We packed up our things Saturday morning and took them to the lobby of the ANA Hotel for check-out. Because we have so much luggage, we asked the hotel to keep our stuff while we spent the night in Nara, as we would be returning to ANA on Sunday. They agreed and a few kimono-clad ladies came to take our suitcases into storage. We left footloose and fancy free with just a backpack...we felt like such hippies, traveling with just a change of undies and some trail mix.
We were so excited about going to Nara. The city has been around since 710 and is loaded with temples, shrines, pagodas and herds upon herds of fearless wild deer. (Fearless wild deer are like the theme of this vacation. Seriously.) We read so much about Nara before getting there. Nara is the place where Chinese architecture, art and religion joined with Japanese language and Shinto traditions. "A place of synthesis" is how one of our books describes Nara. It's one of those places that feels like a living history book.
We took the local express train from Kyoto to Nara, which took about 35 minutes. It had been raining all morning, but being eternal optimists, we just thought it would blow over... After 10 minutes of walking in the rain, we stopped at a little shop and bought a couple of umbrellas before heading over to the Five-Story Pagoda. That pagoda was cooler than cool, but so was the weather. At this point, the temperature was dropping and the rain was picking up; making it nearly impossible to carry an umbrella, take photos and carry a map all while petting random fearless deer. We decided to head over to the Nara-machi district to check out the maze of tight alleys (less rain blowing in tight alleys, right?) lined with traditional wooden houses (machiya) and old warehouses. This area really is a maze of streets. Sometimes streets come together in the funkiest of arrangements, what English-speaking locals refer to as a "scramble." In the midst of this neighborhood lies a really, really old temple called Gango-ji. We didn't know anything about this temple because it wasn't in our books, so luckily we were approached by a retired lady who wanted to practice her English with us. She told us all sorts of stuff about the temple, but I was trying so hard to understand what she was saying that I missed what she was saying. She was nice...and talkative. Very talkative. Her husband look pleased to have a break from her while she played tour guide with us instead of him.
After the temple visit, we stumbled upon Koshi-no-ie, an old restored merchant's house that is open for touring. The volunteer who runs the place took a liking to me, I think because I messed up where I took my shoes off (a big deal here--lots of rules) and she got to school me on shoe removal etiquette. She gave D and I each a little origami top to take with us and then we had a little bowing match. Bowing is another big deal and it's not the kind of thing a book can teach you. The length of the bow, the pitch of your head, your timing...it all plays into the meaning. So much to learn, so little time.
By now the afternoon was upon us. We were cold and wet and luckily, today was the day of our relaxation-focused stay at the ryokan (traditional Japanese inn). D was sooooooooo excited about this part of our trip. He learned about ryokan culture back in high school Japanese class and has wanted to stay at one ever since. He took care of every detail with this part of the trip himself. He researched ryokans and worked with a Japanese travel agent to get our stay booked, as part of ryokan etiquette is that if you do not speak Japanese, you must have a Japanese person book for you and essentially attest to your willingness to conform to the ryokan culture. Seriously. I was so scared about this part of the trip because...well, because I tend to be loud and clumsy and I thought for sure I would do something to single-handedly break down Japanese-U.S. relations. Despite my fears and repeated tasteless jokes about communal bathing, D insisted and here we were, in Nara, Japan, walking to Kankaso, a traditional inn. I was really nervous. I know that seems ridiculous, but you should read what travel books say about staying in these places. One of our books has two pages devoted to ryokan etiquette. Two whole pages!
We had to be there at 3:00pm for check in. We were right on schedule to arrive at the inn by 2:55, not wanting to be late. But get this--on our way to the inn, we were stopped by Nara police and told to stop and wait as, now get this...the Chinese President Hu Jintao's motorcade would be driving through at any moment. So there we were, standing streetside with scores of onlookers and even more police waiting for Hu Jintao's car to drive by. I took a video of it. His car whizzed by with a little Chinese flag on it blowing in the breeze. Hilarious. Seriously hilarious. The President of China made us late to the ryokan. How's that for a 'the dog at my homework' excuse?!
We arrived at Kankaso at 3:03. A wall surrounds the inn and on it, just beside the covered gate, we saw vertically hanging signs with the last names of the 4 guests who would be spending the night. And there was D's last name. His smile was about as big as a smile can get. Ear to ear.
The place is BEAUTIFUL. The building is some 1200 years old. Hanging just above the entry in a decorative capacity is a section of the old central beam, as it has since been replaced. The place is surrounded by a fantastic traditional Japanese walled garden. D walked right up to the front door and, in accordance with ryokan etiquette, slid the front door open and, while staying on the stoop, called in for the host. "Konnichiwa?" No answer. "Konnichiwa?" Still no answer. We waited a minute or two. "Konnichiwa?" And then, faster than fast appeared before us our kimono-clad host, Aya, who had been out running errands. She tells us to wait a minute..at least I think that's what she said...while she went around to enter through the back. I find this hilarious. All the rules and she is late. I love this woman already.
She appeared at the doorway and invited us in. We removed our shoes and placed them to our right. She picked up our shoes and moved them to a wooden cubby on the wall that had already been labeled with D's last name. So, we're at a ryokan and we have a cubby hole...it reminded me of kindergarten. She provided us with rubber slippers, the same kind we had been wearing in all the temples. (Apparently the rubber slipper business is alive and well in Japan.) After telling us a few things (presumably about the place, but only she and D know for sure) she escorted us upstairs to our room. Aya speaks no English. None of the staff do. This is the real deal.
