住めば(京)都: Enter July. Enter bargain season!

So the first month of the CLS program has ended (technically it ends around the 13th, but who's counting).

It's July now. That means that the rainy season has ended and the dreaded heat wave known as summer in Kyoto has begun. Honestly, the rainy season really didn't amount to much, or at least not after I arrived. It rained for maybe a few days and then got humid immediately. They said that the rainy season ended early this year, especially more south in areas like Kyushu.
Kyushu was also early on another aspect of Kyoto summer--bargain season! I don't really know why, but most stores seem to have sales during this period. And by most I mean all! If you enter a shopping mall, you will inevitably hear lots of yelling as store clerks must constantly shout that their store is having a time sales and that all/most items are at least 10% off, even though there are obviously signs and this is the most literate country I know. I also wonder if there are some stores that don't want to have a sale, but have no choice. Like, they are just fine with selling their items at the at the price they are, and don't want to lose money by marking their items down, but since it is bargain season they are expected to or something.

These were the thoughts I found myself thinking as I wandered in and out of the underground shops after exiting the subway. Today my peer tutor and I went to Kyoto's National Art Museum to see an exhibition by the Dutch painter, Vermeer. He is the mastermind behind the "Girl with the Pearl Earring", and the like.

Thanks Wikipedia!

Japanese people like their art museums! I'm sure that is not really surprising, but they are willing to pay more to see art than America I think. While abstract art is really not my thing, realism is pretty awesome when it's spot-on like Vermeer's works. I am certainly not an art-critic by any means though... so back to the content!

Yesterday some of my friends and I went to a nearby shrine, Shokokuji. And by nearby, I mean directly adjacent to and almost touching our university. I think that is pretty rare for Japan, in spite of how crowded it can get. What is also rare is a nearly empty shrine--especially for the size of Shokokuji. There was also a museum featuring Ukiyo-e paintings, although it was rather expensive, even for college students. The shrine itself was so expansive with gardens, a small pond and wooded areas that a museum wasn't even necessary. But alas, I did not take my camera this time, so no eye-candy this time. Maybe I will go again in the future, or maybe I will investigate the Imperial Palace grounds, which are to the University, and apparently people can enter the palace itself.

Cultural tip: If you ever find yourself visiting a shrine in Japan, the correct was to greet the gods is to toss a coin(s) into the box, ring the bell, clap twice, bow twice, clap again and pray. This comes, of course, after you have purified yourself by taking a ladle and pouring pure water over your left hand, then your right hand, then maybe washing out your mouth. And then you put your left foot in, and your left foot out, and your left foot and you shake it all about--please don't actually do this last part, as the Japanese will be very upset.

Wednesday for a cultural trip, we went to a lacquer-painting place in Kyoto, and we decorating some not-so lacquery-plastic ware. Either way, I was satisfied, since prior to that I had gone to my tutor's club's art exhibition in Kyoto, and felt like I wanted to paint something afterwards. Kyoto is truly the haven of art in Japan. And temples and shrines. On that prior day, my tutor and I were wandering around Shijo, which is interesting for its various shops (including nishiki, which was the responsible for the smelly fish and octopus lollies) and happened to come across a shrine in the middle of all of these stores. We entered it just like any other store. Rather bizarre, but somehow it fit in really well.

Anyways, after the faux-lacquer painting excursion ended, we were free to go off on our own. I happened to be right next to the shopping area, so I decided to return to try and find a store I had gone to the week before. And as I wandered aimlessly, I was Englished ([ing-glish'd] verb- to approach with an English greeting, question, or remark in an impromptu attempt to practice English conversation. Also see accost.)
It kind of started like this:
Guy: It is hot!
Me: Oh yeah, it is hot.
.........

And it ended with him leading me to the store I was looking for (or at least halfway to where I wanted to be) and me getting his business card.
Basically, he works at a restaurant and wanted to practice English since he uses it a lot there.
He was pretty nice. I regret not giving him something (I completely forgot the small souvenir magnet, etc. that I keep in my wallet)... I should probably still repay him...

Well, as in previous fashion I will post some photos here now, as I have run out of things to talk about.

Heian Jingu! I went there a couple of weeks ago but didn't post any pictures. In spite of what I said about temples being crowded, this one looks pretty empty for a weekend. This is the outside..

Here is the inside!

Here is also the inside!

(One week later... at a different shrine...)

Here is a traditional Shinto-style wedding! Only close relatives are invited, but it seems as though we were also allowed to crash the party

Jinrikusha. I hope the bride got to ride one of these after the ceremony was over.

This place is a so-called 'power spot' meaning people come here for spiritual rejuvenation. It is not actually a traditional concept, since, believe it or not, the words power and spot are borrowed from English.