The dilemma over the "right of way"

I have come to discover that a conformist culture does not necessarily mean a law-abiding citizenry. 

 

The Kyoto City Government announced its intensified efforts to remove illegally-parked bicycles in May but the announcement didn't seem to have much effect. People continue to blatantly flout the rules by parking exactly where the "No Parking" signs are clearly visible.

 

 

The City Government said in its information release that the illegally-parked bicycles on the streets "disturbed the pedestrians and traffic of emergency vehicles even if left for just a short time".

 

I can understand the rationale for the bicycle removal but I am not sure if I support it, especially when parking space for bicycles is so scarce.  And even if paid parking lots are available, I don't think I am prepared to pay a few dollars just to park a bicycle.

 

So when I do park on the streets, I try to ensure that I don't obstruct the traffic in anyway and then pray for good luck that when I return, my bicycle will still be waiting for me.

 



Getting a taste from home at Jupiter

Jupiter is an import food shop located in the underground Porta Mall at Kyoto Station, near the fast food restaurant, Lotteria.  I learnt about it from a classmate who has now returned to his university in Australia. He knew that I was desperately looking for durians some months ago when the fruit was in season in Malaysia around June and July.    A Singapore favourite, the "King of Fruit" is imported in large quantities from Malaysia to Singapore every year during that period.

 

 

As I had a craving for the fruit then, I made it my special assignment to hunt for it in Kyoto.  I wasn't successful of course. Durians are a rarity in Kyoto. My Indonesian neighbour pointed me to AEON Mall near Kyoto Station but I didn't see any by the time I went there. So when my classmate told me that Jupiter was selling durian chips, I thought, well, I could settle for the chips instead.



Durian chips from Thailand (second row) spotted at Jupiter.

I paid 197 Yen for the bigger pack and 147 Yen for the smaller pack and happily brought them to class to share with my classmates, some of whom had never heard of or seen a durian before. It turned out that the chips were made of durians from Thailand and were specially treated to remove the strong aroma of the fruit to suit the Japanese tastebud. The feedback from my classmates was that they tasted not much different from potato chips.  Disappointing! The chips did not live up to the reputation of the "King of Fruit" at all!  I felt like I had misrepresented the "King" by sharing the chips.





 

Well, although my craving for durians was not satisfied with the durian chips, Jupiter sells a variety of other foodstuff from different parts of the world. So for an international student like me craving for a taste from home, it is still a good place to look if one does not mind paying abit more. 

 

That is not to say that Jupiter is the only solution though. The other day, I found the cocoa mix that I was craving for in a local Japanese supermarket and apparently, there is a local factory producing the product here.  So we just need to be alert and keep a lookout!





Statistics series: Singaporeans, wherefore art thou?



I was at the Kyoto International Community House to check out the cultural programmes available and found some statistics on the notice boards in the lobby.

 



Source: Kyoto International Community House.

There were 6032 international students studying in Kyoto based on the statistics (as of May 2011). The ranking of the countries in terms of the number of students was as follows:

1. China

2. South Korea

3. Taiwan

4. America

5. Vietnam

 

As for the number of registered foreigners in Kyoto City (as of Dec 2011), the top 10 countries were:

1. Korea

2. China

3. America

4. Philippines

5. France

6. UK

7. Thailand

8. Indonesia

9. India

10. Vietnam
 

If you look at the number of native English speakers in the above list, the competition is probably against 1000 over people for English teaching positions in this city. Assuming half of them already got the job so there could still be about 500 in the competition perhaps, and I am not sure if there are so many positions available. 
 

In any case, I digress. The number of Singaporeans registered in Kyoto City was 35. It has been five months since I came to Kyoto and I have not come across one. I wonder where they are...



A gift from the heart

My Chinese neighbour, J-san, knocked on my door one evening and presented three matcha cookies she had baked.

 

I looked at the star-shaped cookies which were carefully arranged on a pretty little ceramic plate and felt like hugging her but I didn't. J-san was very apologetic that she only had three cookies for me. Being the honest girl that she is, she explained that she had actually made a batch of them but most had ended up in her stomach.

 

The number really didn't matter. I saw only a gift which came from her heart. And I felt very blessed that evening.



Participating in a disaster drill

In mid-August, I received an invitation from the Kyoto City International Foundation (KCIF) to participate in the "Kyoto City Comprehensive Disaster Drill" held on 1 Sep.

 

Although Kyoto is pretty safe from earthquakes and other natural disasters, it is always good to be prepared and gain more knowledge in the area of disaster preparedness. So without hesitation, I replied to confirm my participation.

 



Left: Fire Department officers handing out emergency handbooks and programme to participants.
Right: Volunteers at the registration desk assisting participants with registration.

The drill was held on 1 Sep for a reason.  It was on 1 Sep 1923 when Japan suffered the Great Kanto Earthquake.  It was then the most powerful earthquake in Japanese history until the Tohoku Earthquake in 2011 broke that record. In conjunction with the anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake and to remind citizens of the importance of disaster preparedness, nationwide disaster drills are conducted in Japan on 1 Sep every year. 

