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Kyoto, Japan
October/November 2014

We flew into the Osaka airport, about 1.5 hours from Kyoto... Brutal flight - 16 hours to Hong Kong from JFK and then another 4 hours to Osaka. It was truly bizarre to see a white gloved taxi guy with a sign that said "KellyAnne Hanrahan" waiting for me in this strange land :) 

Smoking lounge at the airport in Hong Kong. Futuristic.

This was in the back of the taxi. I have no idea what it is trying to say. Japan is FULL of cartoons, and uses this form of communication in every circumstance. 

I knew Kyoko had a studio up in the mountains, but was COMPLETELY under the impression that we would be staying in her townhouse in the city. When the taxi guy drove past the outskirts and up the mountain, I quickly realized that was where we would be staying. Communication is so ambiguous in this culture. It was kind of scary to be dropped off in the mountains in a place you've never been (and don't speak the language), but I guess you gotta go with the flow. 

This is the view going up, with the city in the distance. 

Throughout the cities of Japan, much of the land is set aside for rice fields and gardens (pictured above). It is land that is not allowed to be developed, and the city scape is dotted with freshly harvested rice in what looks like tiny haystack bundles set out to dry. Also grown are lotus flowers and eggplant, and persimmon groves are everywhere.

Guy fishing on the Katsura (I think) River, the biggest river in Kyoto.

Kyoto Tower

Mountains surrounding Kyoto, right near the Museum. The big building on the left (behind the glass dome) is the Westin Hotel where the closing ceremony was held. 

My painting! In the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art! Hung next to Kyoko's! The most important moment in my painting career so far. SO EXCITING to see it, so great to watch people look at it, so humbling to be hung in such close proximity to the work of one of Japan's most beloved and respected artists. 

Cartoons. Everywhere. Seriously - everywhere.

The ubiquitous Japanese school girls. With the ubiquitous face masks. Seriously, about 25% of the population wears face masks, and the reasons given vary. Some say it's because of bird flu or spreading sickness in general. Some say to filter out Chinese pollution. I even heard it was because when schoolgirls giggle they tend to cover their mouth and this makes it easier (that was the dumbest explanation.) 

I think it's because... Japan, you so crazy. 

Speaking of strange get-ups and cartoons... Dig the uniform on this construction site security guard.

Cool bamboo broom. There are lovely plants on the street all over the city.

This little mythical creature serves as a "welcome" statue and is on doorsteps all over Japan.

Me. In Japan.

I love the pine trees here. They look just like the art.

Lovely canal with persimmon tree.

Never ask a question you don't want to know the answer to.

Don't just say it, say it with cartoons.

This charming little covered alley was just a bunch of stores geared toward the neighborhood, which looked to be a lot of older folks. Fresh vegetable markets, butchers, cleaning supplies, etc. 

Not sure what they sold there, but it looked cool :)

I know that the swastika is an ancient symbol used by many cultures around the world, but... It still took me aback to see so many emblazoned on shrines. 

The convenient stores, largely 7-11s (very surprised by that - they are on every corner), have AMAZING food selections. Top quality stuff because, as Kyoko would say, the Japanese would accept no less. Kyoto grows a special kind of rice that is thicker and shorter in grain size and it sticks together in clumps. You don't even need to put anything on it the flavor is so delicious. I ate rolls of nothing but rice and a sprinkling of sesame seed on the top. Add soy sauce and it was one of the most scrumptious things I've tasted. From a 7-11. Those triangles on the top row are sushi wrappers and when you pull the string you get the fixings inside and wrap your own rolls. 

Poster on the street. PM6:00 GONG!

Gate shrine by the museum.

Awesome view from the top (not too high for me.)

School children on a field trip...

The International House gallery, where my anteater paintings were shown from October19-26, the show closed just in time for me to get there :( 

There were beautiful birds in the rivers and canals all over the city. Such amazing gardens. So peaceful and clean, they looked like drawings from a book.

