I arrived in Kyoto in just two hours, thanks to the bullet train’s remarkable speed. Although it isn’t the fastest train in the world, the Maglev in China and the TGV in France hold that honor. Maglev trains are a glimpse into the future of transportation, and works by magnetic levitation. Japan is currently developing its own Maglev, aiming to surpass all speed records. Nevertheless, the bullet train provided exceptional comfort and generous legroom. Despite hearing tales of its stability, I was surprised when my iPad took a free fall from the table.
I reached Kyoto shortly before midnight and checked into a modern hotel that offered face recognition technology for check-in and room access. It was undeniably cool not having to worry about carrying a key during my stay there.
I know a lot of you are very cautious with social media and also a lot value their privacy. I am not crazy about privacy and hence you see that I post photos and updates about my trip. Through these posts, a friend of mine, Erick from Brazil, contacted me and said he is traveling with his wife Sandra around Japan. He shared with me their itinerary (a tricky word to spell and to pronounce) and we found that our plans coincide in Kyoto. Erick is one of the smartest people I know. We met around 10 years ago when I started my PhD in Tübingen, Germany where he was also working on his PhD. My professor sent me to him to learn a few things and, since we are also both couchsurfers, we met regularly and our friendship grew over the years. We went often for lunch breaks where Erick would discuss any topic of his abundance, be it about philosophy, religion, sociology or science, and I would play the role of a devil’s advocate and challenge his theories, rather for amusement. We enjoyed these conversations and I missed them since I left Tübingen in 2018. His wife Sandra, is also very intelligent and she started a project on scientifically making certain diets for cancer patients. I was excited when I knew, that we will be exploring Kyoto together.
Kyoto is a relatively small town in comparison to Tokyo or Osaka. The buildings are shorter and life is calmer. We met in the morning of Tuesday the 23rd of May and started by walking in the market while catching up. We updated each other about our whereabouts during the last 3 years. We also exchanged our experiences in Japan so far and started tasting different dishes in the market. Starting from the famous Japanese Wagyu beef, to different sea foods with countless ways to prepare it. I am again and again impressed by the richness and variety of the Japanese cuisine. In the market you would also see unusual shops, for example here you can drink coffee and pet cute animals like puppies or guinea pigs. There you can learn how to forge your own ring. We spent some quality time at the market and decided to head to a bamboo forest, which is one of the beautifully natural things you could see around Japan. We walked among the countless bamboo trees but also countless tourists. Then we found refuge in some garden with a tea-house that were created by Samurai movie-actor. In the shadow of the trees and while sipping green matcha tea and eating traditional sweets, the conversation spanned quantum physics, eastern religions as well as sex 😀 Erick has the capacity to talk for hours uninterruptedly, which is something he and we are aware of. Nevertheless, it was refreshing to have flowing conversations. Living in Germany or in Switzerland, one often feels like you have to beg people for conversations. They are not as talkative as the southern countries for sure. This is why I appreciate my chatterbox friends, not to mention if their talking is rich with content.
Over two days in Kyoto, we visited Shinto temples and restaurants. We also went to the neighbourhood where geisha are active and we played the game: ”spot the geisha!”
Geisha are highly respected in Japanese society and are regarded as cultural icons. They are skilled in various traditional arts, such as tea ceremony, calligraphy, and playing musical instruments like the shamisen. Beyond their artistic talents, geisha are also trained in the art of conversation and are known for their intelligence and grace. This is why they render any gathering more pleasant and entertaining.
This is not something about sex and one can’t simply book a geisha online. You have to have the connections to organise an evening with a geisha and you have to be vouched for.
The food in Kyoto was wonderful. Day after day, I love Japan more and more! I ate not when I was hungry but rather when I was not full. For the smell of this or that restaurant kept flirted with my nostrils in the streets and alleys. Even at midnight, you can go to the traditional Japanese pub, the Izakaya and have a cheap and wonderfully tasting food. The prices here are also comparable to Europe if not slightly cheaper. Tokyo could be a bit pricier but not even close to Zurich. You can easily have a decent meal and a drink for 10 – 15$.
I walked a lot in the side streets of Kyoto. For me, everything in Kyoto is cute! I decided to name it Cute-o and I am sure I am not the first to have this idea. The tiny houses, the tiny streets, the tiny cars that I haven’t seen anywhere else in the world, are together painting a beautiful little town. I felt romantic in Kyoto and it will stay in my memory despite the fact that I took only very few photos. What could I do? Every corner I saw something worth of photography and my artistic talents fell short to capture the beauty of the moment. Take my word for it, Japan is beautiful. Someone has to pay me for all of this marketing 😅
On one of the days in Kyoto, we were discussing strategy games. Then Sandra suggested we go to a local “Go” club. This was not a common touristic activity. But Sandra asked the hotel receptionist to call the club and organise a visit. We went there and were welcomed by the instructor before the club members arrive. Erick has already explained the rules to us in advance. The instructor went deeper on the board. He didn’t speak English and we didn’t speak Japanese. So we worked with google translate which has two useful modes. The camera mode, with which you can point the camera on any text and it translates it, and the conversation mode which listen to both of you and translates the conversation in real time with sound output. This worked good enough to manage some kind of conversation and understanding of the game. Slowly, the club members started arriving and they were mostly retired women and less men. I appreciated this social activity for the retired. I think it is useful to have some interest or passion that can fill your life when you aren’t working. Both now and after retirement.
My time in Kyoto with Erick and Sandra came to an end on Thursday afternoon. I then took a short train ride to Osaka, a much bigger city full of skyscrapers and glittering LED lights. I spent there almost 24 hours that included a lot of eating as well as one more dance lesson. I met locals and travellers and walked until my feet hurt. I have walked 10-20 km daily since I landed and my brain has been working continuously trying to understand or process the new input everyday. To some extent, I felt saturated and needed to rest my body and my brain. This is why I am glad that I am flying now, on Friday the 26th, to Okinawa, an island far in the south of Japan, which is famous of sandy beaches, equatorial temperatures, and typhoons!
