Kyoto 2019

It was expensive, undoubtedly. We were going during peak season, when tourists come in multitudes to gawk at Japan's famed cherry blossoms. But I knew I had to join the gathering which would see some 5000 international participants from about 30 nations coming in one accord to bless Japan.  It was one big family of Christians cutting across denominations and churches just being together to worship, pray for and love one another; which is as it should be, biblically.

But beyond just the spiritual blessings I received in being part of the global family of God, I was much blessed to have some time to be just another tourist in Kyoto.  

We arrived late at night after a 7 hour flight into Kansai Airport, which is built on an island by itself.
Because of the hour, we checked into a nearby hotel just for the night, intending to take the early bus out to Kyoto in the morning. Much to my pleasant surprise,  it turned out to be a very nice place, well worth the RM300 charge per pax. At such a late hour, the reception was manned by 4 people. The man who attended to us
couldn't find my reservation under my passport name, but he patiently ran through his computer, and finally located it under my Christian name. It was my fault for neglecting to mention the fact, but he was ever so nice about it.

The room itself turned out to be much more spacious than I expected. The beds were big and comfortable, with extra pillows. It's the first time I come across a hotel that provides pyjamas, a pair
so neatly laid out in the drawer. It's also the first time I used an electronically-controlled toilet. Call me uncultured, uncivilised, ignorant, whatever, but I think Japanese toilets are such a wonderful piece of technology. The seat is nicely warmed, the cover opens and closes automatically. It flushes itself and the bidet works accurately at the touch of a button. Some of these hi-tech toilets even come with music to boot. Talk about sitting on a throne.

I had my first experience  of Japanese punctuality the next morning when we missed the airport shuttle bus by just 5 minutes. Public transport is very efficient, although sorting out train, bus, and subway lines can be tricky. But it gets easier once you get the hang of it. Tickets are purchased through vending machines, with English options.  Order and orderliness - that's the way things run in this nation. Queues are second nature to every Japanese, and yes, they do know how to line up in toilets - in a line, not simply cutting in to stand at the cubicles, as some Malaysians are wont to do.

The other glaring thing that stands out is how clean everything is. From public toilets to  rivers to roads. Recycle is standard operating procedure everywhere,  outside supermarkets, on the road - and
even in the Kyoto hotel we stayed at, we were expected to separate our room trash into separate bags. They even separate the plastic caps from the bottles.  

Everything is so “miniature” - from bonsai trees to restaurants that seat only single rows. We had occasion to dine at a famous ramen
place. There was no waiter to serve you. Instead you punch your order into a machine, pay and wait in line to get a seat in an individual cubicle. Your food is handed out from behind a bamboo screen. The set-up  really doesn't encourage socializing - you eat by yourself and get out directly after - but the ramen is indeed very good. 

Talking about food, there’s so much variety and everything is so delightfully fresh, albeit expensive.  My first meal was a late nite instant mee snack from the 24 hr convenience store at our first hotel. But even on my limited budget of RM100 for 3 daily meals, the food looked good and tasted great. Their bread is excellent - soft and warm. Ramen comes with so many toppings. I even tried my hand at frying and flipping my own Japanese pizza/omelette - okonomiyaki - on a common hot-pan. We visited the huge Nishiki market, which featured all sorts of food stuff. It was an eye-popping, mouth-watering, stomach-filling gastronomical experience, moving and eating from one end to the other. 

We had come slightly before the start of the cherry blossom season. Even then, there were plenty of sakura's to ooh and ahh over in many places. 5 minutes walk from our hotel, there was an old railway track, which was literally lined with cherry blossom trees. So early each morning, I got to feast my eyes on the beautiful blooms which came in so many shades of pink, white, even orange and browns. I even managed to catch a wedding photo-shoot there, and indeed it's such a romantic spot. 

But it wasn't only the cherry blossoms that captivated - everywhere there were flowers blooming in profusion along road-sides, in front of houses, hotels, restaurants, shops. The colors were so vivid they looked unreal. They were such a delight to my eyes;   I couldn't stop photographing flowers, flowers and more flowers. As it is, I can just imagine how awesomely beautiful it would be at the height of the cherry blossom season, when every flower is in full bloom.

On average the daily temperature was reported to be below 15 degrees, with some days as low as 9. I personally don't like cold, so I came prepared, with my thick shawl, gloves and lined down-jacket borrowed from my daughter. Still, I found the wind bitingly cold, especially at night, after our sessions ended and we had to
walk back to our hotel. My nose and my ears suffered the most. The last 2 days' rain made it worse. At this rate, I don't think I can survive winter in Japan. 

With just about 2  days free time, I gave the famous temples of Kyoto a miss. There are so many around, even in small neighborhoods. Not that I am into temples anyway; I prefer the nature stuff. So it was we made our furthest trip to the bamboo forest up north of Kyoto. It's indeed a sight to behold the giant trees, even though the place was literally crawling with tourists. So many that there were queues waiting in line to cross the traffic lights. And that's the other thing about Japanese - you don't simply walk across the road as you like - you wait for the pedestrian light to turn green. And yes, you can rest assured all vehicles will stop to give you right of way. Unlike in some places you-know-where vehicles and people act as if there are no traffic rules. 

Talking about traffic, there are so many cyclists riding on the pavements. And they are so polite they don't ring their bells; they just whizz past pedestrians. I venture  in such weather where you don't sweat, it must be rather pleasant to cycle around.  The bikes come with
baskets attached to hold things, babies and even dogs. That's the other interesting 'traffic' that's hard to miss - cute, frisky,  little, big and definitely happy dogs being walked about by their owners.  At Nishiki market they even have a dog cafe - where you pay money to play with man's best friends.

The one thing we didn't get to see were the geishas, although we did go to the particular district. Maybe because we went at the wrong time, in the day, whilst these ladies are known only to come out at night. But there were certainly no lack of kimono-clad women around, even though many were really non-Japanese, trying on rented gowns for the day, just for the fun of it.

My last few hours in Kyoto were spent walking around the huge grounds of the ancient 400 years old Nijo castle. This was the place which saw the ending of the feudal Shogunate and the birth of modern Japan under the Meiji  emperors. Significantly a day after my return to Malaysia the newspapers announced the end of the current Heisei and beginning of the new Reiwa era for Japan under a new Emperor who will ascend the throne on May 1. Truly God's timing is perfect.

I now understand why my second daughter who has visited Japan before likes it so much. Outside of the event sessions, I  only spent 2 short days, visiting limited places in Kyoto. Actually if not for the event, I would not have come to (expensive) Japan on my own. So the lesson is I am the one who is blessed - spiritually and non-spiritually in all ways -  when I just follow God's prompting to go wherever, do whatever. Come to think of it, I really should stop counting the costs of following Him, when He never counted the cost of saving me.

 ".....Christ Jesus...who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name" - Philippians 2:6-9 

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