On the road again...to Kyoto

Riding the bullet train to Kyoto with Kentaro and Fumi-san

April 1: I check out of my room and sit in the lobby to wait for Kentaro and his Mom. I've been listening to the audio version of The Power of Now nonstop since I got here, and I motionlessly practice being in my body while I wait. I am sure that the entire staff is impressed with my zen-ness. Probably, however, they just think I am a bit weird. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it.

The plan is for Kentaro, Fumi-san, and I to hop on the train to Kyoto and stay in a traditional Japanese hotel tonight. Tomorrow, sister Mari will join us, and on April 3rd Yoshimasa-san will complete the group. This leg of the journey turns out to be the very best part of the most wonderful trip of my life. Saying this, I am sure you can imagine it means lots of photos and you would be absolutely right!

For one thing, our main purpose in going to Kyoto was to visit the Imperial Villa at Katsura. Kentaro's family remembered that in my college days I had studied, and loved, this architectural wonder deemed by experts the world over to be the most architecturally perfect dwelling ever created. I shared this when they visited my home ten years ago, and explained how my choice of furniture reflected my taste for the beautiful style of Katsura. Remembering this, ten years later, the Chiba family applied to the government lottery for permission to visit Katsura...and obtained it!

When I told them I was finally going to make it to Japan, they asked if I wanted to stay in a traditional or "regular" hotel. I said traditional, or whatever they thought, since I really didn't know what that entailed. They came up with a remarkable variety for me to enjoy. (They were a little concerned that I couldn't handle sleeping on the traditional futon, instead of a regular bed.)

But honestly, at our first traditional hotel in Kyoto, the Hiiragiya Bekkan (loosely translated as the Holly Tree Hotel), I realied that I had just arrived in Heaven.

Kentaro and his Mom had one apartment (you couldn't just call it a "room"), and I had my own. Since I am going to go completely overboard and show a ton of pictures on this incredible place, I'll save my further comments about this place. Except to say that, upon arrival at Hiiragiya Bekken, I was sure I was living in my very own Katsura (albeit on a slightly smaller scale).

Before that magic moment, however, I had great fun at the Shinkansen ("bullet") train station. The Shinkansen is a high-speed train, nicknamed bullet for its speed. The train station, to me, was a delightful place. I got to go with Ken and pick out my meal at a myriad of small restaurants in the station. (What the Japanese refer to as "fast food" is a tantalizing tray filled with small boxes, each containing different types of vegetables and/or seafood.) When we landed, Ken took me to the souvenir shop in the station, where I could easily have spent an hour buying little treasures for the folks at home. Everything in Japan is treated with such respect! I bought little washcloths, or handkerchiefs, meant for wiping one's brow but clearly too beautiful to actually do so, small incense burners and incense, adorable charms for the cell phone (or, in my case, purse), and so forth.

For each and every one, they included a small paper gift bag with a sticker to close it up once the gift had been wrapped. I don't know if other people use this, but I can tell you that when I returned home, I wrapped up each and every souvenir in its own little bag, and carefully closed it up with the sticker. It makes the tiny gift that much more special.

Except for the keychains I'd promised Perez from Tokyo, this began my souvenir buying. I got so much pleasure out of purchasing these lovely items, and each night I would take them out and look at them, imagining how happy the lucky recipient would be to receive them.

I told you I was a bit weird.