Kuromon market (Osaka)
Because of my run-in with the Kanazawa police (see my second post), we barely made our train to Osaka! Not that it would have been the end of the world, seeing as they run every 25 minutes… Osaka has acquired a well-deserved reputation as Japan’s “stomach.” Its bustling commercial area, Dotonbori, sells every imaginable food under a rainbow of neons.
Food markets—ranging from the small outdoor market we saw in Wajima on the Noto Peninsula, to the sprawling covered markets of Osaka and Kyoto and the department stores of Tokyo—have been a real highlight of our trip. This one in Osaka sold a wide array of seafood, ranging from affordable snacks like these tiny octopus ($5) to rare delicacies like this blowfish (approx. $200).
Shinsekai
Shinsekai is a neighborhood with a fascinating history. It was developed after Japan's 1903 National Industrial Exposition. The southern half of the neighborhood was inspired by New York's Coney Island, and the northern half is modeled on Paris. It’s basically a smaller, older, grungier version of the flashy arcades and neons of Dotonbori.
Side note: We saw a lot of Eiffel-Tower-like buildings in Japan! This one, Tsutenkaku Tower, was built in 1912. It was scrapped during the war to repurpose its metal, and rebuilt afterwards in the 1950s.
Cat cafe
Before dinner, we made a quick stop at “Neko Republic,” a cat cafe (neko = cat). We spent half an hour drinking tea and playing with the cats, and left with the sad feeling that these cats are very obviously tense from sharing such a small space and being ogled and touched by visitors all day long.
Still, all of the cats at Neko Republic are rescues, and this organization is doing some great work giving cats a temporary home and advocating for the end of Japan's policy of euthanizing abandoned cats. Adjacent to the cafe, this location featured three human-sized capsules separated from the cafe by a glass wall, for visitors who might want to spend the night to extend their stay with the cats. A sign politely requests that guests please close their capsule's blinds before changing!
School's out
We saw a lot of students of all ages on field trips. They’re immediately recognizable from their adorable uniforms and, often, colorful hats. Look at the yellow thermos hanging from the neck of the little boy making an airplane with his arms!
Noguchi Taro
We had the most memorable meal of our entire trip at a tiny restaurant in Osaka called Noguchi Taro. A friend introduced Sanaë to the chef. Sanaë emailed with him and he asked us to text him if we had any trouble finding the place. Indeed, we did! It was on the third floor of an nondescript apartment building, and totally unmarked. We've learned that a lot of the best spots in Japan’s big cities are not at ground level, a fact that made me appreciate the three-dimensional nature of these cities in a way I haven’t in NYC. The Big Apple may be plenty vertical, but it's rare to find businesses above the ground floor (except for the occasional rooftop bar, of course).
At Noguchi Taro, we sat at a counter with 8 other diners and feasted on a succession of delicious small dishes until we were beyond stuffed. The dishes all had their roots in Japanese cuisine and took advantage of Osaka’s delicious fresh produce, but the chef brought an unexpected twist to each. For example: grilled eel with a gorgonzola sauce in a lettuce wrap! Mr. Noguchi Taro self-trained as a chef after a career in PR. We enjoyed the meal as one big performance: him smoking a large piece of fatty tuna on the yakitori grill, or plating gorgeous colorful ceramics for each dish. He’s looking to open a new restaurant in New York, so perhaps our next meal with him won't be too far off.
Pumpkin portraits
The next morning found me nursing a hangover as we made our way, via three trains and a ferry, to the island of Naoshima. Naoshima is tucked in the Seto Inland Sea, and as we boated in I was reminded of the white and green Washington State ferries I used to take with my family growing up, for weekends and holidays in the San Juan Islands near Seattle.
Naoshima is home to a Mitsubishi metals processing plant, the island's largest employer. Consistent with the decline in manufacturing jobs across the country, the island's population has fallen from 8000 in the 1950s to 3000 today. And yet in recent years, the island's population has increased somewhat as a result of the tri-annual Setouchi Art Festival and the 800k tourists it brings in. That's because Naoshima is also home to an incredible collection of modern art, primarily belonging to the Benesse publishing conglomerate. The art is hosted in several art museums across Naoshima and neighboring islands, several of them designed by architect Tadao Ando.
Sanaë and I especially enjoyed seeing five works by Monet—how far we are from l'Orangerie in Paris!—and two works by James Turrell. In one, we sat on a heated concrete bench under an open skylight watching the sky above us as the sun set, its changing colors heightened by a subtle light show. In another, we were instructed to place our hand against the wall to guide us forward as we entered a pitch black room. As my eyes adjusted, I thought I saw subtle shapes and colors appear and disappear again, and I wondered what was actually there and what I imagined. I won't say more!
