"Ah! So desu! Iaido! Ima, wakarimashita!" and the Hanshi giggled. (Ah! Is that so? Iaido! Understood!)

 

Turns out, that I might be the "Omae" for my exam group this coming Sunday. Omae is the the 1st position of a 5 person shooting line....a big responsibility that I:ve been nervous about for the last few months.  I have to be attuned to the energy of my 4 companions....sort of tough since I can't actually see them...they're behind me!

 

All in all, a good day.

 

And you know what?  The food here is amazing! All I've done is eat since we got here. All three meals...and I normally don't eat that often!

 

 

9 hour flight...I think my legs are still asleep!

 

Took the Narita express train to Shinjuku, and got completely lost out of the station! I think we walked with all our luggage for an hour before we found the hotel. ugh!

 

But at least we're here now....all checked in and we actually have lodgings for the whole week now! (didn't have tuesday lodgings until we got here).

 

More blogging to come later!!!

I'll be leaving for Japan tomorrow morning......yeeee haaaa!! I've wanted to go to Japan since I was about 15 years old...and now finally a dream is being realized!

 

I'm going with several Kyudo classmates for an international seminar and rank exams. I'm excited and nervous at the same time, about the rank exams. To take my Shodan  test in Kyudo's country of origin....how cool is that??  I'm looking foward to it!

 

Its going to be a long flight, but I've got my handy-dandy iPod and travel guides to keep me occupied. We arrive in Japan monday afternoon. We'll most likely need to hop a train to Tokyo from the airport, and arrange for lodgings for Tuesday night. Somehow, the hotel situation got  messed up and we don't have a room for tuesday.  Last I heard (but I could be wrong), we have rooms for monday, but not tuesday, but there's room availability after tuesday. Go figure.   In Kyoto, however, my classmate Jo and I want to spend at least a couple nights in a Ryokan (traditional inn) for the experience of it.

 

We'll spend the 1st week in Tokyo for the seminar and exams, then on the 16th, its off to Kyoto for a week of some much needed fun, relaxation, and immersion into the Japanese culture. I'm looking forward to seeing a Shinsengumi museum, several sword stores, kyudo stores (of course!), taking in the Tokyo nightlife, shopping, hiking to temples (more like having fun trying to find the temples! "Sumimasen....Sankakuji wa doko desu ka??"), visiting parks, and just wandering around aimlessly.

 

I'll blog as much as I can, given that I find internet cafes to blog from. I'll be taking lots of pictures, and will try to get some selected pics posted on my photo gallery slideshow here on spaces.live. Check here often to see if i've blogged my latest adventure in Tokyo or Kyoto!

 

Ja, Matta!

 

-Restita