Memoirs Of Wannabe Geishas

My tour-guiding is much like my cooking; repetitive LOL I took my parents to the same Kyoto spots that I took my sister and brother-in-law. Alas, it was a different season and still as beautiful if not, more. Golden Pavilion, Kiyomizu Temple and Nishiki Market.

From top to bottom: a basket of treats for the road: healthy raspberry and oat muffins, raw almonds and tangerine, Golden Pavilion, Kyoto parfait consisting of matcha soft-serve, mini matcha donuts (green), chestnut (yellow), mochi (rice flour dumplings – white), corn flakes and red bean paste (anko), Kiyomizu Temple, soba (buckwheat noodle) lunch, gorgeous Japanese crockery and lastly, Nishiki Market with A 100% natural freshly squeezed (as in right there and then) grapefruit, and my dad eating a mini octopus tehe.

japanese rain-prevention dolls

And just when you thought Japanese culture couldn’t get any cuter, allow me to introduce the itsy bitsy teru teru bōzu (照る照る坊主). These are traditional Japanese dolls made of tissue paper or cloth and hung in front of the window to prevent rain. Teru (照る) means “shine” as in sunshine, while bōzu (坊主) refers to a Buddhist priest or bonze. Therefore, teru teru bōzu loosely translates to “shine, shine, monk” and alludes to a priest’s magical powers to prevent a rainy day. Ghost-like in appearance, they became popular in the Edo era and were used/are still used by children the day before important events or festivities.

My favourite part of school today was helping my friend the librarian make 20 of these adorable ghosts to hang around the school since June/July (Japan’s rainy season) is approaching. Who cares if they work or not. Be honest, you find them irresistible, too.
Don’t you?!