Kyoto V

Tips & Taxes
One of the best things about travelling in Japan is you pay no tips whatsoever!  And the truly amazing thing is, even without this financial incentive, Japanese services are still THE BEST globally. You can expect the same level of service whether you are buying a Paul Smith suit in Daimaru or an ice cream in Seven-Eleven.

 

I always wonder when I spend money elsewhere: why am I obligated to fork over tips even if the service sucks??  Worse, in some places, the restaurant will charge 10-15% no matter what!  Shouldn’t tips be at the discretion of consumers?

 

Anyhoo, in terms of service, people in Kyoto are even better than other major cities (observation: people are more polite in Kyoto)… the best I encountered on this trip is probably the hostess in the ryokan, Hiiragiya Bekkan. You will never get that level of service in a North American hotel, even a 5-star one.

 

The only thing I have to complain is the 5% sales tax in Japan… that was a stupid idea (and one of the main reasons for the multi-year recession) to begin with, and they were silly enough to up it from 3% to 5% in the late 90’s!  But as a tourist, most big chain/department stores will give you a tax refund on the spot if you fill up a form… just remember to bring your passport.
And for people used to the 14% sales tax in Ontario, Japan is definitely tolerable.

 

Take note, Mayor Miller. Increasing taxes will only drive people away from the city. Cut back your lavish spending, it may restore some (or whatever’s left by now) of your credibility.

Electing this tax-and-spend liberal mayor (twice!) is perhaps the second worst disaster for Toronto (First being SARS).

 

http://www.hiiragiya.co.jp/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070717.TAX17/TPStory/TPNational/Ontario/

Kyoto IV

Chasen
Pardon my ignorance, but I’ve never seen ice cream made fresh in front of me… so when I saw that in the JR Kyoto Station, I couldn’t resist trying one (even after an all-tofu meal, a famous Kyoto delicacy).
This shop has an open kitchen and is smart enough to hire these charming ladies to make the ice cream (attracting potential customers). The process seems simple enough if you have the equipment: pour the pre-made green tea mixture onto an ice cold metal plate and then swirl and muddle up until it solidifies into ice cream.
Looks to me it takes a lot of energy… I hope these part-time girls are well paid for this as it takes so much effort to complete just one order!

 

High-quality dessert for ~400 yen. Order one scoop with red bean on the side, it’s unexpectedly smooth and flavoursome (and be warned for those with sensitive teeth, it’s very icy). Nothing like those packaged ones you would find in Toronto’s supermarkets.

Bring it out and enjoy the ice cream while sitting at the grand staircase, savouring the architecture, observing the people around… perhaps you may come to realize that even after a multi-year recession, no matter what the pundits say about Communist China, Japan is still the economic power in Asia. And will continue to be for quite some years.

 

Probably not the healthiest food out there but a little girl beside me had a 3-scoop order (with chocolate sauce over them) all to herself… I guess her mom approved that. But the kid does look a little bit chubby.

 

The shop is called "Chasen" in the west side of the station, located on the 10th floor at the end of “Ramen Koji”. Some sample photos below.

 

http://www.kyoto-station-building.co.jp/search/search.cgi?mode=syousai&gen=food&area=ramen&no=8
http://www.kyoto-ramen-koji.com/takeout.html#chasen

Kyoto III

JR Kyoto Station

Other than ancient temples, Kyoto has some contemporary architectural works as well. The best one is probably used by everybody visiting the city – the JR Kyoto Station.

 

Futuristic in looks, the current station opened in 1997. The huge building consists of 3 parts…
West: Istean (multi-storied department store) and Ramen-koji (whole floor of ramen/Japanese noodle shops)
Central: the Cube (consists of many souvenir shops) and Porta (underground shops leading to the Subway station)
East: Kyoto-Gekijo (theatre) and Hotel Granvia Osaka (stayed there once a few years ago, nice room and impeccable service)

 

The architect is Hiroshi Hara. Another famous work of his is the Umeda Sky Building in Osaka (essentially 2 buildings joined together with a garden on top, romantic place to see the sunset).

I think the most impressive part is his use of open space inside the building… during lunch hour the day I visited, the station hosted a pop concert in the amphitheatre and the crowd just sat on the grand staircase (about 10-story high) to enjoy the Sun and music. It was mostly young people attending and when the concert ended in about 2 hours or so, the staircase was back to being clean and empty (and you will appreciate its magnificence more).

Good thing it’s not built in mainland China… otherwise, I guarantee you will see tons of litter on the staircase afterwards.

 

If you like to shop and eat, plan to spend at least half a day here. If not, you can always quickly pick up the souvenirs here before boarding the train. Here are some pics I took.

 

http://www.kyoto-station-building.co.jp/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshi_Hara

Kyoto II

Ryoan-ji

Kyoto is full of ancient Buddhist temples. The best known is probably the more glamorous Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺)… but the one that impressed me the most this time is Ryoan-ji (龍安寺).

 

The must-see masterpiece in Ryoan-ji is the Rock Garden. There are no trees, just 15 irregularly shaped rocks of varying sizes, arranged in a bed of white sand. The rocks are positioned in such a manner that visitors can see only 14 of them at once, no matter what angle the garden is viewed from.

The designer is unknown so his/her intention is open to your interpretation. Some said that only when you attain spiritual enlightment as a result of deep Zen meditation, can you see the last invisible stone. Perhaps, perhaps…

 

Oh, btw, I learned from experience that a pocket-size camera (like my Sony CyberShot W50) is simply not good enough to capture the whole garden… an elderly Japanese gentleman tried to explain the effect of wide-angle lens on his huge digital SLR.

I’m guessing he was trying to explain but I can’t say for sure because he was speaking Japanese… or maybe he was just trying to say my camera sucks big time, in a very polite way…

 

Go early to avoid the crowds (if you want a seat in front of the garden to meditate). But unlike in mainland China, most Japanese are extremely courteous and they will give you enough room if you don’t mind squeezing in.

 

Here are some photos (with no wide-angle lens) of the Rock Garden I took… the breath-taking sakura/cherry blossom there in March/April is a nice bonus.

 

http://www.ryoanji.jp/