Kyoto from a very very primitive point-of-view.

It is no surprise to people with slightest knowledge about/interest in Japan, that Kyoto, the previous capital of Japan, is one of the most historically rich and architecturally riveting cities in the world (a UNESCO treasure as well, of course). Here with the astonishing old Royal Palace, hundreds of temples and pagodas (and I keep forgetting which belong to which religion), a week would still not be enough to pay full due respect to all these marvelous buildings. And yet, here I am, an ignorant tourist, who can barely appreciate anything on her 3-day-trip in the middle of the PII program (we had a "semester break").

Well, a couple of factors. One, 3 days is way too short. But also, summer's generally a bad time - hot, humid and crowded. And finally, but probably most terribly, we had way too many people. It is impossible to do or see anything with more than 3 heads thinking. We had a total of 10 (!). Which means, it took forever to decide where to go or what to eat (or rather where to drink in our American case). My first lesson was that, if independently of a tour, always travel in pairs. This over-crowdedness of PII students resulted in me seeing less than I wanted, less than I definitely should have. A scorching, humid sun and temperature of more than 32C did NOT aid me in my quest to discover more of this interesting city.


Well we did hit the main attractions though - the Golden Pavillon （金閣寺 Kinkaku-Ji）and the Nijou Castle (二条所 Nijo-jo) etc. And although far from my plans, we had excursions of our own, rather unplanned, but equally interesting I must say, of which I devote the next posting. Golden Pavillon, as the name indicates is covered all in gold - something really worth seeing. According to Wikipedia (my Harvard TFs would probably chide me viciously for referencing this kind of source), it was built as retirement lodge for a famous shogun (chief samurai) within his big private estate. Man, people used to be rich right?


As for Nijou Castle, that belonged to yet another shogun (again not an emperor, just the highest samurai) where I finally saw the all-famous nightingale floor, of which I read so much from this once very bestseller book, "Across the Nightingale Floor" by Lian Hearn (I read it when I was still in middle school, which is some ages ago, but I do remember I was quite crazy about it). This famous wooden floor makes sounds like nightingale everytime it is being stepped on - back in the day it was supposed to help reveal ninjas and assassins if they entered the castle at night. Well, now with the hundreds of tourist passing every day, it's just incredibly noisy.

During the tour of the castle's insides (camreas not allowed :() we sneakily followed an American high school tour group that was lead by a Japanese guide who spoke very fluent English. Thanks to that bit of stealing, I learned a good deal about the rooms and floor plans of the castle - in those, where shogun made his public appearances, he was always seated next to a sort of built-in door, behind which many samurai stayed hidden, ready to burst out and defend their master in case of a sudden attack. Yet, my favourite room was the shogun's bedroom. Apparently that was the only area no males were allowed in - whether they were shogun's male servants or his advisers or ministers. And therefore, shogun who was all alone with his many ladies, had no males to protect him. For that reason, these beautiful ladies in service, with long hair and long, complicated robes, who entertained him graciously with music and dance, were also out of necessity masterful at martial arts, concealing their deadly knives and swords just under their gracious kimono. Dead cool and sexy as far as I see it :).

Geisha of the past and the present (even male!).

Another term that is distinctly and uniquely Japanese, among other such as sushi, sakura, onsen etc. is definitely geisha. In the shortest way of defining them, they were Japanese female entertainers and hostesses of the past. And here again, I allow myself to refer to another western-written book about Japan, again once a bestseller, "The Memoirs of a Geisha". I read it as a high-schooler, so obviously I was over-captivated with this Japanese version of Cinderella hidden behind a culturally rich novel. (On a sidenote, the author, Arthur Golden, was a Harvard grad too, History concentrator, and he took the very classes of Japanese Ba and Bb that those at Harvard learning Japanese know so well! ;).


Going back to the main point, the Geisha are supposed to still exist, though they became extreme rarities. Gion in Kyoto, the most famous Geisha district in whole Japan, once an exuberant and lively entertainment district of tea houses, is now much more subdued and it is only with some luck that one can get to see a real Geisha on the streets (and yet it is one of the few places where any Geisha can spotted at all). I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the wonderful scenery from the "Memoirs of Geisha" Hollywood-made movie, but I think we got lost on the way, as I never really saw what I saw on the screen (or maybe because nothing in reality ever looks like what's on the movies? -- a philosophical question for one to ponder ;) ). On the other hand though, we did walk into a real Geisha and I rudely, like a crude tourist, took a sneaky picture. She was indeed breathtaking.

