Japan & Korea – May 19, 2016

We drove off promptly at 8:30 a.m.; this is a timely group.  We went first to the Toyota Kaikon Museum, arriving at 9:50 for a one-hour stay.  There is a plant tour, but the tour would take too long so we just visited the museum which didn’t particularly interest me.  But one of our number is in the auto repair business – and she was fascinated.  It was fun seeing the groups of kids who were touring on school trips, and I did enjoy the 5-minute video on the production process.  The stamping and welding activities are almost totally automated with robotic arms doing all the work.  The painting and assembly processes are also highly automated, but there are more people involved.

After an hour more of driving we stopped at a highway rest area for lunch.  All four of the women in the group headed for McDonald’s.  No fish, no seafood, no rice; just a piece of cooked meat.  We all enjoyed it.  I followed up with a Baskin-Robbins cone for dessert.  Quite yummy.

Our first stop in Kyoto was Nijo Castle, a complex covering 70 acres and surrounded by walls and gates.  There are five huge palatial buildings interconnected by corridors.  The floorboards are laid in a way as to squeak when walked on so as not to be caught unaware by an enemy.

Originally built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu, it was completed in 1626 by the third Tokugawa Shogun with the addition of some structures transferred from Fushimi Castle.  It makes splendid use of early Edo period building designs, lavish paintings, and carvings that the third Shogun, Iemitsu, commissioned.  I noted the similarity of the carvings to those in the Ueno Toshogu Shrine in Tokyo.  Our guide Hiroko responded that the Castle and the Shrine were built by the same Shogun, undoubtedly using the same artists and style.  The gatehouse to enter the grounds was quite ornate.

Since Nijo-jo is considered a residence, we had to remove our shoes to tour the castle.  The rooms were lovely even if most of the artwork were replicas; the originals are being restored.  No pictures were allowed inside which is a shame because it was lovely and very impressive.  This is the entry to the castle; shoes stored there.

 The entire complex was quite large; apparently more of it was opened to the public than is usually the case so we got a real sense of the size.  At one point in touring the castle we were briefly “outdoors” in a courtyard so I chanced a photo.

Another gateway and a moat led to gardens and what might have been guest quarters; the interiors of the buildings were not on tour.  The gardens, however, were lovely.  I would have enjoyed them more if the temperature and humidity had been a bit less; took a shorter route through the garden than I might have done had it been cooler.

 

The gate is just as ornate from the inside.  There is lots of detail.

 

We were taken to experience a traditional tea ceremony – not in a traditional tea house, but in a room on a small street of Kyoto which serves as a training center for those wishing to learn the tea ceremony.  The tea master was very accommodating but spoke no English (Hiroko translated) and spent far too much time on history and too little on the elements of the ceremony.  Having participated twice in the tea ceremony done at the Como Park Japanese Garden Tea House, I felt I knew far more about the ceremony than we learned from this experience.  I was sorry for the others in the group who hadn’t previously had the detailed explanation I had had.

The master did encourage several members of the group to participate actively in the ceremony.

We were on our own for dinner in Kyoto so Glenda, another tour participant, and I wandered off in the direction suggested by the staff at the hotel.  We accidently found a wonderful restaurant.  It is French – in the Alsatian style since that is the area from which the chef comes.  He is married to a Japanese woman born in Kyoto.  Both had lived and worked in professional business jobs in various countries in Europe and Japan but 7 years ago decided they wanted to open a restaurant.  They each spoke multiple languages and provided a welcoming atmosphere.  We had a glass of wine and a delicious chicken and white asparagus (imported from France) dish in puff pastry; the side dish was spaetzle, reflecting the German influence in Alsace, and there was a green salad.  Nirvana! . . .