An appreciation for Kyoto
Oh shit, I’m about to say nice things about Japan. Well LET’S GO.
I feel I haven’t appreciated Kyoto enough. I’ve always been viscerally aware of how much I enjoy Tokyo, but Kyoto was my rock. I went there so often, and I definitely could have gone a lot more. It was the largest city close by to me; I could meet people, do things, it was a space for me to be me. It has cultural sights, but also just normal life stuff to do. It was an easy escape, a place to feel normal. To carry out my existence in a way that I wanted to.
Kyoto is a big city, but it’s not a massive metropolis. Combined with all the shrines and rich history, it’s a calm little city with a unique atmosphere. I’ll always remember the train rides down the lake from Maibara, seeing the landscapes over the different seasons. As much as it was a long train ride, it was calming, a time for reflection (or, on the late rides back home, a time to stare out the window really drunk while blasting pop music on my headphones and just think ‘woooaaaahhh I live in Japan?!’) I know the stops on the special rapid by heart, and the train announcements too. Where the photographers would be waiting by the trainline to capture the most picturesque shot of the 特別快速琵琶湖線電車 (never understood that but I guess ya know, live your best life). Finally I’d arrive in Kyoto, transferring to the subway from Yamashina or Kyoto station to take me where my heart desired.
The first time I went to Kyoto whilst living in Japan, it was during Obon. I remember sitting on that train, watching the summer rice fields slowly disappear, replaced by more and more apartment blocks and views of a city. I went down to Kyoto to go to Muji to get a new bedspread because I had nothing better to do. I could go inside a big airconned mall, swan around and have a good time. It was something to do, to distract myself from the extreme homesickness, an escape for a day. I remember the bright sunlight, how hot it was when I left the station. I didn’t spend long in Kyoto, because I just wanted to go back home. But when I went back home, it wasn’t home and I wished I had stayed in Kyoto for longer. Kyoto was a distraction, a city that made me feel more at peace. It physically removed me from the not home-home, to remind myself that there were things to do, other places to be.
Kyoto’s rich history is also something I appreciate now, looking back. Even though the shrines can be so touristy, I now often reflect on the serenity of the surroundings in temples and shrines. The feeling of calm and peace and order. Just listening to the sounds, immersing myself in the difference of Japan’s traditional culture. Stumbling across a beautiful little temple or shrine, and wandering through appreciating the dark wood of the building, the little placards with people’s wishes hung on a wall, the fortunes tied neatly on the branches of a tree or lattice. I never fully appreciated something so uniquely Japan being so easily accessible. Being able to absorb so much just by being in a place was such a wonderful feeling. It really ignited my senses, reminded me why I chose to live in Japan. Kyoto let me be myself, be normal. It was a meeting point for my most meaningful relationships in Japan. For example, Lake Boy, rock climbing with friends from all sides of the lake, meeting foreigners from all over the globe. It was always a fun time in Kyoto with friends. Kyoto is where I started rock climbing, where I learned to appreciate coffee more. Sitting beside the river outside the craft-beer brewery where we somehow all had connections to, talking about life, dreams, what was next for us.
Being in Kyoto was also an escape for me as a foreigner. It wasn’t unusual that I was there. I was just another tourist. I had days in Kyoto where I didn’t speak a lick of Japanese all day. Not even ありがとうございます. It was a release for my brain to be out in public and not having to translate everything constantly. To not be on edge when interacting at a shop or restaurant. My existence and language wasn’t strange. I guess though in that way, it enabled me to live a more normal life. Outings, friends. Which is why I didn’t appreciate it as much as I could have. But I’m so thankful for that normality.
I wish I had spent more time in Kyoto. Just before I left Japan, I met some foreigners who lived in Kyoto outside of the typical ALT circle. We had things in common, we could talk, and we didn’t just compare schools and teachers like so many of my other relationships based in Japan. I craved that so much, being with my people. Kyoto enabled that for one brief beautiful afternoon, and I wish I could have had it sooner. But how was I to know I could have had that? Life is just chance sometimes, but Kyoto did give me that chance.
