Ikebana

The highlight of Sunday was the Ikebana exposition at the Ikenobo Building. This is THE place in the world for learning Ikebana. Ikebana is the art of flower arrangement, which started in Kyoto by Ikenobo family and passed on from generation to generation. A classmate of mine is studying at this institute and let us know there was an exposition for three days. Nowhere else in the world could you see so many superbly done arrangements in one place. Even in Japan, you get to see such an exhibition rarely and then it's only for 2-3 days. It was worth all 500 Yen (3.99 EUR) for the entrance. It is a joke, since I'm used to paying around 15 EUR for half collections in The Netherlands.

I got jam-packed with 60plussers (mostly grandmas) in an elevator and it was fun. I like old people: they are always more cheerful and comfortable (not necessarily with elevators, though.) We adored a very cute arrangement with some 90 year old together and commented on it a little. 

The photos don't do any bit of justice to these creations, since you have to experience them in dimension. They were also placed to be viewed and not photographed, so the height of the backdrop was too low to get good shots. So please enjoy as is.

Pazar gununun doruk noktasi Ikenobo binasindaki Ikebana sergisiydi. Burasi, Ikebana ogrenmek icin gelinecek dunyadaki bir numarali adres. Ikebana, Japonlarin cicek duzenleme sanatinin adi. Bu sanat, Kyoto'da, Ikenobo ailesi tarafindan baslatilmis ve kusaktan kusaga aktarilmis. Benim bir sinif arkadasim bu enstituye Ikebana ogrenmeye gelmis ve bizi bu uc gunluk sergiden haberdar etti. Dunyanin baska hicbir yerinde bu kadar ustalikla yapilmis duzenlemeleri bir arada gormek mumkun degil. Japonya'da bile boyle bir sergi her zaman acilmiyor, acilsa da 2-3 gun icinde yakaladin yakaladin... Girise verdigim 500 Yen'e (7.90 YTL) sonuna kadar degdi. Burda giris ucretleri, Hollanda'dan sonra saka gibi geliyor. Orda yarim acik muzeye asagi yukari 15 Euro vermeye alismisiz.

60 ve yukarisi yaslarda bir dolu nineyle asansore balik istifi oldum, cok da hosuma gitti. Yaslilari severim ve tercih ederim; cogunlukla daha rahat (asansorle aralari iyi olmasa da) ve gulec oluyorlar. 90 yasinda bir nineyle cok sevimli bir duzenlemeye birlikte bakip yorum yaptik. 

Fotograflar, bu harikulade yapitlarin hakkini cok fena yiyor. Zira uc boyutlu gorulmesi gerekir bunlarin. Zaten gorulmek icin yerlestirilmisler, fotograflamak icin degil; o yuzden arka plan cok alcak kaldi. Lutfen oldugu kadarinin keyfine varin. 

Monday Before Sunday / Pazardan Once Pazartesi

I know I said I would write about Sunday first. But I wanted to announce my grades. 

I got a 100% from Kanji, another 100% for one homework. Then I got a 93% for another homework. To my biggest surprise, I got a 87% from the big test (which included everything from the beginning of this course). However, during the break I commented how well a certain classmate of ours was doing, and added that I was the bottom of the class. This comment was directed to our teacher and he nodded, affirming. He said "The test was OK, though". So the grades are better news than I'd expected, but in fact doesn't mean much.

Sirada Pazar var demistim ama...notlarimi aciklayayim once.
Kanji'den ve bir diger odevden 100 aldim, bir diger odevden de 93. Asil beni sasirtan buyuk testten 87 almak oldu (ki bu sinav kursun basindan beri ogrendigimiz tum konulari kapsiyordu). Gelgelelim, tenefus sirasinda bir sinif arkadasimizin Japoncasinin ne iyi oldugunu soyleyip, bir de benim sinifin en kotusu oldugunu ekledim. Yorumumum muhatabi olan ogretmenim ise onaylar bicimde kafasini sallayip "Test fena degildi ama" dedi. Demek sonuclar benim bekledigimden daha iyi haber olmakla birlikte fazla da bir sey ifade etmiyor.

Weather God Mercies Us / Hava Tanrisi Merhamet Etti.

It's been raining and cold all through the week. We had to cancel our trip to Uji on Friday night, because it was still pouring and it didn't look like it was going to end. Luckily, the weather turned fine by Saturday.

Butun haftaici soguk ve yagisli gecti. Planladigimiz Uji gezisini Cuma gecesi iptal etme karari aldik. Cuma gecesi hala sakir sakir yagiyordu ve kesilecek gibi de gorunmuyordu. Hava tanrisi acidi bize, Cumartesi hava iyiye dondu.

On Saturday, it was temple visits...mostly. We went to see many temples on the north-east of the city; popping in as we came across one, which happens every few hundred meters in fact.

Cumartesi tapinak gezmekle gecti. Sehrin kuzeydogusundaki tapinaklara girdik ciktik. Her birkac yuz metrede bir tane cikiyor karsiniza zaten. 

We saw two wedding parties; one traditional, one western style (still in a traditional carriage, though).  Those trees (look like blossomed) are actually wish trees.

