Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [268]
Japanese Culture
Kyoto is a fine place to get a taste of traditional Japanese culture, and there are several organisations that offer introductions to various aspects of Japanese culture, including the following.
WAK Japan (Map; 212-9993; www.wakjapan.com; 412-506 Iseya-chō, Kamigyō-ku) offers a wide variety of excellent introductions to Japanese culture: tea ceremony, ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement), trying on kimonos, home visits, Japanese cooking, calligraphy, origami etc. Presenters/instructors speak English or interpreters are provided. Pick-up service is available from your lodgings.
Club Ōkitsu Kyoto (Map; 411-8585; www.okitsu-kyoto.com; 524-1 Mototsuchimikado-chō, Shinmachi, Kamigyō-ku) offers an upscale introduction to various aspects of Japanese culture including tea ceremony, incense ceremony and traditional Japanese games. The introduction is performed in an exquisite Japanese villa near the Kyoto Gosho and participants get a real sense of the elegance and refinement of traditional Japanese culture.
En (Map; 080-3782-2706; 272 Matsubara-chō, Higashiyama-ku; tea ceremony per person ¥2000; 1-6pm, closed Wed) is a small tea house near Gion where you can experience the Japanese tea ceremony with a minimum of fuss or expense. English explanations are provided and no reservations are needed: just show up at 1pm, 2.30pm, 4pm, 5pm or 6pm (check the website for latest times, as these may change). Groups of up to eight people can be accommodated. It’s a little tricky to find: it’s located down a little alley off Higashiōji-dōri – look for the sign just south of Tenkaippin Rāmen.
Return to beginning of chapter
FESTIVALS & EVENTS
There are hundreds of festivals in Kyoto throughout the year. Listings can be found in the Kyoto Visitor’s Guide or Kansai Time Out. The following are some of the major and most spectacular festivals. These attract hordes of spectators from out of town, so book accommodation well in advance.
February
Setsubun Matsuri at Yoshida-jinja This festival is held on the day of setsubun (2, 3 or 4 February; check with the TIC), which marks the last day of winter in the Japanese lunar calendar. In this festival, people climb up to Yoshida-jinja (pp340–1) in the northern Higashiyama area to watch a huge bonfire (in which old good luck charms are burned). It’s one of Kyoto’s more dramatic festivals. The action starts at dusk.
May
Aoi Matsuri (Hollyhock Festival) This festival dates back to the 6th century and commemorates the successful prayers of the people for the gods to stop calamitous weather. Today the procession involves imperial messengers in ox carts and a retinue of 600 people dressed in traditional costume. The procession leaves at around 10am on 15 May from the Kyoto Gosho and heads for Shimogamo-jinja Click here.
July
Gion Matsuri Perhaps the most renowned of all Japanese festivals, this one reaches a climax on 17 July with a parade of over 30 floats depicting ancient themes and decked out in incredible finery. On the three evenings preceding the main day, people gather on Shijō-dōri Click here, many dressed in beautiful yukata (light summer kimonos), to look at the floats and carouse from one street stall to the next.
August
Daimon-ji Gozan Okuribi This festival, commonly known as Daimon-ji Yaki, is performed to bid farewell to the souls of ancestors on 16 August. Enormous fires are lit on five mountains in the form of Chinese characters or other shapes. The largest fire is burned on Daimon-ji-yama, just above Ginkaku-ji Click here, in northern Higashiyama. The fires start at 8pm and it is best to watch from the banks of the Kamo-gawa or pay for a rooftop view from a hotel.
October
Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Ages) This festival is of recent origin, only dating back to 1895. More than 2000 people, dressed in costumes ranging from the 8th century to the 19th century,