[Japan] Kyoto

One of our most memorable days in Japan was spent in Kyoto, where we participated in the Maikoya Tea Ceremony with Kimono Experience...

Maikoya Tea Ceremony with Kimono Experience

...and we visited the Samurai and Ninja Museum, which included Ninja and Samurai experiences.

Samurai and Ninja Museum with Experience

Our original plan was to take two day-trips to Kyoto. One day would be dedicated to the Tea Ceremony and the Samurai and Ninja Museum while the other day would be spent seeing several famous Kyoto sights. However, as I had written previously, a typhoon hit Japan, resulting in many places being closed and intercity trains being suspended. Our two Maikoya activities were scheduled on that day so I was initially very disappointed, thinking that we lost our chance to experience them. This was because both were almost fully booked when I purchased tickets a couple of weeks before and I thought there was no chance for them to reschedule our bookings while we were in Japan. I called them to ask what options we had given that we were leaving Osaka in a few days and they said they would email me shortly. To my very pleasant surprise and relief, they did email me shortly after and they said that they could accommodate us the next day. This was great news for me and my family!

Fushimi Inari Taisha

Our first stop in Kyoto was Fushimi Inari Taisha, or Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is one of the most important Shinto shrines in the world and is dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. It is also world-famous for thousands of torii gates that were built over pathways that lead up the mountain. Pretty much everyone who visits the shrine takes photos of the torii gates and I'm quite happy that we managed to take several pictures in the area without multitudes of other people photobombing us haha.

Torii Gates at Fushimi Inari Taisha

We didn't have a lot of time at the shrine because of our very tight schedule but we did manage to go up the most famous section of the torii gates. One thing we learned that day was that foxes, or kitsune, are associated with and represent rice god Inari. As such, many fox statues can be found all throughout the shrine. My nephew even got a fox mask as a souvenir. I do love this shrine and I hope I can visit it again and spend more time here in the future.

One of many kitsune or fox statues at the Fushimi Inari Shrine

We then headed over to Nishiki where our Maikoya Tea Ceremony would be held. To get there, we took the train and got off at the Sanjo Station. We crossed the Sanjo Ohashi Bridge where we got to see the Kamo River. Naturally, I had to take some photos.

Sanjo Ohashi Bridge over the Kamo River

We were only a short walk away from the venue and we still had about 45 minutes before our schedule so we figured we had enough time for a quick lunch. When we passed by a Japanese barbecue place, we decided to go in to eat. I'm not particularly sure what the name of this restaurant is but we enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.

Japanese Barbecue Restaurant where we had lunch

Finally, it was time for our Tea Ceremony with Kimono Experience. (I ended up booking a private ceremony, which was significantly more expensive, because the regular tea ceremony experience was fully booked and only private ceremonies were available. I felt that we might not get another chance to do this as a family so I got the private ceremony tickets, even if it did cost me a lot of money.) Once there, we got to choose a kimono and an obi (although I think that technically, what I wore is called a yukata). We were then taken to a room where our our host, Haru, welcomed us and explained what would happen. We learned a lot about the significance and the value of this tradition. Haru taught as the Japanese phrase Ichi-go ichi-e, which roughly translates to "once in a lifetime", meaning that what we experience will never be repeated (or not in the exact same way) so it's important to treasure these moments. We also learned about the different elements of a tea ceremony: harmony, respect, purity and tranquility. (Read more about it here: https://www.revolutiontea.com/blogs/news/japanese-ceremony-tea)

Our host Haru performing the Tea Ceremony

The actual tea ceremony then began. I was in awe as Haru performed the ceremony with breathtaking precision and grace. It was truly inspiring to watch! After that, she taught us how to make our own green tea. When drinking our tea, we learned that the the most decorated side of the cup should first face outward so that your companions can appreciate it and when you finish drinking your tea, you should turn the decorated side towards you so that you can appreciate it yourself. What a wonderful way to make you feel even more in the moment and to celebrate with people around you! Once we had all consumed our tea, we shared some stories with Haru before taking photos inside.

We got to make our own green tea

We were then led to the garden where we were given plenty of time to take photos. We spent maybe 1 1/2 hours in total at the tea ceremony, including getting in and out of our kimonos. While that doesn't feel like a lot of time, it was more than enough and it didn't feel rushed. In fact, it was quite relaxing as we got to slow down and enjoy the tea ceremony and we got to take dozens upon dozens of pictures. It was a truly wonderful experience!

Taking photos at the Maikoya Garden

We then took a short walk to the Samurai and Ninja Museum. We were given instructions how to get there and I also used Google maps. When we arrived at the spot that Google Maps told us to go, we couldn't immediately see it. My nephew spotted a sign saying we had to go up the stairs to get to the Samurai and Ninja Museum. We got the basic tickets, which included three things. First was a guided tour of the museum. This was another incredible experience, with our tour guide being very engaging and knowledgeable of Japanese and Samurai history. The tour lasted maybe about 45 minutes but it didn't feel that long because it was tremendously interesting. It was also great seeing all the samurai armor and weapons on display!

Samurai and Ninja Museum

The second inclusion in our ticket was also the most action-packed: a shuriken throwing competition! A shuriken is a ninja throwing star and anyone who has seen movies with ninjas would be familiar with this weapon. We were all given shuriken made of either hard rubber or plastic (which made sense because metal ones would be quite dangerous!) and our guide taught us all how to throw it. We were then told how the scoring would work and the competition began. I have to say, it wasn't easy to get the shuriken to actually stay on the board. Only a handful of people, including both my nephews, consistently got their shuriken to stick. One of my nephews actually hit the bullseye twice: once during practice and again during the actual competition. In the end, he won first place and my other nephew placed third. So cool! The winner was given a a prize so my nephew went home with a really nice blue shuriken.

Shuriken throwing competition

The third and final part of our package was the Samurai Armor Trial. This involved putting on Samurai armor, including a very heavy helmet, and getting to wield replica swords. We then got to take photos against beautiful backdrops at the venue.

Samurai Armor Trial

It was around 430pm when we left and while it was getting quite late, I thought that maybe we could visit one more place before calling it a day: the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. It would take a while to get there by train so I decided to just take a taxi. The sun was a bit low on the horizon when we arrived at around 5pm but there was still enough light to make our short visit here enjoyable. We also visited and took photos at Nonomiya Jinja, a small shrine located within the Bamboo Forest.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

There were a couple of places in Kyoto that I planned for us to see that we didn't have time to visit, including the Golden Pavilion and the Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Maikoya also has many more amazing experiences, including Samurai Sword Lessons and a Samurai Sword Cutting Experience! Maybe one day, my family and I can visit Kyoto again to see the places we missed and revisit the places we got to see and enjoy. Kyoto is considered to be the cultural center of Japan and it is a truly beautiful city that is definitely worth visiting. 

Nonomiya Shrine in the Bamboo Forest

Next: Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko