5 Weeks is Over. / 5 Hafta Gecti, Gitti.

I've arrived in Amsterdam bang on schedule yesterday afternoon. The flight was smooth most of the time and all went well. It's just that we've noticed being back in the country, since my attendant light was on for almost half the flight and no one cared. I will miss Japan deeply for customer care.

This daytime flight meant that I had 7 hours of extra daylight. My body told me it was 10.30 in the evening, and the clock showed 15.30. I tried to stay awake as much as I could, but fell asleep at 21.30. I woke up very early, after 8 hours, but managed to get 3 more hours of sleep. I'm tired but not jetlagged. I even worked today.

It's good to be back to Michiel. It's also good to be back in my home, all very tidy and clean. Michiel has really put the effort to welcome me and I appreciate it so much.

I deem this trip a success. I stayed and returned safely. I've managed stuff pretty alright. I've learnt more about Japan, more about the way the world is, and more about myself, including my strength and limitations. I've met some cool people and hopefully we'll keep in touch. Who knows, I might have learnt some more Japanese as well. 

I think I'll let it sink in a bit more before I write a final post on this blog about my reflections on the whole. Thank you everyone who's read, commented here or wrote e-mails. It was fun for me to share the experience this way and I think I'll do this again sometime...

Amsterdam'a dun ogleden sonra, tam planlanan saatte indim. Ucus sorunsuz ve iyi gecti. Ama ucakta bile nereye dondugumuzu farkettik; benim yardim icin yaktigim isik ucusun yarisi boyunca, ben bikip da kapatana kadar yanik kaldi, kimse de gelip sormadi bir sey mi istediniz diye. Japonya'yi musteri hizmeti konusunda cok arayacagim.

Gunduz uctugum icin 7 saat fazladan gunisigi gordum. Vucut aksam 10.30 oldu derken saat 15.30'u gosteriyordu. Uyanik kalmaya calistim ama 21.30 gibi devrildim. 8 saat uyuyup erkenden uyandim ama neyse bir uc saat daha uyumayi becerdim. Jetlag yok ama yolculuktan halsizim. Hatta bir de isbasi yaptim bugun.

Michiel'e donmek guzel. Evime donmek de guzel. Michiel gercekten bana guzel bir hosgeldin demek icin calismis; evi tertemiz ve tertipli buldum. Oyle hosuma gitti ki, basimdan eksik olmasin valla.

Bu yolculugu basarili sayiyorum. Gittim, kaldim, dondum tek parca. Isleri, halleri fena idare etmedim. Japonya'ya hakkinda pek cok sey ogrendim. Dunyanin kac bucak oldugu konusunda da. Kendi guclu yanlarimi ve sinirlarimi daha iyi tanidim; kendimi de biraz daha iyi tanidim yani. Ilginc, guzel insanlarla karsilastim, umarim iletisimi surdururuz. Kimbilir belki biraz daha Japonca bile ogrenmisimdir.

Sanirim bu deneyimi biraz daha yedirip, yerine oturtup son bir post daha yazacagim ve genel izlenimlerimi paylasacagim. Okuyan, buraya yorum birakan, e-mail ile destekleyen herkese tesekkur ediyorum. Bu sekilde paylasmak benim icin de hos ve eglenceli oldu. Bir dahaki sefere yine yapabilirim...

Children's Day / Cocuk Bayrami

 Since I have a little time before departure, I should just write down all I can. I'll be adding a video or two to this post later on.

5th of May is Children's Day in Japan, traditionally Boys' Day actually. We really hoped we could find an event where children flew their carp kites (Koinoboro), but we couldn't. So we went to see two events at two temples. The first one was a ceremony with archers. plenty of them were women. After a long prayer and explanations we saw them do their thing.

Ayrilmadan biraz vaktim olduguna gore yazabildigim kadar yazayim diyorum. Bu posta sonra birkac vidyo da eklerim.

