43

Higashiyama

k intro

 

Seeing as it was my birthday this week I thought why not live dangerously and do what every tourist who comes to Japan does – visit Kyoto and make a beeline for its famous pretty bits.

Crazy right? If you’ve been following for a while, you’ll know this project is all about the ‘unfamous’ and having to search for beauty (well, okay, the Marais in Paris wasn’t exactly a challenge, nor Trastevere in Rome, but otherwise…).

It started well with a fun trip on the shinkansen, AKA bullet train, but I had a minor wobble as soon as we arrived when I spied the crowds of tourists and, yes, queues. I am not good at queues.

But it turned out that 99% of the tourists were Japanese. And call me something or other but I don’t mind hanging out with other tourists if they’re from their own country. Then it’s more like observing locals at play.

Oh, whatever. It was weird doing the ‘famous’ but it felt even more odd not to see it and not to show you.

The only real hiccup was that having decided to play tourist, I didn’t actually act like one – I was hopelessly under-researched and had no Top Ten list in my back pocket. Instead, we did what we normally do – chose one area to explore and no more. As a result, this is very much, here’s one part of Kyoto with a few shots of Japan’s most famous temple from another part thrown in.

I hope you enjoy our two-and-a-half-days-in-Kyoto-but-it-looks-like-one tour…

 

Part 1: Day two – the morning

First there was the train. Well, more like a plane really. Travelling at 300km an hour, the Nozomi shinkansen 700 series delivered us from edgy Tokyo to ancient Kyoto in just under 2.5 hours.

 

 

this is your captain speaking - the shinkansen

this is your captain speaking – the Nozomi shinkansen

 

 

 

 

just landed - arriving at Kyoto Station

just landed – arriving at Kyoto

 

 

 

 

travel back in time at 300 miles an hour

travel back in time at 300 km an hour

 

 

 

 

from Tokyo's man-made mountains to Kyoto's high-rise

from Tokyo’s man-made mountains to Kyoto’s high-rise

 

 

 

 

2. Day one – the afternoon

All year we’ve rented apartments. Most fine, a couple great, one woeful (when the cockroaches started walking across my computer it was time to go).

But we were only going to be staying in Kyoto for two nights and, you know, it was my birthday. So I managed to wrangle a swish hotel room for the two nights at ‘media rates’.

The hotel, the Hyatt Regency, was beautiful and really, who doesn’t love having their bed and breakfast made for them. But what made it extra special was that they organised for us to hang out with Tsubo-san. Job description – driver. But as I said, we didn’t do much dashing around. Instead Tsubo-san walked around with us for the afternoon, playing games with Coco at the same time as enlightening me about all things Japanese.

We spent most of the afternoon visiting Kiyomizudera Temple in Higashiyama, the old part of Kyoto. Just us and a zillion Japanese, keen to see the autumn leaves before they took to the ground.

 

 

crowded Kyoto - last chance to see the autumn leaves :: 1

crowded Kyoto – last chance to see the autumn leaves :: 1

 

 

 

 

crowded Kyoto - last chance to see the autumn leaves :: 2

crowded Kyoto – last chance to see the autumn leaves :: 2

 

 

 

 

crowded Kyoto - last chance to see the autumn leaves :: 3

crowded Kyoto – last chance to see the autumn leaves :: 3

 

 

 

 

Subo-san and Coco

Tsubo-san and Coco

 

 

 

 

After Kiyomizudera Temple we headed north to Kinkaku, the Golden Pavillion, also known as Rokuon-ji Temple. But with night falling as well as rain – and Coco tired and cold – we only stayed for a second. Just long enough to wonder how much the pure gold foil that covers the top two stories must be worth.

 

 

Kinkaku-ji in the rain

Kinkaku in the rain

 

 

 

 

Kyōko-chi  - mirror pond

Kyōko-chi – mirror pond

 

 

 

 

Part 3: Day two – Gion

Aside from being peak Momiji-gari (autumn leaf viewing time), it also seemed to be peak wedding shots time in Gion, the famous geiko (geisha) district that’s part of Higashiyama.

