Maiko-san Show, Toji-Temple, Goodbye Kyoto...

On our last night in Kyoto, we went to a Maiko-san show down in the teahouse area - we were lucky enough to see a Geisha hop in a cab to head to work.  Isn't the makeup amazing!?

At the show they had a traditional tea ceremony:

and then they played the koto (it is a 13 stringed instrument that was originally used as the special court music for the Imperial Court):

then there was a flower arranging portion (I believe this is the Ikebana style):

they played "Gagaku" ancient music - which was originally from China, but fell off with fall of the T'ang Dynasty.  However, it flourished in Japan - after hearing it we are not sure why - but is considered a Japanese classical art form.

I cannot tell you how hard I laughed during this performance...I felt like I was 12 years old getting in trouble giggling during class.  We were sitting in the front row and it was so quiet so I had to do the "silent laugh" - which just makes you laugh harder!  This little old man took his job so seriously hitting the drum...I guess you had to be there because these pictures are not going to convey how funny it really was :)

after my giggling fit a "Kyogen" was performed - an ancient comic play.  Even though we couldn't understand them, it was still pretty funny to watch (just not as funny as the little old man):

they had explained what was happening in the program so we were able to follow the plot line:

Then the Maiko-sans came out and performed a "Kyomai" dance (Kyoto style dance).  It was very elegant and beautiful to watch:

Look how beautiful their obi's are!

The final performance was a "Banraku" puppet play.  This was my favorite part of the show.  It took 3 people to move this puppet!

The tea house street at night:

Before we flew out on Tuesday, Setsko-san took us to Toji-Temple.  Here is the 5 story pagoda on the Toji temple grounds - It is the highest pagoda in Japan at 187 feet!  It was first built in 826 and it burned down 4 times after being struck by lightening!  The present structure was built in 1644.  The mosquitoes from the pond ate me alive:

The architecture and grounds were beautiful!  The name of this temple (official name is Kyo-o-gokokuji), means the temple that guards the capital city.  It still has the original layout and is known as a treasure house of Esoteric Buddhist art due to its large number of cultural assets brought back from China such as old Buddhist statues, carvings, magnificent paintings, artistic handicrafts, etc.  We couldn't take any pictures inside the buildings, but the statues and relics inside were astounding!

Right before we left for the airport we went and saw this gigantic Torii gate!  You drive through it!

One last picture of one of the most beautiful places on earth that I've ever seen.

5 Story Pagoda and Kimono Shopping

After the Giant Buddha statue, we walked over to this 5-story pagoda.  It is the 2nd tallest pagoda in Japan.  The current structure is a restoration that was completed in 1426 and is 50.1 meters.

After lunch our guide Setsko-san took us to a vintage kimono shop (aka thrift shop):

The little salesclerk helped me tie my kimono and pick out an obi (the part that ties around the middle):

I should've thrown the peace sign - then you wouldn't be able to tell that I'm an American ;)

...then she got really into it (because our guide told her we were actually going to buy one) - and she tied the back up how it is supposed to be - it took 20 minutes and 2 women to tie it!

It was so cool - I'll never be able to have it look this neat again!!  It was only about $70 for this kimono/obi purchase, where it would've been about $250-$300 back in Okinawa!!

Michael treated me to some Tiffany's gifts :)

ahh... how I've missed my American conglomerates :)

Todai-ji Shrine - Nara City

This is the Torii gate heading to the Giant Buddha Hall.  This was our FAVORITE site that we saw the entire tour.  Pictures do this amazing statue absolutely NO justice!!  I can't even describe how massive the Hall is:

In each of the corners of the shrine (north, south, east and west), there are "Diva Kings" that are the guards of the temple.  Michael is obsessed with these figures.  They remind him of his God of War video game :) These guards are carved out of wood and are about 25 feet high!

Here it is..

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Notice how little the people are in the doorway of the temple?

These pictures don't do the Giant Buddha justice AT ALL!  The statue stands about 52 feet tall and has endured multiple fires and earthquakes.  The head fell off in one of the natural disasters and had to be re-made (it looks a little newer).

Here is another one of the diva kings inside the building:

Michael in front of the statue (He isn't even as tall as one of the lotus petals in front of Buddha!)

This is a replica of the original grounds in 752.  It included 2 pagodas that stood 100 m high!  (both were destroyed in an earthquake)

This picture has poor lighting, but it is the only one we have of the comparison of the current structure to the original structure.  The current structure was rebuilt in 1709 and is 30% SMALLER than the original!

Another Diva King:

This hole drilled out is reportedly the size of the Giant Buddha's nostril.  If you can fit through the hole you are guaranteed entrance to Buddha's Paradise:

The statue to the right of Buddha:

Another view of the structure from the outside:

Waiting for everyone to finish with my new friend :)

I don't know why it is underlining some of the text (the underline option is not selected and I've hit "command u" to try and get rid of it to no avail)  can someone help??

Nara City

One of the nights we were on our own for dinner, we went across to the mall and headed to the 11th floor (where all the restaurants were located).  We came across this stage - come to find out it was the equivalent of a Jerry Lewis telethon.

On Monday morning our tour guide loaded us back up on the train to take us to Nara City.  Nara is the capital city of the Nara Prefecture in the Kansai Region of Japan.  In Nara there are deer everywhere!  Deer are considered sacred ("messengers of the Gods in the Shinto religion") and they roam the area freely!  I have NEVER been this close to wild deer, let alone feed them some crackers!  This visit to Nara City was our absolute favorite part of the trip :)

Heading to the Giant Buddha Hall...

Nonomiya-jinja Shrine and Monkey Mountain

After the Ryoanji Temple we headed to the bamboo forest.  Across this bridge is the mountain we climbed to see all the little monkeys :)

There were rickshaws everywhere:

The Japanese and their umbrellas:

Here is the shrine in the middle of the bamboo forest.  It is for women looking for a mate - notice all the women lined up??!

There was a little dog there with a backpack that made us miss our Pigdog.

Another shrine that the emperor's use to use (notice all the bamboo in the background?):

It was amazing seeing all the bamboo shooting so high - 

Heading across the bridge to Monkey Mountain:

The mountain area on the right is "Monkey Mountain".  The real name of the area is Arasiyama Monkey Park:

Up on the mountain there are about 150 Japanese monkeys.  Each monkey is given a name and their date of birth is recorded for students and researchers to conduct visual studies.  Here is the entrance to the mountain:

Follow the rules carefully or they will come after you!!  (they will think you are trying to establish dominance):

I was inside the feeding area for this picture (you can feed them through the fence - but not outside):

This little guy was just sitting outside the door to the feeding area:

Baby Monkeys!!  Don't make mom mad - it was scary!!

The staff would give this monkey two nuts and then he'd sit there so you could have your picture taken with him - NO touching though!!

It was a HIKE up Mt Iwatayama (155 meters) - but worth it.  It was so beautiful I thought I'd put up the whole panoramic shot that Michael took:

The babies were so cute playing together: