One Bite at a Time: BANANA BREAD! and Student Festival

Doshisha Student Festival (gakusai)

So last week was the student festival at Doshisha University (the school where my Japanese program is at) and it was pretty fun, running from Wednesday to Friday. The Doshisha students had the whole week off to set up booths on campus and transform classrooms into workshops or exhibit spaces or tea rooms. There were throngs of people filling the campus and student performances all throughout the day so my classes were moved to another campus nearby, about a 7 minute walk away. Most of the booths outside had some kind of Japanese festival food, the usual takoyaki (octopus ball), fried potatoes, hot dogs, tacos, and just generally things that are really easy for college students to make. There were two stages outside where student bands performed rock, jazz, techno, and dancing. Here's a picture of the Tahitian dance group and I saw a few hula dancers walking around barefoot. It was odd, but comforting to see a bit of island culture so far away. I can definitely say that there is nothing like the student festival at any American college I've been to and for all the differences between the American college system and the Japanese one, I'd say that this is something I wish we had in America. A couple of weeks ago I went to the student festival at Kyoto University, which was also really fun and full of things like second hand clothing stands, more food booths, and dancers and bands spread all around the campus.


Tahitian dancers at Doshisha Student Festival

Yesterday I spent the afternoon downtown going to the Manga museum with my friend. The manga museum was alright. It was mostly just hallways filled with shelves of manga from all around the world, but mostly Japan. There was a little interesting history exhibit, but other than that, not much really Educational about the museum. I wish they had a bit more explaining the significant authors and different types of Manga, but I think the place is really geared towards those specialist people who are searching for old and rare manga. My favorite part was that the museum is built in an old public school, so from an architectural standpoint it was interesting to see how the old space was rehabilitated to a different program. I think it was done pretty successfully, but it is definitely not the first school made into a museum.


Two partially eaten halves of our banana loaf

As we were biking down the streets of Kyoto after the Manga museum, we smelled a delicious scent on the air. I thought it smelled like banana bread, but I was surely mistaken because I have never ever seen real banana bread anywhere in Japan. They have lots of banana cakes and banana creams and banana cakes filled with banana cream in banana shapes, but never a real loaf of banana bread like I used to make back home. So when I stopped by this table on the side of the road in front of what may have been an old car garage and saw freshly baked banana bread (and ovens baking banana bread) I was astounded to find what I had long been looking for in Japan. My friend and I bought a loaf of real banana bread fresh out of the oven for ¥800 (about $9.24) and after the woman running the stand put it in a nice paper bag, we walked across the street to a little park and each ate half a loaf. It was DELICIOUS! I hadn't eaten banana bread since my old roommate's girlfriend used to bake some and bring it when she came to visit. To say the least, it really hit the spot and I will definitely go back there again. If you're looking for banana bread in Kyoto, ask me and I can show you where to get it :D

What is this? 12

Spotted: Outside of a busy construction site near the train station in Nara I found this interesting sculpture. Half-frog, half-machine, what is this RoboFrog and, more importantly, why is it holding a soccer ball?


Answer: This is a recycling bin for empty bottles. I assume it is an attempt to get kids to throw away their bottles, because frankly I don't think any adults would be enticed to throw anything away in a slightly battered up frog-shaped bin. It says very clearly not to put cigarette buts into its mouth because it is not an ash tray.

A Journey to the Past: Horyu-ji and Nara

I went to Horyu-ji and Nara yesterday with some of my friends to see some old temples. Here are a couple of pictures of what we saw there:


The Five-storey pagoda at Horyu-ji, which belongs to the group of buildings at Horyu-ji that are the oldest wooden buildings in the world.


A temple nearby Horyu-ji on pillars surrounded by a turtle pond. Inside are two national treasures, a tapestry and statue of Avalokitesvara in a contemplative pose.


Making new friends with the Deer in Nara at the Daibutsu park. Notice my new deer-hat.