5 Mayis, Japonya'da Cocuk Bayrami. Aslinda geleneksel olarak Oglan Bayrami. Biz de cocuklarin sazan baligi seklinde ucurtmalarini ucurduklari bir etkinlik bulmak istiyorduk ama bulamadik. Onun yerine iki ayri tapinakta iki ayri etkinlige gittik. Ilki okcularin seramonisiydi. Bircogu da kadindi. Uzun dualarindan ve daha uzun aciklamalardan sonra gosterilerine gectiler, biz de izledik.

 

After that we went to a temple up north to see a traditional horse race. The ceremonies and explanations were again very long, it had interesting rules we didn't understand much about, despite the explanations in English. I got a sunstroke.

Ardindan kuzeyde baska bir tapinaga gidip geleneksel bir at yarisi izledik. Ilginc kurallari olan bu yaris da pek seramonili ve uzundu. Ingilizce aciklamalara ragmen kurallari pek anlayamadik. Basima da gunes gecti.

At the Hotel / Otelde

We've had our coffee and said our goodbyes. I received a Sahshiko set from Chica as a present, which I'm super delighted with. We even got to see Aikachan again, and that's a good way to start a day.

Once I got back to my room to take my luggage down, the cleaner was already in.

Everything went according to plan until Kansai Airport. There I've found out that some chocolate melted in my bag and smeared on stuff. Fortunately, stuff was not my passport. I got my luggage weighed and it was just over 20 kilos, I'm glad.

We then found out that the shuttle was not available for another 3 hours and the taxi cost more for the 10 minute ride than the 1 hour 45 minutes ride from Kyoto. So we took the train and a taxi. We've checked in to the hotel and checked in for our flight as well. From now on we'll try to relax as much as we can...I'll go discover the onsen facilities now.

Kahvemizi icip vedalastik. Chica bana Sashiko seti hediye etti, cok da memnun oldum. Aikachan'i bile gorduk, gunumuz guzel basladi yani.

Valizimi indirmek icin odama dondugumde temizlikci girmisti bile. 

Kansai Havaalanina kadar hersey yolunda gitti. Oraya vardigimizda cantamda kalan bir cukulatanin eridigini, cantamdakilere bulastigini farkettim. Sukur pasaportuma degmemis. Valizimi de tarttim, 20 kilonun az uzerinde, pek memnun oldum.

Ogrendik ki shuttle 3 saat daha yokmus, taksi de 10 dakikalik yol icin Kyoto'dan (1 saat 45 dakikalik mesafe) daha pahaliymis. Biz de once trene bindik sonra taksiyle otele geldik. Gelir gelmez internetten ucus icin de check-in yaptim. Bundan sonra rahatlamaya bakacagiz. Simdi gidip hamama bir goz atacagim.

Leaving Kyoto / Kyoto'dan Ayriliyorum

I'm leaving Kyoto in a couple of hours. I'm all packed and have about 30 minutes before I go and meet Claire and Chica for one last cup of coffee together. 

We'll take a taxi to the shuttle service and then travel to Kansai International in Osaka. We'll take a shuttle or a taxi from the airport to th hotel (10 mins away)We'll stay the night in an onsen hotel and leave early in the morning again with the shuttle. The flight is scheduled for 10 a.m and we're due in Amsterdam 14:55. Let's see how I take such a long day.

I'll try to squueze in one last post about last Wednesday once I've checked in to the hotel.

Just now I'm feeling somewhat sad. I think I'll miss this city.

Birkac saat icinde Kyoto'dan ayriliyorum. Valizimi toparladim ve 20 dakika sonra Claire ve Chica ile son bir kahve icmek icin bulusacagim.

Shuttle servisine taksi ile gidecegiz, ordan da Osaka'ya Kansai Havaalanina gidecegiz. Vardigimizda ya bir taksi tutup ya da yine baska bir servis ile otele gidecegiz. Otel, havaalanina 10 dakika mesafede ve kaplicali.Sabah da shuttle ile havaalanina gidecegiz erkenden. Ucus yarin sabah 10'da, Amsterdam'a inis de 14:55. Bakalim o kadar uzun bir gunu nasil kaldiracagim.