In our wanderings to find Gion, we walked into a dark sketchy-looking alley, with many locales of seemingly incomprehensible purposes. It was only after we picked up a colorful catalog lying on the street that we learned the true nature of that alley - it was the hostess district, a modern version of Gion (and how conveniently close-by). Looking at the catalog full of profile pics of Michikos, Minakos and Amis, we started noticing that the only wanderers in that dark street were white-collar salary men, carrying their business bags and glasses. So this is the famous Japanese hostess club!


But that's not all of it yet. What we found at the end of the catalog, was a massive ad of male host clubs. Here we had profiles of all Hirokis, Mamorus and Kens. So what should 5 ladies on a lonely night, finding themselves in one of these streets, do? Of course, we couldn't be more eager to get in. The district was a bit sketchy though, many of the clubs located in unattractive, dark and even dilapidated buildings, so we had no other choice but go for the brightest but also the most expensive club with a flashy (and oh dear, how lame) name "Club French Kiss" (here's the link). The interior was loud and rather dark, but at least they served some drinks. The male hosts were quite distinct. They were supposed to be handsome, but I'm not sure to whose standards. Because to me, they looked like long skinny cats with plugged eyebrows, who ever so often looked into their mirrors to check out their hair. To American standards, they were pure-blood gay.

The policy in the club was easy to pick - although drinks were free, all they could serve was Sex on the Beach. As for champaigne, you had to pay yourself, on toe of the entrance fee ($45 per person per 1,5 hours), and the more champaigne you bought the more male hosts you had. Here's an illustrating example: there was this salary-earning, rather loaded-looking woman sitting next to us, in her thirties, completely wasted. She had a row of 20 Chmapaigne bottles piling and 5 loud hosts (one half-naked) attending her. On the opposite site, there was us, the 5 American students, with their broken Japanese and empty purses, who ordered no champaigne. We were served by 2 hosts only, sometimes even dwindling down to 1.


What surprised me was that the lady was quite good-looking, definitely very chic, and with her salary, I bet she would be receiving quite a bit of attention in her everyday life. So why was it that she even went to and spent a fortune in that host club? As my friend Brandon assessed, he would be so depressed knowing that the only way to receive attention is to pay others to do so. Yet, escort is such a widespread phenomenon in Japan! Of course male hosts are definitely less numerous the female hosting, which is available in every city (even in this little Kanazawa city, where I stayed, the PII guys managed to go to one of them). And the root of this phenomenon is so irresistibly linked to the Geisha tradition (which in itself seems to be a bit over-glorified in the modern times).

And here's the little (illegally snatched) video from the club.

The Noto trip - when you become royalty.

The Japanese are famous for the exceptionally high level of politeness. It is noticeable everywhere – in smallest shops and convenience stores, post offices, everywhere one goes the service is simply superb. My favourite part is when handling the money, they receive and return cash with both hands a slight bow, using the very formal speech. Can be a princess anywhere I go, as long as I pay :).

As a part of PII, I was lucky enough to be stay overnight at a place that offered the best personal service in whole Japan. Kagaya Ryokan of Ishikawa Prefecture is Japan’s most famous 旅館 (ryokan – literally, a travel house, which is a traditional Japanese hotel, also tends to be much more expensive than typical western hotels). Since PII has America’s (supposedly) best and brightest students, the Ishikawa Prefecture Government has not begrudged a single yen and has kindly sponsored our stay in that ryokan, where a room per night costs around $500. To describe the whole experience in one sentence, I will say that for once in my I really felt like a queen.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by two lines of maids dressed in pretty kimonos, bowing their heads. I felt like I was walking on a red carpet. Our luggage were taken to our rooms ahead of us, while we attended the opening speech with the tea ceremony in an extravagant hall whose roof opened automatically. I hardly understood anything of the welcoming speech, but I sporadically noted some absolutely polite vocab spoken only in absolutely formal occasions.


