ALT Soccer Tournament

Couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend. A beautiful drive up into the mountains, 5 soccer games, a BBQ, a quiz show, a dance party, and so many cool people.

After our sole win. 1-0. I scored the goal :)

Day 2. Game Face.

Day 2. How we really felt.

We may have finished last, but I still feel like a champ. It's the most fun I've had in Japan so far. 

Kyoto

First stop was Todaji Temple in Nara. It's the biggest Buddhist structure in the world. And boy was it massive. It made the White House look like a home for dwarves. Inside there was an equally massive statue of Buddha. The temple grounds were also extensive. We walked around for hours taking in the sites and feeding the friendly deer.




At the temple they were doing a traditional tea ceremony. The women were all wearing kimonos which look a tad uncomfortable. Before setting the cup in front of you the server would rotate it 360 degrees. This is so that you appreciate the beauty of the cup.

From there we hiked to the top of mountain that led to this scenic view of Nara.









The next day we went to what turned out to be my favorite temple, Ginkakuji. Ginkakuji means silver in Japanese, but the temple isn't silver. It's a very simple brown and white temple overlooking a pond with beautiful Japanese foliage surrounding it. As with most of the temples on this trip, I enjoyed the temple grounds more than the temple itself. We walked passed zen style raked gravel and through a forest trail. And a lucky coin tossed earned me a wish granted. We shall see.

Next was Kiyomizu, a temple on top of a mountain. It had several towers and pagodas with bamboo cross-hatched roofs.

It also had a hidden orange tower further in.

Nijojo Castle was built for the Shogunate in the 1500s. The castle itself was simple and sparse. The wooden floors creaked on purpose so that the ninjas would be able to hear any intruders. The grounds and gardens were more alluring to me than the castle itself. Especially the lily pad covered pond with a small waterfall. 

Afterwards, Mark and I headed to the Japanese Manga Museum (comic books). It was a bit disappointing; it was mostly a large library. There were a few exhibits upstairs including one that was casts of the artists' hands and the different ways they hold a pencil. 

This is the curtain. No photos allowed otherwise.

I had the brilliant idea of spending the afternoon watching a geisha performance. I'm afraid no one really enjoyed it except for me. Though I have to admit the first half was a bit hard to stay awake for (we were all a bit sleep deprived). It was a play and of course we didn't understand most of it. But apparently neither did our Japanese companions. The 2nd half was more of what I had expected. A lot of dancing and singing and a lot less dialogue. 

Dinner was at the Ninja Restaurant. I expected it to be corny but enjoyable. But it was so much more. We were led through a cavernous maze to our table by a ninja performing tricks. The table was in an alcove and it was tricky finding the way to the bathroom. Our ninja waiter brought a 7 course set menu of delicious food, including an appetizer of edible ninja stars. The best part was when the ninja magician came. Again I was expecting some lame but entertaining tricks. But he was amazing! Some of the best magic I've ever seen. He even slowed down some of his tricks and I still couldn't tell how he did it.  And of course I was super enthusiastic and amazed so he picked me to participate in a lot of the tricks. I even got to keep a signed card that he had used. And the fun wasn't over yet. After dinner we went to the basement to find our way through the ninja maze. Along the way we had to collect stamps and avoid the ninja roaming around. At the end, if you collected enough stamps you played a game for a prize. I won a plastic ninja star.

The next day we started at Ryusnji Temple. Next to the temple was a famous rock garden. It was raked gravel with 15 rocks in it. There was also a fountain that said, "Learn only to be content." This is a Buddhist belief that if you don't learn to be content then you will never be content even if you are materially wealthy.







Kinkakuji Temple. Golden Temple. Need I say more?









The last temple we went to was Tenruji Temple. This temple had an awesome dragon painting and a pond with HUGE fish in it. On the grounds was also a bamboo grove that we hiked through.






All in all, a wonderful but exhausting trip!