There were quite a few older people in traditional kimonos. So interesting to see the mix of old and new.

Took this for you daddy :)

All the temples/shrines have a pool where you wash your hands with ladles.

These are tiny strips of paper with a wish/prayer written on it and then tied to the branches.

Tamura, Kyoko's assistant/apprentice, took us to the bamboo forest, and it was awesome. I have never seen bamboo trees, and they were absolutely everywhere. Such beautiful, colorful trees. Apparently the leaves turn red and fall off, but then grow back. Lots of snakes and spiders. 

Yikes! It was HUGE! And also beautiful...

The first night we were there, Kyoko had a sushi party at the house and invited a bunch of friends. It was fun - even a few people who could speak English, including 2 Israelis and a mother and son from England. Super interesting. The big wooden bowl at the end of the table is the rice and the table was loaded with fresh sushi stuffs. Tuna, strange and delicious vegetables I've never heard of and handmade seaweed wrappers. 

Kyoko and the dessert course.

Her whole house (which is connected to her studio) is filled with her art. Sound familiar? It almost felt like I was home. This is where we slept - 2 thin mattresses with a thick duvet. SUPER comfortable. And what is more inspiring than sleeping in artwork on top of a mountain in Japan? 

Outside the sliding door of our bedroom.

The kitchen next to our room. This is the upstairs of her house - Kyoko, her son Josan and her apprentice Tamura and his daughter live downstairs. They are the sweetest and most generous people I have ever met. We totally felt like a part of the family. 

Every morning at 7AM, Kyoko (on the right) and her son Josan (on the left) go out for a 15 minute jog around the neighborhood. Her son has severe autism and can't really communicate with anyone, but is just the sweetest person you'll ever meet. He has very loud and violent outbursts every few minutes, so he can't quite sit still. He seemed quite normal compared to Aaron and me in our dress clothes, clip-clopping in dress shoes, trying to keep up with them and barely able to. It was quite the spectacle. We opted out of the morning jog after that embarrassing morning. 

Still, I got a glimpse of the amazing little artist community there on top of that mountain. It's a collective of artists who need the space to create big things. Lots of weird stuff lying around.

This is Kyoko's son Josan. He's got a heart of gold, and I loved hearing his outbursts in the background throughout our stay. He had a tendency to repeat things over and over (and of course in Japanese) and a few days into our visit continually asked when we were coming back. He had this way of singing that was actually really pleasant to hear. After a while you could tell when he was excited, sad or about to get up and jump up and down violently. We love and will very much miss Josan :) 

Kyoko's office and townhouse in the city. This is where we thought we were going to stay. That's some of Kyoko's art in the window.

Some garbage art in the window of a cafe. So cool...

We went to a beautiful rock garden. It gave me the chills.

Trained tree and me.

Monk in the garden.

You have to remove your shoes... everywhere in Japan. Heh heh. Seriously, we had different slippers to wear and they're obsessive about shoes. One word of advice for visitors to Japan: Loafers. My boots with laces were a true pain in the ass. Constantly with the off and on. So weird.

So, let me tell you about toilets in Japan... It took me a while to not come out of the bathroom without a big grin on my face. First of all- almost all of them, from public bathrooms (which are everywhere) to the 7-11 to the restaurants have heated toilet seats. Many of them, including 7-11, including one of Kyoko's toilets, have these electronic control pads. These toilets of the future can act as a hot or cold bidet, you can activate a recording of a "flush" sound (presumably to cover fart sounds) and a powerful deodorizer. The first moment I had to use the toilet outside of Japan - in the Vancouver airport - was the moment I missed Japanese toilets. What a striking difference it was. 

This is an outdoor public bathroom. We live like barbarians.

But, as with many things I've experienced in Japan, there is also the other end of the spectrum.

"Hope" and "Peace" cigarettes.

Ashcan next to the cigarette vending machine.

The menu they give the gaijin (foreigner). It's like a coloring book. "I'll have the ovals made of smiley face and bear."