Tsubo-san had told us about the white wedding hat women traditionally wear the day before. So when we pitched up in Gion and spied 26 year old Asami in her wataboshi, we knew why she was wearing a large white envelope-type covering over her head. Because she had horns – all women do – and she needed to hide them.

 

 

pre-wedding photography session in Gion

pre-wedding photography session in Gion

 

 

 

 

a little to the left please

a little to the left please

 

 

 

 

Asami

Asami

 

 

 

 

an iconic shape - the fan

an iconic shape – the fan

 

 

 

 

Being kimono mad, I loved the wedding version. But I really love the head gear. When the photographer’s assistant helped Asami take it off, I spied the mechanics – the white material is held up by a simple wire structure that fits around the head like a halo.

Thanking the couple and the photographer – who was patient enough to have me shoot around him for a few minutes – we wandered off. Then around half an hour later, to their horror I’m sure, we ran into them again – there’d been a ‘costume change’…

 

 

umbrellas

umbrellas

 

 

 

 

like dolls

like dolls

 

 

 

 

After leaving them for the final time we met several other wedding couples, all dressed in their finery. Kyoto was clearly the city of lurve.

 

 

city of love

city of love

 

 

 

 

Part 4: Day two – Geisha dress-up

There’s one street in Higashiyama where people hang around in the hope of seeing a real geisha (called geiko in Kyoto, or maiko if they’ve got their L plates on) fly into a taxi or nip into a restaurant.

But knowing it was hit and miss and with so little time, I didn’t even try. And really, I was almost just as happy snapping the ‘geisha tourists’ – Japanese women who generally were spending just a day in Kyoto, paying up to 10,000 yen (around AUD$120) to be made up and dressed in geisha style.

Like the woman below, whose name I couldn’t get because I had precisely two seconds to shoot her before she was dragged off by her small team – I assume they get a lot of people mistaking them for the real thing and they’re over being bothered.

 

 

tourist geisha

tourist geisha

 

 

 

 

With Yuika and her friend, Hitomi, I had a few minutes more before their two assistants ushered them off.

 

 

visiting from Tokyo to play dress up - Yuika

visiting from Tokyo to play dress up – Yuika

 

 

 

 

last light

last light

 

 

 

 

setting sun

setting sun

 

 

 

 

On our last morning we met the sweetest geisha tourists, Emi and Kazumi, who’d left their home town in the early hours of the morning and had travelled five hours in a bus to get to Kyoto just for the day. Why? “It feels very good to wear traditional Japanese dress.”

Unlike the others, they didn’t have any assertive assistants hanging around them. They were quite happy wandering around by themselves, taking their own snaps.

 

 

"We left our home town at 3am and travelled 5 hours in a bus to get here" - Emi and Kazumi

“It feels good” – Emi and Kazumi

 

 

 

 

patchwork

patchwork

 

 

 

 

The Wrap

Short and sweet though it was, I loved our few days in the ancient capital. I know there are those who criticise the Japanese government for not keeping more of old Kyoto – aside from a few other famous bits, Higashiyama is really it – but at least they kept what they did. It was enough to provide a break from full-tilt Tokyo.

Many thanks to the Hyatt Regency too, not only for providing a lovely room in a very stylish hotel, but for introducing us to Tsubo-san, a lovely man with a great sense of mischief and a mind full of fascinating facts.

But it was quick. So much so that when we got back, Coco told me she thought Kyoto seemed like a dream.

 

 

'mum, Kyoto seems like a dream'

‘mum, Kyoto seems like a dream’

 

 

 

 

I’m not so sure though – even if we’d stayed much longer, it might still seem like a dream. Especially during Momiji-gari.

 

 

mesmerised, again - Coco in the hotel room

mesmerised, again – Coco in the hotel room

 

 

 

 

On the home front

Dream or not, it was a lovely way to celebrate a birthday – although my actual birthday was spent back in Tokyo, wandering around Shimokitazawa again and eating cheap but excellent Indian at Spicia.

Now, the next post is going to be an even shorter one and it’s going to be very soon! Like tomorrow or so. Just that I have nine more neighbourhoods/suburbs to do and not that many weeks before I’ve got to get Coco back home and into school.

And yes, there’s that small thing called a budget too. It’s getting smaller by the minute.

