JAPÓN Día 8

Octubre 28 - Bamboo and Moss

Words: Sebastian + Imágenes: Araceli

Today is an exciting day.
The main objective is to get to Saihō-ji Koke-dera. We had read about the garden in the Monocle Guide. What piqued our interest was that you can only access the garden by sending a return postcard requesting a time and date. Doesn't get better than this: Barrier to entry for a maximum delayed gratification, bliss.
Tomo San back at the hotel, was instrumental in helping secure our time slot.

We had a few hours in the morning that we filled by visiting the Arashiyama bamboo grove and neighboring forest. Even by arriving early, we clearly weren't the only ones to have the same idea. The grove is wonderful but the many visitors kind of kill the mood. At the end of the main path, there is a door that has always intrigued me. It supposedly leads to a garden and estate built by famous actor Denjirō Ōkōchi, the Okochi Sanso Garden. I've never seen it open, it will be for a next visit.

From the grove, we branched out through the forest and down a steep path to get to the river. A whole cascading curtain of yellow, orange, and red maple opened up to reveal a tranquil emerald/cyan river. The scene was breathtaking. I know there is a Hoshinoya hotel upriver, but that's also for another time.

Getting to Koke-dera took us a good 45 minutes, gently walking along the river, and watching families enjoying the many parks. Groups of elderly citizens participate in engaging games. Sports teams of all ages practicing their drills. Community is everywhere we go, everywhere small signs that people stick together, help and support each other. Arriving at the temple early, we got to sit a bit and read about the whole process ahead of us. As we enter, we receive a calligraphy felt pen, the visit starting at the temple building. Prior to visiting the garden, you get to copy a Sutra, writing above the greyed-out characters on the sheet you are provided with. This takes about 15 minutes and helps prepare the mind for the garden visit. We loved that small detail. The garden is a real treat. Covered with moss, the winding paths take you around a large central pond. Words cannot do justice to the sights, each bend of the small path offering a picture frame: A stream joining the pond, water slowly pouring out of a small opening in the moss. Or a rock covered in green, golden light. The weather agreed with us and the combination of sun, clouds, trees, and leaves made the light so much more magical. We took our time, taking it all in, in silence. We came out of there, if not transformed, impacted. 

The rest of the day had a veil of beauty. We decided to walk a bit before deciding where to head next and potentially have lunch. Reaching a crossroads, basically existing to preserve an old tree, roads built around it. Right there, was a small grocery store manned by a couple of senior ladies. In the display crates, persimmons, apples pears, and other fresh items. Araceli always craves fruits, especially as a snack. We picked up an apple, Araceli's face transformed after the first bite, her next word being "YES". It was THE apple, the perfect specimen. What joy a simple thing can bring.

From there, we walked a bit more, before realizing a taxi ride would probably be best to get back to our neighborhood. The taxi dropped us off at the Nishiki Market entrance. We went looking for food, gyozas were on our mind and were our original objective. However, another fruit still caught our attention, this time, figs. Large, round, and shiny. There was no other way, we had to have them. And as such, became our lunch.

Ichihara Heibei Shoten, a few blocks away is a wonderful chopsticks manufacturer, by the looks of the store and the two generations manning the small shop. So many shapes, sizes, woods, finishes, and uses to choose from.
We took our time to choose our favorites and went our merry way. Back to the hotel for the daily estirada de patas before, this time, going for gyozas. With the firm intention of achieving our goal.
Matoy would be the spot. The story tells the tale of Matoy-San and his daughter's love for his gyoza recipe. The menu, simple: Half a dozen of Gyoza options, including Papa's Gyozas, Celery Gyozas, and Truffle Gyozas. . We went for all of that, and pickles, and a herb salad to top it off. The revelation was the recommendation on how to enjoy Papa's Gyozas. Although classical in its filling, the chef's suggestion is to have them with olive oil and salt flakes. Wow. We had seconds, needless to say.