Day 5 – Kyoto bound

I purchased my ticket the evening before my journey, to make sure I’d find me a seat. All seats facing the starboard side (the Shinkansen is not a ship) were taken, as that is the side you get to see Mount Fuji – currently bold, and without its snow cap. It just makes the fact that it is a volcano more prominent. For ¥14, 370 I got a ticket for Nozomi (the fastest Shinkansen) and 2h 12min later I arrive in Kyoto.

I had already shipped my luggage with Yamato services (it arrived the day after), but I did have my backpack and the bag with my necessities to offload. Since the hotel was near the station, instead of the lockers, I decided to drop my stuff, then go explore.

The hall was very busy, both with people and luggage waiting to be collected. The staff spoke English, among other languages, and a few of them were non-Japanese nationals. A trainee handed me the key-card to the room, saying it was ready and I could leave my bags if I wanted. Happy, I took the lift up.

Dear Reader, I like warmth. It was a sunny – you need sunscreen and an umbrella/hat – day, and warm enough. Opening the door to the room, I found myself inside an unlit sauna. As my eyes adjust, and I’m telling no one in particular: ‘so, hot’, I take in…a pair of golden high heels, a blue raincoat (at least I thought it was blue, it may have been some other colour), and a pair of pale calves sticking out of a white duvet.

Soon, the head of a woman with candy floss blonde (?) hair pops up and she waves at me. I apologise, and make my exit the same way I came. It’s not even 10:00!

I left my bag at reception after this, and headed of to the temple, to wash off my sins. In keeping with court ladies and ladies of the court, while unknowingly I was enacting a scene of kaimami*, I opted for approaching beauty.

Rozan-ji Temple

The temple stands on the grounds of the Fujiwara family mansion, where Shikibu Murasaki was born, and raised, and said to have written The Tale of Genji – one of the most important literary works of the Heian era.* It was early enough in the morning to not have too many visitors, and nearby you can find the Nashinoki Shrine, where Somei, one of the three most important water springs of Kyoto is. The other two are Samegai, and Agatai.

Here’s where I had a chance meeting with an elderly guide. I say guide, dear Reader, for I would not have found the next place by using a map, and probably not by chance, since I didn’t know of its nearby location. He suggested I visit the place, and off we went.

The State Guest House at Kyoto Gyoen National Gardens

Many important people have, aside from yours truly, visited the State Guest House, tucked in the Gyoen National Gardens of Kyoto. Among them, the King and Queen of Bhutan (who came here to celebrate their wedding anniversary – the audioguide tells me), several Heads of State around the world, and the UK Prime Minister, Theresa May.

All of us wore slippers for the occasion, and that’s one of our few things in common. I guess maybe some of the slippers where personalised, and not the ones you find in the lockers outside the entrance to the hall. Nevertheless, I’m with Plato on this one, and I shall say, that a slipper is a slipper, whether it is made of glass, silk, or PU, and it does exist as a perfect slipper, even at the end of its days when a troubled genius like Van Gogh decides to take its impression.

Everything about this house, from its ceiling to its floors is a work of art. Yes, including the carpet, that looks like the surface of a lake where wisteria petals have been blown by the gentle wind, to the tatami flooring, which is exquisite.

There is a small fee, and a tour that takes 80min. You get an audioguide at the entrance, where there are also lockers to store bags. Everyone waits in the waiting room, and the tour guide comes in to give an introduction of what is to take place (security checks first, then slippers, then the in-house tour).

Rules are mentioned, and by now they are more of less:

• No shoes inside
• No touching,
• No crossing the bamboo borders.
• Photos are allowed 🙂

It was the best 80 min of the day. I could easily spend a few more hours inside the house and the surrounding little pond garden. I suppose I’d have to occupy some important position in the government, but I don’t think I have the time, inclination, or energy to rise those ranks, even if it would mean being able to visit this place on official business, and enjoy a dinner, tea, while sitting on unique beautifully crafted lacquered chairs. Alas, some things are to be desired, not acquired.

Talking acquisitions, nothing can put a plaster on realising you have a budget, like shopping does. If you simply can’t afford to dine at the Salon of Madame Pompadour, cause you’re neither a pauper of a philosopher, nor an aristo-cat, I recommend spending in eye-watering luxury goods that are somewhat within reach. Like a few grams of tea or a lipstick, which does happen to be the No1 luxury product sold out there. For you may not be able to offer thousands of pounds for a bag, but you can offer around £40 for a flush of red.

Ippodo Tea Store & Cafe

I think I got tea to last me a few months to a year. Barley tea, Gyokuro Tea, Matcha Tea, Sencha Tea, Hojicha Tea. Yes, I think that’ll be enough for now.

Last, but not least, a handful of roasted chestnuts to warm the cockles of the heart.

*Other important literary works of the Heian period (early 11th Century): The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon, Tales of Ise, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams by Lady Sarashina.