Dressing up day

Friday 8 November

Had a leisurely breakfast followed by a wander around the shopping complex at the station. Went right to the top of these escalators. There are many more that It’s a department store with lots of the top level brands. Myer or DJ’s on steroids. Phillip looked at a belt but balked at the US$300 price tag.

Then we were all back on the bus for the afternoon’s activities. First stop the Nishijin TextIke Centre where we watched a fashion parade of kimonos.

Then we all were dressed in kimonos too. It’s a complicated process And we had to do exactly as we were told. It was a lot quicker taking them off!

Next stop a traditional tea ceremony with Macha tea. Not my favourite (neither is roasted green tea). However two of our group were invited to take part. No way I could have knelt for that long - or get up gracefully afterwards ( and Phillip would not have been at all impressed at having to drink it like Malcolm)!

Then we went for a wander around the Gion area where there are Geiko (Geisha) and Maiko (apprentice Maiko). We saw three actual Geiko as opposed to locals dressing up, but they moved so quickly I only managed to get a rear photo.

Then we went for a cultural performance which included a tea ceremony, instrumental music, orchestra, ikebana display, a comic play, a Kyoto dance by a Maiko and a puppet show. All were quite interesting.

For our dinner we went to the top of the Kyoto world up past the giant Christmas tree to a pork restaurant where we had to grind up sesame seeds and mix in the sauce of our choice. Most people had a mound of Finely sliced cabbage on their plates which was replenished frequently.