CHAPTER 160

Original: 2016-01-02

Rewritten: 2026-06-05

The Japanese yen has been weak for many years, making this famous travel destination even more attractive.

For residents of Vancouver, one advantage of travelling to Japan is that, as prices continue to rise in Vancouver, spending money in Japan often feels like excellent value for money.

We stayed at a three-star hotel in Kyoto. Most of the staff spoke little or no English, yet their service was still excellent. We tried a traditional Japanese breakfast once. It consisted mostly of vegetables with very little meat and did not fill us up. We then switched to the Western-style breakfast, which cost about five Canadian dollars. It included a boiled egg, two kinds of bread, coleslaw, and unlimited coffee, tea, juice, and milk.

Eating meat in Japan was still expensive, so we were reluctant to indulge. However, at the convenient fast-food restaurants, a bowl of pork rice could be bought for less than four dollars, and for just over a dollar more, one could add a bowl of pork soup to warm the stomach. Complete meal sets generally cost between five and ten dollars.

Customers would first study the menu displayed on the wall or ticket machine at the entrance. After selecting their food and drinks, they fed banknotes or coins into the vending machine, collected their meal tickets and change, then handed the tickets to the staff before finding a seat. Backpacks could be placed in specially provided baskets beside the seats. Our division of labour was simple: I found the seats while my wife placed the order.

Before long, a steaming bowl of miso soup and the rest of the meal would arrive.

When customers entered, ordered, or left, staff members recited phrases almost like tape recorders: “Thank you for visiting,” “Please take a look around,” “Thank you for your patronage,” and “Please come again.” They repeated these phrases continuously. Most customers paid little attention and rarely made eye contact. A simple nod was acceptable, but if one responded too enthusiastically, the staff would feel obliged to keep thanking you until you stopped responding.

Some shops assigned an employee to spend an entire eight-hour shift doing little more than offering greetings and thanks. This country bumpkin was deeply impressed by their diligence, persistence, composure, and the unwavering volume of their voices.

Kyoto's traditional streets have been remarkably well preserved. To appreciate their character, one must visit Gion. During the Edo period, it was the centre of the geisha district, where geisha sold their artistic talents rather than their bodies. Today, the areas around Yasaka Shrine, Gion, and Hanamikoji Street have transformed into major tourist attractions, and a geisha training school remains there.

Walking eastward from Shijo Street and crossing the Kamo River brings one directly into Gion.

On ordinary days, many Japanese young women dressed in elegant and colourful kimonos stroll through the district. It is easy to distinguish the reserved and graceful local women from female tourists wearing kimonos. Their posture and mannerisms give them away. Broad strides, pigeon-toed walking, rough movements, and exaggerated swaying from side to side generally belong to the tourists.

The most popular attraction among foreign visitors in Kyoto is Fushimi Inari Taisha, located in the southeastern part of the city in Fushimi Ward. The most convenient way to get there is by train. There, we frequently encountered tour groups speaking loudly in Cantonese and Mandarin.

The shrine was founded in 711 AD and serves as the head shrine of more than forty thousand Inari shrines throughout Japan. Its greatest attraction is the thousands of torii gates that have been donated over the years by countless worshippers.

A torii is not a birdhouse. It is one of Japan’s most iconic architectural features, consisting of two vertical pillars supporting two horizontal crossbeams. The ends of the upper beam curve slightly upward, and the structure is traditionally painted bright vermilion red. Over time, weathering has faded many of them from vivid red to a softer pink.

The thousands of torii gates extend up the mountainside. Walking among them feels like passing through a time tunnel, creating a truly spectacular sight.

The shrine also contains many fox statues, believed to bring prosperity and good fortune.

Travelling through Kyoto means moving constantly between the old and the new. Japan’s ability to bridge the gap between the ancient and modern worlds owes much to its educational achievements. This country bumpkin also made a special visit to the main campus of Kyoto University, located across the Kamo River from Gion.

The university originated from the Seimi-kyoku (Bureau of Chemistry). “Seimi” was derived from the Dutch word chemie, meaning chemistry. The institution was first established in Osaka in 1869 and moved to its present location in 1886. From its original campus, various faculties and schools were gradually added and expanded.

(The Dutch were among the earliest European peoples to develop colonial ventures and commercial expansion in Asia, reaching as far as Japan. The Japanese TBS time-travel drama Jin contains depictions of Dutch physicians and the geisha culture of Gion.)