Friday, June 21, 2013

Rainy Day Activities in Kyoto

Today's activities were a little more laid back than the last couple of days. It was still sprinkling so we looked for indoor activities. My sister, Bridget and I went to the Kyoto Handy Craft Center to try our hand at making something resembling art. We tried the woodblock painting and in spite of good instruction, I must say that our attempts make the commercial block prints look phenomenal.

We then walked towards the downtown area and passed over the Kyoto version of a river. It looks a lot like the concrete channels I grew up with in southern California. We attempted to use the bus/subway/train system but was thwarted by the confusing transportation system. All of the systems are private and you need different passes for each one. We had a Japan Rail pass and had purchased subway/bus passes yesterday. There was an underground train that headed toward where we were headed but our passes didn't work.

I've seen a lot of these little three wheeled scooters around everywhere and they seem to be used mostly for food delivery vehicles. An insulated box fits on the rear rack and they aren't much wider than a normal scooter. In Kyoto, there seems to be quite a few more scooters and motorcycles than in Tokyo but bicycles outnumber any other form of wheeled transport.

In the downtown core, they even charge for bicycle parking. Scooter and motorcycle parking is on the street but bicycles get to go right next to the buildings.
That particular parking area happened to be in front of the capitol building. Kind of a dreary looking building compared to many of the other buildings in this town. But the grounds were very well kept and spotlessly clean. In fact, I have yet to see any litter along the street and even fewer trash cans. The American habit of eating and drinking while walking along isn't evident. If you stop at Starbucks, then you would stay there until you are finished.

These bikes are very common for carrying multiple kids or a lot of groceries. The really wide sidewalk in this area of town is for both pedestrians and bicycles with clearly marked lanes for each. Even the sidewalks are divided. The bicyclists are almost fearless as they navigate their way through traffic (always on the correct side of the street, going with the flow of traffic).

Here is where we were headed this afternoon after lunch. The Manga Museum where you could find everything related to manga. Something else that I didn't really know much about. I used to watch the cartoons while growing up but never knew it had a name. The whole manga/anime/cosplay thing is extremely popular and it isn't unusual to see girls dressed up as characters walking down the street. I guess that's one way to not conform and stand out in a crowd.

10 comments:

  1. How are you doing with the language? Do you speak Japanese?

    I was aware that Japan is clean. I assume it's a national pride and respect for others. Perhaps the USA means having the freedom to make life miserable for other people.

    Japan may be as close as it will get for my fantasy of a Scooter World. Small is good. And a gardening job there would be heaven.

    Movie recommendation: A Taste of Tea.

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    1. I do very poorly with the language. Just the basics such as good morning/afternoon/evening, thank you, excuse me, where is _ what is _. That's about it. I can understand a bit more than that but speaking is much harder. Many speak more English than I speak Japanese.

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  2. Martha, beat me to the question. I am also curious of how you communicate with the locals. I find your everyday findings very interesting. It almost feels like walking along with you.

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    1. Communication with locals is limited. My cousin and her husband used to live in the US and last night, my cousin's daughter brought two friends over and one of them lived in Boston until he was eight and spoke perfect American English, albeit with a slight Boston accent.

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  3. Interesting observations RichardM, still, it would be almost required, some of the civility/neatness displayed...after all, cram that many people into such a small country....without the veneer of civilization, chaos would ensue I think.

    ps: the really, really, really thin veneer of civilization.

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    1. Yesterday, I observed some stress. In one of the large gift shops, a group of tourists came in from a bus (not from the US) and they were loud and looking to smoke somewhere. The store employees looked stressed. And when the group left, they walked around the entrance doors and sidewalks picking up cigarette butts and resorting the trash (separating recyclable materials). And this was done not just by the clerks but the entire store staff including managers.

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  4. Richard:

    spending time with your sister & relaxing is good. I'd imagine that your sister was doing most of the talking for you

    It's nice to be somewhere where people are respectful of each other and you have to worry about the bad things we have to watch out for elsewhere in the World

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    1. It is wonderful to spend time with my sister and her family. She does keep us on schedule but knows a similar amount of the language. But does have a lot more knowledge of customs and what to see in the area from previous visits. Plus my nephews seem to have done a lot of research and know a lot about the area. Slackers like me are just along for the ride.

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  5. It is nice to know that everything is so clean givin the population numbers. Of course around here, we can't seem to keep the small town clean.

    I like the 'staying put until you are finished your coffee or meal'. It makes it appear that they have time to rest in the hustle and bustle on their day.

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    1. The only ones you see running around with their Starbucks are the tourists. Also, no trash receptacles on the streets and recycle bins next to the vending machines for the empty dispenced cans and bottles.

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