Otele girisi tamamlayinca gecen Carsamba ile ilgili bir post daha yazmak niyetindeyim.

Simdi biraz buruk hissediyorum. Sanirim ozleyecegim bu sehri.

Nara

Tuesday, it was Nara.  I can't do the place any bit of justice by a rush post. I may come back to this post after I return. It is packed with world heritage sites, national treasure temples, a large park with free roaming deer. It took us the entire day walk around some of it and see some major sites. I could write at least a paragraph over the Buddha statue (Daibutsu). It would take me days to write up about all the temples. At least it's recorded now, so please enjoy the taster.

Sali,Nara'ya gittik. Ben simdi alelacele bir post yazarsam hic hakkini veremeyecegim. Beli donunce bu posta yeniden birseyler eklerim. Burasi dunya mirasi, milli servet bir cok tapinak ve sit alani iceren, kocaman pariknda geyiklerin gezindigi bir yer. Bir kismini dolasip da onemli alanlarini gezmek tum gunumuzu aldi.14 metrelik Buda heykelini (Daibutsu) bile bir paragraf yazmam gerek. Tum tapinaklari yazabilmem icin de gunler gerek. Simdilik kaydedilmis oladursun, biraz tadimlik olsun.

Kyoto CS / Kyoto Istasyonu

Kyoto Central Station is a world on its own. It may be the largest building I've ever been in. It goes on and on and on, with busy train platforms, subway entrances, hotel, shops, department stores. It's massive. These pictures show the central entrance side, only.

I can walk there from my room in 3-4 minutes (because of traffic lights, which take forever to turn green). It takes you longer to walk inside, across the building, or take escalators to higher floors. The escalators are stairway to heaven. The top left photo was taken after halfway.

Although I went there almost every single day for one thing or another, I put off taking pics until now. In guess it became too local too soon. 

Kyoto Istasyonu baslibasina bir dunya. Benim girip ciktigim en buyuk yapi bu olabilir. Islek platformlari, metro cikislari, oteli, dukkanlari, alisveris merkezleri derken uzayip gidiyor. Cok buyuk. Bu fotograflarda gorunen sadece ana giris tarafi.

Kaldigim yerden oraya yurumem 3-4 dakika (o da yesile donmek bilmeyen trafik isiklari yuzunden). Binanin bir ucundan diger ucuna yurumek ya da yuruyen merdivenle ust katlara tirmanmak daha uzun suruyor. Yuruyen merdiven semaya ulasacak saniyorsunuz. Sol ust fotograf yolu yarilayinca cekilmis bir fotograf.

Her gun bir sebeple ugramis olmama ragmen fotograflarin cekme isini hep erteledim. Galiba hemencecik "bizim buralar" oluverdi.

School is Over / Okul Bitti

Today was my last day at school. I'm glad it's over; It was hard work. I've received my certificate of attendance, which came as an absolute surprise. Just in time, I took my camera out and placed it haphazardly on my desk to capture the moment on film (below).

Bugun okulun son gunuydu. Uzerimden yuk kalkti, hakikaten zor gecti. Devam ettigim icin bana sertifika bile verdiler. Hic beklemiyordum, sasakaldim. Apar topar fotograf makinami cikarip siramin uzerine bu ani kaydetmek icin koyuverdim.

A Day in Town / Sehirde Bir Gun

Monday I left with Caline and saw the Nishiki market.

Pazartesi evden Caline'le ciktim ve Nishiki Pazarini gezdim.

 

We ran into Claire after the exit. We're already running into people we know :-) Claire agreed to accompany me on the hunt for the Ghibli shop. The tip was given to me by Arina and I had to go and see it.

Cikista Claire ile karsilastik. Artik tanidiga filan da rastlar olduk. Claire benimle gelip Ghibli dukkanini bulmaya ikna oldu. Buradan bana Arina sozetmisti ve de illa bulup gormem lazimdi.

