We got up really early in the morning so as to finish our ablutions before we were summoned to the morning prayer ritual. The ritual lasted for an hour starting at 6 am. The first part was in a hall in the same building as our rooms and consisted of chanting rituals and offerings of incense to the deities. I remember it as being very peaceful and spiritual, as well as bitterly cold. Thereafter, we put on our outdoor shoes and moved to the temple next door for the second half of the ceremony which was a fire ceremony, also very mystical and for me, very nostalgic in its similarity to religious ceremonies back home.
At the end of the ceremonies, we went back to our room. The futons had been cleared up and our breakfast laid out, and it was very similar to the dinner fare, ie, noodles,beancurd, some veggies. We ate our fill and then checked out, and caught the bus back to the cable car station, taking the next cable car down. We then boarded the train heading into Osaka, along with this struggling to stay awake young student on board, rapidly trying to finish his homework.
We changed trains at Osaka to get into Kyoto station close to lunchtime and decided to grab lunch at our recent favourite - Capricciosa, before heading back to the hotel. While we were waiting for our room we overheard a hilarious conversation between the concierge and an American tourist who seemed baffled as to why he could not spend dollars in Kyoto, and would anybody please tell him why real geisha could not perform for him.
Once in the room, our first order of business was to arrange for the shipping of our sculptural chair from Uji which was lying in the foyer below. After a few phone calls, we managed to get a fair quote from Fedex and then rested while we waited for them to come pick it up. We also arranged to have our larger suitcase to be sent back to Tokyo. From now on, it was one cabin bag and backpacks. As a result, it was early evening before we stepped out.
We headed towards Gion, to Maruyama Park, which was ablaze both with sakura and the festivities of the season.
This very old, some say one of the oldest, cherry trees in Japan is a legend and many come every year to witness its beautiful weeping blossoms. It is one of the highlights of the park, just ask anyone where the famous cherry tree is.
We then made our way to the Shirakawa Canal area, a very beautiful part of Gion, with a lovely canal lined by cherry trees and old, atmospheric tea houses. It was also so beautifully lit up to celebrate the sakura, which was finally out in all its glory.
This bridge became famous as the spot where in the novel "Memoirs of a Geisha", the main character Chi-yo meets her benefactor - the Chairman for the first time.
Sitting there, in the heart of Gion, under the sakura that evening, kind of brought the whole trip together for me. It was the magic moment that tied it all together, the fact that I was in exactly the right place at exactly the right time, and that everything - the timing of the trip, the weather and the blooming of the sakura, our itinerary - everything had conspired to ensure that I would be sitting there at that moment, completely enthralled with the spirit of this wonderful country.
We reluctantly arose and made our way back to the shopping arcades and decided to catch a movie, something to take our minds off the rigours of sightseeing. This sort of "time-out" activity is something we try and do on each holiday. We decided on a theatre snack dinner of hot dogs, fries and drinks and watched "The Bank" starring Clive Owen. After the film, we made our way back to the hotel for our last night in Kyoto.
