Visitors admire orange tree outside Senso-ji, Tokyo’s oldest temple and one of its most important in the busy Asakusa districtWhen thinking about Japan, three things come to mind — cutting-edge technology, picture-perfect cherry blossoms and great sushi.
I was hardly impressed when arriving in Osaka, Japan’s third-largest city, on a quiet Sunday morning.
Getting out of Kansai airport, it’s just business as usual. Osaka was just another big city full of towering and sprawling buildings, and overpriced cups of coffee.
As I settled in and found time to go for a walk, I could see that Osaka was a vibrant metropolis with warm people, who would not hesitate to strike up a conversation with a stranger at a standing wine bar or give friendly advice as to where to enjoy great food.
A man even encouraged me not only to try sushi and other signature dishes but also to try to a typical street snack called takoyaki — battered octopus balls which can also be found in many of Jakarta’s shopping malls. I did, and it was delicious.
“If you know where to look, you’ll find great food here in Osaka,” said Tawara, a former journalist, who took us to Kakureta Ie No Washoku, Kisetsu No Oto restaurant, which literally means the Hidden House of Japanese Food, Season of Sound.
At the secluded restaurant, I was introduced to kaiseki, traditional multi-course Japanese haute cuisine, by the restaurant’s owner-manager-chef, Matsuo Yuto.
Yuto’s delicate hands transformed each dish into a delicious work of art that balanced taste, texture, appearance and even color.
The dishes were carefully presented on plates and bowls that enhanced the food’s appearance – everything was beautifully arranged and garnished with real flowers.
“Kaiseki actually means ‘stone in the bosom’,” Tawara said, adding that the practice was thought to have been started by monks who put warm stones into the front part of their robes, near their stomachs, toward off hunger.
In between sips of cold sake, he told me how kaiseki — originally a simple bowl of miso soup and three side dishes — has evolved to include an appetizer, sashimi, a simmered dish, a grilled fish and a steamed one as well as other dishes prepared at the chef’s discretion.
Full, happy and in great company, I still felt a twinge of disappointment for missing the sight of cherry blossoms.
“You come just right in time. Late autumn scenery in Japan is unbelievably beautiful,” said Iwao Takizawa, the secretary-general of my host organization in Japan, the Sakata Foundation for the Promotion of Journalism.
After a trip to the renovated Osaka-jo castle, I couldn’t agree more.
Autumn, which usually lasts from October to late November, is Japan’s most spectacular season. It’s a time when gingko trees turn yellow and maple trees burst into a range of brilliant colors.
Visitors drink for good health at Kiyomizu-dera Temple in KyotoWhen walking into the castle, I could see that I was not the only one who was charmed by nature’s wonder. Many visitors were busy posing under maple trees at the park’s several entrances.
The castle’s most impressive entrance is the Ote-mon gate, which dates to 1629, with stone towers from the Tokugawa era (1600-1868).
The renovated tower includes an elevator to help the elderly enjoy a panoramic view of Osaka and castle grounds from eight stories above.
On lower floors, visitors are guided through the life of Toyotomi Hideyoshi — the daimyo in the Sengoku period who unified political factions in Japan and is noted for a number of cultural legacies — and the castle’s rich history.
Inside, visitors can view the highly detailed folding screen painting Summer War of Osaka and a full-scale recreation of Hideyoshi’s famous golden tearoom.
Japan is a place known for its ancient gods and customs so my trip would not have been complete without visiting Kyoto, the capital of Japan for more than a thousand years.
Getting down at Kyoto’s modern train station from an impressive ride on board one of Japan’s signature shinkansen bullet trains, I had high hopes.
For many people, the name of Kyoto invokes a classic image of Japan — temples surrounded by cherry blossoms, streets with traditional wooden houses and geisha walking by in a brightly colored silk kimono.
A woman poses at Gion, Kyoto’s famous geisha districtA visit to Gion, Kyoto’s famous geisha district, had a classic feel like something out of the film Memoirs of Geisha. There was a row of traditional teahouses along the road where geisha walked around and even posed for passing tourists.
Kyoto — ravaged by wars, fires and earthquakes, but relatively untouched by World War II — is blessed with an overwhelming legacy of Buddhist temples, palaces and gardens along Japan’s important artwork, rich culture and fine cuisine.
When in Kyoto, a visit to the renowned Kiyomizu-dera Temple is a must. When walking up to the temple, I could see hundreds of tourists, all charmed by Kyoto’s romantic image and colorful past.
In autumn, the sight of the Kiyomizu-dera was picture perfect.
The magnificent wooden temple, supported by pillars off a mountain slope, seems floating in the middle of colorful maple trees.
“There’s a popular expression ‘to jump off the stage’ of Kiyomizu,” Takizawa said.
The expression, which means to take the plunge from the stage, is believed to come from an Edo period’s tradition where a person’s wish would be granted if he or she survived a 13-meter jump from the stage — a practice which is currently banned.
Built in the early Heian period, the temple dates back to 798, while the present buildings were reconstructed in 1633 by the Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu.
Not a single nail was used in the whole temple, which name means clear or pure water. Below the main hall, visitors flock to a pond to drink water from the Otowa waterfall in hopes for good health.
Other seized the moment to quietly pray at the temple’s shrines, including at the Jishu Shrine, dedicated to Okuninushi — a god of love — while some wrote their wishes on fortune papers and tied them to maple leaves.
“They are mostly left by visiting students, who wish they could graduate with flying colors,” Takizawa said.
When the dark slowly creeps in, it does not send the visitors away. Many stayed on to watch the temple’s glowing as its shower of lights were turned on for the evening.
I used the little time I had walking down a small alley, flanked by traditional wooden houses, with beautiful women passing by in their beautiful kimono, to reach another temple, the Kodai-ji Temple
Renowned for its beautiful design and exquisite craftsmanship, the temple’s story momentarily reminded me of the Taj Mahal in India, which was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, and is known as one of the world’s most beautiful buildings that stands as a symbol of eternal love.
The Kodai-ji Temple, though different in structure from Taj Mahal, has similar story, only it was built by a noblewoman Kita-no Mandokoro in memory of her late husband, Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
With those beautiful stories and pictures painted on my mind, I found there is more to Japan than meets the eye.
— Photos by JP/Stevie Emilia
