Canon Japan Tour (Day 11) Kyoto

Hello, travelers. This is Kumi. I guided Canon Australia's Japan tour for two weeks. Let me show you how we enjoyed the tour. This is about Day 11, the day traveled from Okayama to Kyoto and learned about Japanese craftsmanship.

We took the Nozomi Super Express 114 from Okayama station at 7:41am. It was about an hour ride and we arrived at Kyoto station at 8:43. We left our luggage and took the local train called the JR Sagano Line to Kameoka station. Then we took taxis (30min) to the blacksmith called "Masahiro."

It seems they don't have their own website. I found the English information on Expedia.
https://www.expedia.co.jp/things-to-do/private-japanese-sword-forge-visit-lesson.a450774.activity-details

According to this interview article in Japanese (you can enjoy the beautiful photos), the blacksmith's name is Yuya Nakanishi, but he uses the professional name "Masahiro."
https://www.enysi.com/craftsman/interview04

At first, he was quiet, just working on the sword, and we were also quiet, just taking photos. However, we found that it is okay to ask questions, so we enjoyed a Q&A session.

Please check out the video I took.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0k0AJkCfgI

Later, he showed us beautiful Japanese swords.

And he let us hold a sword!!! This is the photo of our member holding the sword. The tour leader took this cool photo.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq3eQ8ulRh2/

We enjoyed the outdoor photo session, too.

Thank you, Mr. Nakanishi, for this amazing opportunity!!

We took taxis and the JR Sagano Line again to Nijo station and enjoyed lunch here. Oh? Is that a can of hot coffee? I thought you were drinking beer. LOL

From Nijo station, we took the Kyoto City Bus 201 to Horikawa-imadegawa bus stop. By the way, if you take the bus for more than twice, you should get the one-day bus card. You can buy the card at major stations or from bus drivers. You should put in the bus card to the machine for the first-time use, then the date will be printed on the backside. For the second and after, please just show the date to the bus driver (Don't put in the card to the machine).

This website clearly tells you about how to use the bus in Kyoto.
https://www.tsunagujapan.com/a-beginner-s-guide-for-making-the-most-out-of-the-kyoto-city-bus-system-part-1/

We visited the Nishijin Textile Center for the kimono show.
http://nishijin.or.jp/eng/nishijin_textile_center

Then we enjoyed this specially-arranged exclusive photo session.

Look at the heavy bags they've been carrying the whole day!

This was a very good practice to take photos of shows on stage. Hmm... I couldn't find the stage photos on our Instagram. (*Canon members, if you have any good ones, you can feel free to put them on Instagram making sure to tag #canonjapantour. We are not allowed to use the photos for business stuff like poster or brochure to advertise tours etc, but it's okay to post them on your private Instagram) :)

After the photo session, we learned about how this Nishijin textile is made. It was very impressive how much effort was put into the fabric.

Our next stop was Yasaka Shrine.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3903.html

Founded in the mid-7th Century, this Shrine has been very popular for the Gion Festival held in July. The festival started in 869 to wish for ending the outbreak of an epidemic.

We spent a lot of time to take impressive photos.

Hahaha. This is nice!

I'm quite sure the tour members were inspired by the photo the tour leader took a few years ago.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoYsVJVA5Ii/

After the shrine, we walked around Ponto-cho alley and Hanami-koji street.

We enjoyed dinner after this, but surprisingly, I didn't take any photos even though I had my camera with me. Anyway, dinner was lovely. :)

If you'd like to see the members' photos, please check out #canonjapantour.