"Kyoto" a Kyoto Travel Page by mdchachi

I've been to Kyoto many times. I love the city and its environs. Its modern city and old world mix is something you can't easily imagine without seeing it for yourself. Although I've had almost all wonderful experiences there, two of my most disturbing experiences in Japan took place in Kyoto. I'll jot them down now and flesh out the stories and this page later...

The first disturbing experience was one time when were were looking for an okonomiyaki place for dinner. Okonomiyaki is a traditional food that is kind of a cross between a quiche and a pancake. We were looking for a specific place that my friend knew but we were hungry and when we saw an old okonomiyaki place on a side street we decided to stop there instead. We figured it'd be okay -- after all, food standards in Japan are generally very high no matter where you go. We entered the shop to find no customers and an elderly proprietor alone with his wife. We took a table in an out of the way corner. Okonomiyaki is usually cooked at a grill built into the table and this was the case here. When the gas burner was lit and the table started heating up, out came a good handful of cockroaches running this way and that, even over the griddle -- UGH! We were at a loss for what to do. I asked the owner if we could move up front to a more well-used table. Grabbing the remaining cockroaches with his bare hands, he crushed them and threw them on the floor telling us not to worry and that everything was <i>daijoubu</i> (OK)! The cockroaches had pretty much disappeared from the immediate area so -- in retrospect it seems unbelievable -- we stayed and ate. I guess I figured this guy is in his 80's and he's been living with these creatures his whole life with no ill effect. Who am I to say that a few cockroaches are unsanitary and a problem? The food itself was decent and beer helped take the edge off our anxieties but, obviously the experience was ruined. And I felt bad because my brother and good friend were there visiting from America; it was one of their first Japanese meal experiences not to mention their first taste of okonomiyaki. Certainly an experience they'll never forget!
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The second disturbing experience took place at Daitoku-ji, one of Kyoto's many temples. It's not one of the most visited but highly recommended for its various zen rock and moss gardens. I was visiting with my aunt and cousins who were visiting from the U.S. (Now you can see why I've been to Kyoto so many times -- to take my various visitors there.) We enjoyed the various views in the main hall and, while there, ran into a friendly monk. I spoke with him in Japanese about my life in Tokyo and he spoke about meditation as a means for relieving the stresses of city life. He offered to show me how to meditate and took me around the corner into one of the tatami rooms that the public can peek into but cannot enter. We sat down cross-legged and he started teaching me how to breathe in the proper fashion -- slow breathing in to the chest and slow breathing out while rolling the energy down into your lower stomach. I was thinking the whole time wow, what luck to be getting this authentic Japanese experience -- personal tutelage in meditation from a real monk! I thought I was getting the hang of it but he thought I needed "hands on" instruction so he loosened his robes, took my hand and put on top of his lower abdomen -- uncomfortably close to his genitals -- to show me how he was breathing. But I'm naive so I still wasn't thinking that there was anything wrong, after all it's just a different culture and this is probably a normal way of teaching breathing, right? So after a short bit I withdrew my hand and continued my practice. Then, in order to check in my progress, before I could say "boo" he'd stuck his hand in my pants in the same general area except even lower, on my pubic hair! His hand began creeping lower and actually brushed the base of my p enis and that's when I abruptly said I had to go and started getting up. He acted like nothing was out of the ordinary the entire time and gave us a friendly goodbye before we went on our way. I was still basically in shock and couldn't believe what I'd just experienced. And I can hardly believe it to this day.