The way to the shop crossed Gion and I finally saw a Maiko. Actually two :-)

Dukkana giden yol Gion'dan geciyordu ve de sonunda bir Maiko gordum. Hatta iki tane :-)

 

I roamed a little and photographed some more pretty things before returning.

Sonra biraz daha gezinip, guzel seyleri fotograflayip dondum.

Long Day / Uzun Gun

Sunday, I went out with Arina and Mauru. They wanted to check out the biggest vegan market in Japan (which turned out to be somewhat disappointing, they say), I wanted to sleep. So we met in front of Keihan Line Marutamachi station around 12.30.

I didn't know where the station was, so I went to the information desk at the central station to ask (conversation was entirely in Japanese). The good clerk at the desk spread out the map and circled a station. The streets in Kyoto run for kilometres, both horizontally and vertically. Marutamachi is one that runs vertically through the entire city. Where he was sending me was at the centre, I needed to be at the very East. I'm so pleased I've learnt a thing or to about navigation here. Because I repeated that I needed the train station and not the underground station. Then he circled the train station on the map with his big red marker and said "Ga arimasen", which means "does not exist". Of all the things, I should keep that map as a souvenir. Actually I should have had him write "ga arimasen" just next to the station he circled.

Pazar gunu, Arina ve Mauru ile ciktik. Onlar Japonya'nin en buyuk Vegan pazarini gezmek istediler (ki o da hayalkirikligi  olmus), ben de uyumak istedim. Bu nedenle Keihan hattinin Marutamachi istasyonunda bulusalim dedik, 12 bucuk gibi.

Ben bu istasyonu bilmem, o yuzden bir bilene sorayim diye merkez istasyonun bilgi edinme noktasina gittim. Konusma tamamen Japonca idi. Muhterem gorevli  bir harita serdi onumuze ve bir istasyon isaretleyiverdi. Kyoto caddeleri enine ve boyuna kilometrelerce uzar gider. Marutamachi Kyoto'nun bir ucundan bir ucuna enine gidenlerden. Amca beni merkezine yollamaya kalkti; ben biliyorum Dogu'ya gitmem gerek. Sukur ki az bucuk ogrendim sagimi solumu. Tekrarladim amcaya, benim tren istasyonuna gitmem lazim, metroya degil diye. Bu defa tren istasyonunu buldu; koca, kirmizi kalemiyle cemberledi ve "Ga arimasen' , yani "Yok (boyle bir sey)" dedi. Benim burdan andac olarak bu haritayi saklamam lazim aslinda. Keske bir de "Ga arimasen" yazdirsaydim isaretledigi istasyonun yanina. 

We met and took the train to Fushimi. This is a small town outside Kyoto (actually a ward of Kyoto), famous with its sake breweries. The place was generally ugly with industrial compounds bang in the centre, among houses. We had lunch with Kazu-san (Arina's boyfriend), who had to work in Fushimi on Sunday. Then we strolled around, looked into shops, visited the sake museum, did some sake tasting, had a sake ice-cream, which was not particularly delicious. However, the water in the town was delicious. People come with bottles or large jugs to fill up for the week. It's considered to be one of the top 10 springs in entire Japan. Sake brewing industry is not there for nothing.
I sat inside a barrel to pose.

Bulusup bindik trene ve Fushimi'ye gittik. Fushimi, Kyoto yakininda (daha cok Kyoto'nun banliyosu gibi), sakesiylemeshur bir kasaba. Cok icacici bir yer degildi maalesef. Endustri binalari evlerin arasinda, tam merkezde. Arina'nin sevgilisi Kazu-san ile bir ogle yemegi yedik. Ondansonra da gezindik, dukkanlara baktik, sake muzesini gezdik, sake tattik, sakeli dondurma yedik. Sake dondurmasi pekleziz degildi ama kasabanin suyu cok lezizdi. Millet siseleri, damacanalari kapip gelmis; haftalik ihtiyaclarinidolduruyorlardi. Burasi Japonya'nin en iyi 10 su kaynagindanbiri sayilirmis. Sake endustrisi bosuna burda gelismemis yani. Ben de girdim varile poz verdim.

