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...