Posts from — September 2004

*news update* Typhoon 21 sems to have broken up as it was passing over Kyoto, after hitting Shikoku pretty hard. Quiet now.

In all that regalia, with impossible blocky shoes, still they manage to flutter swiftly but gracefully this way and that, okiya to ochaya, door to taxi, to the convenience store around the corner.

This is just the entrance. It’s BIG.

Seibo (Holy Mother) Gakuin is a Catholic school (Kindergarten through University) founded by French nuns in Fujinomori, Kyoto with another campus halfway to Osaka in Hirakata city. The main buiding of red brick was originally a Japanese military post from the turn of the century. The previous century, I mean. The school was open for visitors over the weekend.

There are several shops in kyoto where tourists can dress up like a maiko, have a photo session, and then tour around town in full regalia.

The Man, the Myth, the Legend. The Singing Cowboy of Kyoto since 1958.

Country Dream – All Japan Country Music Festival: Saturday, October 9 at Maruyama Park


Monday to Friday he is a dentist, then on Saturday night his bar Kenny’s on the floor above his clinic opens and he becomes Kenji Nagatomi and the Tennessee Five. Fiddle, pedal steel guitar, and now even banjo. I saw them play on Sunday on a big bandstand in front of City Hall during the Kyoto Festival. They often play at various festivals around town and further afield, including the Grand Old Opry in Nashville.

Kenji’s daughter Mari, a singer, will also perform with Nashville country harmonica legend Charlie McCoy, a frequent collaborator with Nagatomi.

Kenny’s is just north of subway Kuramaguchi at Karasuma-Shimei dori. (usually opens at 8 p.m., ¥3000 cover includes 2 drinks.)

UPDATE:ASICS link with confirmed price info, more background (Japanese only)

Nishijin ori ASICS sneakers. Made with real Kyoto Nishijin kinran (=woven with real gold) cloth. Nishijin cloth is kind of thick brocade style made in the Nishijin district west of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. These sneakers are not for sale, however. A limited number of promotional pairs were made by Kinran.
These were on exhibition today at Kyoto Matsuri-related design exhibition. A few more sneakers. I heard secondhand that the sneakers sold for ¥12,000 or about $100. Later I talked to the company representative, who sounded hopeful that there would be another limited run if there was enough interest.

Kiyomizu-yaki is pottery made in the area below Kiyomizu (pure water) Temple in Kyoto, exemplefied by intricately-painted patterns of blue on white. Taking pure water to a whole new new semantic level, a traditional Kiyomizu-yaki shop has branched out into the very un-traditional kiyomizu-toilet.jp. I leave it to you to choose your favorite model.

If you ever come to Kyoto at festival time, MK Taxi (look for a heart-shaped sign on the roof) offers 10% off your fare if you wear kimono, yukata or jinbe. So, every time we go to Grandma’s house, we pack Greg’s yukata or jinbe, and before we go home we change Greg into it so that on the way back we get our discount. (We always ride downtown to Grandma’s house by Aoi Taxi, because their office and motorpool is in our neighborhood, so they get here right away.) Also, MK just finished a Kimono Campaign, in which we filled up several stamp cards, so we are hoping to get a prize.

Hozugawa kudari is two-hour boat ride with lovely scenery. More info here.