Exploring Nishiki-koji Arcade

19 September 2011, Respect for the Aged Day (National Holiday)

Yesterday we set out for Kyoto's famous food market, Nishiki-koji Arcade, which sits right in the midst of incredibly busy downtown. It seemed as if the entire population of Kyoto was out shopping on a Sunday. The arcade, as the picture shows, is a long corridor flanked on both sides by some 150 vendors selling all imaginable sorts of traditional foods and household items and then some. It was quite a thrill! The third photo shows traditional pickles - tsukemo - of which there seem to be hundreds of colorful varieties. Often there are small bowls from which one can take a sample which was heaven for Win who loves them. Of the things I could identify, there were beautiful fruits and vegetables, and abundance of fish and octopus, cooked, fresh, smoked and pickled and who knows what, many sorts of sweets, the skin of cooking soy milk rolled up (yuba), fried things on sticks, tofu donuts, delicious sweet chestnuts, rice balls, and everything a competent cook from Kyoto could possible need. We had a great time and even bought some pickles and ginger.

Today, September 19, is a holiday called Keiro-no-hi or Respect for the Aged Day. Ki is the character for persons over 60 and ro for persons over 70. The ideas as far as I can tell is that people visit their grandparents, and that everyone considers the cycle of life and the positive attributes of the elderly including the wisdom that comes with a long life. Since no one was around to respect us, we just paid compliments to each other! Then went for a long walk to a park, Takaragaike Koen, which was much further that we thought so that by the time we found it we were ready to come home. We did walk through some lovely quiet neighborhoods and saw young kids playing very competent baseball under the watchful eyes of parents (Japanese little league I guess) in the sports park. Reminded me of watching Silas and Quinn only these kids were a little older. Japanese love baseball, and when we have told people we are from Boston the first thing they mention is poor Daiskei.

Tomorrow Tropical Storm Roke is coming this way, so we expect rain for the next two or three days...

Love to all