Our room is LOVELY. I mean, really, really traditional and beautiful. From the antique scrolls on the walls to the shoji screens to the tatami matted floor to the low table and floor chairs, this was old Japan all the way. Our room looked out over the garden. Aya instructed us both in Japanese and in charades to sit down at the chairs overlooking the gardens. She slipped out of the room and returned a few minutes later with big bowls of matcha (whisked green tea) and some sort of sugar tablet confection. Matcha has grown on me. I was never a tea fan, but I've has so much green tea in the past week that I'm actually acquiring a taste for the stuff. We attempted to drink our matcha according to custom, which means picking up the cup and putting it in your left hand, turning it 90 degrees clockwise with your right before putting both hands on the bowl and bringing it to your mouth to consume it in precisely 3 gulps. Or something like that, anyway. I rely on D for that technical junk.
After our matcha, Aya brings us regular green tea and proceeds to talk to us about our schedule. When would we like dinner? When would we like our bath? Of course, this is all communicated in a combination of basic language, charades, and drawing on a tablet. Watching Aya and D "talk" was so cool. They really hit it off. Speaking of Aya, D commented that she could give my Dad a run for his money. She is probably in her late 70s or early 80s and does everything extremely quickly and efficiently, including walking faster than fast with only 3 inches per step due to her restrictive kimono. Listening to her walk cracked us up. "Click click click click click."
Okay, back to the schedule. We decided to have our bath at 5:00, dinner at 6:00, and breakfast at 7:30. Aya pulls out our yukatas (casual form of a kimono for both men and women) and charades that we should put them on for our bath and wear them the rest of the time. (It's traditional to change into the yukata at the ryokan and only back into your clothes when you are ready to checkout.) And then she's gone again. This woman moves like...like my Dad. Faster than fast. After we changed and were attempting to properly tie the belt knot, Aya slipped back in and helped D get his right. It was adorable. And then she took us to our "private bath." Yep, that's right, our first time in the bath is private. No one looking at us naked. Just us. Thank God.
The whole idea of bathing here is not about getting clean, per se. In fact, etiquette dictates that you wash your body and hair twice at the showers in the bathing room prior to even stepping foot in the tub. This is because the tub water is used by many people before being replaced and it is not chemically treated. The tub is all about soaking and relaxing. (There are no jets.) It is a 6 foot square wooden tub with water up to the very edge. The water is EXTREMELY hot. Much hotter than your average hot tub. I mean, so hot that I thought there was no way I could possibly sit in it. I mean HOT. Really freakin' hot. But D told me to sit my butt down and I'd get used to it. And he was right. Oh, and when you get in, because the water is maintained right to the edge, your body displaces a ton of water that flows over the edge in this waterfall that drains to the side. So cool. And the bath is beautiful-- made from cedar and stone with a huge window overlooking the private section of the garden. So we sat there and soaked for a half hour before returning to our room for dinner. Yes, dinner in our room in our yukatas. Just like home when I eat in my PJs, right?
Back at the room, Aya had us sit on the floor chairs at the low table and began to bring in our dinner. Kankaso is famous for its traditional kaiseki dinner, a 12 course "visual and culinary journey." Actually, Nara in general is known for this type of dinner. It takes hours to eat. Because kaiseki involves all sorts of crazy (and I do mean crazy) sea creatures and lots of seaweed, I wasn't interested. We had ordered our dinner in advance with the help of the travel agent, as is customary when booking at a ryokan. D loves trying crazy stuff and was super excited about this part of the stay. Instead of kaiseki, I ordered a dish called sukiyaki. It seemed to have more identifiable components. Tee hee.
When the food starting coming, we could not believe our eyes. Never ever have either of us seen food as beautiful and bizarre as this. And the food just kept coming. Course after course after course. D's meal involved so many dishes our entire table was full of beautiful Japanese pottery showcasing the most fantastic looking food. Of course we took pictures of every dish. (This is how 2 people end up taking 1,000 photos in 2 days.) My meal, sukiyaki, was beautiful AND interactive. Aya helped me get started by pouring dashi (a type of Japanese stock) into a cast iron pot on a flame at the table. She brought me a platter of the most beautifully marbled Kobe beef and another platter of cabbages, green onions, several kinds of mushrooms, onion, tofu, etc. and used charades to give me instructions about timing and cooking. It was soooooo good. Aya was in and out of our room throughout our meal. She even took pictures of us and let me take her picture with D. We had such a great time eating those amazing meals in our robes sitting on the floor in our tatami-matted room. D was so right about this.
After dinner and our dessert of slimy and delicious mango mounds, we retired to our chairs overlooking the garden as Aya cleared the table of the gazillion little dishes and moved the entire table out of the way BY HERSELF to make room for our traditional Japanese sleeping futons. (She would not have let us help. There are rules to be followed and guests must not lift a finger, even if they want to!) In a matter of minutes she had the futons (2 inch thick mats directly on the floor--nothing like what we call futons at home) laid out and the linens on. She brought us our evening tea service and shuffled out of the room in her 3 inches per step way, but not before reminding us in Japanese and charades of our breakfast time and public bath hours. And off to bed we went. What a fantastic day.
A few pictures from Saturday: School girls and their umbrellas...Shrine visiting in the rain...Traditional Japanese townhouses...Buddha's doorbell...D arriving at Kansako Ryokan (just look at that smile)...Me trying to drink my matcha in precisely 3 gulps...Tea for two...Garden view from our room...Aya helps D with his yukata...Bath house--pretty slick, eh?...Dinner in our room...Would you just look at that crazy-looking food?
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