This suburb has been brought to you by Anna Capron

See you very soon.

 

33

Lower East Side

LES intro

 

After the highs of the last few neighbourhoods, I came down with a thud this week.

Zero energy and worse, zip curiosity – all my life I’ve been curious and keen to turn a corner, but suddenly I felt like all I wanted to see were the insides of my eyeballs.

Not surprising – we’ve been travelling for nine months without a break – but not helpful either.

So I decided to compromise. I’d take it easy and explore somewhere close.

We’re staying in an apartment in the West Village so close could mean a number of places. Definitely not the West Village though – it’s still charming but just not very interesting – but the Lower East Side, that could work. Manhattan may have lost its edge but as someone we met said, “Yeah, but we still got the Lower East Side”.

‘Suburb’ No 33 decided.

Some facts… The Lower East Side (LES) – which is the bit south of East Houston and north of East Broadway and Canal Street – is important historically because it was the first home immigrants knew, beginning with the Irish, Germans and East European Jews in the 1840s, to the Italians in the 1890s and then the Puerto Ricans and Dominicans in the 1940-50s. The latest waves have been the Chinese from 1965 and the hipsters more recently.

Let’s amble. Slowly if that’s alright with you.

 

Part 1: From the past to the present

As I mentioned, the LES is getting more hipsterish by the day. But was there more to it than just the cool cafes, boutiques and art galleries? Was there still a ‘neighbourhood’?

In the 1840s there definitely was a neighbourhood. But it was one that was filled with thousands of people per square mile, all desperately trying to pursue the ‘American Dream’ while crammed into dark, noisy, dirty tenement buildings without electricity, water or loos…

 

 

now there's AC but back then there wasn't even any electricity - or water or loos - in the tenements

now there’s AC but back then there wasn’t even any electricity – or water or loos – in the tenements

 

 

 

 

Ridley's was a big department store in the petticoat era

Ridley’s was a big department store in the petticoat era

 

 

 

 

Despite the bad conditions, Eastern European Jews in particular thrived in the LES. They lived in the tenements and set up shop down below, stitching and silversmithing their way to a better life. And in 1886 they put their stamp on the place forever by building a magnificent shul, the Eldridge Street Synagogue.

 

 

same vintage - the synagogue and the pushcarts

same vintage – the synagogue and the pushcarts

 

 

 

 

You’re seeing the Eldridge Street Synagogue at its best, at the end of a 20 year restoration. When I first laid eyes on it, I imagined how thrilled the local Jewish community must be, to have it as their shul. But when I visited it on Saturday, their day of prayer, I was stunned at how few were there – orthodox Jews still live on the LES but there are relatively few compared to 100 years ago.

 

 

Eldridge Street Synagogue, restored to its 1887 glory

Eldridge Street Synagogue, restored to its 1887 glory

 

 

 

 

Joseph, one of just a handful attending the synagogue

Joseph, one of just a handful attending the synagogue

 

 

 

 

John Safran's cousin?

John Safran’s cousin?

 

 

 

 

Part 2: Jewish life on the LES

Having discovered the Eldridge Street Synagogue I was keen to explore the rest of the Jewish LES. So I headed to Orchard Street, knowing that this was where many of the Eastern European Jewish immigrants had worked 14 hour days to buy small shops and establish the area as a bargain mecca.

Well, that was then and this was now – there’s hardly any more Jewish shops left on Orchard Street. I read later that as late as the 1960s, the eight blocks on Orchard Street between East Houston and Divsion Street were filled with Jewish owned shops, selling everything from fabrics to luggage.

Thankfully though the neighbourhood still has Samuel Gluck, owner of Global International Mens Clothiers. Business may not be brisk but Sam isn’t going down without a fight – in the short time we were there he corralled two guys who just happened to be walking by to slip on a jacket or two. This is a man who hustles while he waits.

 

 

one of the last - No 62 Orchard has been here almost 60 years

one of the last – No 62 Orchard has been here almost 60 years

 

 

 

 

Sam’s father arrived in NY in 1945 from Romania with nothing but managed to start up the business and thrive – so far it’s been going for almost 60 years. But the last decade especially has seen massive change in the area.