 
We popped on another train to Uji. This is a lovely town cut by a large river. The Japanese 10 cent coin features the buddhist temple (Byōdō-in ) of Uji. We didn't get to see the inside, but again the gardens and the museum was worth it.

Arina had two matcha (green tea) ice-creams and Mauru bought medicine (was feeling ill). After an entire day of walking on gravel I took a rest at the riverbed and soaked my feet in the cold river.

Ordan yine atladik bir trene, Uji'ye gittik. Burasi da bir nehrinikiye boldugu guzel bir kasaba. Japon 10 kurusununarkasinda da bu sehirdeki budist tapinagi (Byōdō-in) var. Tapinagin icini goremedik ama yine bahceleri, muzesi yetti.

Arina iki tane matcha (yesil cay) dondurmasi yedi, Mauru da gitti ilac aldi (biraz usutmus). Ben de butun gun cakillarda yurudukten sonra nehir yatagina indim ve ayaklarimi buz gibi nehre soktum.

Mauru left us later on and returned to Kyoto. Kazu-san came and picked us up from Uji and took us to a Sentō (bath house) near Fushimi, called Nenenoyu. For the first time in 5 weeks I found myself seriously considering living here. It was just so good.

It's no-clothes in sento and onsen in Japan. It is gender-split at least (unlike Finland).  Still, it took me a little while to get used to the environment, since Arina and I were the only foreigners in the place, so we were checked out more often. That was about 2 minutes, though. I've seen that Japanese ladies a) do not deform even after 3 children, b) majority has sizable breasts (not real large, but not as small as the stereotype dictates) c)keep a full bush. Naturally, I can't prove any of this, you'll just have to take my word for it.

Mauru bizden ayrilip Kyoto'ya dondu, Kazu-san da gelip ikimizi aldi ve Fushimi yakininda Nenenoyu adinda bir sentoya (hamam) goturdu. 5 haftadir ilk defa Japonya'ya yerlessem fena da olmaz dedim. Oyle guzel geldi.

Japon hamamlarina (sento ve onsen) anadan dogma giriliyor. En azindan kadin-erkek bir arada degil (Finlandiya gibi). Yinede cevreye alismam birazcik zaman aldi. Bunda Arina vebenim tek yabanci olmamiz ve dikkat cekmemiz de etkili oldu tabii. Iki dakika surdu topu topu. Japon hanimlar a) 3 cocuktan sonra bile deforme olmuyorlarmis, b) memeleri oyle sanildigi gibi kucuk filan degilmis (inek gibisi yoktu ama) c) Guney kisimlarinda doga ne verdiyse duruyor. Haliyle bunlari fotografla ispatlayamayacagim, dedigime inanin artik.

We had dinner and a lot of tea in the restaurant area after our bath. The smoking section had the most advanced filtration system I've ever seen.

 

All in all, that night's sleep was well deserved.

Yunduktan sonra restoran kismina gecip yemegimizi yedik, bol bol da cay ictik. Sigara icme bolumunde de simdiye kadar gordugum en japon harikasi havalandirma sistemi kuruluydu.

O gece yattigim yeri pek begendim dogrusu.

Holiday Begins / Tatil basliyor

Time is running out and with the holiday and all, I'm quite behind schedule for the blog. I would have liked to write more extensively, but it's not going to happen. I'm writing the beginning of the holiday when it's ended.

I sat for my last big test on Friday. I was so confused by then, I thought I'd better not sit for it at all. However, I took the test, I'm not here to slack.

On saturday I met with Claire and then with Caline to visit the Manga museum. It was large and impressive. Manga is a very important part of Japanese life. I can't imagine elsewhere people would visit a book museum (if it exists at all) and hangs out there for hours reading. The manga were classified into decades and sometimes genres. Pics were again not allowed , so I couldn't take many. It was ok to take pics of the manga artists, showcasing.