I loved Kyoto. It was proof that there are pockets of Japan that I do enjoy, and could live in comfortably, but I didn’t want to make the effort to move to Kyoto and do it on my own after being downtrodden in Maibara for a year. But it’s about that hope, the small bursts of sunshine. Kyoto gave me that. Kyoto helped me to feel at ease in Japan. It was a respite and escape. A relief and release. Kyoto will always have a special place in my heart.
I feel I haven’t appreciated Kyoto enough. I’ve always been viscerally aware of how much I enjoy Tokyo, but Kyoto was my rock. I went there so often, and I definitely could have gone a lot more. It was the largest city close by to me; I could meet people, do things, it was a space for me to be me. It has cultural sights, but also just normal life stuff to do. It was an easy escape, a place to feel normal. To carry out my existence in a way that I wanted to.
 |
| Wow, so gold. |
The first time I went to Kyoto whilst living in Japan, it was during Obon. I remember sitting on that train, watching the summer rice fields slowly disappear, replaced by more and more apartment blocks and views of a city. I went down to Kyoto to go to Muji to get a new bedspread because I had nothing better to do. I could go inside a big airconned mall, swan around and have a good time. It was something to do, to distract myself from the extreme homesickness, an escape for a day. I remember the bright sunlight, how hot it was when I left the station. I didn’t spend long in Kyoto, because I just wanted to go back home. But when I went back home, it wasn’t home and I wished I had stayed in Kyoto for longer. Kyoto was a distraction, a city that made me feel more at peace. It physically removed me from the not home-home, to remind myself that there were things to do, other places to be.
 |
| A temple. A pigeon. |
Kyoto’s rich history is also something I appreciate now, looking back. Even though the shrines can be so touristy, I now often reflect on the serenity of the surroundings in temples and shrines. The feeling of calm and peace and order. Just listening to the sounds, immersing myself in the difference of Japan’s traditional culture. Stumbling across a beautiful little temple or shrine, and wandering through appreciating the dark wood of the building, the little placards with people’s wishes hung on a wall, the fortunes tied neatly on the branches of a tree or lattice. I never fully appreciated something so uniquely Japan being so easily accessible. Being able to absorb so much just by being in a place was such a wonderful feeling. It really ignited my senses, reminded me why I chose to live in Japan. Kyoto let me be myself, be normal. It was a meeting point for my most meaningful relationships in Japan. For example, Lake Boy, rock climbing with friends from all sides of the lake, meeting foreigners from all over the globe. It was always a fun time in Kyoto with friends. Kyoto is where I started rock climbing, where I learned to appreciate coffee more. Sitting beside the river outside the craft-beer brewery where we somehow all had connections to, talking about life, dreams, what was next for us.
Being in Kyoto was also an escape for me as a foreigner. It wasn’t unusual that I was there. I was just another tourist. I had days in Kyoto where I didn’t speak a lick of Japanese all day. Not even ありがとうございます. It was a release for my brain to be out in public and not having to translate everything constantly. To not be on edge when interacting at a shop or restaurant. My existence and language wasn’t strange. I guess though in that way, it enabled me to live a more normal life. Outings, friends. Which is why I didn’t appreciate it as much as I could have. But I’m so thankful for that normality.
 |
| Where the fancy AF coffee obsession was born |
I wish I had spent more time in Kyoto. Just before I left Japan, I met some foreigners who lived in Kyoto outside of the typical ALT circle. We had things in common, we could talk, and we didn’t just compare schools and teachers like so many of my other relationships based in Japan. I craved that so much, being with my people. Kyoto enabled that for one brief beautiful afternoon, and I wish I could have had it sooner. But how was I to know I could have had that? Life is just chance sometimes, but Kyoto did give me that chance.
I loved Kyoto. It was proof that there are pockets of Japan that I do enjoy, and could live in comfortably, but I didn’t want to make the effort to move to Kyoto and do it on my own after being downtrodden in Maibara for a year. But it’s about that hope, the small bursts of sunshine. Kyoto gave me that. Kyoto helped me to feel at ease in Japan. It was a respite and escape. A relief and release. Kyoto will always have a special place in my heart.
Comments
Post a Comment