I still wake at 5:30am. It’s nice because I have an hour or two to read and relax before we get into full swing. The kids usually spend the morning working on assignments, listening to online lectures and then we have a bit of toast, review the maps and guides and then we set out.

Today we went to see Kiyomizu temple. We strolled up the hill from our machiya (a traditional residence we found thanks to Keiko and Paul), stopped in at the pottery center and then made our way past the stalls of treats (the green tea and vanilla swirl ice cream was delish) to the gates of the temple. When we arrived at the gates, we were approached by university students wishing to practice their English. The one who approached us first studies marketing, a field well suited to his outgoing personality. The group of six offered to guide us through the temple and we thought, well, why not? The students, two boys and three girls, were polite (this is Japan after all) but not so informative. We have plenty of guide books and we didn’t expect a lengthy history lesson it was just fun to help them improve their English. Two of the girls are studying English Literature, a third is studying law. At the end of our time touring, we exchanged cards. Andy being the President of his company was a great surprise/delight for them. I gave the law student my card but didn’t get the ooohs and aaaahs that he did; I guess if I want Japanese accolades I will need to add an impressive title to mine. ESQ just doesn’t garner the same respect here as “President.”

We took our leave and walked down San-nen-zaka and Ninen-zaka streets, visited the Kodai-ji Garden with its small zen garden, bamboo and tea rooms and then made our way back to the machiya to rest and have a quick bite – really quick because we had booked a class on tea ceremony for 4pm!

The Tea Ceremony Room Juan was a lovely experience. Our hostess explained the four principles of the tea ceremony: peace, respect, purity and tranquility. Every aspect of the tea ceremony ritual reflects these principles: hostess and guests watching in silence, bowing to one another to acknowledge gratitude for the sweets and tea, cleansing of the tea utensils, exchange of pleasantries such as complimenting the hosts tea utensils, the calligraphy in the room, the tea container and tea scoop, turning the tea bowl so that the host sees the front of the bowl and our lips don’t touch the ornate designs, all of these are mindful reflections on the four principles. We also learned a bit of history: tea came from China in the 12th century (look that up to be sure I remember that right). At that time, the tea ceremony was limited to the samurai class and because the samurai were warriors, the tea ceremony took place in tea rooms with doors only two feet high (roughly) so that the samurai sword could not fit and the warrior would have to crawl to enter the room (this assured peace). Later, around the 16th century, the merchant class held tea ceremony and later still, the more common classes. After eating two small but very sugary sweets and watching our hostess prepare a light macha tea (macha is powdered green tea) for us, we were able to prepare a cup as well. The kettle was already prepared and the water at a soft boil so we didn’t need to go to the spring for pure water or light a fire to heat the water as in ancient times. Using her tea scoop we took one and a half scoops of macha from the tea jar, took two-thirds cup water from the kettle using the bamboo ladle and with great ceremony whisked our macha into a latte or cappuccino like frothy goodness! It was an hour well-spent.

From there we decided to take a page from our friends the Goldsteins and re-visit the Kyoto Station. We had passed through yesterday after alighting (I love that word!) the Shinkansen but that side of the station could have been just another fabulously run Japanese train station. So we went back to see what it was that Amy found so amazing. Could it be the scaled down and much more tasteful water and light show? the modern and welcoming architecture of the place? the bamboo garden at roof level where you can see the sun set over the mountains? the full floor of restaurants dedicated to ramen and kobe beef burgers? the teens in their wacky garb sitting on the cascading steps with LED lights that alternate from “Welcome to Kyoto” to an image worthy of fine porcelain? It might have been all of the above. It was for us.

Kobe burgers hit the spot and we made our way home in search of the Citibank – Eric, how can there only be one branch here? ATM cards work at certain banks, JB Bank is one. I am told the ATMS at the 7-11s all take foreign bank cards as well. I’ll try that out tomorrow…

We are finishing up our day now: checking in with friends, journaling, having tea, and playing our new favorite card game Anomia a new favorite – many thanks to Rachel and Jeremy!

Well, there you have it…a day in the life. Here are some photos, in random order until I have the patience to sort them 🙂