7 Quick Takes from Kyoto

June 29, 2018 by Amy Welborn

— 1 —

Well, hey there – we are indeed here. We were in Tokyo from Friday (finally!) to Tuesday, then took the bullet train down here to Kyoto, which is pretty wonderful. Tokyo was nifty and interesting and important, but Kyoto is far more manageable (I’m not saying it’s tiny – but it’s manageable and is definitely life at a more human scale). If you want to know what we’ve been doing before this – just push backwards on the entries up there.

— 2 —

Yesterday we ventured out of Kyoto to Nara – about a 45 minute train ride away. Nara was the capital of Japan for a time before Kyoto – which was the capital for centuries, up until the restoration in the late 19th century, when Edo/Tokyo took over. Kyoto is the cultural heart of Japan, with hundreds and hundreds of temples and shrines. Nara has its fair share too, as well as…

— 3 —–

Yup, deer. It’s Theh Other thing Nara is known for – semi-tame deer that roam the huge central park. “Deer crackers” are sold to feed them, but do so at your own risk – once the critters know that you’ve got food, they are all in your business.

— 4 —

We made the super-brilliant decision to rent bikes for touring – everything we were going to see (deer/giant Buddha) was in the park, and we probably saved ourselves about 90 minutes walking time by whizzing around on bikes, weaving through groups of school children and flocks of deer.

— 5 —

The giant Buddha is in the Todaiji Temple – supposedly the largest wooden structure in the world (or one of – everything I read says something different) – and is quite impressive. Also featured is a pillar with a hole in the bottom. The hole is supposedly the same size as the hole in the Buddha’s nostril, and if you can crawl through it, it’s a sign you’ll reach enlightenment.

This little fellow went back and forth three times, so he’s nailed it.

— 6 —

We got back to the apartment about three, and decided to take a break – oh, lunch was img_20180628_141806 fantastic ramen in a place near the Nara station – and after that break we went up a few train stops to the Fushimi Inari Shrine, probably one of the most famed visuals from Kyoto.

(Educational note: a temple is Buddhist. A shrine is Shinto. Occasionally you will find them in very close proximity, and my impression is that the Japanese use each as their call for something specific.)

As it turned out, I am very glad that we went to Fushimi Inari when we did – late in the day. It wasn’t as crowded as I’m sure it is during the day, and it wasn’t that hot. Unfortunately, two of our party (including me) just didn’t have the energy or interest ind doing the entire hike up the mountain – it would have probably taken close to 2 1/2 hours total, and the shrines hours say “from dawn to dusk” and by the time we reached a midpoint at which the map said we had 40 minutes from that point to get to the top and back to where we were – it was already dusk. But what we experienced was special enough: hiking through the brilliantly-colored torii – the gates, each donated by a person or company that had prayers answered – and then the jumble of shrines on the hillside, as well as numerous cats. The fox is important to the shrine because foxes are messengers of the gods, and these foxes protect rice granaries – the keys to which they often carry in their mouths.

— 7 —

I’m please to let you all know that The Loyola Kids Book of Bible Stories was awarded second place in the Children’s book category by the Association of Catholic Publishers. And huge congratulations to Heather King for her so-deeply deserved award!

So much credit for my book’s success – in fact all the Loyola Kids’ titles – goes to the Loyola editorial and design team as well as the artists they’ve contracted to work on each of the books. It’s a complete package, and my words are just one part of it.
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