After the ceremony we had a little bit of time to enjoy our rooms, stunningly Japanese and pretty. We were served green tea the 2nd time during the day, this time in our suites. Before we had managed to get enough of a look of the room, we were soon dressed into the Japanese yukata, after which we were headed towards the welcoming reception (that was organized according to Japanese festivals, with food stands and games) which then was followed by a feast worthy of a king. While eating the superb quality food, we enjoyed performances and small chit chat. And my legs ached all along, as we all sat in a traditional Japanese way, on the floor.

However the real point of the trip, apart from really appreciating Japanese bests, was to soak in the Japan's always famous onsen (hot springs). The Japanese have thousands and thousands of hot springs, which are baths with above 40 degree Celcius water, full of minerals and medications, that are supposed to ease your pains and tiredness. The very unique thing about these hot springs is that you go into them completely naked, no towel allowed. Lucky, we were lodged at an onsen with separate baths, although co-ed baths also exist.

The kids in my program did not forget they were American, so after the dinner and the baths, we engaged in a drinking party in one of the rooms. Some managed to stay all night and get another soaking bath at the dawn, thus catching a view of beautiful sun-rise from the bath. I unfortunately crashed at around 4am. But it was experience like none before, something that would make every single person fall utterly and impossibly in love with Japan.

Odori - The Dance.

After seeing every part of the parade, me and Helen hurriedly rushed to the International Lounge, a building where the PII students were supposed to gather for the Odori part of the festival.

Odori in Japanese means literally “dance”, so you can guess what we were to do. The Odori takes place every year, after the parade, at night in Kanazawa’s designated downtown, and the PII students have participated in it also on a yearly basis. We learned the dance the day before and on the day of the dance we received the happi coat to dress in.
“Happi coats originated as Japanese over coats traditionally worn by shop keepers. The family crest, shop name or emblem was printed on the back of the coat. Today, happi coats are still used by some shop keepers, however happi coats are widely used for Japanese festivals, parties and sushi restaurants.”

There were in total 3 dances, all of them very simple, and we danced each on Kanazawa’s street for 20-30 minutes straight. At first we, the American students, were all freaked out as we only practiced the dances for 50 minutes total the day before, which means by the next evening, we forgot everything. As it soon turned out, the worry was unnecessary – these movements were repeated so often during the odori, that we memorized them in no time. And they were so simple, it was the group effect of people moving in unison that really mattered.


The odori was a long long line of many people each dressed in the yukata/kimono of their own group. All the dance group were representatives of either private companies sponsoring the matsuri, or some other groups such as Kanazawa University etc. Each had their own very pretty costumes and we all danced around the Korinbo area, which is like a downtown. We danced for total of 3 hours (!) and had a great, unforgettable time. Of course with PII students being in the number of 45 we could barely compare to the 100-people groups of the companies, so we did not win the best-dancing-group prize. It’s ok, we got to drink some delicious tea and eat some delicious donuts as a reward for dancing.

The Parade.

With the lantern event finished at 9-ish of the Friday night, the next day was entirely devoted to the Hyakumangoku Matsuri Parade (百万石まつり). Hyakuman (百万) is a million, goku (石) is a measurement of rice production. Here’s the really short Wiki entry:

“The festival commemorates the entry of Lord Maeda Toshiie into Kanazawa Castle in 1583. The highlight of the festival is the Hyakumangoku Parade, which begins on the second Saturday in June.The Hyakumangoku Parade reenacts the entrance of Lord Maeda Toshiie and his entourage into Kanazawa. The participants are dressed in 16th-century period costumes and parade around several city blocks.”


What I especially liked about this parade is that, unlike the western parades or the New York thanksgiving parade, there was a story behind it. In this case it is the reenactment of a 16th century event, so the parade was truly very rich in history. And probably also because I like to see people dressed up in the pretty Japanese costumes and kimonos much more than the flamboyant gaudy and quite random American costumes.

Well, like every parade, it is divided in different successive processions.

The first group were the music bands, occasionally accompanied by middle and high school acrobatic - cheerleaders. The members of these music bands are usually Kanazawa employers of hospitals, post offices or fire departments. Then came a car with three Misses Kanazawa (whom, me and Helen, out of female jealousy, did not regard as that too pretty).
After the 3 Misses waved their hands to us, began the real fun – the historic parade - with the priests, the King’s acrobats, vassals and many other people whose historical meaning I could not guess (neither could my host mother). At some point came a very tall cart on top of which 4 children of around 4 years of age were seated. My host mother shared with me that they were supposed to be the King’s children (the little princes and princesses), and to be able to play that role they had to pass a very competitive audition. My god, all for 90 minutes of hand-waving ride.


