Kyoto-Part 1 - MANIS CAFE

Kyoto-Part 1- Manis Cafe

Intellectually, visitors know Japan is an ancient culture, its crafts of elegant textiles and fabulous hand-made objects, its cuisine apparently insanely elaborated, its religions impossibly attenuated. Yet that weight of the ages is not clear in the briskly run efficiency of the rapid transit system – especially if you are waiting for a “fast train” and enjoy several others shoot through the station to points unknown—or in the conversation of one’s bilingual students planning global careers. The young men wear international motley, the young women knee-high needle-heeled boots, part of the so-called “slut look” popular this month. Or, everyone is swathed in sports gear which largely effaces ethnicity or sexuality.

Yet, hop on what outsiders call the “bullet train” (Shinkansen), from the soaring, modern girders and Manga of Tokyo, and about two hours later [Japan’s train side is “useful” so you can pretty much forget quaint vistas of the kind from a steam train in Southern Africa, or the rural trains in Italy or France or England. Of course, the US has too few trains to count, preferring to squander its 300 billion dollar investment in Iraq rather than to shore up the failing Social Security fund or support rapid transit infrastructure – I suppose that’s what you call “pathetic arrogant decadence” a symptom of decline of a great civilization: the rich first change the tax law so they don’t have to pick up the tab, and the not-rich are “proud” to pick up their soap; and we are lucky enough to be the generation to see it in progress] you could be in Kyoto.

Kyoto, established more that a 1000 years ago as capital of what today we call the nation of Japan (long since transferred to Tokyo) is redolent in history and tradition. The “Inextinguishable Dharma Light,” dharma being the law or the word, in Sanskrit, has been burning, they say, since lit by the founder, Saicho, at Enryaku-ju temple 1,200 years ago.

This still beautiful urban center was created as "Heian-kyo" in the year 794. Alex Kerr savagely attacks the city fathers for their failure to protect many of Kyoto’s treasures and especially its traditional architecture in his social history, “Dogs and Demons- The Fall of Modern Japan,” written with the concern of a true lover. Yet, for a first time visitor, the place still winds up being put in positive comparison with the helter skelter of Tokyo. No doubt long-time residents see the many changes wrought by time as do, I feel confident, residents of Berlin, Manhattan, and Paris. I, for one, kind of miss the honest hookers working the French Quarter and don’t find their replacement in rack after rack of Taiwanese junk baubles for genteel Midwestern day tourists a fair trade, even if it is easier to attach a sales tax to the trinkets and crudely, witlessly bawdy t-shirts.

One description of this engaging Japanese city put it this way, “although many transformations have taken place over the years, Kyoto has always adopted the most advanced standards of the times. It has greatly contributed to the nation's industrial, economic and cultural development and strength. The dauntless and leading spirit of Kyoto's past as a capital city is still felt here today.” Kyoto, for all its being a modern city, and possessing any of the shortcomings that entails, honestly stated, is populated with a very welcoming population and a convenient, efficient transportation system. We adored our visit and plan to return.

Manis Café
Not mentioned in our guide book, but highly recommended by our experience, is the Manis Café, run by a tri-lingual couple (speaking Indonesian, Japanese, and English) who provide very good, reasonably priced food, including a range of pasta dishes. Manis Café is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (we never tried breakfast since we “granola in” most days on vacation) but the scallops in wine and butter, the couple of pastas, and the pizzas we did try were all decidedly “moreish.”

Manis Café [manis_cafe@ybb.ne.jp] was central to our wants: we enjoy walking along rivers, and have enjoyed the Guadalquivir in Seville, the Mississippi in New Orleans, the Thames in London, the Seine in Paris and so on and now the Kamo River in Kyoto. Travel writer V. A. Riccardi recalls how her grandmother described how “sunsets over the Tatsumi Bridge [crossing the Kamo] into the Gion created a fairyland of kimonos, hushed voices, and geometric shadows of dark and gold” in her “Untangling My Chopsticks: A Culinary Sojourn in Kyoto.” Now, that never unpeopled Gion, always busy because of its innate activity, like New Orlean’s French Quarter of old, is flashed with limelight because of the book, “Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthor Golden and the resulting lushly shot if disappointing movie.

Of course we wanted to see historic Gion and its wonderful wood-lattice fronted narrow lanes, weathered to richly varied shades of umber and sepia, decorated with figures of vividly costumed geishas padding into its dark, secluded dens suggesting exhausting sessions of expensive, arcane, lovemaking---the fruit of long years of opium lashed tutorials under cruel, knarled mama sans; we wanted to wander down traditional, tiny Pontocho Dori (parallel and across the river), and saunter the food market just above. We wanted to see about haggling for a small piece of Kyoto ware (“haggling” in Japan means getting the vendor to take a card in lieu of cash), and to visit the house of Kawai Kankiro, “father” of the folk craft movement. His place, now a living museum, was just south of the Gion.

Ryoan-ji, with its garden of 15 well placed stones, was way out to one end of the city – that was a special but necessary trip.

Anyway, Manis Café was a perfect place for us to “tie on the food bag.” It was central to many of the places we wanted to see, multi-lingual, with very friendly folks in charge. And, always important to us, the food was savory, perfectly prepared, and attractively presented.

To get to Manis Cafe (look for the cat on the sign) -- if you are in the Gion main street (the sidewalk is apt to be crowded, as the rue de Rivoli, or Bourbon St., or the street outside the Pudding Shop in Istanbul are always crowded,) the flow one way takes you to the bridge over the Kamo. The opposite direction, away from the river, is toward Yasaka Shrine. Going toward the Kamo and the bridge, turn left on Yamoto Oji Dori. Walk briskly 10 minutes, Manis Cafe is on the right. If you reach Go Jo Dori walking down Yamoto Oji Dori, you have gone too far. If you were walking toward the river, Yamoto Oji is about a block before you reach the river; so, if you see the Kamo looking for your street, you’ve gone too far. After enjoying the view from the bridge, turn around, now headed toward the Yasaka Shrine, but turn very soon off the main road to your right on Yamoto Oji Dori, a very much smaller road.

Or, if you are at that bridge in the Gion, pop down the Shijo Station; it’s right there. Travel to Go Jo Station, one stop; fare is 150 yen. In the station you will see one machine in the row of several with a button on the right, upper right, “English.” Press that and all commands will change to English; select what you need and feed in the coins. Sometimes you have to press again for the tickets to discharge, sometimes they just come out. I don’t understand, either. [Once moving on the train, if you arrive at Sanjo Station, you are going in the wrong direction, debouch and cross over, go past Shijo, get out at Go Jo Station].

You could taxi from anywhere and use Go Jo Station as your way point, hopping out there and walking – it’s just a few more blocks but hard to describe if neither you nor the driver are bi-lingual. There is a taxi stand next to Go Jo Station to re-cab.

When you exit the station, the river should be right behind you. Also, immediately at the exit of the station, in the sidewalk at your feet, there should be a metal compass rose. North should point to your left. Walk several blocks forward. At your turn, on your left, on the corner, the shop is a wood carver who fabricates large pieces, worth a gander in the window. On the right is one of the large metal cross walks which would allow you to climb the stairs and cross the main street. Turn here at Yamato Oji Dori, left, and walk up Yamato Oji Dori, away from the main street; the pedestrian area is on the right of the narrow road. Manis Café is perhaps a minute up Yamato Oji Dori, on your left—keep and eye out for the cat.

XXX XXX XXX