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Arashiyama, chestnuts and tempura, Nara fire ritual, Ninna-ji Temple

This perfect pagoda is part of Kyoto's NW Ninna-ji Temple, home to imperial princesses.

This post covers a few topics and they are all great "ingredients" for Japan private tour travelers looking for sort of unknown locations. Afterall, international visitors to Japan see a tiny fraction Japan's entire immenseness. Before I get into the main sections of this post--chestnuts, tempura, the start of Nara's Omizutori fire ritual, and Ninna-ji Temple, home to imperial princesses--I'd like to "talk" about two very special locations on the west side of Kyoto. For most travelers the west side of Kyoto is the Arashiyama bamboo forest and the Romantic train ride. But there's so much more.

Just minutes from Arashiyama's three train station (Keifuku, JR and Hankyu lines) lies the fascinations of the hillside Okochi Sanso estate. This stunning 1920s villa was once the home of famous silent-screen star Okochi Denjiro (1898-1962). He is often referred to the "Charlie Chaplin of Japan." In the 80s and 90s and into the early years of the 21st century Okochi Sanso had exquisite restaurant on the grounds that served meals named Mountain, Cloud, Moon, and Flower. Sadly, the restaurant has closed.

But the Okochi Sanso estate has many stunning features and some argue these gardens and buildings are as good as the hard-to-get-into Imperial Villas of Kyoto. I would agree. And the Yen 1,000 entry to Okochi Sanso includes a lovely bowl of whipped green matcha tea and sweet on red felt covered benches (indoor and out). The garden is large and well-tended with scenery "borrowed" from the nearby mountains, a Japanese gardening conceit.

The estate's gardens cost a fortune to make, a fortune that Okochi Denjiro had. The zig zagging or spiral path through the estate, leading from the lower level where the buildings are, is clearly indicated with arrows. At the top you have a viewpoint across the entire city of Kyoto and also amazing vistas of the Hozu River gorge to the west of the peak. Lots of benches to have a little picnic break.

If you look, and you don't have to look that hard, you will find a semi-outdoor pavilion with world-class black and white photos of the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s. This is celebrity Japanese style: very discreet but also very impressive in all ways.

Your whipped green tea and sweet, part of the entry price, is served at a building located off to the left before you go back down the slope to the ticket booth. Eat the sweet first, then take the bowl in both hands and sip the Zen-monk invigorating matcha whipped tea. Enjoy!

The second place I wanted to mention is a bit south of Arashiyama, Matsunoo-taisha Shrine, where the "god of sake rice wine" is located. The station after Hankyu Arashiyama is Matsuo, home of 700-AD founded Matsunoo-taisha Shrine Grand Shrine. In early November, on the first Day of Hare, according to the lunar calendar (as opposed to the Gregorian calendar now in use in Japan), Matsuo Taisha hosts a festival for sake and shoyu (soy sauce) makers from all over the country. During the first few days of January, known as hatsumode, the shrine serves a rare kinpaku miki (gold flake filled rice wine).

The shrine began to receive Imperial patronage during the early Heian period (794-1185). In 965, Emperor Murakami decreed that Imperial messengers were specially dispatched to the top 16 kami gods of the Shinto religion. Matsunoo Shrine was one of the first 16, which makes it super important for all Japanese people and the Shinto faith.

In 1973, this timeless setting, in the forests at the base of the ridge that borders the west side of Kyoto, received a garden make over by Mirei Shigemori, Japan's most celebrated modernist garden designer. The three Shofuen Gardens were completed in 1975 and were the last works of Shigemori's amazing garden achievements. The gardens are called the Kyokosui no Niwa (Garden of the Winding Stream), Joko no Niwa (a megalithic motif using really big stone boulders), and finally Horai no Niwa (in honor of the promised land of Horai in Chinese and Japanese myth.

The rest of this post consists of covers:

Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!