Given the changing population of the LES – from Orthodox Jews to hipsters and the Chinese – Sam is doing what he can to adapt.

 

 

'Now I tuck my curls behind my ears to blend in more'

‘I tuck my curls behind my ears to blend in more’

 

 

 

 

Hey Sam, I need a new suit for tonight, can you organise it?

Hey Sam, I need a new suit for tonight, can you organise it?

 

 

 

 

Leaving Sam to scout the street for more potential customers, I continued my search for other remnants of the Jewish LES. Not surprisingly, it’s the Jewish food businesses that are far from struggling – the Jewish like their nosh.

 

 

there were no sons

there were no sons

 

 

 

 

sacrosanct in Jewish life - bagels and the Torah

sacrosanct in Jewish life – bagels and the Torah

 

 

 

 

Still, they now have to compete with all the Chinese offerings.

 

 

knishes or noodles - take your pick

knishes or noodles?

 

 

 

 

But not with the ‘Cup & Saucer Luncheonette’ on Eldridge Street. This place is all but washed up.

 

 

the Cup & Saucer Luncheonette is all but washed up

the Cup & Saucer Luncheonette is all but washed up

 

 

 

 

Part 3: The Buddhists of the LES

I read that the Puerto Ricans and Dominicans are the latest immigrants to arrive in the LES. But I think maybe they must be in the East Village rather than the LES because I didn’t really notice them so much. To me the LES is really about the Jewish and the Chinese.

While most Chinese of course hang around in neighbouring Chinatown, they’ve also in recent years strayed into the LES. Eldridge Street, for example, where the Cup & Saucer Luncheonette is still hanging on for dear life, is now very Chinese – there’s a Buddhist ‘temple’ just one door down from the Eldridge Street Synagogue.

I only discovered this by stumbling on it after I’d left the synagogue that Saturday morning. From one lot of faithful to another, albeit a very different one.

 

 

the far East vs Eastern Europe - the Buddhist temple and the synagogue

the far East vs Eastern Europe – the Buddhist temple and the synagogue

 

 

 

 

the Buddhist abbot

the Buddhist abbot

 

 

 

 

honouring their ancestors

honouring their ancestors

 

 

 

 

men in robes

men in robes

 

 

 

 

I obviously tried the Abbot’s patience because a moment after I took the shot above he turned on his heel and went inside to get another Buddhist monk to come out and ‘heavy’ me. Very surreal, being eyeballed by a black African Buddhist who wasn’t having any of my backchat. He was right, I had stayed long enough, but still, it seemed so un-Buddhist.

 

 

swish

swish

 

 

 

 

Part 4: The Chinese

I find the mix of Jewish and Chinese in the LES particularly interesting – while they seem so different, they’ve both successfully transplanted their rich cultural practices all over the world.

 

 

the different faces of the LES - Jewish, Chinese, American

the different faces of the LES – Jewish, Chinese, American

 

 

 

 

foreign neighbours

foreign neighbours

 

 

 

 

Walking along Division Street, I noticed a woman burning a whole load of papers near a stool piled high with dumplings and incense. She was performing a ceremony to pay her respects to someone who died. It was right outside a shop where they were making those 3D paper models that we’d seen in Hong Kong that would later be burnt to ensure a good afterlife.

It didn’t matter that she wasn’t somewhere tranquil or grander than a street somewhere in NYC. This was her culture and she’d practice it wherever.

 

 

smoke and fire on the Lower East Side - paying respects

smoke and fire on the Lower East Side – paying respects

 

 

 

 

It was the same as the Jews – they’d transplanted their culture all the way from Eastern Europe to an entirely foreign land and made it work.

 

 

 

both involve fire and prayer

both involve fire and prayer

 

 

 

 

doorways into different worlds

doorways into different worlds

 

 

 

 

Part 5: The latest wave to arrive on the LES – the hipsters

Okay, they’re not exactly immigrants but they do have their own culture. Fortunately for older neighbourhoods like the LES it usually involves recycling vintage spaces into cafes and galleries rather than knocking them down altogether.

Unfortunately though, for the Chinese, the hipsters seem to be inadvertently pushing some of them out by pushing the rents up – I read about a building on Delancey where the long-term Chinese residents hated the hipsters for paying the higher rents and thereby endangering their affordable ones. 

