Craven Asia 2023 TR

[craven morehead]

After a nice walk around, we found ourselves this lovely little place for lunch.

cafe de SAKURA



Fair enough.







A beautiful view of the garden from our table.





We posted this on our FB account so that our friends back home knew that we had caught up. Well, you can imagine all the smartasses asking if we were looking for jobs as Santa this year.



Lunch was served.



I went for the Japanese Beef Stew and Omelette Rice with curry glaze and a beer of course.



The food was simple but tasted amazing, not to mention, it was very filling.

 

[craven morehead]

A bit of a stroll after lunch before heading off to another Temple.



Now, I thought that the Tanuki was a made-up animal, but no it is not.

Statues of The Japanese raccoon dog known as the Tanuki are all over the joint.

Within Japanese folklore, the tanuki have had a significant role since ancient times. The legendary tanuki are reputed to be mischievous and jolly, masters of disguise and shapeshifting but somewhat gullible and absentminded. The animals have also been common in Japanese art, particularly as subjects for statues.

I haven't seen a live one and can't confirm if they really do have massive knackers or not, but all the statues have them presented with super-sized swingers. Heaps of house have them on display.







I reckon this one looks more like a Raccoon Cat.



What they look like in real life.



Also came across this unique old left hand drive VW. Assuming by the number plate that it's a 1951 model.





Whatever noise it needs to make, I guess. Maybe it sounds like stomach rumbling



It was in fantastic condition. See the manually operated indicators that come out of the pillar.

 

[craven morehead]

Next up:

Sanjusangen-do Temple (Buddhist Tendai Sect)​

The temple name means literally "Hall with thirty-three spaces between the columns", describing the architecture of the 120-meter long (the world's longest wooden building) main hall of the temple.

Sanjusangen-do Temple houses must be one of the most impressive assemblies of statues in the world as well. The main image is of a seated Kannon bodhisattva, a masterpiece attributed to the sculptor Tankei, and one that is deemed a national treasure in Japan. Kannon is the bodhisattva of compassion, and the statue's peaceful, benevolent countenance conveys this state clearly and movingly.

The effect is multiplied by the thousand standing statues of Kannon which fill the rest of the hall. Like soldiers of compassion they stand, flanking the main image in fifty columns, each ten rows deep. Graceful statues carved out of cypress and covered with gold leaf, each has over twenty pairs of arms and is responsible for saving many worlds. One hundred and twenty-four of these statues, saved from the fire which claimed the original temple in 1249, date from the temple's founding in 1164. The remaining statues date from the 13th century.

There are also 28 statues of guardian deities with intense expressions and impressive detail. Overall, Sanjusangen-do Temple is a place for one to marvel at the beauty of Japanese Buddhist sculpture and surrender to the compassionate gaze of all those pairs of eyes.

TBH the eyes are a little spooky and looking at you from all different angles. No photos allowed inside but found a really old picture on the net.



Entry was Y600 which has been pretty standard.

Entering into the grounds.





The sheer size of the Temple was impressive.







Borrowed photo to try and capture the entire building.



Spent about 1.5 hours wandering around and it was time to think about a few drinkies and then work out what we were going to do for dinner.

 

[craven morehead]

Apologies for the delayed transmission. Got back to work to find my cross shift absent and now doing 10 on 4 off 12hr shifts instead of 7 & 7
It was such an awesome trip and I really want to find the energy to get through and finish the TR.

So, we headed down on foot to the popular Pontocho district. Pontocho is one of Kyotos most atmospheric dining areas. It is a narrow alley running from Shijo-dori to Sanjo-dori, one block west of Kamogawa River. The alley is packed with restaurants on both sides offering a wide range of dining options from inexpensive Yakatori to traditional and modern Kyoto cuisine, foreign cuisine and highly exclusive establishments that require the right connections and a fat wallet.

We were keen to try Yakatori but because we were a bit late getting down most places were packed out. Anyway, things happen for a reason and we found "Kyoto Ramen" a third-generation family restaurant opened in 1966



Quaint little entrance like many of the places down here.

​

This place could probably hold around16 people if full.



They only had a very limited menu, but boy, did the chef know what he was doing.





