Jidai Matsuri AND Kurama Fire Festival

Well, I did it: both the Jidai Matsuri and the Kurama fire festival in one day with all three kids. A friend joined us at the Kurama festival with her three boys so it was the two of us and six kids. Quite the crowd and quite the adventure.
Here is what we did. Picked E up from school at 1pm- the usual time for Friday- went down to Nijo station and parked our bikes. With a one day pass on the subway we went to the Higashiyama Station. The jidai matsuri goes right past the station, so we just went up the steps and watched for a while. It wasn't as intimate as the Zuiki matsuri, but the costumes were good and it was impressive just in terms of the sheer numbers of people. I had thought that they would go through the eras in some sort of historical order, but no- they just seemed to be jumbled together: Tokugawa then Muromachi then Heian then sengoku. Still the kids liked the horses and the costumes. We only watch about 30-45 minutes of the procession and left during a lull. It probably would have continued longer, but we were fine with what we saw and wanted to head up toward Kurama. We hopped back on the subway and went all the way up north to the Kokusaikaikan station. We got there about 3:30 with only one major tantrum from 3 year old S who went without his nap. From the Kokusai kaikan staion it is about a 10 minute walk north to the Eiden Iwakura station (along the river just west of the subway exit #1). From there we were crammed inside the small Eiden train for the ride to Kurama. This was very uncomfortable, but I think that at least if you get on there you don't have to endure the crowded train for as long (maybe only 6 stops instead of 12). Once at Kurama we sat down in front of the station to eat our onigiri. There wasn't much in terms of things to eat there- none of the standard matsuri food- so I was glad we brought stuff- onigiri and snacks for keeping people happy. I am certainly not above using sweets to their full potential on outings like this one. We met up with B and her three boys there and proceeded to follow the directions of some of the many police officers who directed us behind a yellow tape. We were supposed to keep moving and I am glad we did, eventually we got beyond the major crowds further up the canyon and were really able to see the festival well. We were right close to a lot of the torches. First there were the young kids, and then the BIG torches. Unfortunately our camera couldn't really capture it- but there were lots of photographers with cameras that could- some directing their attention to the six gaijin kids staring intently at the bonfires. About halfway to the onsen, there were people drumming on the Taiko and some of the torch bearers swayed to the beat. It was pretty awesome. 3yr old S and others had a blast stomping out the cinders that had fallen to the street. We started back around 7:45, although that was perhaps too late. Yes the festival would keep going until midnight, but we thought we would be safe leaving then. We got caught in a major traffic jam heading back to the station area and then ushered through orderly Disneyland lines for the train once we got there. It took a while to get back on that crowded train again for the return journey, retracing our steps. I must say, the kids were really troopers. It was 10:30 or so before we got home, but it was fun and I would say very worth it. As we were walking up the steps all 3 of them said they had fun.
If you ever plan to do this, here is my recommendation: If you have the full day, watch the jidai matsuri starting from about 11 on the grounds of the imperial palace. It is the staging area and so most people will be there at once. Plus it is a little more picturesque to watch the procession on the grounds of palace than on the streets with a McDonalds or Lawson in the background. The procession starts at 12, and I bet it is an hour or two before the whole group passes through. Get some lunch and if you haven't already, get some food to take up to Kurama. I liked our route, but if you want a seat, you can wait in line at the Demachi Yanagi station. Probably if you are there close to 2 you might not have much trouble (you may have to let a train or two go by before getting to the front, but I wouldn't know for sure). Once you are in Kurama take a nice break-because this is a long day for anyone. There are a few restaurants there, but check for prices first- it could be expensive. Try to make your way uphill along the route as far as you can before 6pm. Once the fires start, gradually make your way down and head to the station not long after you've seen a few of the big torches carried by the young men of the town. It is possible to stay for more, but with kids this is about all you can hope for. I was saying to B that if I were young and single it might be fun to stay until the last train or even all night, but leaving at 7 or so would be best for the kids. Good luck to any who want to try this. I certainly thought it was worth it, but it made for a killer day.

