We arrived by train and immediately felt the cool air of the Katsura river flowing out of the mountains. We found a shady spot along side and had a quick lunch of onigiri (rice balls) and bananas and watched men fishing, egrets and herons wading, hawks flying overhead and people in river boats avoiding the waterfall as they pulled up to the docks to let tourists out.
Refreshed we began to climb the nearest mountain and what a steep hike it was. We were on our way to the monkey park where researchers and a bunch of tourists respectively observe and feed macaque monkeys. We could hear the monkeys better than see them on the climb but we did have two garter snakes (we hoped that they were not poisonous) cross our path. Eleanor became nervous and clung to me for the rest of the hike and the whole time we were with the ‘wild’ monkeys.
We arrived at the top sweaty and out of breath (we carried the kids the last bit) and so we went straight into the feeding hut for a seat to cool down. This place had chain-link fencing for windows and female monkeys were hanging around being fed apples or peanuts which could be purchased for our entertainment. Tim bought some apple and began to feed a mother with a new babe clinging to her. Others fought for some of the food and it wasn’t a pretty sight.
The view of Kyoto was incredible as it was a clear day. We walked to the pond and saw monkeys having a drink. It wasn’t long before I had enough of this place. The monkeys usually live in groups of 30 or so but here the troop was almost 200 strong. Their behaviour was so altered by human control and feeding that although it was not a zoo it was not seeing ‘wild’ monkeys in their natural habitat. Maybe I am lucky to have experienced that in Central America so this just didn’t feel right.
There was a playground there for children so we let the kids enjoy the zip line and slide a few times before hiking down. Monkeys followed and we noticed their keepers below using sling-shots to ensure they didn’t go out of the park and disturb the world of humans below.
At the bottom we crossed the famous Togetsukyao or ‘Moon crossing’ bridge across the river to the town on the other side. It was bustling with excitement. Very fancy ‘rickshaws’ pulled ladies around and people ate in various restaurants. Stores sold packages of sweets to bring as gifts for those who couldn’t visit with you, and such beautiful wares. Ella and I got silk fans so we could feel beautiful and keep cool.
We followed a cobble-stone street to a famous temple called Tenryuji- ‘heavenly dragon’ which had an incredible zen garden. We wandered around hoping Lucas wouldn’t dare run across the purposefully raked pebbles although we could understand how that space would seem inviting to a four year old. We tried to sit quietly and enjoy the peacefulness the gardens were supposed to induce but the kids began to melt down after the bamboo forest and we had to carry them out. They were hungry of course, and so were we.
Tim had a favourite Ramen place downtown so we took the train into Kyoto for a 4pm Ramen dinner. Ramen originated in China but the Japanese have made it their own. Ramen is a hot noodle dish with shaved roasted pork, garlic, onions in a thick soup and yes, it was good especially washed down with Kirin beer. We ate in the tiniest booth I have ever tried to sit in and listened to the eaters around us slurp with gusto.
Tim won some pens that we brought home only to discover they have an LED light projector that shines an image of a ramen dish on your wall in the dark. Tim suggested we have lazer ramen fights and I laughed at how amazingly entertaining Japanese advertising is.
No comments:
Post a Comment