Biri geleneksel, biri bati usulu (gerci onlar da geleneksel arabadaydi)  iki dugun alayi gorduk. O ciceklenmis gibi duran agaclar aslinda adak agaci.

Sometimes I can't help but wish some more tradition was kept for me , even if it was only in form. I would bother to get married if I knew someone prepared a ceremony for me like this traditional one. It looks like it means something at least. Still, I didn't tie a paper on the trees :-)

Keske az biraz daha gelenek, sekilde bile olsa, benim icin boyle canli tutulmus olsaydi diye dusunmeden edemiyorum bazen. Simdi, benim icin biri, bu geleneksel merasim gibi bir merasim hazirlayacak olsaydi ben de belki evlenme zahmetine girerdim. En azindan bir seye benzerdi. Ama yine de adak agacina kagit baglamadim ;-)

 

After that we went to the traditional crafts center. 

Ondan sonra da geleneksel el sanatlari merkezine gittik.

We rested a little at Cafe Bibliotic Hello!, a cafe on my list, which we came across by pure chance, while looking for Japanese school bags (Randoseru). These bags are said to have come from The Netherlands 200 years ago. They are very expensive, but super cute.

Bir ara, Japon okul sirt cantalarini (Randoseru, Hollanda'dan 200 yil once gelmis bunlar buraya, cok tuzlu ama cok tatlilar) aramaktan yorulmusken, benim listemde zaten olan Cafe Bibliotic Hello! cikiverdi karsimiza, orda biraz soluklandik.

Next is Sunday...

Arkasi Pazar...

Let us eat cake / Ekmek bulamadiysak...

Gladly, I don't eat bread with dinner. It would have been difficult to find one that is not sweet. Caline has had difficulty with regular supermarket bread.

No bread? No problem! Plenty of cake to be had, well, sushi and sashimi in any case.

This is what we've been eating since we've arrived. We didn't intend to gorge on fish, it just happened.

Caline is collecting the yellow plastic flowers which come with the food :-) We decorate the food with more and more everyday.

Ben iyi ki ekmek yemiyorum yemekle. Oyle bir aliskanligim olsa yanmistim, zira tatli olmayanini bulmak zor. Caline supermarketten aldiklarimizi pek begenmedi.

Ekmek bulamadik mi? Olsun! Kek dolu... en azindan sushi ve sashimi dolu.

Geldigimizden beri yediklerimiz bunlar. Illa balik olsun demedik, kendiliginden oluvermis. 

Caline yemekle gelen plastik cicekleri biriktirmeye basladi :-) Yemeklerimizi susluyoruz oyle; gitgide de artacak.

P.S. :This is our combined dinners.

Not: Bunlar ikimizin toplam yemekleri.

Yarns and Friends / Yumaklar ve Arkadaslar

After leaving the temple, we met Chica and her daughter. Chica took us to Sanjo-dori. This is mainly a shopping street, full of old buildings in the western style. In one of these buildings there is a place of pilgrimage. Avril in Japan, Habu outside (exotic name sells well everywhere). This was the main feast of the day for me. Up until now I could see a few examples of this yarn in a few fairs, and heard a lot about it. They are produced in Kyoto. The shop recently moved to its new place on the 3rd floor and looks very spacious.  I was, no need to say, like a child in a candy store. From silk to pure wool, stainless steel to hand-dyed...they are all there in exquisite quality.

Cumartesi tapinaktan cikip Chica ve kiziyla bulustuk. Chica bizi Sanjo-dori'ye goturdu. Burasi, yuz yildan eski, bati etkisinde binalarin oldugu bir alisveris caddesi. Bu binalardan birinde orgu aleminde hac edilecek bir dukkan var. Japonya'da Avril, disarda Habu (egzotik isim her yerde onemli).  Iste benim icin gunun ziyafeti bu oldu. Hollanda'da sadece fuardan fuara birkac cesidini gorebildigim, ama hikayelerini bolca dinledigim bu ipler Kyoto'da uretiliyor. Yeni yerine, 3. kata tasinmis, 2. kattaki yeri daha kucuk gorundu gozume, cok iyi olmus. Sekerci dukkanina girmis cocuk gibi oldum. Ipekler mi saf yunler mi, paslanmaz celik ipler mi, elde boyanmisi mi, muazzam bir kalitede hepsi mevcut.

We dropped by the famous Inoda's to have some coffee. I had a Mont Blanc (because of my love for chestnut) and ice-coffee. To be honest, I wasn't too impressed. Japanese may do many things well, but patisserie or coffee are not one of those things (at least not in Kyoto). After watching hours of baking related anime, I expected more passion :-)

Ordan da meshur Inoda's Kafe'ye ugradik. Ben (kestane askimdan) bir Mont Blanc aldim, bir de buzlu kahve. Dogrusunu demek gerekirse de Japonlar pastahane veya kahve isini cok iyi kiviramiyorlar(en azindan Kyoto'da) Saatlerce pasta-borek animesi izledikten sonra buldugumdan daha cok azim beklerdim.