Old and new
And of course, this being Japan, the modern art rubs shoulders with shrines whose age I could only guess.
Teshima sunset
From Naoshima, we took another ferry to the adjacent island of Teshima. Teshima is also home to incredible modern art, but it hosts fewer tourists and as a result has a much more laid back feel. We preferred it to Naoshima. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset in a sleepy little fishing harbor before Sanaë got devoured by mosquitos, leading to our second and last pharmacy stop of the trip.
Teshima
There’s no better way to explore hilly Teshima than to rent zippy electric bikes. Sanaë was on the fence at first, but loved hers by the end of our exploration. Early in the morning, we made our way to the incredible Teshima Art Museum for its monthly morning show, which happened to fall on the one day we were in town. Lucky! This was by far our favorite experience at Naoshima / Teshima, and it’s hard to do it justice here: after walking around a small hill on a footpath, we took our shoes off and stepped into a sweeping concrete turtle shell, punctured in two places by large oval holes that let in sunlight, shadows, and bird calls. Inside the building, droplets of water appear out of small holes in the uneven concrete floor and make their way in an elaborate and random dance to form puddles that grow over the course of each day. We sat and eventually laid down in silence, content from just looking at the water's ever changing course, feeling tranquil and in awe that something so simple could be so beautiful.
Lunch with a view
We loved the museum so much we returned in the afternoon. This time, we treated ourselves to a delicious burger at Ken’s Kitchen food truck, looking out onto the Inland Sea while listening to some slow jazz. Delight! Next to the food truck, these mandarin oranges were sold via the honor system, with a small box laid out to the right of the peels for collecting payment.
Cat island
Teshima is nicknamed the Cat Island, and indeed it is home to a lot of cats. Where did they come from, and why did they all adopt Teshima as their home? I do not know. At any rate, they seemed happier than the ones we saw at Neko Republic.
Breakfast
Every meal is Sanaë’s favorite meal. But she does have a soft spot for both Japanese breakfasts and Japanese-ified “western breakfasts.” In particular: the omnipresent pickled vegetables; the butter pastries that are better than most we’ve had in France (we tried every croissant we could find in Kyoto to confirm); and Japanese omelets, a 'burrito' of runny egg layers cooked with dashi broth in a special little pan.
Nishiki market
After Teshima, we made our way to our last stop, Kyoto. Here, as in other cities before, one of our first destinations was the market. Nishiki market wasn’t the most approachable of markets: the proud Kyoto residents probably have their patience tested by the hordes of tourist that swamp the relatively small city. But it’s got the most incredible assortment of Japanese foods I’ve ever seen in my life, and many of the stores are centuries old. Aritsugu, a knife store, was founded in 1560 and the current owner is the 18th generation to do so. Akiko’s favorite store (though not in Nishiki) has been selling brooms and brushes since 1818!
Breizh Cafe
In Nishiki Market, we were delighted to find Breizh Café. The one other time Sanaë and I ate delicious galettes and crêpes in one of their restaurants was in the small town of Cancale on the north coast of Bretagne, near(ish) where Sanaë and I got married! How wonderful to dip into a pitcher of “cidre brut” and skim through the pages of Paris Match where I learned all about the royal wedding of a descendant of Napoleon.
Speaking of royalty: we happened to be in Japan during some of the enthronement ceremonies of Emperor Naruhito, who came to power following the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito, earlier this year. Last week, the very secretive Daijosai ritual was all over the news. The controversial question is whether the event, which requires the emperor pray to Shinto deities, violates the separation of church & state enshrined in Japan's modern constitution. More interesting in my opinion is the question of succession. Laws in place since the Meiji era in the late 19th century only recognize male heirs, even though at least eight empresses have ruled Japan before Meiji times. An overwhelming majority of Japanese favor changing the laws to allow female heirs, both out of a desire for gender equality and the very practical concern that the royal family doesn't have any immediate male heirs. So far, the conservative government in power has declined to take the issue up to vote.
Gingaku-ji
My curiosity for temples vastly exceeds Sanaë-san's. We only visited a few together, and this was her favorite one. It’s known as the silver pavilion, but the temple’s patron ran out of funds before he could actually cover the temple in silver. Still, who needs silver pavilions when you've got a sunset like that!
