The Canadian Chronicles: Christmas in Kyoto

I feel like Tokyo was our initiation to Japan. We were thrown into the fire for a couple of days fending for ourselves and then we got backup when the kids arrived! Hakone was a beautiful and peaceful reprieve. We got there and never left the building, it felt like we spent the night at an all-inclusive spa. We left feeling more like we had a grip on Japan, and if we didn't, we had backup!

Understated Christmas decorations.

Christmas in Japan is definitely not like Christmas at home...or in Europe! There were simple decorations here and there but very understated. Many places did have Christmas trees. The streets also had a lot of trees with lights on them, very nice with the short dark days! You could tell it was Christmas, but it was not in your face! We spent 4 nights in Kyoto beginning on Christmas eve until the 28th. We stayed in a lovely home with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, full kitchen and living area. It had traditional yet modern Japanese decor. I think we were all ready to be settled for a while and Kyoto was a perfect place to settle!

Christmas Eve was when that nagging cold took me down! I volunteered to stay behind with Thomas while the rest of the crew went to what sounded like a lovely dinner that involved a lot of meat! Thomas and I had chicken sandwiches and salad from my new favorite spot, 7-11. We both needed an early night! One of my favorite moments of the trip happened when I put him to bed that night. We read stories and then he gets a song at bedtime...my "go to" is usually something like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star but it was Christmas eve. I sang two verses of Silent Night snuggled up with this sweet, tired boy who held my hair in one hand and sucked his fingers on the other hand as he drifted off to sleep. I wept. I was exhausted, feeling poorly and a little emotional. It was just the sweetest and I felt like it was my Christmas gift💖

I put up the 3 Christmas trees and
dined on convenience store salad.
Merry Christmas Eve!

Back downstairs I "decorated" for Christmas and went to bed with visions of sugar plums and feeling better dancing in my head!

Christmas morning came early! Augie was disappointed at first that Santa had not come...until we turned on the lights in the dining room! He did come! It was a minimal haul since we were traveling but both boys were thrilled with their new toys and super appreciative for each small gift! It was great!

There were vehicles, Legos, transformers, books, and robots...they were busy all morning and much of the rest of the trip. Thank you, Santa!

The moment disappointment turned
into joy!

He came!!!

Smiles all around!

Christmas Mass in Japan was crowded! If you want to get many smiles from Japanese people of a certain age, bring a young child anywhere. Thomas was very popular with the older Japanese crowd...until he had enough of the sitting still and being quiet part of church. He made it to the homily and then he and daddy had to make an exit. Still, they seemed mostly hospitable and forgiving to our large "not always silent" group.

For Christmas, Chris treated Kelly and me to a flower arranging class and formal tea ceremony. We had to hurry from church to our class. We stopped at again, our favorite fast food chain for sandwiches before our class. It was a cold, rainy day and we dined al fresco under the overhang of a building. Nothing like a cold, wet day to make getting well a little more challenging.

The flower arranging class was lovely. I am not sure I loved my arrangement, but I did love the learning part. The tea ceremony was a highlight. Our host was so sweet and made us both feel special. She proudly shared her culture and knowledge with us through the history and rituals of the tea ceremony. Towards the end, when she was methodically cleaning the vessels, I felt it was very similar to the liturgy of the eucharist at Mass. The many steps taken, the care for cleaning, the humility of serving, the attention to detail and the respect for the tea and for the guests. It was an entire cultural lesson!

Our flower arrangements!

Our most excellent host
modeling her beautiful dress
at our request!

We did not plan to dress alike or
to coordinate with the room...

Christmas dinner was over the top! Chris is a great cook/chef! His gift is preparing and serving amazing meals. For Christmas the menu consisted of 7 fishes, cabbage potatoes carrots ham and chicken stewed together to make an amazing dish! Chicken noodle soup and seared Wagyu beef, mushrooms and salad. We feasted on this meal a few times over the next couple of days!

Christmas dinner was amazing!

The next two days in Kyoto and the first day in Kanazawa were spent touring many temples, shrines, Torri Gates, markets and museums. We hired a private guide one day and we toured from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and she was such a good guide! She customized the tour to what we wanted to see and read the group, allowing time to play in the rocks along the way or stop for matcha ice cream or snacks or shopping. It was great to be able to follow someone who took us on the scenic, less traveled routes to some of the major sights. We never would have seen some lovely parts of the city otherwise. I really appreciate being led by an insider. She shared a lot of history and culture along the way. This may have been one of my favorite days of the trip. It didn't hurt that the weather was perfect!

Our last day in Kyoto we did a self-guided tour. I wanted to see one of the most popular...and as a result one of the most crowded tourist sights...the Torii Gates at the Fushimi Imari Shrine. Think thousands of orange Japanese gates covering 2.5 miles of trails. We did not walk the entire trail. We did quite a bit though. I enjoyed seeing a beautiful bamboo forest halfway up to the end of the trail. The area around the Shrine has many shops and we had taiyaki, a fish shaped pastry filled with custard, Yum! Our next stop was the Nishiki Market. We love markets and Japanese markets are amazing! We strolled and gawked and had lunch in a Katsugyu restaurant. Beef cutlets that you sear to your liking at your table plus all the fixings. A ton of delicious food! Maybe a little stressful with two curious boys and a hot skillet on the table but we all survived!

Our final stop for the day was the Samurai/Ninja Museum. Quite fascinating and educational. Augie was very engaged and always had an answer or a question when the guide asked the group. It was neat to connect the history with my limited movie exposure to these groups.

A day of Shrines, Pagodas, Temples and a Zen garden

Kyoto gave me the feeling I was really in Japan. I loved the precisely manicured trees around the temples. I loved the zen garden with its raked rocks and peaceful gardens. The architecture was classic and inspiring. It was also nice to stay in a house for a few days! The boys had room to play, and we all had a bit of space to spread out. The weather in Kyoto cooperated for the most part! It was definitely a one-of-a-kind Christmas holiday for our family! Enjoy more photos!