The master at work





I went with the Samurai Ramen and wasn't disappointed.



A great feed was had by all.

 

[craven morehead]

Strolling back to the hotel and you wouldn't believe it, I found a Pub





Heading over the bridge across Kamo River. The riverbanks are popular walking spots for residents and tourists. In summer, restaurants open balconies looking out to the river. We got there too late to get a restaurant with a view of the river. There are walkways running alongside the river as well and heaps of people out and about.



The river was in full flow with much more water than normal, so we were told.



Whoops! You can always find a Pommie Pub somewhere.





My normal go to Erdinger Weissbrau Weißbier



However, they were out of stock of my normal brew, so, tonight it was couple, well, maybe more than a couple of pints of Erdinger Dunkel. This wheat beer is strong, dark and exceptionally harmonious.

We ended up playing darts for a few hours and had a blast catching up with our friends.



Great fun

 

[JohnM]

We ended up playing darts for a few hours and had a blast catching up with our friends.

View attachment 349429

Great fun

You and Mrs CM look right at home, mate - not that I would know anything about that...

 

[craven morehead]

So, after breakfast with our friends at our hotel, we bid them farewell, promising to come back in about 18 months and visit where they live near Kobe one of Japan's ten largest cities. The weather was poor this morning and we ended up hanging around the hotel for a few hours before deciding to get moving and bad luck if we got wet. The hotel supplied sturdy umbrellas which was handy. We set off on foot to check out Gion, Kyoto's most famous Geisha district.



Not exactly an encouraging start to the day, but hey we're on holidays, so who cares



The river was pumping today.













Made it over to the Gion district and only a little bit wet.

 

[craven morehead]

Gion attracts tourists with its high concentration of traditional wooden machiya merchant houses. Due to the fact that property taxes were formerly based upon street frontage, the houses were built with narrow facades only five to six metres wide but extend up to twenty metres in from the street. In a lot of the places there were "no photo" signs. Bit weird for a touristy area, but maybe something to do with privately owned homes











There were some impressive facades.



The there were some more traditional.










We figured we'd be pushing uphill trying to spot Geishas in this weather but enjoyed our walk around, nevertheless.
One can imagine how pleasant it would be to visit here in nice weather and maybe avail oneself of a local restaurant.

 

[craven morehead]

We finally managed to get a table for dinner at a Yakatori joint

Torisei Sanjoten -
Yakitori (Grilled Chicken Skewers), Izakaya (Japanese Style Pub)
Capacity to seat 40 diners & Smoking allowed



We ended up engaging in a great conversation with this Italian lady and her three grown up children. They were a very well travelled family and Mum Elena is tied up in Italian politics. She said they visit the Great Barrier reef and FNQ every few years. We have a place at Mission Beach so, we swapped phone numbers on the off chance they were in the neighbourhood. Stranger things have happened.



Mrs. CM studying the form guide.



What to choose



Great atmosphere here and the owners really know how to engage with the punters.



Being the adventurous type, I went for raw horse first up



To be honest, it wasn't much chop without some Wasabi or soy sauce to give it some flavour.



The chicken was excellent, simple but so tasty.



It seems to be the way here, that the food is simple while being 5 star tasty.



As usual I was chugging on an Asahi while the staff were beginning to clean up.



Very happy to recommend this place. Great food and staff.

 

[drron]

The Japanese are great at cooking chicken. Always moist and delicious. Even my tori karaage from a street stand this trip.

 

[HirafuHeartAttack]

Ahhh Basashi! Always the reference I use when people ask what the weirdest thing I've had in Japan is (given that my real answer is fairly controversial).
Agreed that it's unique but fairly bland compared to beef, not bad with some Soy or Ponzu though!

 

[rbjhan]

My go to hotel in Taipei is the Doubletree Hilton, almost next door to yours!
That area is good.
But you missed out on Ningxia Night Market! //shakeshead

 

[rbjhan]

Re Uji, most famous (other than Byodo-in) is their matcha If you like green tea that is...
I always go to Nakamura Tokichi, there's shop near Byodo-in by the river.

 

[Black Duck]

Only just catching up on your great report. Thank you.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Great TR @craven morehead and welcome home.
Have enjoyed your travels