We next continued straight to the bamboo groves which we wandered through in admiration of those green columns. Exiting the groves we walked through a nearby park where we were intrigued with a sign picturing a monkey and warnings of not to feed or touch the simians. With our eyes peeled for monkeys we walked through the park where we saw only some statues.
Somewhat disappointed, we stopped to get some authentic Japanese icecream. We each got four different flavors stacked one upon the other. They were, top to bottom: Sencha, Roasted tea, Macha, and Mugi-cha (oat tea), all of which are types of tea. It was good icecream, and The Author noted that Macha tasted just like mate, though not as strong.
Back at the station, as the day was still young, we plopped our selves down on a bench to find what else there was to do and found that a dedicated monkey park, called Iwatayama, was in fact nearby at the top of a small mountain. Believing that the monkeys were fed at 12:30 and the time being 11:40ish or so we charged off to and up the mountain with great haste. After a 20 minute hike up the hill we were imediately greeted with many monkeys at the top. The exact flavor of monkey is the Japanese macaque, Macaca fuscata, also known as the snow monkey. These are the only monkeys native to Japan. It turns out that the monkeys are not fed at 12:30 but that us tourists can feed them ourselves for 100 Yen each. Feeding occurred in a caged room where we are separated from the monkeys by a wire mesh. This is probably for our own safety as one monkey bared its teeth at us fiercely when we ran out of food.
We next concerned ourselves with our own lunch, so we preceded leisurely down the mountain in search of a suitable venue (one with beer). This we soon found where we (The Author, Maryrose, and Theodore, respectively) ordered: Gyo Don (beef and onions over rice), curried rice, and rice dumplings with soup. Much refreshed, we meandered back towards the station passing the makings of some sort of parade consiting of guys with flat straw hats and four-legged dragons.
-Nathaniel
The possibly Kamikaze related statue. If you look closely you can see the cross in its hands.
Maryrose and Theodore in front of the bamboo.
The Author at Arashiyama.
The monkey sign.
A statue in the park. Appears to be holding some sort of pick axe.
The delicious icecream.
A monkey.
More monkeys.
Feeding the monkeys.
We each got a bag. Two had banana slices and one had apple chunks.
When eating banana slices, the monkeys dexterously remove the peels with their teeth.
A monkey who is not happy that we are out of food.
Three monkeys. See whether you can guess the inscriptions above each one.
Lunch.
The parade. The dragon terrorized at least one toddler while we were there.
That statue with the cross is a statue of Buddha. So say a couple of websites offering pictures of it for $19.95. I couldn't find anything else about it which was quite frustrating! I wonder how much you could get for a picture of that statue with Maryrose in front of it? Priceless! Good you stopped monkeying around and got a beer! Love, DAD
ReplyDeleteI did find a recipe for DIY yerba mate ice cream! The web site said, "Everywhere, restaurant chefs are finding creative ways to turn yerba mate into the most exquisite platters." I guess being an older culture, the Japanese thought of it first! Love, DAD
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued by that statue that looks as if it's surrounded by the divine wind. I came across this in my search, and let me just say that my mother loved Bodhisattvas. Kannon is the Japanese name for Kuan Yin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Kannon means "she who watches and hears" the sound of suffering beings. I followed Kannon because here is a description of that statue, "Kyoto City Arashiyama District Japan Arahaiyama Tenryuji temple Kannon statue." Let my fancy take flight, but I can see this Boddhisatva having compassion on the Christian who perished at the hands of the Kamikaze pilots.
ReplyDeleteHere is the caption from another of these Kannon statues:
A tall bronze kannon (Buddhist Goddess of Mercy) statue stands next to the parking lot of the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel on a hill overlooking Cebu City in the Philippines. The plaque on the front of the monument's base has the following information in both Japanese and English:
This Statue of The Goddess of Mercy
is dedicated to all Filipinos and
Japanese who lost their lives
in this area in World War II.
May their souls rest in peace.
I may be misinterpreting that cross - but compassion for someone is the message.
Now Maryrose, that is truly you to not hear evil. My Japanese is getting better by the minute! Sounds like you got a good lunch. And I guess if we were in doubt as to your whereabouts, we now know that you are surrounded by Japanese. You should start asking them if they remember video-ing twins on the beach in Waikiki 20 years ago!
So I hope leisurely followed at a respectful distance as you preceded it down the mountain. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. Seriously, this blog is wonderful and eye-opening. Japan is sounding more and more like my kind of place except for the fact I don't know a word of Japanese. All three of you are to be commended for undertaking this journey and doing it so well. Thank you for sharing and don't let snarky comments from doddering uncles inhibit your reporting.
ReplyDeleteI think all you need to know to get by is 'hello', 'thank you' and perhaps a few numbers; although many people here don't speak English they have ways to communicate, such as picture menus in restaurants.
ReplyDelete