Kurama Fire Matsuri

Okay- so this should be exciting. I'm going to try to see the Kurama Fire festival with all three kids by myself. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll include some information below, but be warned- it is by all accounts a crazy and crowded matsuri. Wish me luck!
the url:
http://www.kyotoguide.com/ver2/thismonth/event-oct.html
the link:

Hiking in Kyoto

One of our favorite things to do is to go hiking and there is no better time and place than fall in Kyoto. This is the first of periodic postings about various hikes we like.
Along the Kiyotaki river:
This is a great place to play in the water and I mentioned it in my earlier post on beating the heat. The hike has several options for starting and finishing depending on convenience and how far you want to go. Basically, the hike follows the river from Takao through Kiyotaki to Ochiai, where it meets the Katsura river. Here is one option: Take a JR bus to Takao (leaving from the Kyoto station with a stop at the Nijo station-I also hear city bus #8 will work ), hike down the river until it reaches the Katsura river (about 5k). Just before it reaches the Katsura river the trail goes uphill to a road. It is possible to take that road back to Arashiyama (about 5km from that point) or continue across a bridge and through a tunnel along that road to the JR Hozu river station that can take you back to Arashiyama or Kyoto station. (First you will come to the Torokko station that only goes to Arashiyama- the regular station is further down the road.) You can also start at Kiyotaki for a shorter trip (about 2k until it meets the Katsura river). City buses 62 and 72 go to Kiyotaki and leave from Kyoto station and also from right in front of the Arashiyama city train.
Another great hike leaves from Kiyotaki and goes up Mt. Atago from there.

More cultural activities

So we went to the Zuiki matsuri and I must say it was one of my favorite matsuri I've been to. We watched it in the Kamishichiken area along with some Kyoto maiko. It was also nice to be so close to the procession. I'll try to post some photos from it soon. We also participated in a local matsuri at E's school. This is E at the matsuri. That was fun and we got to carry the mikkoshi. We are looking forward to the Kurama fire festival on the 22nd of October. That afternoon is also the Jidai festival- one of Kyoto's biggest. We'll see if we can make it to both, but if we had to choose we'll go to the Kurama one. Kurama is one of our favorite places in Kyoto- a great place to hike and get out of the city. The fall is beautiful up there.

Cultural activities

So every so often we like to go out and do something cultural in this very cultural city. That said, we'd been here over a month before we even went to a single temple. One highlight so far has been the Moon viewing festivals for Jugoya. On the actual Jugoya we went to a local shrine- the Hirano Jinja to see the lanterns, look for the moon through the clouds and listen to some really nice koto music. The kids were pretty good and since it was an outdoor performance as long as they weren't too loud they could wander around while we listened. Our oldest said it was not quite happy music and not quite sad music, but that it made you think of long ago. I don't think I could have said it better myself. The shrine was really beautiful all lit up at night. We also went to the moon viewing in Daikakuji. This lasts for three days so we thought we could see two. It was a very long bike ride from our home to Arashiyama- longer than we expected. But even E was good natured about it. Once there the shrine was really nice and they had some food available in stalls on the grounds- we had some mochi treats. For a fee we could have ridden a boat on the pond while drinking tea. That would have been nice, but not really kid friendly. Again there was some nice music including some classical chamber music. On the way home we saw a film crew at a nearby lake filming a night-time flood scene. I wonder what that was about?
We have also tried Tenjin-san. This is the monthly flea market at Kitano Tenmangu. Getting there early is definitely advisable. The kids enjoyed the matsuri food in the stalls and looking at the interesting wares for sale. They were especially intrigued by the games where you can win toys.
This week there is the Zuiki matsuri (festival) at Kitano Tenmangu. E has been learning about it in school and has even been on a field trip to see them harvesting the zuiki (taro stalks) for the portable shrines. I'll let you know how it goes.

