Yesterday we agreed to forego going to Nara — next trip — and instead spend a few more hours in Kyoto before taking an afternoon Bullet Train (Shinkansen) to the Shin-Osaka Station for our last few days in Japan. 

After breakfast, we  further explored the Nakagyo Ward in which our hotel is situated since there were so many more lovely shops to tempt us than we previously had time to visit. We started out early and walked to the Nishiki Market, which was quite empty at this hour. ​We made a few purchases at a spice stall, watched as shop keepers swept their walkways and cleaned their display windows. Stopped in at an Aesop shop with an intriguing sidewalk display that included a wooden bench and charred wooden beam attached to the exterior wall that held three of their lotions to sample. Holding their door open for customers to wander in was a golden medium size rock bound by intricately tied black rope. Totally intrigued, we entered the small shop and discovered a small water feature in the form of a old metal water pump that slowly dripped water into a wooden "box" with a copper basin. Turning, we were met by a lovely young woman who offered us tea and invited us to browse their beautifully designed shop. After making a few purchases each, we continued on our way.

We stopped at the children's clothing store we visited previously so Gypsy could purchase a few more presents for her grandchildren before heading back towards the Nishiki Market, which was now bustling with a noontime shoppers. Leaving the market, we stopped at a small restaurant for lunch. Opting to sit along the bar that faced onto the street, we had excellent people watching.

Yoshiko showed us on her cell phone stores in the US that sell their dashi products including: The Japanese Pantry (San Francisco), which she also tells us make "very great" miso and offers cooking classes; and Toiro (West Hollywood / LA), an artisanal kitchen supply store. Toiro's website also has recipes and a link to their YouTube channel.

As we experienced visiting the Tenryuji Temple a few days earlier, many women are wearing traditional Japanese dress.

​At the shrine's entrance is the Romon Gate. Behind it is the main hall (honden) Still not feeling one-hundred percent, and looking at the steep path and throng of people, Gypsy decides to wait while I go on. 

Leaving the shrine, we walk almost back to the where we were left off a few hours earlier before we are able to hail a taxi to back to Hotel Rings. We asked our driver to leave us off near the Nishiki Market and walked the rest of the way to Hotel Rings. Later we ventured out to see the lights of the city!

Winding our way through Nishiki Market, we found our way to this fascinating store. Japan is so interesting to me in so many ways. Besides incredible respectfulness and graciousness. The Kyoto BAL's website, says to use public transportation. How incredible is that! Thinking stores here, like in the US, would be open at least by 10AM, we timed ourselves to arrive at that appointed hour only to find that it doesn't open until 11AM. 

​We arrived back at Kyoto BAL a few minutes after it opened. The door was opened by a liveried man wearing white gloves ... we're definitely not in Santa Barbara! This department store is like scores of small shops within this eight-floor store providing uniquely curated shopping in each of its 33 "boutique" shops — including familiar designers / stores such as Jill Sander, Ralph Lauren, Diptyque, Starbucks. The original concept is a place where a lot of people — parent, child and grandparent — can get together, like a party in France. On the third floor, there is a shop where you can play table tennis, table soccer and board games. There is also a two-floor bookstore!!!

All of the food products and those created by craftsmen and artists are sourced from the Tango Peninsula.According to Wikipedia, Larry Ellison's 23-acre home and property in Woodside, CA is a replica of the entire Katsura villa. 

​As dusk descends, Gypsy, Nancy and I take a taxi to our final group dinner at Tan, which is located across from a lovely canal near Kyoto's Shirakawa Bridge in the Higashiyama Ward. The restaurant's founder is considered by many the doyenne of Kyoto cooking and the name, we learn, is from the Japanese character "tan," which means heartwarming. 

While waiting for the others to arrive, we three walked along the canal.

All of the food products and those created by craftsmen and artists are sourced from the Tango Peninsula. The vegetables are farmed using natural methods whereby there is no need for pesticides as crops are cultivated in a way that makes the most of the power inherent in nature — no tillage, no weed elimination, no chemicals. A five-woman coop tends to all aspects of the farming process — cultivation to harvest.

Our meal, which in part was cooked over fire, is a central part of the dining room, which features only one table. The food was amazing!!!​

After dinner, we taxied back to Hotel Rings ... another amazing and well satiated day!

The origins of ikebana in Kyoto, she tells us, began more than 400 years ago and has connections to Buddhist cosmology, and the revolutionary flower art of the Sogetsu school. ​The Sogetsu school is grounded in traditional Japanese aesthetics while also proposing that ikebana can be done "anytime, anywhere, using any materials." The gives students the chance — no matter where they are — to see the seasonal elements of nature with new eyes, which open the way for unique and interesting compositions.

About 100 years ago, flowers arrangements were used both as offerings at Buddhist temples and shrines as well as decoratively.

• First ikebana style is called Ryka. Priests created the arrangements with a high, medium and low element representing their three world cosmology.
• Later, a Tea-style ikebana evolved whereby tea masters, rather than priests, created the arrangements that were used along with a scroll and incense to welcome guests.
• The Sogetsu school was created by Seanacey's husband's aunt in the 1950s low elements, and larger scale. The arrangements are generally displayed in relationship with other simple elements such as a painting or a mirror, and the base for the arrangement becomes an active element.

Within ikebana there are hierarchies — a master and a disciple. As a disciple breaks from their Master's aesthetic, they go off and found their own school.

Gypsy and Prism's ikebana creations ... can you see our "mistakes?"

A fun and long day ... Gypsy and I opted to taxi back to Hotel Rings and, being our free evening, have cheeseburgers and fries at the hotel's Common Well restaurant.

 Then the sectioned loins are carefully arranged on trays. The trays are then lowered into a hot water bath that is just below boiling (70-80-degrees Celsius) for 60 to 90 minutes for sterilization and to hold in umami. [The water is repurposed to make instant raman since it is flavorful.]

After cooling, the small bones are carefully removed by hand, then a half to a third of the skin is removed from each section. Next the sectioned loins are “shaped”  using a skipjack tuna paste to fill in cracks and smooth out irregularities. This improves the ultimate shape of the finished product. This method also helps prevent any mold from forming below the surface. Now they are ready to be smoked.The skipjack loins are smoked using oak in one of two large smoking rooms. The loins spend two-weeks being smoked on trays that are continually rotated to consolidate flavor. At this point the loins have a 26% moisture content, dark coloration and are called Arabushi, meaning rough timbers. Any tar or fat is carefully scraped off the surface. And for the vast majority of the smoked loins, this is basically the end of the process. The only step left is shaving the Arabushi to be then used in dashi. ​

​The second process picks up at this point to make katsuobushi. The smoked loins then go through a fermentation process whereby they are inoculated with koji spores and placed in a humid fermentation room for 2 to 3 weeks. This mold helps break down remaining fat and makes the product more delicious. Next, they are dried in the sun before being put back into the humid fermentation room again. This cycle is repeated 3 to 4 times. After about 6 months of exacting work the fermented katsuobushi, now called Karebushi, are ready. The fermentation process has reduced the moisture level in the Karebushi to less than 20%. This is why when you tap two of them together, they give off a metallic clink. And when you split one open, the inside shines like a ruby. It is an almost miraculous transformation from what amounts to sashimi to this magical jewel of an ingredient. The flavor of the fermented katsuobushi is even deeper with umami. 

Next, we tour the area of their facility where katsuobushi is made into flakes for dashi. Yoshiko tells us that they process only a day's worth of stock to get it out quickly. The first shaving has a more refined flavor; the "chaff" is more subtle and higher in fat content.

Next, we tried hand-shaving a piece of Arabushi ... which takes pressure and a bit of skill. Followed by a lovely dashi-based lunch, and then ingredient shopping for pre-packaged ingredients to make our own and instant dashi packets for gifts.

How to Make Dashi Base
1 liter — cold water
10 gr — konbu
Soak for 5-8 hours on the counter. Konbu will expand. When ready to make dashi, put the ingredients in a pot and heat to 70-degrees Celsius (small bubbles on bottom of pan; not boiling). Remove konbu. [You can freeze the soup at this point and fish when ready to use].

When ready to finish soup and eat, heat stock to 90-degrees Celsius. Add 20 gr of bonito flakes — as soon as the flakes sink, the dashi is done. Strain broth.

How to Make Odashi Instant Dashi
Add 1 packet of Odashi Instant dashi to 500 ml of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Remove dashi packet and it's done. You can add tofu, veggies, bonita flakes or whatever you'd like at his point and heat so all the flavors blend. [You can use contents of dashi packet over rice or veggies for a rich umami flavor.]

How to Make Miso Soup
Use dashi base. Put dark miso or a combo of white / dark miso in a small strainer. Hold strainer in your to with base and stir to blend together. Add tofu cubes.

Japanese Pantry (San Francisco) sells Odashi products. They also make very wonderful miso, and hold cooking classes. thejapanesepantry.com

​In the early 18th century, Rokubei Moritsune Hata began incorporating incense-making techniques he learned as an employee of Kyoto's Imperial Palace. He would eventually introduce a new world of scent to an audience beyond the realm of royalty. Twelve generations later, the Hata family continue to create an array of beautiful fragrances. Shoyeido incense is considered the highest quality, most natural incense available on Earth.

Every incense company guards their incense recipes very carefully. Sadly, that meant I was unable to photograph the process.
​​
We are told that fragrances are made from listening to one's heart; not smell. Many of Shoyeido's recipes have a foundation of sandalwood, which comes from India, along with a blend of other natural ingredients. ​Colored dyes are added with the powdered essences. At Shoyeido's lab , the codes are made into the recipe, then sent to the facility we are touring for mixing with water and a natural binding material called "tabuko" to form the "dough." The "dough" then goes to a machine to create thin pasta-like pieces of incense that hang from a thin dowel. Next, another skilled worker lays the pasta-like string of dough on a wooden board where it is trimmed with a bamboo "blade" to uniform lengths of "sticks." Afterwards, it is placed in a drying room for three days. At each stage of the above process, the precious scraps are reformed — nothing is wasted!

There are inspections for quality along the way. After drying, there are other workers who weigh and bundle the sticks of incense. Others hand-fold boxes to hold the incense, and finally still other workers fill the boxes.

Agarwood is also used as a foundation. It is a resinous wood, which is found only in Viet Nam and the Indonesia jungles. Kyara is the most resinous and highly prized type of agarwood. Because it can't be planted, its harvest and use is closely monitored by the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). And, though agarwood is not considered endangered, it is being closely watched.

Today, Buddhist temples use larger sticks of incense — some serve as "timers" for meditation — for instance, incense can have varying burn life (e.g. 3 hrs, 8hrs, etc.). Incense can also be used in making candies, in which case they are made with honey as a binding agent and for sweetness.

Like tea ceremony and flower arrangement, Koh-do or incense ceremony is an important tradition in Japan for the past five centuries. Koh-do is always presented by a licensed practitioner, who has graduated from koh schools. Most incense ceremonies involve a game in which participants attempt to guess the scent being burned. Though steeped in tradition and protocol, the ceremonies are primarily to have fun and learn to "listen" to incense.

After shopping, it was time to begin our two-hour incense making workshop. We learn that in the 6th century incense came to Japan via China and Korea through Buddhism. Incense can be found in stick, coil and cone forms. Cone incense, which we learned to make, are used when you want the scent to increase over time.

For this workshop, we were given an incense kit that includes incense powder, a cone-shaped mold, gloves, mortar and pestle, aroma oil — I chose to work with Yuzu scented oil — and a non-flammable mat. The kit is produced in collaboration with the Fukunaga family, a 120 year old business based in Awaji Island, a region said to be the original birthplace of incense in Japan.

Around the corner from POJ Studio and Shop is their café, which serves lovely food and the best orange juice and ginger carrot soup!

A bit of a rest up and change of clothes, before we met our group in the hotel lobby to walk to the Gion section of Kyoto for tonight's dinner at Gion Tempura Kokomo. The Gion district is on the east side of the Kamo river, its charming and historic atmosphere has strong ties to the world of traditional Japanese arts geisha, and the many old machiya (wooden townhouses). Walking to the restaurant with the bright lights of the city street along the main thoroughfare is a stark contrastswith the dark streets of Gion.

After two glasses of wine and some saké, our walk back to the hotel was a blur ...

Last evening, Jessica shared that there is a Sunday morning antique and handicraft market every first Sunday of the month starting at 7:30AM. ​With that in mind, Gypsy and I were downstairs to request a taxi to take us to Toji-Temple, a UNESCO world heritage sites and one of the oldest in Japan. It was founded at the beginning of the Heian Period, just after the capital was moved to Kyoto in the late 700s.

Feeling very pleased with our purchases, we taxied back to the hotel for breakfast before meeting our group at 10AM for the start of today's adventures. Breakfast was another wonderful (and different) variation of soup, salad, eggs, meat, veggies pickled condiment, bread ... and hot chocolate. All very tasty, healthy and satisfying.

At the appointed hour, we all met in the lobby and were told we would taxi to the Kyoto train station and from there take two trains to reach Tenryu-ji Temple. While in actuality the distance from our hotel to the Tenryu-ji is only about 10km, it seemed like a major adventure that lasted much longer. It did, however, give us an opportunity to observe others and get a broader appreciation for the size and wards within Kyoto.

After taking off our shoes in the Kuri, we worked our way around the building and along a long, covered pathway that winds up the slope to the Tahoden with its hip-and-gable roof, which includes a worship hall with a wide veranda.  Interestingly, there are shops near temple that rent kimonos and men's traditional clothing. It's fascinating to watch, especially young Japanese people taking selfies or portraits of each other wearing these  outfits at historic and sacred sites.

Next, we explored paths along the backside of the Sogen Pond Garden.

Making our way to the Shigetsu, which is Tenryu-ji's Zen vegetarian restaurant the was designed like a large temple and can seat up to 250 guests in varying size "rooms." Its located on the former location of Ryumontei (Dragon Gate Pavilion), one of the ten locations on the grounds identified by Muso Soseki as being of special scenic beauty.

As natural parts of everyday life, cooking and eating have always been regarded in Zen as forms of spiritual practice. The cuisine served harmonizes with Buddhist ideas — create satisfying, nourishing meals from fresh seasonal vegetables, herbs, and wild plants while depriving no animals of life. 

Oh-kohchi's inspiration for the villa originated with his dream of building the Jibutsu-do Shrine after experiencing a major earthquake in Tokyo (1923) when he was 27 years old. A major Japanese movie star at the age of 34, he began realizing his vision. Between working at the film studios, he visited the shrine and found inspiration through meditation and prayers. Eventually he completed the Tekisui-an tea room and Daijo-kaku temple on the property. Ohkouchi Denjirou's creativity ranged from movies to planning and building Japanese gardens. It never ceased until his death in 1962 at 64 years old.

​Afterwards, Gypsy, I and others from our group walked back to Hotel Rings.

Breakfast this morning was yet another variation of soup, salad, egg, meat, pickled veggie and homemade breads. From all of our walking yesterday — my Ōura ring clocked an equivalency of 17.8 miles — I am famished!

After dividing our group in half, Gypsy and I and four others were escorted by the Japanese woman into the tearoom, where we sat at a six-seat counter to watch and learn the proper way to brew green teas in an earthen pot of freshly boiled water. Each tea, we are told, is special and how long it is brewed is unique to bring out the best of its character. We learn to brew their Sencha Cocoa tea — 4 oz of tea leaves per person is normally used (45 seconds of steeping) and for heightened flavor 8 oz of tea is used — and Hôjicha bôcha tea, which is a toasted black tea, the steeping time is only 10 seconds. Along with our tea tasting, we are served freshly made sweet mocha from a local wagashi maker in Kyoto — much too sweet and doughy for my taste.

We learned:

• All of their teas are  grown organically — no use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers. 
• The tea leaves are all grown in a single year and harvested once a year. 
• The tearoom sits on a rich vein of groundwater that has been regarded as one of the finest in Kyoto since olden times. It is in this water that the teas we were served are brewed. 
• Tea can be produced from plant flowers (e.g. chamomile) or from tea plants
• Camomile Sensa is a Japanese plant that produces smaller flowers and yields with a delicate flavor; whereas Camomile Asami is an Indian plant that produces larger leaves and yields
• Tea plants have a 60-100 year lifespan
• The difference between green and black tea is oxidation; both can be produced from the same plant. Green plant processing stops the oxidation process
• Stopping oxidation means destroying, through heat, the enzyme attributed to oxidation
• Oolong tea is best green/black whereby the oxidation process is stopped mid-point

Two types of drying methods:

• Iron Pan with tea leaves moving continuously for a more delicate flavor
• Steaming for 20-30 seconds and then pressing leaves and allowing it to dry for a “meatier” flavor
• Processing occurs within an hour or two of harvesting 
• The best harvesting is generally in May

Before leaving, we visited the Nichinichi Gallery that is on the upper level and one of the finest contemporary applied and decorative arts galleries. On exhibit were the exquisite lacquer boxes by Takahiro Yamamoto. "Tea and Lacquer Art" featured a wide range of boxes for tea, utensils, special tea caddies (trays) and plates. A highly accomplished craftsman, Yamamoto-san, was at the gallery so we were able to meet him and directly praise his work. We learned that he has always been on his own path, opening new fields of design and expressing using traditional techniques of urushi lacquer art.

Famished, we took taxis to lunch at Shinshindo, a bakery and café founded in Kyoto in 1913. Its founder was a Christian who learned the teachings of the Bible and was inspired by the saying "Serve God and people through baking." Having a deep knowledge of the French language and French literature, he had a longing for authentic French bread; he is known as the first Japanese baker to visit Paris and learn about French bread. Upon returning home, he imported a German kiln and started producing and selling French bread. For more than 100 years, his legacy continues on. 

Much to my surprise the taxi to dinner tonight dropped us off at Kyoto Station. Rather than walking into the train station, we headed instead into the Isetan department store, which is one of Kyoto's prominent shopping destinations. It has 11 floors with goods ranging from groceries / perishables / prepared foods to flower shops; from western-style clothing to Japanese kimonos; from a photo studio to kitchen goods ... and two floors of restaurants. There's even a shop devoted just to making and selling brownies!

Immediately exiting the taxi, I put my face mask on seeing the crowds of people entering the Isetan. Gypsy followed suit. Thankfully, Prairie knew the way to the bank of elevators where we crammed in with others to the 11th floor. Unlike our Japanese restaurants in the US, here restaurants cater to one speciality. For instance a sushi restaurant only serves sushi; no tempura, udon or sukiyaki. ​

Kaseiki is a traditional Japanese multi-course meal of sequenced light dishes that includes three essential elements — seasonal ingredients, simple seasoning and mindful presentation (appearance and colors of food). It is considered a type of art form. Dishes are carefully presented on plates chosen to enhance both the appearance and seasonal theme of the meal. Dishes are mindfully arranged and garnished, often with real leaves, flowers or are edible vegetables sculpted to resemble natural plants and animals.

Kyoto Wakuden is haute cuisine, each dish was exquisitely prepared with a harmonious balance of flavor, texture and visual presentation. It is also has lovely atmosphere with soft lighting and views over the city. My apologies for not photographing more of my delicious dinner ... I couldn't wait to eat each yummy delish dish!

After dinner, we took the elevator down to the first floor, walking between gorgeously arranged fresh produce and prepared food displays to an entrance to the subway station. Another adventure. Clean, well-lit and attractive trains that whisked us within blocks of our Hotel Rings.

Up early this morning and energized knowing that our Ace Camp begins later today. To start the day, Gypsy and I headed out on a brisk morning walk around 6:30 ... complete with winter hat and gloves!