 

 

the latest wave to hit the LES after the Chinese - the hipsters :: 1

the latest wave to hit the LES after the Chinese – the hipsters :: 1

 

 

 

 

the latest wave to hit the LES after the Chinese - the hipsters :: 2

the latest wave to hit the LES after the Chinese – the hipsters :: 2

 

 

 

 

recycled shirt shop - now a gallery

recycled shirt shop – now a gallery

 

 

 

 

Part 6: A little on the wild side

Starting with this one – note the gentleman on the left, a new cross-breed – the Chinese hipster.

 

 

Lower East wild Side - the dragon and the leopard

Lower East wild Side – the dragon and the leopard

 

 

 

 

Then there’s Shaggy, a curious canine we met on Clinton Street.

 

 

not only does Shaggy wear shoes

not only does Shaggy wear shoes

 

 

 

 

he also has a cap

he also has a cap

 

 

 

 

I'm guessing Shaggy doesn't eat dog food either

I’m guessing Shaggy doesn’t eat dog food either

 

 

 

 

And finally, two lions.

 

raaa! Shadow, you don't scare me

raaa! Shadow, you don’t scare me

 

 

 

 

Part 7: So is there a neighbourhood in the neighbourhood?

Probably not compared to the closely-knit, highly inter-dependent ones that have inhabited the LES over the last 200 years. But relative to other areas, I think so. I saw signs of it on benches that shop owners put out for the Puerto Rican oldies to pass their time on. On shared steps where people waited for their laundry.

 

 

a hat wearer from way back - Carlos

a hat wearer from way back – Carlos

 

 

 

 

proudly Puerto Rican - Carlos, chewing the fat with Luis

proudly Puerto Rican – Carlos, chewing the fat with Luis

 

 

 

 

waiting for laundry on Broome - Davi and Kumi

waiting for laundry on Broome – Davi and Kumi

 

 

 

 

And in the way the various groups work hard to keep their cultures alive, from the Jews and Chinese to the South Americans.

 

 

keeping different heritages alive

keeping different heritages alive

 

 

 

 

Speaking of Jewish tradition, I learned two new things this week – even if only your mother’s mother’s mother was Jewish, you’re Jewish, and that right now, Jews are celebrating their new year – L’shana Tova!

 

 

'even if only your mother's mother's mother was Jewish, you're Jewish'

‘even if only your mother’s mother’s mother was Jewish, you’re Jewish’

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year - may it be a sweet one

Happy New Year – may it be a sweet one

 

 

 

 

The Wrap

Despite my lack of energy this week, I enjoyed meandering around the LES. I so wish time-machines existed so I could hop in one and travel back to see just how crowded and crazy the neighbourhood used to be. Still, I feel grateful that I saw it when I did – who knows how long those last remnants of the past will be able to hang on for.

 

 

 

from east to west - Coco looking west over the Hudson

from east to west – Coco looking west over the Hudson

 

 

 

On the ‘home front’

As I said, I hit the wall this week – and Coco wasn’t helping. She loves NY but she also loves to regularly remind me what she’s missing: “I miss my friends, my family, my cats and my home.” I can’t argue with her – I miss all those too (especially the cat who is no longer – still haven’t told Coco). As amazing as this project has been and still is, it’s been the longest year – ever. Seriously, I feel like we’ve been away for years. And I’m running a month late so the earliest we’ll be home is late January!

To give us both a boost, Coco and I took the day off and went ‘out’ last Tuesday. We ate sushi and gluten-free cupcakes (Babycakes). We read books at my favourite bookstore in NY (Rizzoli). We broke my cardinal rule of not spending a cent on anything unnecessary and bought ‘stuff’ – me, MAC make-up (because in my fantasy world, I have the time and the patience to fiddle with all that), Coco, a pair of shiny black shoes (because in the real world she’s developed a love of everything fashion – she’s going to be an expensive teenager I can just tell).

We had fun. Except all that retail therapy made me even more worried about money than I already am. Oy vey!

This suburb has been brought to you by @JasonCupitt

 —

See you next Monday-ish.

 

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