We strolled around a mall and they had an arcade. These kids were banging drums to a video game.

Pedo bear.

Odd mingling of the old and the new.

Rabbit Robot.

<shudder>

Wait, is the red circle correct? Is the blue "X" incorrect? What?

No thank you.

Odd mix of the old and the new.

I'd like to take this moment to alert you all to the genius that is Aaron Davis. This guy had it all down from the start - from the train to the subway to the cab drivers. If it weren't for Aaron, I don't know how I would have made it through (much like the rest of life.) The only one in the house who speaks English is Kyoko, and hers isn't that great. We were pretty much on our own to figure things out. Aaron was able to read maps and pick up enough spoken phrases to get us where we needed to go. Hats off to my amazing husband, and brave leader. Not a day went by that I didn't marvel at his abilities.

Mix of the old and new...

Beautiful birds in the river in the middle of the city.

Since 1615.

School kids on the way to the shrine.

You toss a coin over the fence and then ring the bell with a long rope.

A lady saw me setting up my self-timer and offered to take our picture. People here are SO NICE. We were approached several times by strangers (white folk are not a common sight, I can tell you) even by a Jehovah's Witness woman. Everyone seemed to love the opportunity to practice their English.

They had these trained flowers everywhere. So simple and so lovely.

Manner up!!

Perfectly Japan: Traditional kimono wearer, photographer, face mask wearer. Do you love it?

HUGE carp in a pond.

Trees growing from houses.

Rickshaw.

We were approached twice by small groups of Japanese school kids given an assignment to practice their English. They asked the honkies if they could ask us a few questions (Do you like books? Is this your first time in Japan? How long are you staying?) and wrote down the answers in their books. Then they asked to take a picture with us, and if they could give us a gift. They gave us hand made origami and paper toys. SO CUTE and such a great idea for an English assignment. 

Typical restaurant meal - Rice, miso soup, DELICIOUS salad (usually shredded) with tahini dressing, roasted veggies, pickled veggies. Utterly scrumptious. I love the idea of several small things you eat together. Obviously, never anything but chopsticks. Tamura got the biggest kick out of our inability to use them when we got there and (though he doesn't speak English) tried to show us the proper way. For me, his demonstration stuck and I can now use them fluently. For Aaron... it remained difficult. He can learn the language, but can't do the chopsticks. Opposite for me. By the way - the soup is drunk from the bowl with both hands.

This group of adorable school kids went by Aaron, each of them shouting "Konichiwa!" (hello)... So cute I almost cried.

The fashion in Japan was utterly disastrous. I have never seen such hideousness in my life. It hurt my eyes. Terrible fabrics, ugly shoes, boring colors, ill fitting garments. This guy was the only one who looked interesting, and he's wearing a banana colored suit. Get with the program, Japan. I was fascinated by how many people wore New York themed shirts/caps The Yankees logo and the word "Brooklyn" were especially popular. 

NOTE: We later found out, when showing our Japanese son Yu these photos, that the guy in the yellow suit is actually a famous comedian in Japan. Ha!

Hedge clipper.

Siesta.

Guiding a tour with a Mickey Mouse on a stick. Interesting contrast.

Ice cream flavors.

There are Kimono rental places all over in the tourist areas, and Japanese young ladies seem to LOVE strutting around in the traditional gear. You will often see their hen-pecked, embarrassed boyfriends forced to wear them too. So weird. It's like renting an Orthodox costume to walk around my neighborhood. 

Buddha.

Awesome bird in breathtaking garden.

Heh heh.

It was interesting to see a Lions Club insignia on this bus stop map.

Lovely little street... And even some fellow white folks! Germans. Most of the few white people here are European. When I heard American accents, they were more often than not Asian Americans. 

Yes. Spingle Move. Of course.

Pedo path.

I fit right in. Completely invisible.

The gaijin.

Kyoto street through the temple lion...