The location for the disaster drill was a huge open space in a park. Upon arrival, participants were given an emergency handbook and the programme of the event (both only in Japanese) by the Fire Department staff. We were then led to a registration desk where we registered our attendance and received our transport reimbursement. I thought it was very considerate of the organisers to reimburse participants for the transport. 

Participants watching disaster simulation drills.

After registration, we were invited to sit under the tentage to watch the various types of simulation drill involving the emergency responders and the local community emergency response teams.  We were also free to tour the public education booths set up in the area.

As I was hoping to be involved in an actual drill so as to learn more about how to respond in a real emergency, I asked one of the staff if there was any activity international residents could participate in.  "Yes, we do need participants for the bucket relay," said the staff.



Bucket relay

Together with a new friend from Indonesia, we volunteered to join in the bucket relay.  The bucket relay is a method to transport water in buckets from a water source to the location of a fire incident.  During the relay, all the participants stood in two rows facing one another. A few participants would fill the buckets at one end and the half-filled buckets were first passed along by participants in one of the rows, all the way to the "incident area". The empty buckets were then passed along by participants in the other row, back to the water point.  The bucket relay drill seemed to be part and parcel of a disaster drill in Japan. A chapter in the emergency handbook was dedicated to explaining the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for bucket relay.


A student volunteer from the Fire Department.

After the relay, we were brought on a tour of the exhibition booths by volunteer guides. Our guide was an ojiisan who spoke in fluent English.   There were also many student volunteers recruited by the Fire Department who were ready to answer our queries.  I learnt from them that the Fire Department conducted student volunteer recruitment once a year and the volunteers had to undergo a couple of basic training programmes. There was no specific criteria; you just had to have the desire to volunteer.

 

Mobile toilets set up by the residents.

As we toured the booths, I saw, along the way, resident groups working together to set up mobile toilets for use during a disaster. Some groups were moving huge boxes of items simulating logistical transportation during an emergency.  I gathered from our guide that a drill of such  a massive scale involving various local organisations and community groups happened only once a year.  I supposed the locals would be busy exercising their SOPs and  that was why it would be difficult to involve international residents who were there for the first time.

 



A booth displaying the type of food and protection items to prepare and keep
at home in case of an emergency.

From the exhibition booths, I learnt that the Kyoto City Disaster Prevention Centre provides alot more disaster prevention information and training programmes.  I was also informed about an overnight Evacuation Shelter Training Programme in the pipeline. I have signed up for that and am looking forward to receive some practical training on what to do in the event of an earthquake.  You never know when such knowledge would come in handy one day, where ever you may be.

 



Obon in Kyoto - The Gozan Okuribi and a glimpse behind the scenes

The Japanese believe that the spirits of their ancestors return home for a reunion during Obon so many return to their hometowns for this "reunion", typically from 13 to 16 August. A number of companies and shops closed for business during the period since many people would take vacation leave anyway, to spend time with families, clean ancestors' graves or set up praying rites.  Obon is like a combination of Singapore's Hungry Ghost Festival and Qing Ming Festival.


Hidari Daimonji in the day. It is one of the mountains of Gozan Okuribi.

The Gozan Okuribi, literally translated as "Five Mountains Send-off Fires", is a signature Obon tradition of Kyoto. It is held every year on 16 August to mark the end of the Obon Festival. Giant bonfires are lit on five mountains surrounding Kyoto to guide the spirits back to their world.

The talk of the day among my friends in the lead-up to this anticipated event was where to see as many of the bonfires as possible; the fires would be lit in the form of certain characters and motifs. On 16 August at about 6pm (two hours before the bonfires), I made my way to Funaokayama Park which was said to offer a good vantage point.

 



Can you see the end of this narrow street? It was from 

that end where I noticed a crowd and so decided to walk

down this street to check it out.



As I was enjoying my walk, I saw a group of people congregating at the other end of a narrow side street I had just passed.  Having spent some years patrolling streets in my younger days, I have developed a propensity to check out assemblies of people along the streets. Naturally, I turned into the  narrow street which opened into a residential area. The group of people were obviously waiting for something to happen, as many of them were armed with cameras. I saw fire-fighters on stand-by as well.

I turned to a young lady to ask what was going on. "It is related to Obon but I don't know the details," came the answer. I noticed that amidst the row of houses before me was a small temple so I went in to see if I could obtain some leads. A monk was chanting and a group of men in happi and a couple of firemen were watching over the fire burning in a fire urn. As I pieced the images together, I began to understand.

 





People congregated outside a small temple which is amidst a row of houses,  
waiting for the Gozan Okuribi procession.

 

I went back to the lady I approached earlier and asked, "When the procession goes up the Hidari Daimonji to light up the bonfires, can all of us here go together?" Hidari Daimonji is the nearest mountain where one of the bonfires would be lit.  "I don't think the public is allowed to go up," she said. As I waited with the crowd, I overheard the conversation of two ojiisans beside me. One of them said he travelled from his hometown to witness this Kyoto tradition every year. 

Firemen on stand-by inside the temple where the huge fire torch standing

on the left would be lit.

