Hot and and a tiny bit bothered in Kyoto Part 2

After we left the shrine we headed to the Botantical Gardens. We had quickly figured out the bus system. This was a blessing but in equal measure the heat was getting more intense and harder to deal with. The Garden is described as the most comprehensive public botanical garden in Japan. The large sign going in stated it was a beautification enforcement area, this worried me. What if I wasn’t beautified enough? I was a stinky, sweaty mess-what fate awaited me…..

The visit to the Gardens also provided Pete with the opportunity to pose!

We passed water lilies and lotus blossoms. The lotus blossom has many different meanings in Japan, white ones symbolise purity and devotion. Also linked to ascension, it is revered in Japan for it’s ability to rise from dirty, murky waters and blossom into a beautiful flower, making it so important for Buddhists. But then my brain is whirring because how did such a beautiful flower then involve women having their feet bound. Although Japan had strong links with China (not all good) I don’t think this practice happened here.

The Gardens had the obligatory pond with carp in but looking more closely I saw lots of swimming turtles. Watching them move reminded me of my swimming technique, a bit funny looking but effective. A Japanese family gave us some food to feed them with, Pete said the food looked to nice to share with them! Anyway it was really lovely of the family to share. The turtles didn’t have a chance, each time something was thrown in the carp pushed them away, dive bombed them etc. They were so cute but a tiny bit clueless!

It was quite sweltering but the Gardens gave us quite a bit of shade and added to that I quite liked the water sprinklers. It was fantastic!

We hopped on another bus and eventually found our way to Nishiki Market. I had particularly wanted to visit the market because I had heard how vibrant it is.

A narrow passageway that goes through five blocks with up to 100 shops and places to eat makes this area of Kyoto very lively and exciting. There were lots of free things to try, giving us a better idea of some of Kyoto’s specialities. The area has a long history with in fact the first shop opening it’s doors in 1310. Many of the shops have been run within families for generations, and linked to that is a pride in this history, with notices testifying to how long they have operated in this area.

Shop assistants vie for trade calling you over, the smells either attract you or at times for us repelled us. But nevertheless the place had ‘pulling power’. Drums were filled with all many of pickles, most of them coming from locally sourced fruit and vegetables. Aubergines covered in salt, ginger pickles etc.

Cucumbers on a stick looked like a great idea!

The place was a buzz with activity but it was also a place that very much highlighted how hard it is to be vegetarian in Japan.

All around people were eating skewered food, under the instruction from the store owners that any food bought must be eaten next to their stall. This made it hard to pass the most popular places. One of the most popular culinary delicacies was the baby octopus on skewers.

Some stall holders had gone one step further and had stuffed them with quail’s eggs. Baffling that it was possible to stuff a baby octopus but also very much stomach churning for us. These are called tako tamago, they are candied too, so an even odder combination of sweet and salty.

They even had sparrows on skewers to chomp through. All of this was very alien to us but there were many happy faces with different types of skewered food being eaten. To be honest eons ago I went to Warrington Market and they were selling udder, boiled and sliced to your preference, so my feelings of queasyness are not limited to ‘abroad’.

Initially we had headed to the market with the intention of getting something cheap and tasty to eat but to be honest we were a bit overwhelmed in terms of what we could or couldn’t eat. It really wasn’t bad and it was lovely to lured into a store with a bowl of iced tea! Then to sample dried strawberries, different nuts, rice with toasted sesame seed toppings etc.

Also these muscles were the size of a small baby and could have fed a family of 6 for a week!