I wasn't too impressed, but Aika-chan was. She was super happy with her chocolate Nijntje-aka-Miffy. This girl can draw, and she drew very pretty pictures for us. Her English was much better than some of my teachers at school by the way.

Ben belki cok memnun kalmadim ama Aika-can cukulata tavsanina (Hollanda'da Nijntje, burda Miffy, Turkiye'de var mi bu ben bilmiyorum) pek sevindi. Cok guzel resim cizebiliyor, o da bize harika resimler yapti. Ingilizcesi de benim okuldaki hocalarin cogundan iyiydi.

Nijo Castle / Nijo Kalesi

Saturday morning we headed North to visit the Nijo Castle, another Unesco World Heritage site. At the entrance, we saw a procession of some sort, which I have no idea what for.

Cumartesi sabahi Nijo Kalesi'ni ziyaret etmeye dustuk yola. Bu da Unesco Dunya Mirasi listesinde bir yer. Giriste ne oldugunu bilmedigimiz bir merasim gorduk.

Honestly, this is the most beautiful castle I've ever seen. It's like a palace, but not a palace (after linking to Wikipedia, I've found out that the building is indeed a palace). It is where war business is discussed...more like a war office.The floor literally chirps (actually squeaks) to let the inhabitants know that there's an intruder. The room walls and inner doors are gilded with gold leaves and beautiful scenery painted over them. The inner building is all wood, complete with paper windows. Taking pics was not allowed inside, so I won't be able to treat you.

When you think that Shogun walked those corridors, in his exquisite silk garments, you get a shiver.

Acikcasi benim simdiye kadar gordugum en guzel kaleydi. Daha cok saray gibi (maalesef Turkce Vikipedi baglantisi yok ama, Ingilizce baglantiyi verirken gercekten de saray oldugunu ogrendim) Burasi duvarlari ve ic kapilari altin varaklanmis, uzerine muhtesem manzaralar boyanmis bir "savas isleri muzakere dairesi" daha cok. Ahsap yerler resmen kus gibi sakiyor (aslinda gicirdiyor tabii). Onu da habersiz giren cikan var mi bilmek icin oyle insa etmisler. Ic bina tamamen ahsap ve kagit pencereli. Iceride fotograf cekmek yasak oldugu icin maalesef paylasamiyorum.

Shogun'un o koridorlarda, muhtesem ipek giysileri icinde yurudugunu dusunmek de tuyler urpertici.

 

It was allowed to take pics outside the inner building...complete with its beautiful gardens. It has an additional garden area, which we didn't visit because we were tight for time.

Ic binanin disinda fotograf cekmek serbestti. Bahceleri de harikaydi. Gerci kale alani kadar baska bir bahcesi daha vardi ama bizim zamanimiz az oldugu icin oraya girmedik.

Out in the garden, a Japanese couple approached us to practise English. Apparently their teacher gave them a " Go to Nijo Castle, find couple of tourists and practice" assignment. They didn't understand English very well, but we managed pretty alright in Japanese eventually.

Kale bahcesinde bir Japon cift yaklasip bizimle Ingilizce pratigi yapmak istediler. Ellerinde de bir kagit, belli ki ogretmenleri "Gidin Nijo Kalesi'ne , bulun bir iki turist, pratik yapin' demis. Bize sorular sordular. Bizim Ingilizcemizi pek anlamadilar ama Japonca iyi anlastik neticede. 

After the two-hour visit to the castle we headed to Karasuma-Oike station, North ticket gate to meet a Japanese friend and her daughter. This was for the second feast of the day. That will be the next post.

Iki saatlik ziyeretimizden sonra Karasuma-Oike istasyonu Kuzey cikis gisesi onune, bir Japon arkadas ve kiziyla bulusmaya gittik. Gunun bundan sonrasi benim icin ikinci ziyafet oldu. Onun da arkasi yarin artik.

The Botanical Garden / Botanik Bahcesi

On Tuesday we took the underground for the first time and went to the botanical gardens. I wish the pic was a bit sharper, but I took it quite sneakily. Japanese usually sleep on public transport, especially on the underground. These people were all taking a nap.


Sali gunu ilk defa metroya binip botanik bahcesine gittik. Keske resim daha duzgun ciksaydi ama caktirmadan cektim. Japonlar toplu tasima araclarinda uyuyorlar hep, ozellikle de metroda. Resimdekilerin hepsi uyuyor.

At the botanical gardens they had more than 100 kinds of sakura. This was the most impressive displaye we've seen fo far. They had all sorts of plants, of course: Peach, magnolia and camelias were also in bloom.


Botanik bahcesinde 100'den fazla cesit sakura agaci vardi. Simdiye kadar gorduklerimiz arasinda en etkileyici yer burasiydi. Tabii baska bir suru cesit bitki vardi. Seftali, manolya ve kamelya da cicekliydi.

I did wedding photography as well:


Dugun fotografcisi da oldum:





 


At some point Japan met The Netherlands.

Bir noktada Japonya Hollanda'yla bulustu.

We made some pics of each other:

Birbirimizin fotografini cektik:

And before leaving we saw a Bonsai garden:

Cikmadan bir de Bonsai bahcesi gorduk: