Monday, December 6, 2010

Kyoto: Geishas, tea houses and national treasures in the land of the rising sun

By DAVID SIMPSON

Tradition: Women dressed in colourful kimonos


Are you Tom Cruise?' asked the man. As I am 61 years old and 6ft 2in tall, the answer was pretty obvious. 'Are you Clint Eastwood then?' A bit closer, I suppose, but still way off the mark.

He turned his gaze on my wife. 'You Debbie Reynolds?' Then he was off again. 'I have watched Singing In The Rain 200 times,' and with that he unravelled a crumpled piece of paper and delivered a half-decent rendition of White Christmas.

Welcome to the weird and wacky world of Japan's all-singing, all-dancing cab drivers.
As we drove through the streets of Kyoto, our driver was loving the chance to speak English, and by the time we arrived at our destination we were all singing Pat Boone's Love Letters In The Sand. The driver beamed as he removed his cap, bowed, and waved us goodbye.

Now when did you see that on the streets of London? There again, there is little that is comparable between Kyoto and England, especially where transport is concerned.

Our Virgin Atlantic flight got us into Tokyo's Narita airport on the dot, we bought our rail tickets without any difficulty, and then boarded the express to central Tokyo station to connect with the Shinkansen - the bullet train - which has to run on time. If it is late, the driver is fired.

In the 12 years we have been visiting Japan since our son went to live there, life has become easier for tourists. Signs at airports and stations are in English, as are on-train announcements, and these days many more Japanese people speak English.

Our Shinkansen whistled us the 310 miles to Kyoto in two hours 20 minutes at 150mph. For part of the journey we were overlooked by Mount Fuji - at the top of which, five years ago, my son proposed to his girlfriend after a seven-hour climb.

Now we were back in Japan to visit our new granddaughter and attend her 'christening', a solemn but traditional Shinto ceremony at the magnificent Shimogamo shrine, one of the oldest in Japan, dating from the 6th Century.


Magnificent: The Shimogamo shrine is one of the oldest in Japan


Kyoto was Japan's capital and the emperor's residence from 794 AD until 1868. On the first night we wound down at The Screen - the country's first combination of boutique hotel and traditional ryokan inn. It stands on the edge of the vast and perfectly manicured Imperial Gardens, which we explored in winter sunshine.

Due to its historic value, the city was dropped from America's list of target cities for the atomic bomb and spared air raids during the Second World War - so is one of the few Japanese cities still with an abundance of pre-war buildings, such as the traditional townhouses known as machiya.

Kyoto is a beautiful city of 1.4 million people and features many national treasures, among them Toji Temple's five-storeyed pagoda which, at 187ft, is the tallest in Japan. But the biggest draw for most tourists is the geisha, especially in Gion, the most revered of the city's five geisha districts.

It is not unusual to catch a glimpse of a geisha making her way to or from an engagement at an ochaya, or tea house. The ultimate, and incredibly expensive, experience is being entertained by a geisha while dining at an ochaya. As expert hostesses, they ensure everyone's enjoyment by engaging in light conversation with guests, serving drinks, and performing traditional music and dance.

On a visit to Kyoto two years ago, I had the good fortune to be seated very close to two geisha in the panoramic Sky Lounge of the Granvia Hotel. Their white, doll-like features were truly stunning and left a lasting impression - just like the city of Kyoto itself.

Getting there
Virgin Atlantic (0844 209 2770, www.virgin-atlantic.com) flies from Heathrow to Tokyo daily. Return fares start at £721 per person for travel between December 25 and March 31. A one-way ticket on the Shinkansen to Kyoto costs about £85


source: dailymail

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