A few thoughts on Japan's autumn kuri chestnuts & tempura

Autumn is a time for Japanese to relax and enjoy the daylight by hiking, and reading a novel quietly in the evening. In this shukaku no aki (harvest season) new foods fill the markets. It is a time for lovers of chestnut (kuri) to rejoice. The color of the chestnut is appropriate to the natural tones of autumn. The effort of cutting through its tough, bark-like skin has challenged Japanese to think up several ways to enjoy this morsel. Here are a few: Chestnut skin is like armour, so it can be boiled, baked or grilled in its own shell. After hacking away with a sharp paring knife you finally arrive at the nut which can be eaten right away. For the more patient and determined, peeled and raw chestnuts cooked together with rice make a popular autumn dish called kuri gohan, or chestnut rice. Big round candied chestnuts are used as an added ingredient in Japanese confectionery. Candied chestnut recipes vary in how long they are soaked but either way the process allows the kuri to become sweet and soft enough for kuri manju (rice-flour sweets), kuri yokan (bean-paste gelatin) and kuri zenzai (sweet bean 'soup' with rice dumplings). Although some of these may be sold at other seasons, the best time to eat them is autumn. Nowadays, just so you know, Korean chestnuts, mushrooms and ginseng are big in Japan. The chestnut crown, in all ways, goes to China and its tenshin amaguri, sold in green and red colored bags at almost every train station in Japan! Enjoy!

Tempura: healthy deep fried cuisine

Tempura (introduced in the 16th century by the Portuguese) is one food that foreigners seem to love right away. Great tempura is based on: fresh ingredients, super clean oil, and the creative presentation genius of the chef. Ingredients (vegetables and seafood) are first dipped in a batter (prepared in small quantities) made of eggs, flour and, believe it or not, ice water. Then, the batter covered pieces are dipped in very clean hot oil (a mixture of vegetable and sesame oil), kept at a constant temperature (180 deg.). Timing is also important: too little time and the food is raw; too much time and it is overdone. Then each piece is placed on special white paper that soaks up the excess oil. Tempura should always be served and eaten hot, so don’t wait. Dip your tempura in the little bowl of tentsuyu broth or a bit of salt (some use lemon). Tempura Language— Special orders: tempura teishoku: assorted pieces of tempura with rice, soup and pickles; tempura moriawase: chef's selection of tempura pieces; tendon: tempura-fried prawns over rice; Individual Orders: anago: conger eel; ayu: sweetfish; ebi: shrimp; hotategai: scallops; ika: squid; kaki: oyster; ebi kakiage: diced shrimp and leek fried tempura-style; kisu: soft white fish; asupara: asparagus; kabocha: squash; nasu: eggplant; peeman: green pepper; satsuma imo: sweet potato; shiitake: Japanese mushroom; shishitou: small Japanese green pepper; shiso: perilla leaves; takenoko: bamboo shoots (spring).

Nara's Omizutori begins in December and ignites in March 01, 2025

Nara's Todai-ji is best known as the home of the Great Buddha. The temple is also famous for a series of purification rites called Shunie, which culminate in Omizutori, a ceremonial drawing of sacred water from the temple's Wakasa well. Local residents also refer to the event as Otaimatsu, after the taimatsu, or torches, which are brandished every evening from March 1st to the 14th from the balcony of the temple's Nigatsu-do.

This religious festival was initiated by a priest called Jitchu, in 752 (the year when the Daibutsu, or Great Buddha, was completed) to pray for auspicious weather, plentiful harvests, good health, and peace, as well as to ask forgiveness for a variety of transgressions. He also built the Nigatsu-do, the present site of the festival, and erected an eleven-faced statue of Kannon to act as a focus for worship. The festival has continued ever since, and this year marks the 1,241st Omizutori.

On December 16th the eleven priests who will take part in the festival are selected. Only those who are in good health, can find the time, and have not suffered the death of a close relative during the previous year are considered. Once participants have been selected and their roles assigned, chanting and conch shell blowing practise commence.

On February 20th a sacred fire is started, and from this time on, as part of the priests' symbolic separation from the outside world, this is the only fire used for cooking, heating water, and keeping warm. For the initial five or six days, known as koro-bekka, the priests begin to prepare themselves both mentally and physically for the demanding rites that are to follow. During this period, they are allowed to leave the Kaidan-in, their home for the early festival preparations, provided they remain within the temple precincts.

