Today is samurai day!
We’ve set the alarm at 8am and have told the kids to be ready for 8:30am. Maybe it is the jet lag catching up with us, but we really can’t get out of bed for the alarm and only just manage to get up for 8:30. The kids are not impressed when we drop by at 8:45 since they’ve been stressing making sure they are ready on time.
We skip breakfast (mistake) and get moving by 9:15, which still gives us plenty of time to arrive for our 10am start.
It’s really very hot today and we’re roasting in the morning sun while we wait for the samurai school doors to open.
At registration, each group is given a coloured band to where on their belts. Ours is red, which is a good sign, my favourite colour.
We’re then helped into a samurai “track suit” i.e. the clothes they would wear to train in. They’re all black and look pretty awesome.
One of the organisers explains the morning, we’re going to start with a history lesson and a demonstration, then split into two groups. One will complete the sword training and slicing and the other will practice zen meditation which is important so that warriors can control their emotions.
We hear all about how the samurai came to power and the shogunate, along with power ultimately being passed back to the emperor. We’re then treated to a demonstration by a master swordsman. He shows us how to cut through 5 tatami mats which is apparently the equivalent of slicing across a human body from shoulder to hip. The master completes the move after careful preparation and we’re all impressed.
The four of us are then split into the first group with the other pairs combined to make the second. Result! We have a private lesson.
First off we train with wooden swords to ensure we have the right form, once we have that down we’ll move to real katanas. The moves were straightforward, first step forward with the left foot, raising the sword above your head, second, step forward with your right foot and swing forward with your shoulders.
With the training completed and good form demonstrated by each of us, it was time to move onto the real deal. We each carefully handed back our wooden swords and were presented with a real katana in exchange. The blade was thicker at the back than I had expected, and heavier than the wooden version, but light enough to wield all the same.
The tatami mat targets were setup and we advanced with a couple of practice swings, just stopping short each time. Once the master felt we were ready, we went for it, each having three turns. After the each go an assistant reconnected the mat using chopsticks, and you are supposed to complete the cut without disturbing them.
Each of us managed to complete a clean cut from at least one of our swings, and we gathered for a group graduation photo.
We the switched activities with the other group and completed a zen meditation session, with the zen master coaching us through the exercise and using singing bowls. We kept our eyes half open to avoid becoming lost in our thoughts, but it was still tricky to remain focused!
Follow meditation, we heard a little more history about the house we were in before drinking green tea and eating sweets before we were dismissed.
After removing our samurai clothes, we made for the exit, only to be lured in with practice swords for purchase. Alex was very taken with one and used some of his holiday spending money to buy it and have it shipped back to the uk.
He is now keen on practicing his swordsman ship at home - hopefully we can persuade him to use the back garden!
After the experience we are all starving on account of missing breakfast and we go on the hunt for some lunch. The first cafe we arrive at only serves western food, and is instantly ruled out, at the deep disappointment of the children. The next is closed, and the next doesn’t have room for us, and at this point we are getting desperate. Finally we find a local ramen restaurant, which is open and has space for the four of us and we settle in.
Diana and I order ramen, which ticks off another dish from our must eat list, and the kids order fried chicken. The waitress tries to talk us out of ordering two plates of chicken unsuccessfully.
The food arrives and we understand the protests from the waitress, there’s enough fried chicken for a small samurai army! The kids do their best but don’t really make a dent in it. The ramen on the other hand was delicious!
After lunch we walked the 10 minutes to the Nijo Castle with the nightingale floors. The floors, according to the guidebook and google, were intentionally designed as an early warning system for intruders and still work today - as we walked through the buildings you could hear the sound of nightingales, which was enchanting. The sign inside the castle stated the sounds were from wear and tear and were not an intentional design, and so we are a little puzzled as to the real answer - it is far more exciting to imagine it was on purpose however!
During our tour of the gardens we bumped into Alex’s friend Rhys, from school again, it sounds like they have a very similar itinerary to ours so we may see them again!
After the castle we walked to the bus and took a short ride to the To-Ji temple to see the pagoda.
We visited the main temple buildings and admired the Buddha statues, all covered in gold leaf, before then taking pictures of the pagoda, which in our eyes was the main attraction. The pagoda is an archive and store of relics and by the sounds of it has been rebuilt many times due to being burnt down due to lightning strikes or city fires.
With the sights complete for the day, we head to a cafe just outside the template gates and relax in their aircon with cool drinks and some snacks.
Once we’d cooled down we jump back on the bus and headed back to the area our hotel was in and the shopping district. The kids wanted to do some soveneer and gift shopping, from some shops they’d noticed the other day. On making our way along the main shopping thoroughfare we spot a couple of small pigs(!) sitting in the window of a cafe.
It turns out, it’s a micro pig cafe, where you can pay to hang out with pigs and enjoy a refreshing drink. We decide we must do it! It works out at £10 per person for 25 minutes, but when will we have the opportunity to do this again! So we go for it.
We’re led upstairs, sat at our “table” and given blankets to spread on our legs. There’s about 10 micro pigs in the room, wandering about or sitting on peoples knees. They appear to be having an amazing time!
We spend the next 25 minutes petting and playing with the pigs. Who are literally so happy interacting with us and chewing the blankets. They have very wiry hair and love being stroked.
We have such a lovely experience, the 25 mins flies by and it’s time to go.
Originally we’d planned to go back to the hotel before dinner to shower and change, but with the unplanned pig stop, we’re getting hungry.
So we decide to skip the shower and go straight to dinner. We have a sushi place picked out, which isn’t far from our hotel and has a very high rating.
We arrive to an empty restaurant, but the friendly staff take care of us and do their best to explain the menu to us.
Diana and I have the set sushi menu, the kids go for cucumber maki.
Bella loves cucumber maki, but Alex has never tried sushi before. To his credit, he does give it a good try!
After the menu was complete we ordered a sashimi platter, and some sea urchin nigiri. A new favourite is the amberjack which we haven’t tried before but was delicious. On the sashimi platter we also tried Abalone, nothing like I expected and far more palatable!
After dinner we crossed the bridge over the river and made our way to Gion. The guide book had a recommended walk and we wanted to check it out.
There was some kind of festival and the bridge had some police control which was causing congestion, but we managed to make it through and turned onto a backstreet. We walked along the canal and across to the Yasaka Shrine before walking through the streets to the Yasaka Pagoda.
Kyoto is surrounded on three sides by mountains and split down the middle by a river. The river has saved the east side from many of the fires which have burnt the city to the ground on a number of occasions over the millennia, which means there are many older buildings and monuments to look at.
The pagoda looks lovely during the night and there’s lots of people enjoying the view and on walking tours of the streets. We take some nice photos and walk back to the hotel, which is further away than expected.
It’s late by the time we arrive back to the hotel and everyone is exhausted after another very long day.
It’s showers and bed for all of us!