Kyoto Again

From what I post on here, it looks like I do nothing but go on holidays. I do honestly have a full-time job, but while I enjoy it, it’s not really interesting enough to warrant regular documentation. Also, as the countdown to summer and my return to Canada continues, I’m trying to make the best of my remaining time in Japan. Sadly, my most recent visit to Kyoto was probably the last trip I’ll take until I leave for good in August. On the bright side, I’ll stop hemorrhaging money for the remainder of my stay.

A friend and I went to Kyoto for the weekend, and though we only went for one day, we packed a lot into a single Saturday. On my last trip, I regretted not having the time to see one of the really big, famous temples. I didn’t expect to see it this time either, but we ended up there by accident because it’s at the end of a long touristy street that we were shopping on.

I’ve seen so many temples in the last two years that they’re kind of all starting to look the same. Kiyomizu-dera was exciting because it’s pretty unusual. The place gets its name from the fountains that everyone queues up to drink from. One fountain is for wisdom, one for luck and one for longevity. These are all nice things, but I skipped the fountain partially because of the half-hour wait that the line would require, and also my neurotic obsession with hygiene, which would not permit me to drink water from an unknown source from a communal tin cup which was not washed between the hundreds of people who use it each day. Ewwwwwwwwww.

Whatever, the best part of the temple is the Noh stage anyways. It’s 13 meters high, supported by hundreds of huge wooden pillars. Apparently some superstition got started that anyone who survived jumping from the stage would have their wish granted. A surprising 85% of the documented jumpers in the Edo period survived the fall, but it was later made illegal, most likely due to the clean-up required after the other 15%.

The shopping and sightseeing are really a side note (though a great one) as the real reason for this trip was to indulge in the mother-of-all-ridiculous-tourist-activities, the Geisha/Maiko makeover. We opted to be Maiko rather than Geisha because the kimonos were flashier and you got more dangly hair accessories. I was a bit worried when the process began. With all of our hair tied back and the white makeup applied, we looked more like transvestite-vampires than anything else, but the kimonos and wigs completed the transformation. After having photos taken in the studio, we hit the streets of Gion for a little stroll. It was nice to be able to take pictures with our own cameras doing anything we wanted, and we ended up taking a surprising number of pictures with groups of students on school trips. The outfits attracted a lot of attention, but the biggest laugh was that people didn’t realize that we were foreign until they got close up, and then that thoroughly confused them.

It was tons of fun, but not terribly comfortable. I don’t know how real Maiko and Geisha do it (and yes there are still plenty of real ones in Kyoto). The kimono weighed a ton, the obi was so tight and stiff it was more like a girdle, it was hard to move and it left bruises, and the 4-inch thick soles on the shoes made walking pretty dangerous. I’m really glad I did it, but I think I’ll keep my day-job.