Preparations include the making of cotton-lined paper kimono called kami-ko which are worn during the forthcoming rites. Paper is chosen because it keeps out the wind and also because it is considered a pure, almost sacred, material. (None of the raw materials used have any connection with animals.) The making of one kimono requires 40 sheets of washi (handmade paper), which is specially ordered from Shikoku.

For the remainder of the preparatory period, called so-bekka, the priests remain secluded in the Kaidan-in and are forbidden to step outside as this would mean coming in contact with the ground and, thus, contamination. Ill health, even the death of a close relative, are not considered sufficient reasons for pulling out.

On the final day of so-bekka, the priests purify their bodies and the items that are to be used in the ceremonies with incense and sacred Ebisugawa water. (Ebisugawa is the name of the stream which flows in the temple grounds.) They then make their way to the Sanroshukusho, a building at the foot of the Nigatsu-do which will be their quarters until March 15th.

The hongyo period now begins. Every day for two weeks, the priests climb the steps to the Nigatsu-do to recite sutras. In one day a total of six different sutras are offered to Kannon. This is the heart of the Shunie. When they ascend for the evening recitation, the priests are accompanied by assistants carrying five-meter long blazing torches made from bamboo and cedar needles. While the priests are inside, the torch-bearing assistants run around the balcony of the Nigatsu-do, showering cleansing sparks on the spectators below. This eagerly awaited fire ceremony takes place at 7:30 on the 12th, 6:30 on the 14th, and at 7:00 on other nights.

Other rites take place as well during hongyo. A particularly demanding one, called hashiri-no-gyo, involves sprinting around the Nigatsu-do's Kannon. At other times, dattan, a purification dance of obscure origin, is performed there.

The climax of the Shunie services takes place at 7:30 on the evening of the 12th, when eleven eight-meter long, eighty kilogram torches, called kago-taimatsu, are carried up the steps to the Nigatsu-do. Around 2 am Omizutori, the ceremonial drawing of sacred water from Wakasa well, is performed.

Ninna-ji Temple ancient home of imperial princesses

In 886, Emperor Koko started construction of the Omuro Palace in the northwest of Kyoto. Later designated as a Shingon temple, it was renamed Ninna-ji. For the next thousand years a prince of imperial lineage would serve as its head priest. Located a little west of Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion) and Ryoan-ji (home of the famous Zen rock garden), Ninna-ji is a grand temple compound well known for its late-blooming dwarf cherries, which attract lively groups of viewers towards the end of April. It is an ideal place to have lunch beneath the trees or just relax after a few hours of looking, looking and looking. Ninna-ji is also the headquarters of the Omuro School of Ikebana. Examples of this school’s style of flower arrangement are always on display for public viewing in the first building to the left of the main gate.

The Ninna-ji temple compound lies at the foot of Mt. Joju, which is also part of the temple area. About 162 years ago, the 29th abbot of Ninna-ji temple, Sainin Hoshin-no, a devoted follower of Kukai, decided to reproduce in miniature Kukai’s famous eighty-eight temple, Shikoku pilgrimage. Kukai (or Kobo Daishi) traveled to China in the 9th century to study Shingon (Esoteric) Buddhism. When he returned to Japan, he and his followers established a pilgrimage to eighty-eight temples on Shikoku. Today, this pilgrimage is known throughout the country and thousands of Japanese embark on the two-month trek every year. The mini Shikoku tour at Ninna-ji was completed in 1829. Unfortunately, most of the buildings were destroyed in an earthquake (which apparently registered 6.4 on the Richter scale) that struck Kyoto the following year. Reconstruction was undertaken immediately. Ever since, religious devotees, health enthusiasts, and sightseers have been making the approximately two-hour, three-kilometer walk, which is highly recommended for its views over Kyoto and the many interesting temple reproductions on the way.

The course begins at the back left side of the temple compound beyond a small gate. Before the gate, just a little west of the bright orange bell tower, is a stone pillar with a hand in relief at its base pointing the way. About 200 meters later, there is a conspicuous white sign with black lettering. This indicates the first temple. The rest of the temples have small stone makers with their numbers written in Chinese characters.

Entrance to Ninna-ji and its outer grounds is usually free; to get there go to the Golden Pavilion and walk southwest to Ryoan-ji Zen garden and the continue until you see a huge ornate wooden gate to you right, and enter another world!

Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!