To my little accountant...

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY TIFFANY!!!

I hope you have a great day (although I'm sure you're working like a madwoman!) and congratulations on all of your recent good news! You are one smart cookie!

Love,
Laura

Single in Kyoto

Date: December 24, 2006
Where: Kyoto
Who?: Very Single Laura
Info: Christmas in Japan is more of an event for couples. Most Japanese couples go out on Christmas Eve and if you don’t have a date…well...I seemed to be the only one...

SANJUSANGEN-DO



My first stop was Sanjusangen-do. This temple is famous for having 1001 statues of the Buddhist deity, Kannon (1000 standing, 1 huge sitting statue). The temple hall is REALLY long (120 meters) and when I turned the first corner, it looked like the statues went on forever. It was breathtaking.


[this is a postcard - no photography allowed inside and I wasn't about to piss off another security guard, like at Ise Shrine]

While walking around, I found myself behind an American family who was with a Japanese guide. Their youngest son was somewhat mischievous and he reminded me of you, Christopher, when we came to Japan (Temples, temples and more temples!). You could tell he was bored out of his mind and he was starting to get on his parents' nerves.







KIYOMIZU-DERA


After Sanjusangen-do I jumped on a bus (I’m a pro at Kyoto buses now) and headed to the number one tourist spot in Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera. The first thing I noticed here was the number of couples. There were young couples, old couples, couples dressed in kimonos and scantily clad couples. Lets just say at this point I was feeling very definitely single and alone. At the time I wondered why so many couples were visiting Kiyomizu-dera. I mean, I can’t imagine North American couples thinking, ‘Let’s go to a cultural heritage site for a date on Christmas Eve.’ Now, as I am writing this I notice in my guidebook that it says there is another shrine on the temple grounds, dedicated the cupid of Japan….So that’s why all those couples were there…it makes sense now. In other interesting Kiyomizu-dera news, did you know it is a contender in the New 7 Wonders of the World contest? If you feel like it, you can actually vote for your favourites.















KINKAKU-JI


Last stop on my temple-crazy tour of Kyoto was kinkaku-ji, the famous golden pavilion. Originally a retirement home for a shogun, it was converted to a zen temple when he died. In 1987 the building was restored and a new, thicker coating of gold-leaf was applied. There is no missing it now…it’s so gold, it glows.







By the time I left kinkaku-ji, I was done with my self-pity and that night we celebrated Mayumi-san's birthday. Mrs. Yamamoto made an amazing dinner and after some ice cream cake I didn't feel like the gods were against me anymore.

Ohara

Date: December 23, 2006
Location: Ohara (approx 1 hour bus ride from Kyoto in the countryside)
Who?: Laura and Mr. Yamamoto





Sanzen-in




[Click on the picture above to get a better view of the little statues in the moss!]





[When we saw this guy in the tree Yamamoto-san and I both thought of a certain someone who may or may not have cut down a certain tree in the backyard this summer…ahem…dad…Maybe you can come here and do an apprenticeship or something?]


Jakkoin Temple



This temple was smaller than Sanzen-in but it's famous for choosing nuns from noble families as head priestesses (perhaps a girl power temple?). Unfortunately, the temple was badly damaged in a fire in 2000 but they have rebuilt and repaired since then. And get this – in the garden there is a waterfall that, according to the pamphlet, was designed ‘with each of the three stages at a different height and angle, to produce different tones that harmonize with each other’!!

happy birthday dad!

Just for you - A panoramic photo from the hotel room in Kinosaki (okay, so it's actually half of a panoramic photo...I messed up somehow...). The other part of your birthday present will be mailed soon, I promise!

I love you and miss you.

Distracted

Everyone -

You can blame Fil for the lack of posts. He sent me the first two seasons of House.



I LOVE Hugh Laurie.

A Japanese New Year

NEW YEAR'S EVE:

-Cleaning the house in preparation for the new year (I got to help change the paper in the shoji screens)

[Mom & Dad - doesn't this remind you of what your adorable daughter did to your Japanese lanterns when she was small?? ]



[Mayumi-san and I posing with the finished product. After being sprayed with water and left to dry, they were perfect]

-Lunch was home-made takoyaki! YUMMY!!

[The special takoyaki cooker]

[I got to practice my takoyaki flipping technique...lets just say I won't be getting a festival job making takoyaki anytime soon]

-New Year's Eve dinner was Korean BBQ (Aaron, check out that Japanese beef!!)
[Drool! I haven't seen this much beef since leaving Canada]

-New Year's Eve TV show: The Red and White (guys vs. girls) New Year's Eve Competition (I have video that I will post at a later date...don't you worry)(It was an amazing combination of modern and traditional style singing, with celebrities like Ken Watanabe as judges)

[This group got into trouble for having fake nudity in their performance...more disturbing to me was the main rapper/singer dressing up like a clown]

[The Japanese version of Christina Aguliera - yes, her dress was see-through]

[Japanese version of n'sync]

[Japan's Justine Timberlake]

[The men won this year]

MIDNIGHT: akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!!

-Midnight soba noodles (for longevity)


-First visit to the local temple and shrine (at the temple we all rang the huge bell!)




NEW YEAR'S DAY:

-Brunch (Can you believe how beautiful this food looks?! Yamamoto-san had been cooking for days and she must have gotten up really early to finish it all!)





-Yamamoto-san, Mayumi-san and I travelled to Kyoto to visit Heian Jingu.






Experiencing New Year's in Japan was amazing! So many new sights, tastes, practices...I can't begin to describe it all! Thank you Yamamotos!!