Zaman akip gidiyor, e araya tatil de gidince ben blog yazma isinde biraz geride kaldim. Herseyi cok daha detayli anlatmak isterdim ama mumkun gorunmuyor. Tatilin basini ancak tatil bitince yazabiliyorum.

Cuma gunu son buyuk sinavima girdim. Kafam oyle karisikti ki girmesem daha iyi diyordum ama yine de girdim, kacmaya gelmedik buraya.

Cumartesi Claire ve sonra da Caline ile bulusup Manga muzesine gittik. Cok buyuk ve etkileyiciydi. Manga (cizgi roman) burda hayatin cok onemli bir parcasi. Baska bir yerde boyle bir kitap muzesi olsun, insanlar da gidip saatlerce takilsin, okusun...hic sanmam. Manga yillara ve bazen de turlere gore duzenlenmisti. Fotograf yine serbest degildi, o yuzden cok cekemedim. Manga sanatcilarini isbasinda cekmek serbestti, ben de oyle yaptim.

After the museum we took the Sanjo shopping street to hunt down a 350 year old establishment, specialised in producing needles. Caline does patchwork, she was very delighted to find these super needles. It was a little, quaint shop, reached through an alley...you'd never expect that off a very busy shopping street. 

Muzeden sonra Sanjo caddesine gidip 350 yillik bir dukkan aradik. Bu aile sirketi igne yapiminda ustaymis. Caline patchwork (kirkyama) yapar, pek memnun oldu cok iyi igneler bulduguna. Boyle bir dukkani, bu kadar islek bir alisveris caddesinden cikan bir kucuk ara yolda hic beklemezsiniz.

 

We headed down to Gion, to see the Maiko and saw none. It was a disappointment, which I remedied by going again later on.

Gion'a, Maiko gormeye gittik ama bir tane goremeden donduk, Ben bu ise cok bozulup sonra yeniden ugradim ve bir tane gordum.

We ended the day in the soba restaurant again. This time I tried Tempura and wasn't too impressed.

Gunu bizim soba lokantasinda tamamladik. Bu defa Tempura ismarladim ama cok memnun kalmadim.

Soba

Wednesday night we decided to eat out. My classmate Arina had recommended a soba restaurant, which she said was superb, so I really wanted to try it. Soba is noodles made of buckwheat. I think they are my favourite among all types of oriental noodles.


Carsamba aksami disarda yiyelim dedik. Sinif arkadasim Arina bana bir soba lokantasi onermisti, hakikaten sahane demisti, ben de o yuzden mutlaka denemek istiyordum. Soba, karabugdaydan yapilan bir cesit eriste. Benim de sark eristeleri arasinda en sevdigim cesit bu.


The restaurant had a very homely feel with the wooden interior. Just at the entrance I could watch soba being made, absolutely by hand (kneading, cutting). We had to wait about 15 minutes before we could take a seat, although we saw there were many seats available once we went upstairs from the lobby. I think they had temporarily run out of noodles :-)


Her taraf ahsap oldugundan ev havasinda bir lokantaydi burasi. Giriste soba yapimini izledim; hersey tamamen el yapimiydi (yogurmasi, kesmesi). Yukari cikip da oturana kadar lobide 15 dakika beklememiz gerekti. Halbuki ust kata ciktigimizda pek cok bos yer oldugunu gorduk. Galiba o sirada taze ersite bitmisti.


I ordered hot soba with season veggies. Caline ordered with fried shrimps (Ebi Tempura). Then we both ordered  what we thought was a cup of sake. Then the guy came with a huge bottle and filled up the square dishes, what I'd though was for stock. He actually overfilled it until the dish under the glass dish was also full. You had to drink the first sips without lifting the dish. Whichever you look at it, it was at least 4-5 shots all in all.


