Day 4 Japan

Nature in Kyoto:
This morning we met Lauren, an American friend of a friend, who is living here in Kyoto with her husband and their 16 month old daughter, Sophie. (They are here for one year because her husband is on a Fulbright-Hays fellowship.) Jim joined us since he doesn’t have to work this week and we all went to a park so that Sophie could play. The park was really nice with big slides, swings and sandboxes. We grilled Lauren with questions we hadn’t been able to figure out such as “What is that packet of tiny white sprinkle-looking things that comes with the yogurt?” (This packet also looked exactly like a “Do not eat” packet, so we were erring on the side of caution. It turns out they are sprinkles, so I’ll eat them next time. :)) As we were leaving the park we ran into another American, Jason, and his little girl, Claudia who is about Sophie’s age. He and his wife are here for several years (his wife was in JET and now has a Fulbright-Hays fellowship as well). From Jason we learned more about the garbage and recycling system. (Throwing away garbage is really complex here—different items go in different bags and are picked up on different days-- and if they recycle as much as the sorting would lead us to believe, I am in heaven…) It is really nice to have some American contacts here since a major way information is passed on to our kind is through other expats.

After we left the park, Jim and I went on a big, multi-hour walk around our end of Kyoto (the very Northern-most part). We stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall ramen shop for lunch because it reminded us so much of a West African “chop shop”. (Jim and I met as Peace Corps volunteers in the Gambia, West Africa.) Fortunately, they had an English menu (!) and we were able to order a combo of ramen, rice and gyoza (dumplings). What a feast! As we finished, the shop had cleared of other customers and so we started practicing our “baby” Japanese with the family running the shop. (We guessed, anyway, that the restaurant team was a man and wife and grown daughter.) They were SO sweet and excited that we were trying to speak and they so wanted to say something we would understand. After lots of searching through my phrasebook, I finally found what I was looking for. “Oishikatta.” I said and immediately the three flew into bowing and “Arrigato, arrigato!!” (thank you). It was such a sweet moment. They were so kind, and as we left the older women took us to the door and gave us a deep bow. We definitely have to go back. I also wonder if any American restaurant owner would be so kind to a foreigner trying to speak English. I hope so, but I kind of doubt it…

Moving along, Jim and I followed a path to a lovely shrine area and saw a woman praying to various sides of it. We have a lot to learn about Buddhism and fortunately Lauren’s husband is a Buddhism scholar, so we’ll ask him. We then continued on our way until we encountered a lake Jason had told us about. There was a beautiful walking/running path around it and one end of it offered a view of the Convention Center where the Kyoto Protocol was signed (at least we think so. We couldn’t read the signs, but that’s what Jason told us.) After sitting for a while in the park we finally headed home (we had been walking all day and our feet were telling us it was time to turn in.)

So, no major misadventures today, but we did gain an appreciation of how much nature is just around our doorstep. Kyoto is renowned for its beautiful fall colors and the trees are just beginning to turn gold and red. The city is also surrounded by hills, so once you get to the outskirts you can see them all around. In addition, in every neighborhood, no matter how urban, there are gorgeous vegetable gardens. (We even saw a rice field today, in the middle of the city.) I am beginning to understand how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place. I can’t wait to explore more of it.