I love that Kyoto is nestled with hills on each side, and when you look down the main avenues you clearly see the hilly contours of the city rising up above the street. All of the major temples are on these hills that surround the town. Many of them were originally villas belonging to wealthy power brokers or, in one case, a movie star from the talkie film era. Is this the original Hollywood Hills?
Tracy & Akira
In Kyoto, we got to catch up with Sanaë’s former colleague, Akira, and his wife Tracy. They’re spending a year travelling around Japan, how cool! They spent their first two months in Sapporo, the main city on the northernmost island of Hokkaido. When we met up with them, they had been in Kyoto for five weeks. I am mighty envious of the pace of their travels.
Arashiyama
The real highlight of Kyoto for me were the fiery fall colors. We spent a busy day walking around Arashiyama and its popular bamboo forest, and touring the Okochi-Sanso Villa. It belonged to Okochi Denjiro, one of the top movie stars of the 1920s and 1930s best known for his sword-fighting prowess in samurai films.
Moss temple
In the afternoon, we made our way to Saiho-ji, better known as the moss temple. This was quite an expedition: visiting the temple requires an advance reservation which can only be obtained by mailing a postcard to the resident monks. They sent us an RSVP by return post, and we showed up at our appointed time. Perhaps sixty of us were shuttled into a large and ornate hall where a monk with an unwavering smile had us sit at little desks and copy a series of sutras in kanji characters with a calligraphy pen. We were expecting to be asked to chant as well, and I felt a little let down when the elderly monk allowed us to leave class without having heard my angelic mantra voice. Fortunately, the disappointment quickly passed when we stepped into the most beautiful garden I have seen in my life. The photos do not do it justice.
Gion
Are these geishas? No way, they’re tourists out on a photo shoot! Their rickshaw driver does double duty as a photographer. But we learned a lot about geishas from a Vogue article while walking around this ancient neighborhood of Kyoto. Kyoto is home to a little over 200 geiko (geisha in Kyoto dialect) and maiko (geiko in training) who live in 130 different ochaya, or teahouses. The ochaya I read about has three floors for hosting dinners, a separate karaoke room (!), and two floors where the geisha live and train (some of them as young as 16).
Temple construction
Talk about an elephant in a china shop.
More temples
On Thursday, I got up early to visit two more temples at opening hour. I went without Sanaë, meaning I had infinite time for photos (in fairness, she's been pretty patient with me). My first stop was Ryōan-ji, famous for its 15th century rock garden designed in such a way that you can never see all 15 rocks at the same time, regardless of where you stand around the garden. My second stop was Kinkaku-ji, the 'gold' pavilion.
Cooking class
One of the highlights of Kyoto—and something I’d like to do anywhere I travel from now on—was a cooking class. Our very international group huddled around Taro’s kitchen table as we prepared dashi broth, used it to make a Japanese omelet, and then enjoyed the fruits of our (not so hard) labor and especially a delicious Kobe steak.
The plastified paper in the second photo is a certificate for our steak. It contains the cow’s reference number, which we were able to cross-reference against a bovine database. We learned the cow’s name, its birthdate, and its lineage three generations back. Kobe production is tiny: Japan raises 3000 heads of Kobe cattle each year. Exports only started in 2012, and are limited to a thousand heads of cattle a year. Which all means: most beef advertised as Kobe outside of Japan isn't Kobe!
I was fascinated to learn a little more about dashi, the broth that's a cornerstone of Japanese cuisine (as Taro explained, it's the single biggest difference between Japanese and Chinese cuisines). Dashi is often made from kombu (dried kelp) and bonito (fish) flakes. Since dashi is used in everything from omelets to ramen broth, it's no surprise to find that flavors of the sea are pretty much everywhere in Japanese food.
Last temple photos...
I promise! This is Fushimi Inari Shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are her messenger, hence the foxes apparent throughout the complex. The shrine is best known for its ~10,000 bright orange torii gates. They've all been donated by individuals or organizations whose names are written on the back of the gates.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo...
We just had time to trek out to see the Nakagin Capsule Tower before catching our afternoon flight. This incredible apartment complex was built in 1972 as a crowning example of the "metabolism" movement in Japanese architecture, which sought to imitate the natural processes of living cells in buildings with replaceable components—in this case, the capsules. Unfortunately, the building is now suffering from a wide range of ailments (asbestos, rust, irreplaceable replaceable capsules...). It's at risk of being torn down, but a courageous group of architecture students and residents are fighting to preserve it. You can learn a lot more on this special Japan Times website.