Ben mevsim sebzeli, sicak eriste ismarladim. Caline de karides kizartmali (Ebi Tempura). Sonra birer sake ismarladik. Biz normal likor bardaginda bekliyoruz ama, arkadas elinde kocaman bir sise ile gelip, benim et suyu koyulacak sandigim koca kare tabaga basladi doldurmaya. Tasti, yine durmadi, altindaki kabi da doldurdu. Ilk yudumlari tabagi kaldirmadan hupletmek gerekti. Nerden baksan 4-5 tek sake etti doldurdugu.


Soba was indeed very well made. I intend to go back probably once more before I leave and try something else.


Soba hakikaten cok iyi hazirlanmisti. Donmeden once, bu sefer baska bir sey denemek icin yine gitmek niyetindeyim.

Kinkaku-ji

After the unsightly divergence we go to the number 1 sight in Japan (according to guides); Kinkaku-ji, The Golden Pavillion.

It was striking, conspicius and quite ostentatious. You can't enter it, but gardens were pleasant enough.

This gold post serves as my celebration of the Golden Week that is starting today (although I'll still have school on Friday)

Nahos sapmadan sonra gelelim Japonya'nin 1 numarali gorulecek hos yerine (rehberlere gore): Kinkaku-ji: Altin Tapinak.

Gozaliciydi, barizdi ve hatta rukustu. Iceri girilemiyor ama bahceleri yeterince guzeldi.

Bu altin post da benim bugun baslayan Altin Hafta kutlamalarimin baslangici olsun. Gerci benim yine de Cuma okulum var ama...

Not Quite So Perfect / Oyle Kusursuz Degil

Last Saturday, when I recovered a little in the morning I wanted to get out as soon as possible. The  weather was nice, too. We went to a temple to see some mask dance. Unfortunately photography was prohibited, so no pics from there. The setting was fabolous, the masks were interesting. The clothes they had on was sooo beautiful.

Gecen Cumartesi biraz iyilesince hemen kendimi disari atmak istedim. Hava da guzeldi. Bir tapinaga gidip maskeli dans izledik. Ama fotograf cekmek yasakti, maalesef paylasacak bir sey yok. Mekan harikaydi, maskeler ilgincti, giysileri de oyle guzeldi ki.

On my way to the temple I thought of making some pictures of the streets, where everything is not so neat and tidy. These are representative shots, meaning you will see them anywhere, everyday. It's not always clean temples and kimonos in Kyoto.

Tapinak yolunda sokaklarda oyle cok da duzenli, temiz olmayan seylerin fotograflarini cekeyim dedim. Bunlar burayi temsil eden fotograflar, yani her gun, her yerde goreceginiz manzaralar. Her sey temiz tapinaklar ve kimonolardan ibaret degil Kyoto'da.

No architectural unity or pleasure; cables dangling everywhere; electricity poles always bang on the road, where there are no pavements; garbage on the roadside in front of every building (stays there all day). They live in prison-like buildings, in cell-like rooms. I didn't want to focus on this, because I got tired of this mindset after 10 shots.

Mimari butunluk veya zevk yok; kablolar her yerden sarkiyor; elektrik direkleri yol uzerinde, ustelik kaldirim da yok; copler adim basi, her binanin onunde, yol kenarina birakiliyor (butun gun de orda duruyor). Hapishane gibi binalarda, hucre gibi odalarda yasiyorlar. Bunlarin uzerine yogunlasmak hic istemedim, cunku 10 kareden sonra yordu beni.

There is stuff I can't make pics of...like how they push you around in transport, how the cars have a self-claimed priority at crossings, etc. 

Fotografi cekilemeyecek seyler de var...mesela tasima araclarinda nasil itip kaktiklari, araclarin isiklarda, gecitlerde kendi tayin ettikleri oncelikleri olmasi, vs.

Out with Classmates / Sinif Arkadaslarimla Ciktik

  Actually, I'm staying home sick today. I haven't recovered from the Ramen I ate on Wednesday night. It may even be the flu (since it's got worse and not better in 2 days).

Wednesday evening, I took the underground by myself for the first time. I couldn't find the fare and had to ask for help. The Japanese are eager to speak English if they can, too. Although I'd asked in Japanese the teenager helped me in English. I even had to change at Oike station and it went all fine.