We went for dinner and I had the most amazing noodle soup I've ever had. We were the only ones there, and the restaurant owner spoke pretty good English. He told us all about the architecture of the building, and was super sweet like most people we met.

We sat on the banks of the river afterward... I love the glass buildings that shows each floor.

Not too much, not too little.

Eew.

How Aaron figured this out is so impressive to me. It gave my eyes a seizure.

Vending machines are absolutely EVERYWHERE, including on Kyoko's mountain. And you can get hot or cold drinks. I can't believe we never figured that out - soup and coffee served hot from a machine. Such an obvious concept. 

Directions for the gaijin. Don't attach a mouth to it, whatever you do.

The scene on the steps of every temple and shrine. Always with the peace signs.

Cool shrine guys getting their shrine on. Love the shoes.

Bamboo forest surrounds this shrine. This was my favorite shrine because it was in the most natural surroundings. Made up for Alaska somehow :) 

We are a great team. I love us.

There were thousands of gates - writing on one side, blank on the other. I have no doubt Christo's "The Gates" in Central Park was inspired by this famous shrine. 

It went all the way up into the forest. Hundreds of small separate shrines.

Japanese "put out your campfire" sign. SO DIFFERENT than the American version. Love the suitcase.

The guy whose job it is to keep the black writing nice and black.

As if it wasn't enough to be in the forest, we found an adorable kitteh. Life can be peaceful.

"One coin meals" in Japan. Very cheap, delicious food. That's octopus cooked up into a ball. Aaron said it was good - I believe him.

Ad for photos taken of kids in traditional gear.

Our last night in Kyoto was rainy. We had the best meal I have ever had - Kobe beef that tasted so good I almost cried when I was on my last slice. 

When you walk down the streets, you'll see shoes in the front room of every house. Even at Kyoko's we had special slippers. Japanese are obsessed with this. Separate slippers for the bathroom. 

My favorite person.

One last trip to the museum. Last day of the show. I loved watching people look at my painting.

Red tree with red gate. SO beautiful.

"Live close to nature"

Perfect.

This sweet old lady was waving and talking to the birds. So cute.

Kyoko and I at the closing ceremony party.

Us. Aaron hasn't worn that vest since our wedding - there was a pack of matches from Lawry's in the pocket. Heh heh. 

Tamura and Josan. Tamura (though he didn't speak a word of English) was an AWESOME guy - we loved him. Josan has to put something between his teeth to control the more violent outbursts. He kept it well under control during the ceremony. Here's him using a chopstick to help. Bless 'im. 

There was also a live musical and dance performance. 

This is the view from the balcony at Kyoko's house.

That is her gigantic studio - connected to the house. Tamura has been training to make paper under Kyoko for 3 years now. He lives there with his daughter.

This is the kitchen where we ate breakfast every morning and, if we didn't have it in town, dinner. Breakfast consisted of Kyoko's home-made yogurt with fresh bananas, apples and persimmon cut up and mixed in. Delicious. Dinner was rice with vegetables, meat and eggs. Also delicious. Kyoko is an amazing cook. Even though no one but she spoke English, somehow we felt like a part of the family. We felt loved. 

The family.

There are monkeys all around Kyoko's studio, but we didn't see any while we were there. Kyoko surprised us by taking us to the "monkey mountain" where we were sure to see some monkeys. It was a long climb up there, but monkeys we did see. SO WORTH IT. 

At the top of the mountain, you have to get in a cage (the monkeys can be dangerous) so you can feed them. I LOVED the idea of monkeys roaming free while humans have to be caged. You aren't supposed to look them in the eye which for me was super difficult. But they did look like they could do some damage if they wanted to. Kyoko said these monkeys were very fat compared to the ones around her studio which don't get to gorge themselves on hand-outs. 

Gaijin with the Japanese ladies dressed in Geisha costumes.

Some Engrish for the road at the Japan airport. What a wonderful, fascinating country. LOVED IT.