Watching the sunset with friends from a hillside temple with the Daibutsu-den in the background

One Bite at a Time: Tea

I went for a walk down Teramachi Street from Doshisha University down to Shi-jo on Friday afternoon and ran into this classy tea shop. They served many different types of tea and let you pour it yourself. I ordered the seasonal special of the day, a kind of genmaicha or rice tea. It came with a thermos full of hot water and the woman there explained that I was to pour in the hot water and wait at least 20 seconds after the water first touches the tea before I drank it. Each set came with a little pot of tea, a clock (I suspect from Muji), a teacup, thermos, and seasonal sweet. The sweet I ate had some kind of bean paste at the bottom and is supposed to evoke a mountainside covered with the changing leaves of autumn. The tea was good and it was relaxing to have a nice cup of warmth after a long walk outside.

If you haven't noticed from some of my last posts, the seasonal changes are a huge deal here in Japan. Here are a few more pictures from Friday when I walked through the Kyoto Gyoen (Imperial Palace Park), which is right across the street from Doshisha University. This is one of the gates into the Imperial Compound framed by some changing Momiji (maple leaves).

One Bite at a Time: Wagashi

I made some wagashi, Japanese Confectionary, at the cultural activities session last week. After class a group of us went to a confectionary shop near the Kyoto Museum and made these tasty snacks (plus one more). The one on the left is supposed to look like a Persimmon and the right one is a changing Maple Leaf. The persimmon has white bean paste on the inside and mochi on the outside. The maple leaf has black bean paste on the inside and I'm not quite sure what the exterior is made out of, but it was really tasty. I also made the little, thinner maple leaves with a cookie cutter, but they were pretty much pure sugar (still tasty though!). I also learned how to make one more that looked like a ball of spaghetti with bean paste on the inside, but everyone ate that right when we were done making them. Everything was made by hand and the ridges in the leaves were made with a triangular piece of wood. Everything is edible and I enjoyed it all with a nice cup of tea the other night after a satisfying home-cooked meal of chicken breasts and spaghetti with Mascarpone sauce ^_^

What is This? 11

Spotted: An unidentifiable animal statue on the Eastern Temple of the Enryaku-ji complex. Enryaku-ji was an important center for Buddhism until it was destroyed by Oda Nobunaga because of its political power. It looks to me like it was also home to a mythical squirrel-lizard-turtle-dog?


Answer: I'm not sure exactly what it is supposed to be, perhaps an ancient Chinese interpretation of a turtle? In any case, I found it interesting looking. It has a sign on its back that I think might mark a tomb or something, but again, I'm not entirely sure about it.


View from Mt. Hiei with a bit of Kyoto in the distance and surrounding mountains

I went up to Mt. Hie last weekend to see some of the Koyo (changing leaves) season. The view from up there was beautiful as you could see all across Kyoto and to the surrounding mountains that were peppered with the reds and oranges of autumn. There were a lot of temples up there as well and I spent a good amount of time walking around and getting some nice photos. It was really really cold up there though, perhaps a good 4 degree difference from downtown Kyoto where I rode my bike in a T-shirt to get to Melissa's house. Her host family drove us to the base of the mountain where we boarded the ropeway going to the top. There was also a really big bell at the temple that people could ring, so I gave it a good whack and listened as the sound echoed through the temple and down the mountainside.


Autumn leaves with the main hall of the Eastern Complex of Enryaku-ji

Monday, Monday...

It's Sunday here in Kyoto and a new week is about to begin. I thought I'd just write up a little blurb about my weekly schedule so any readers can get an idea of what I'm doing while I'm here.

Monday
9-12: Japanese Class
2-5(or 6): Volunteer translation at Eastern Design Inc.

Tuesday
9-12: Japanese Class
1:15-4:30: Global Interchange class
4:30-6:30: Dinner with Japanese classmates
6:30-9:00: Teaching English at English Workshop for Doshisha college students

Wednesday
9-12: Japanese class
3:00-4:30: Kyoto Houses class

Thursday
9-12: Japanese class
4:30-7:00: Teaching English to school children and housewives

Friday
9-12: Japanese class
1:15-2:45: Kyoto Houses class

Saturday/Sunday
Free!