I first met with my classmate Mauru (the Ikebana guy) and we grabbed something to eat before seeing a film. We chose a ramen shop. Ramen is actually from China, but it is a super-popular dish here, and the Japanese made it their own. It was so hot, I lost my voice for 5 minutes. Mauru didn't like the dish he ordered (which turned out to be pork fat), so he filled himself up on gyozas (dumplings). The beer he ordered for us turned out to be 0% alcohol, but it tasted really nice.

After the dinner we went up to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D. We were supposed to meet Arina and her boyfriend, but we ran a bit late. So we saw them later when we entered the cinema. I didn't know if anyone else would join us from class, but they didn't. After the film, Arina and her Japanese bf gave me a ride back home. As Michiel-The-Wise says; "It always makes you feel more part of it all to ride in a native's car". I failed majorly in explaining him which turns to take in Japanese, though.

The film was all fine...I expected very little of it, honestly. Buuuut what excited much more was the short trailer before the film. It was the trailer of Ghibli's latest:  Kari-gurashi no Arietty. The one minute or so trailer mesmerised me. Unfortunately, it's opening in July here and probably I can catch it only early next year once in a film festival before it opens in Europe after 2 years (Ponyo was just like that).
Also Liar Game Final is on, which I intend to see (Michiel, eat your heart out) although I'll understand zilch without subtitels.

  Pics from my mobile / Fotolar cepten

Bugun evde dinlenecegim; hastalandim. Carsamba aksami yedigim Ramen'den sonra iflah olmadim. Gerci iki gundur iyilesecegime kotulestim, pekala grip de olabilir.

Carsamba aksami kendi basima metroya bindim ilk defa. Gidecegim yerin kac para oldugunu da bulamayip bir ergenden yardim istedim. Sagolsun Japonlar da Ingilizce biliyorlarsa hemen Ingilizce atliyorlar, ben Japonca sordum, o Ingilizce yanitladi. Hatta hat degistirdim metroda, o bile sorunsuz gitti.

Once sinif arkadasim Mauru (Ikebanaci) ile bulustuk ve birseyler yedik, sonra da bir film izledik. Yemegi de Ramencide yedik. Ramen, Cin yemegi olmasina ragmen Japonlarin cok sevip yedigi ve kendilerine has hale getirdikleri bir sey. O kadar aciydi ki 5 dakika filan sesim kisildi. Mauru ismarladigi yemegi begenmedigi icin (gele gele domuz yagi geldi) , gyoza ile karnini doyurdu (bir cesit kizarmis manti). Bize bir de bira soyledi, o da alkolsuz cikti, ama tadi gayet guzeldi.
 
Yemekten sonra Alice Harikalar Diyarinda izlemeye girdik, uc boyutlu versiyonunu. Bir diger sinif arkadasim Arina ve onun erkek arkadasiyla bulusacaktik ama biz geciktik. Onlari da salona girince gorduk. Siniftan baska gelen olacak miydi bilmiyorum ama, baskasi gelmedi. Filmden sonra Arina ve Japon erkek arkadasi beni eve biraktilar. Bilge Michiel'in de dedigi gibi "Yerlinin arabasina binmek, herseyin daha cok parcasi olmak demek"'. Ben evimin yolunu Japonca tarif etmeyi beceremedim ama, o baska.
 
Film hostu, iyiydi...zaten cok sey beklemeden gittim. Amma velakin asil beni buyuleyen sey filmden onceki 1 dakikalik tanitimlardan biri oldu. Ghibli'nin son filmi Kari-gurashi no Arietty burada Temmuz'da gosterimde. Artik gelecek yilin ilk aylarinda bir festivalde filan yakalayip gorecegim, cunku 2 yil gelmez Avrupa'ya (Ponyo da aynen boyle olmustu). Ayrica, Liar Game Final gosterimde (Michiel, catla da patla) onu da gormeye niyetliyim, altyazisiz pek bir sey anlamayacak olsam da.

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...