Our route bisected the Nichiki Market to a main roadway with monorails raised above the sidewalks on both sides of the street. At this early morning hour, there is virtually no one on the streets, shops are still closed, and there is no traffic. After crossing the Kamogawa River, we headed down a flight of stairs to an established path that runs on both sides of the river. Incidentally, the river was completely devoid of trash. In fact, so are the streets with no public trash cans in sight. People are expected to carry their trash with them or politely ask shopkeepers if they can dispose of something in their waste basket.

Near the stairway, there is a striking statue of Izumi no Okuni, who is considered to be the founder of kabuki. At this site on the dry riverbed alongside the Kamogawa River, in 1603, she presented her Kabuki dance. Signage next to the statue tells the story of how at that time Kyoto was in disarray after the Battle of Sekigahara. Okuni, dressed for the performance wearing a flamboyant men's costume that delighted and caught the imagination of the people to tremendous acclaim. After having first gained fame in Kyoto, she and her troupe toured around. Later, in the beginning of the Edo period (1603-1668), onna kabuki, which was performed by women was banned as a corrupting influence on social morals. Men then took over, including playing the female roles and the resulting shows developed into the kabuki of today.

Yoshimasa became the head of his family at age 9 and shogun at 15. He spent his lifetime pursuing aesthetic beauty.  Art obsessed, Ginkaku-ji became a center of contemporary culture known Higashiyama Culture — refined simplicity — which had a broad impact on the entire country. The arts developed and refined during this time included the tea ceremony, flower arranging, noh theater, poetry, garden design and architecture. His palace reflected the essence of this style. After his death (1490), the palace became a Zen Rinzai School temple named after his posthumous Buddhist name of "Josh-in."  

Ginkaku-ji consists of the Silver Pavilion, six other temple buildings, a moss garden and a unique dry sand garden. Gypsy and I followed the circular route around the grounds.

Our first encounter is a glimpse of the Silver Pavilion and a massive sand cone called the "Moon Viewing Platform". Just past this is a large, meticulously maintained dry sand garden known as the "Sea of Silver Sand." 

Togudo contains a study room with 4.5 tatami mats, which are thick, woven straw mats that measure about 1 x 2 meters in size. Tatami mats have become so integral to Japanese homes that the size of rooms are commonly measured by the number of mats that would fit.

The path then took us through the moss garden, which features islands, bridges over little streams and trees and plants. Though I had researched the fall foliage timeline for Kyoto, I was unprepared for the stunning display of yellows and red!

Never having been covered with silver, it is believed the Silver Pavilion was so nicknamed more than 100 years after it was constructed to contrast with the Golden Pavilion. It is also claimed that moon light reflecting on the building's dark exterior, which once was covered in black lacquer, age it a silvery appearance ... a much more romantic explanation!

Today, the path was lined with mostly bare limbed trees and few people. Restaurants, cafés, artist studios and boutiques are easily accessed along the path, as well as a number of smaller temples and shrines we did not visit. We did, however, pop into several artist studios and made a couple of gift purchases. Feeling peckish and chilly from a growing number of clouds moving in, we settled into a lovely café — Green Terrace — spending many minutes trying to figure out how to order online and then ate our warm and filling lunch staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the patio dining area adjacent to the Philosopher's Path.

At the terminus of the Path, we followed Google Map directions to Hotel Rings ... past the Eikan-dō Temple; skirted the Kyoto City Zoo; walked past the entrance to the Kyoto City Museum of Art; took a detour to look into a small pocket park with lovely statues; crossed back over the Kamogawa River; took another detour through the Sanjo Meitengai shopping complex where Gypsy bought some more lovely clothes. It would be easy to come to Kyoto — probably anywhere in Japan — and shop for fabulous clothes!

While Prairie and Jessica ordered a number of dishes for us to share, we placed our orders for Japanese beers and got to know each other a bit more. ​First impressions ... this is a great group of people to spend the next several days getting to know. 

It was a fun filled day ... lots of miles walked, gorgeous sights new experiences, and the start of our ACE Camp ... I'm ready for sleep!