There was also a separate cart for the queen, while her maids followed behind, wearing their beautiful kimonos (whose pictures I was able to take before the march) and finally, at the very end, came the king on the horse followed by his army. The king’s role, as well as the queen’s, were given to famous Kanazawa actors. The king came on a horse, and since we sat right at the edge of the pathwalk (meaning directly facing the parade), we also experienced all the smells coming of from the horse. There was a designated man who followed the horse and collected its left-overs. That is the part I would rather not do of all the things in the parade.

My host father was one of the King’s troops, so I got to take pictures with him right before the parade, in the train station, where they all assembled and from where they proceeded. I also thus got to know some of his firemen colleague-friends, whom I would later that day end up drinking with.

The Kanazawa Festival (Matsuri) - Touro Nagashi.

Festivals are one of the most popular summer activities in Japan. Every major city organizes its own festival at least once a year, but usually twice a year. The most famous one is of course Kyouto’s Gion Matsuri. But Kanazawa has its own too and we were lucky enough to get to even participate in one part of the festival this year during our very first weekend.
The festival’s “opening ceremony” was the floating of the hundreds of paper lanterns down one of the Kanazawa’s river. That part is officially called Touro Nagashi (灯籠流し), toro (灯籠) meaning the “lantern” and nagashi (流し) meaning “to float”. In the Buddhist religion it is believed that these lamps will guide the souls of the dead to their resting place (wherever it is, I couldn’t figure it out from what the host mother Japanese). It was truly a beautiful spectacle, accompanied by music and drum performances. It got especially interesting when the lanterns started to receive some interesting shapes, such as daruma (a Japanese famous doll), fruits and at some point, there was even a Pikachu lantern… I am not sure if that a little paper Pikachu can really guide a soul of a dead, but it definitely shows how Pikachu has entered permanently their culture.

And here's the little video I took of the ceremony:

The Language Program – The Princeton kids are quite poor.

The Language Program – The Princeton kids are quite poor.

It’s surprisingly intensive for 3-hours per day worth of classes. You would wonder why 3 hour-long-session that ends at noon could possibly be hard. The answer is peer pressure - the program is dominated by Ivy League kids, so their inherent competitiveness is so instinctive it is insuppressible even during summer. And to Princeton kids, this program actually matters – it goes to their transcript and GPA and such. And on top of that they have quite sick of the curved grading system – only the top 30% gets As (how ironic, really, only Ivy kids would ever care about grades to begin with..). In such moments am so glad I am at Harvard, it makes the program so much more enjoyable.

There are lots of Kanji (Chinese characters) to memorize, but for me who has studied Chinese up to 3rd year and who likes Chinese characters to begin with, it is not too big of a deal. Also, compared to the Chinese summer language program I took with Harvard 2 years ago, this amount of vocab we learn is sweet and easy.

It is the grammar that is a nightmare. As always, whenever there is conjugation involved (which is the case of most languages I realize) it makes the speaking 10 times harder. Because you have to conjugate all the stupid verbs and adjective at the same time that you speak, by the time you figure out the appropriate form of that word, the Japanese listener (in most cases my host mother) has directed her direction somewhere else (mostly to her kids). That is the reason I absolutely cannot talk in long sentences at home.

Princeton in Ishikawa offers so many activities after class that one doesn't get to do all the studying until quite late. On top of that, the presence of a host mother who likes to chat only contributes to the habit of procrastination, very much intensified during the summer time. So in the end, by the 2nd week the typical college symptoms start to show up – sleep deprivation, yawning during class, excessive coffee drinking. And it doesn't help that there is a test every day, a speech, a midterm or a composition per week.

But I'm glad for the textbooks. We either have the author of the textbook be the head of the program (and also one of the most prominent Japanese language professors), or we get to read Japanese folktales (Momotarou) or watch one of the greatest anime (Japanese animation) of all time - Spirited Away.

I wholeheartedly recommend this program to anyone hoping to learn more Japanese in a truly enjoyable way with a tiny bit of warning - it is really intense.