Sunday -
We attended the Karasuma Kyoku, a small Japanese UCC church led by the Uebayashi family, located east of the Kamo River. The service was in Nihongo so Peter and I didn't understand all of it, especially the message. Although some of the hymns used that morning were familiar and had anglisized syllables we could read along with, some were in hiragana or katakana.
The pastor led introductions of each person present at the end of the worship serive and then we were asked to give a brief introduction of ourselves. Among the 17 or 18 people, 6 were Filipinos, 1 from Myanmar, 1 from China, 1 from Brazil (Japanese), and the rest Japanese. The foreigners who attend this church are students at Kyoto University taking their doctorate or master's degrees. They stumbled upon this little church and were attracted to the openness and the hospitality of the Uebayashi famiy.
After church we took the bus and transfered to a slow train going to Arashiyama. This day the Mifune Matsuri was held there in the Oi river. There were many Japanese and tourists surrounding the river on three sides (one side from the bridge). This event was a re-enactment of the times when the royalty would spend the early summer or late spring time in the river on boat singing and reading poetry while the commoners would look from the water's edge. It was such a spectacle that we simply took lots of pictures of the "royalty" and some geishas perfoming in some of the boats.
It was also an experience in snacking: as we got out of the train station in Arashiyama Peter already wanted to try this soy milk drink, next we saw a crepe station and got two (one sweet with mochi and chocolate, and the other with ham and egg), then as we turned into the street parallel the river we bought a plate of 8 takoyaki (squid balls) which was, as I mentioned before, piping hot and delicious! When the festivities died down we walked around the Arashiyama neighborhood, found a small cafe where we could have tea with sweets and coffee, and also use their toilet.
Just before we went back into town we checked out the nearby temples and shrines. Soon we were back in town and in the Izumiya shopping center where Auntie Casilda went to buy some stuff for our dinner. Dad Dan, Peter and I were left at the floor where they had a foot massager - it felt sooooo good after the walking we had that morning. We met her downstairs by the front entrance later.
Our dinner, yes we still ate after all the eating we did in Arashiyama, was a type of hot pot dinner where in the center of the table is a pot with boiling broth which we filled with assorted seafood, chicken, veggies and mushrooms. It was so good, so healthy, and really hit the spot (it was perfect for a very cold night!).
We attended the Karasuma Kyoku, a small Japanese UCC church led by the Uebayashi family, located east of the Kamo River. The service was in Nihongo so Peter and I didn't understand all of it, especially the message. Although some of the hymns used that morning were familiar and had anglisized syllables we could read along with, some were in hiragana or katakana.
The pastor led introductions of each person present at the end of the worship serive and then we were asked to give a brief introduction of ourselves. Among the 17 or 18 people, 6 were Filipinos, 1 from Myanmar, 1 from China, 1 from Brazil (Japanese), and the rest Japanese. The foreigners who attend this church are students at Kyoto University taking their doctorate or master's degrees. They stumbled upon this little church and were attracted to the openness and the hospitality of the Uebayashi famiy.
After church we took the bus and transfered to a slow train going to Arashiyama. This day the Mifune Matsuri was held there in the Oi river. There were many Japanese and tourists surrounding the river on three sides (one side from the bridge). This event was a re-enactment of the times when the royalty would spend the early summer or late spring time in the river on boat singing and reading poetry while the commoners would look from the water's edge. It was such a spectacle that we simply took lots of pictures of the "royalty" and some geishas perfoming in some of the boats.
It was also an experience in snacking: as we got out of the train station in Arashiyama Peter already wanted to try this soy milk drink, next we saw a crepe station and got two (one sweet with mochi and chocolate, and the other with ham and egg), then as we turned into the street parallel the river we bought a plate of 8 takoyaki (squid balls) which was, as I mentioned before, piping hot and delicious! When the festivities died down we walked around the Arashiyama neighborhood, found a small cafe where we could have tea with sweets and coffee, and also use their toilet.
Just before we went back into town we checked out the nearby temples and shrines. Soon we were back in town and in the Izumiya shopping center where Auntie Casilda went to buy some stuff for our dinner. Dad Dan, Peter and I were left at the floor where they had a foot massager - it felt sooooo good after the walking we had that morning. We met her downstairs by the front entrance later.
Our dinner, yes we still ate after all the eating we did in Arashiyama, was a type of hot pot dinner where in the center of the table is a pot with boiling broth which we filled with assorted seafood, chicken, veggies and mushrooms. It was so good, so healthy, and really hit the spot (it was perfect for a very cold night!).
posted by Mimi | 11:41 PM
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