Kid friendly food in Kyoto

Okay, so what to do for food when you have three kids.
Well, you can see what you can make at home with the ingredients from a standard Japanese supermarket, but sometimes kids just want a comfort food from home. Our kids like cereal and while we can't easily get the standards from the west we make do with Japanese ones. The most common kids of cereal are the flake variety. Cisco flakes are available at most grocery stores: regular, frosted, chocolate and more rarely caramel. Look for the big blue box with a cartoon kid and sometimes a dog(and if it doesn't say "BIG" on it then its probably too small). Oatmeal is sometimes nice if your kids like that sort of thing. The best place to get it is the YWCA on Muromachi north of Marutamachi. They also have a small selection of other things like cheeses and whole wheat as well as free trade coffee. Some grocery stores even have Skippy peanut butter. They also have a peanut cream (probably more sugar than peanut, but it tastes good) available in most grocery store by the jams.
Import food stores include Meidi-ya (on Sanjo east of Kawaramachi- a little expensive) Jupiter on the east side of the underground mall below the Kyoto station and Yamaya (there is one on Karasuma just south of Oike- mostly alcohol but some food items and relatively economical). I have also seen one north on Kawaramachi just below Imadegawa, but I haven't been to that one. There is also the "Foreign Buyers Club" a great online ordering service. Here is the URL:
http://www.fbcusa.com/cs/index.php

Here is a link to another blog with a bigger list:
http://www.deepkyoto.com/?p=63

and here is another post on deepkyoto about food:
http://www.deepkyoto.com/?p=47

What about going out to eat?
There are always the ubiquitous burger joints like Makudo (MacDonalds) and so forth, but one of our favorite kid treats is Shakeys Pizza, an all-you-can-eat Pizza place on Sanjo where Teramachi and Shinkyogoku shopping arcades meet. You pay up front and it is REALLY reasonable, especially for kids. You can also make requests- like just plain cheese. Some of the unusual Japanese style pizzas get a chuckle out of the kids, even if they won't try say ... corn squid mayo pizza. Some of the all you can eat Obanzai (Kyoto homestyle cooking) places are decently kid friendly and kids can choose what they want to eat. There is an expensive one underneath the station, but it is really good. A good bargain is the Obanzai place north west of the Oike Karasuma subway station. Go maybe two blocks west on Oike and head north for a block or two. It will be on the right. (It is a little hard to find though.) There is another one (Obanzai Hasegawa) on Sanjo between Teramachi and Karasuma on the south side of the street (to be more precise, between the Museum of Kyoto and the YMCA). We'll try to add more food stuff as we discover it. Please feel free to add anything you discover too.

Beating the summer heat

By now it seems that the record breaking summer is just about over- Thank goodness! But for those who might be in other nasty Kyoto summers here are some things we found that helped. Of course there are the ubiquitous vending machines, but we wanted something to do to get out of it. Going to the library was nice and air conditioned, there is a decent selection of English childrens books and a few young adult chapter books at the Central Library on Marutamachi just west of Senbon. There are also several "Jidokan" or childrens centers around the city. These offer indoor play areas for kids of all ages, though perhaps younger kids would find them most enjoyable. Look for the ones in your area. The best is the Kodomo miraikan, a block or two south of Marutamachi and a block or two east of Karasuma.
Here is a link and the url:
http://www.kodomomirai.or.jp/child/miraikantop.html

This is again mostly oriented toward younger kids, but great in both the heat and cold.
Now for the outdoors...
The first thing we did was played in the Kamogawa. This is nice, especially near Demachiyanagi where the river splits. We played a little south from there, but next time would choose to go to the Demachiyanagi area. Our best experience so far was to go play in the river at Kiyotaki. This is clearer and cooler than the Kamogawa and a lot of fun. Take the train- either JR or Randen (a fun experience for kids by itself) to Arashiyama and get on the bus for Kiyotaki just across the street from the Randen station. (The Randen is 200 y for adults and the bus is 220. Elementary kids are half and younger than that are free.) when you get off the bus at Kiyotaki go down the hill until you reach the bridge. Chances are there will be a lot of people playing- find a spot and have fun. This does require you to be close to your kids because it gets deep in places and the stream is pretty fast. The water though is clear and really cool. On the way back we walked downhill from Torii no moto (I think) through the backstreets and into Arashiyama for ice cream. One of the best Gelato places in the world is right there near the Togetsu bridge.
There were other things we wanted to do, but by the time J's thumb healed, most outdoor pools were closed. (Outdoor pools tend to close by the end of August.) There are good public pools in Kameoka and an especially good looking one in Fushimi Minato park. This is not a great site, but will give you an address.
Again, a link and the URL:
http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en/theme/activities/activity/natural/m_p_fushimi/

Here at least you can see pictures:

http://www.kyoto-park.or.jp/fushimi/guide/index.html

Now as I said, we did not visit either of these places, but wanted to. There are a few others too, but those stood out.