"Excuse me, could you tell me what kind of event is being held here now, please?" I asked. "The procession up the Hidari Daimonji will start here. The fire on the mountain you will see later comes from this temple. There will be a huge fire torch brought up from here to the mountain," said the ojiisan, confirming my guess.

 

I had tried to research on the internet if there was a procession somewhere but didn't manage to get much information. Yet, by a fluke, I had stumbled upon it. Here was a chance to see the procession up close! And perhaps, perhaps there was a chance of going up the mountain too? It was a hot summer evening, but I shivered in excitement at the thought.

Heading for the Hidari Daimonji to light the bonfires. At around this time,
members of the procession to other mountains should be getting ready
for their hike up the mountains too.

By about 7.30pm, the street in front of the temple was crowded with onlookers, many of whom appeared to be part of  Japanese tour groups. At about 7.45pm, men in happi carrying small torches came running out from the temple. And then, the huge torch ablaze with fire appeared, carried by two young men. 

 

 "Ganbatte! Ganbatte ne!" the people lining both sides of the streets cheered. A number of them appeared to be families of the men carrying the torches, and they were shouting out words of encouragement to the men. I gathered later from internet searches that specific families in Kyoto took charge of maintaining the Gozan Okuribi custom on a voluntary basis.

 

 

As the men with the torches moved ahead, so did I along with some of their family members and other onlookers. I could not remember how far I walked before I realised that I was the only "onlooker" left following the procession. The group came to a stop at a small gate, which opened into a steep flight of steps leading up the mountain where the bonfire was to be lit. In single file, the members of the procession went up the steps. The words of the lady I met earlier came to mind. "The public is not supposed to go up the mountain."

I am going to be discovered, I thought. For a split second, I thought about giving it a go and see what sort of response I would receive. I had come this far afterall.  As I stood contemplating my circumstances, I sensed a pain in my knee. I had recently fell off my bicycle and was still nursing my injury. I looked at the flight of steps before me and reluctantly accepted the reality. Slowly, I retreated.



Back at the main street.

The members in the procession were holding torches of fire which lit up the area. As the last of them disappeared into the mountain, I suddenly found myself in the lonely darkness surrounded by trees. I didn't realise it could be so eerie in the early evening. Thankful that there was only one path before me, I hurried back to the main street.  If the fires were meant to guide the spirits back to the Other World, then I must be surrounded by spirits following the fires. The thought sent chills down my spine and drenched in cold sweat, I trudged on until I saw the reassuring figure of a police officer.

 



People lined both sides of the road.

Back at the main street with a direct view of  Hidari Daimonji, crowds of people were on stand-by with their cameras poised. An ojiisan perched himself on a ladder he had brought along for a better view. Concerned that I would miss the bonfires by the time I arrived at Funaokayama Park, I decided to join the crowd observing Hidari Daimonji. Slightly after 8pm, the bonfires began. Satisfied and still with some hope remaining, I left the spot at Hidari Daimonji heading for Funaokayama Park.

View from Funaokayama Park.

When I reached the peak of the park where the five mountains could be seen, most of the bonfires were already snuffed out.  I stood there for a while, superimposing the images of the fires from the travel guides that I had seen onto the mountains. Happy with what I saw in my mind, I left the park, eager to tell my story.

When Orihime meets Hikoboshi in Kyoto - Tanabata Festival

In July, I wrote about the Tanabata Festival (七夕) being rather "low-key" in Kyoto. I was wrong.

At that time, I had the impression that the festival was celebrated in Kyoto on 7 July, instead of the 7th day of the 7th lunar month (i.e. August).  It turned out that while some did choose to celebrate Tanabata in July, it was actually celebrated extensively in August too.

Known as "Kyo no Tanabata" (京の七夕 ), the annual series of events in Kyoto celebrating the Tanabata Festival ran from 4 to 13 August this year. The events which mostly started from 7pm to 9pm, were held at Horikawa and Kamogawa. Admission to the events was free.

The main attraction at Horikawa was the light-up display, reminiscent of the Milky Way separating the mythical lovers, Orihime and Hikoboshi. The stroll to the "Milky Way" took me a good 30 minutes due to the slow moving crowd ahead. Fortunately, the crowd movement was orderly, kudos to the ushers and the cooperative visitors.

Along the way, message lanterns and light displays such as art installations and Tanabata decorations kept the walk interesting.  The waterway beside the walking path was afloat with little blue spherical LED lights, adding a nice touch to the ambience. If the Milky Way were real, and Orihime and Hikoboshi were to meet on that August evening, I wonder how they would have felt, having so many people in their way.

Nearby, the Nijo Castle was open to the public for free in the evenings. Long queues could be seen outside the castle as people flocked to see the spectacular play of lights on the castle walls.

The illumination show on the Ninomaru Palace was especially captivating. Check out the magical play of light on the palace walls via this youtube video (0.53s onwards).

Over at Kamogawa river, it was less crowded. Visitors could pay to write wishes on tanzaku paper which would be hung up on the decorated bamboo leaves that lined the river bank. There were also other decorations on display but it was the lighted wind chimes on display inside bamboo baskets which I found fascinating. 

 

 

Check out this youtube video to experience the relaxing song of the wind chimes at the Kamogawa river during Tanabata.