That's the basic framework of all the places I have to be and at what time. I also spend a lot lot of time and money commuting and, most importantly, finding food. I often enjoy cooking dinner, but it takes a lot of time to go to the grocery store/¥100 store to get stuff and then cook it and then eat it and then clean it all up. I didn't realize that eating was so time-intensive. Sometimes I go out to eat, but then it can also be difficult (and more expensive) to decide/find a suitable place to eat. Homework consumes the rest of my time, but I am always sure to set aside at least an hour or so to go to a temple on the way home or nearby. Time is going by so quickly here and I still feel like I haven't completed any of my goals here.

Anyways, I have to get ready for a presentation I'm giving in Japanese class tomorrow on the city planning of Kyoto from past to present. Here's to another packed week!

What is This? 10

Spotted: At one of, if not, Japan's most significant works of architecture, the Katsura Detached Palace, I found this stone. Carefully tied with a black rope and placed in the center of the pathway leading up to the entrance of the main building. A belated Easter Egg? A modern art installation, perhaps? What is this?


Answer: This is the traditional Japanese symbol for "no entry". I'm quite sure this marker wouldn't work at all in America because it doesn't really prevent one from physically entering an area. Anyone could just walk past this rock with a string, however the bound rock creates a psychological barrier that prevents one from passing it. I've noticed that everyone in Japan is quite conscious of the rules and my being here has made me more aware of what actions are okay and what are not. We are bound by the rules and shouldn't pass this rock, which is itself a reminder of ourselves, bound with a rope and restricted in movement. It works quite effectively because it makes one conscious that the decision to walk past this rock will also be a decision to break the rules.

View of the pond on the grounds of Katsura Villa

My visit to the Katsura Detached Palace was quite pleasant. As you can see from my pictures, the Momiji season has started in Kyoto. "Momiji" refers to the time when the maple leaves begin to change color to a fiery red. To go to Katsura it is necessary to make a reservation quite far in advance and you can only enter the grounds on a guided tour. I was a little disappointed that we couldn't go into the palace itself, but I understand their concern about preserving this national treasure. I certainly admire Katsura for its Sukiya (rustic and restrained) style of architecture as well as the profound beauty present in the well-integrated composition of buildings and landscape. Many of the design patterns on the sliding doors and screens of the complex are quite abstract and still appeal to the contemporary eye. There are many books written about Katsura that describe its interior in great depth, but it would have been nice to see the interior for myself and to experience it with my own haptic senses.

What is This? 9

Spotted: Japanese tombs decorated with 2-D black and white cats with glass marble eyes. New lawn decorations, or perhaps an extension of the Japanese obsession with cuteness into the afterlife? Egyptian guardians of the afterlife? What is this??


Answer: I'm actually still not quite sure what these flat cats are for, but I imagine it's to keep other cats away from these tombs, which happen to be the tombs of the Nobunaga clan. That's right, the Oda Nobunaga clan that unified much of Japan during the Warring States Period. I found it amusing that the Japanese would find it less offensive to have these flat cats than a real cat on the tomb of one of Japan's most significant historical figures. I happened upon Nobunaga's tomb when I was exploring grounds of Daitokuji, the 700 year old Zen temple next door to my apartment. There was a cemetery attached to one of the sub-temples and on its grounds was the humble tomb of Oda Nobunaga. I was also surprised at its simplicity when compared with Ieyasu Tokugawa's (the final unifier of Japan) tomb in Nikko. The cemetery was largely devoid of greenery, but the plots had unusual colored gravel or sand surrounding the tombstones. A patchwork of arid colors graced the grounds of this cemetery to create a beautiful scene unknown in America's largely grassy graveyards.


Sand and gravel in cemetery plots