Across the nightingale floor

First of all, I want to thank whoever came up with creating the JR pass. The Japanese interrail pass makes it so easy to just hop on a Shinkansen bullet train and - whoosh - arrive in a completely new destination just like that. Our greatest investment on this trip got us to Kyoto, Japan's old capital with its historical streets, magnificent temples and castles, and a mystery-shrouded Geisha culture. It's 400 kilometers southwest of Tokyo and we had even been skiing the very same day!

Sunday evening, after a short metro ride and some directions from a helpful Kyotan, we found YULULU (capital letters) Guesthouse, where we would crash for our stay. Well, that's only half true. Our casual plan-as-we-go policy, which got us successfully through southeast Asia, doesn't seem to cut it in the Japanese cherry-blossoming, tourist-overflowing season. We therefore managed to get the last cheap bed in Kyoto, and had to alternate nights in the all too familiar manga kissa booths. One person slept in a regular bed and the other in a kissa, then a switch-a-roo the next night.

I volunteered the internet café for the first night and didn't feel too fresh when I woke up Monday morning. Still in vagabond mode from Tokyo, I soldiered on, but looked forward to the coming hostel night.

It might not be much more than a capsule,
but at least we can stretch out our legs. 

Kyoto, a valley floor populated by about 1,5 million people, is best seen by bicycle, and coincidentally, it's one of our favorite modes of transport as well! So off we went, exploring both narrow streets and wide avenues containing parks, temples, castles and other wonders, all the way accompanied by cherry trees, of different colors and faces, in full blossom. We count ourselves so lucky to have hit Japan in it's full spring regalia. Among the day's highlights were definitely Nijō-jō Castle. Despite the name it doesn't have anything to do with Ninjas. (Who are not even indexed in our guidebook - they're too sneaky!) No, it's the former Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was these military leaders, not the emperor, who practically ruled Japan from Edo, that's old Tokyo to you, from 1603 to 1868. The paranoid Shoguns (fearing the Ninja assassins perhaps), installed a number of defense mechanisms on the castle grounds. Among the most innovative ones were iron clasps under the floorboards in the corridors. When walked on, the floor would emit a notable creaking sound (see picture for explanation). We're not talking regular, old-fashioned, wood creaking here. With the tourist masses the sound was almost akin to walking through a forest path with singing birds. Hence the name the Nightingale Floor. An easy warning against intruders, but still not annoying when traversed regularly.

Why should I explain how it works when you can read it yourself?

No pictures inside the castle, but this is the gate leading up to it so there's that.

On the western end of town, a beautiful bamboo grove made the day complete. We spent some time on a pathway, engulfed by these thin, towering, trees and were amazed by how serene the monotonous yet alluring surroundings were.

I'm a bamboo - the locals like to make weird poses, and when in Rome...

Enjoying Kyoto's tranquillity - no wonder there's Zen temples around!

The eastern part of town, Gion and Higashiyama, is an experience in itself. Here you see basically what you imagine old-time Japan looks like: narrow streets with rows of wooden houses, Buddhist temples and Shintō shrines around every corner, and if you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the exotic Geisha on her way to entertain at her next party. For, whatever people might believe, and what they might have been in the past, the Japanese Geishas are not prostitutes. They are highly trained entertainers, whose job is to act as hostesses for guests or as companions at parties. While it might be true that they where once forced into their line of work, today, many voluntarily strive to get into the pin-hole that is one of the Geiko (Kyotan Geishas) schools, to learn dancing, traditional instruments, tea ceremony and many more sophisticated arts. At Gion theatre, we got the chance to see the Geiko dances up close. It was very graceful, every movement looked planned to the last, but after a while we both found it a little monotonous and stretched. If we knew more what the different little gestures meant (apparently everything means something), like the intimate exposure of the wrist, or the elaborate colours of the Kimono, I'm sure we would have found it more entertaining. Nevertheless, Gion really put us through a time machine and, maybe especially at night, the quarter showed its magic and spellbound us.

Shimbashi-dori was filled with couples taking weeding photos - I wonder why.

We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a Geiko preforming a dance
in one of Gion's high-class establishments.

The outdoors are never far away! We came upon this forest path which
transitioned us from one temple complex to another. 

Next stop - Hiroshima. A short train ride further west, I don't think this city needs any introduction. There's basically one thing most associate with it: That fateful morning on August 6th, 1945. What marked the end of the Second World War, eventually also drew us to this pleasant and sunny modern city, which one never could have guessed had been an infernal ruin almost 70 years ago. We spent an entire day walking around the Peace Memorial Park, and visiting the Memorial Museum of the atomic bombing. We met people whose families had experienced the nightmare which was the aftermath, and heard emotional witness testimonies at the Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims. Needless to say it left a stark impression on us, not only the horrible stories we heard, but also seeing how the city had risen from the ashes, forgiven the injustice, and become a beacon of light and an advocate for world peace and nuclear disarmament. For every nuclear detonation since 1945, the mayor of Hiroshima has sent a letter to his blast-hungry colleagues, reminding them of the horror of nuclear weapons and begging the on behalf of Hiroshima's citizens to stop. Every one of the more than 660 letters were displayed at the museum, each individually written and heartfelt.

Hiroshima has reminded us yet again of what we have learned so many places on this trip - how war can only bring death and misery, never peace.

  

The Peace Memorial Park had big open spaces, and memorial
 monuments for reflection.

The claustrophobic Hall of Rememberance opens into a circular spacious
 room with a 360 degree view of the aftermath.

One of the few remaining buildings from before the bomb, the A-bomb dome is located
 near the hypocenter of the explosion.

We saw many memorabilia while touring the museum...

... and it's things like these that bring the lump to your throat.

A relative of a bomb victim showed us a cemetery off the main track. There were old graves
there with heat marks from the bomb, but all the new ones said: August 6th 1945. 

Hiroshima isn't all about the war though. One of the local delicacies is okonomiyaki - a pancake filled
with meat and vegetables and topped in cholesterol-inducing worchestershire sauce and mayo. Yummy!

Sorry to leave it on a somber note, but next time we'll tell of exhilarating bike-rides, and epic adventures being had on the island of Shikoku!