GTK (Green Tour Kyoto) ガールズ

GTK (Green Tour Kyoto) ガールズ
'Green Tour Kyoto' official website in English http://www.greentour-kyoto.net

Japanese blog of Green Tour Kyoto Girls

This blog is written in Japanese by GTK Girl's staff, for our Japanese readers.
こんにちは。このブログは、GTKガールズスタッフによる日本語のブログです。ハイキング、寺社巡り、観光、国際交流、外国語など興味のある読者の方々には必見の京都情報サイトです。

31 May 2010

journal Kyoto June&July

Hello everyone!
journal Kyoto June& July issue come out!
The events of temples and shrines including Gion-matsuri festival of July, the ideas of which how to enjoy on rainy days, souvenir info, up to date information of the museums, the ideas of jk green tour project etc. are appear.
It's available at hotels, ryokans, guesthouses, museums, Kyoto Prefecture center, Kyoto International Community House and other many places.
Of course at c.coquet!

シェア

18 May 2010

Exciting event plan!

How beautiful they are!
Is it already a yukata (summer kimono) season? I think it's a little early..
Yes, this is the photo of which we're planing the summer event for foreign visitors to enjoy Gion-Matsuri festival.
Can you read the kanji on the fan which the man is wearing? 須茶武 means Steve, his name!
It's interesting, isn't it? Don't you want the original fan like this? And don't you want to wear yukata during your stay in Kyoto?
O.K! We (journal Kyoto) grant your wishes!
I'll announce this event soon. I can say now only that it will be held in the middle of July in downtown Kyoto. See you soon!

あ〜浴衣の季節がやって来ましたね〜〜ってまだ早い!
この写真は、journal Kyoto が企画する夏のイベントの宣伝写真の一部です。モデルはc.coquet family のSteve Cooke 君とよーこちゃんです。美男美女でしょ!別に顔で採用してる訳ではありません(よくそう言われるが)、美男美女が集まってくれて嬉しい限り!Steve の帯にさしているうちわに書いてある漢字は、読んで字の如く、スティーブの名前です!オリジナルのうちわをデコレートする体験と浴衣体験(この浴衣は帯と下駄もプレゼント!)を祇園祭の宵々山くらいに企画しています。近々発表します。
しかしこのうちわは昨日打ち合わせをした後、学生スタッフのりんちゃんがパパッと作ってくれました、よーこちゃんの持ってる切り絵を貼ったうちわもです。彼らへの着付けは着付けを学んでるりんちゃんとさっちゃんがパパッと着せてくれました、、あぁ〜才能あるスタッフがいてくれて幸せ〜。これぞチームワーク!ジャーナルを継続して発行出来るのもこんなに楽しいイベントを企画できるのも彼らのお陰。本当に感謝です。夏の外国人観光客シーズン、今から頑張りましょう!

15 May 2010

Aoi Matsuri procession

It's a nice weather. (It's unusual, I remember that there are much rain in Aoi matsuri day, anyway, lucky this year!)
A lot of foreign travelers come to Kamigamo Shrine to see it. They seem to like okonomiyaki Japanese (Osaka) style pizza!

Kamigamo Shrine is a goal point of the procession. The participants who had been walking from the Imperial Palace looked a little tired. I know! It's too hot to walk for about 3 hours. In addition its procession go very slowly.
As for me, It's a lucky situation! I was provided a best seat to see it as the privilege of the Futaba-aoi plants owner. Futaba-aoi plants are the symbol of Aoi-maturi, which are the spontaneous one and are threatened with extinction. I put up for raising them by the collection of Kyoto Prefecture Environment Agency.
Saio-dai who is a princess of Aoi Matsuri gets off the car and walks from the entrance of the approach to Kamigamo Shrine. Some Imperial costumed girls attend her and proceed to the the main hall of the shrine slowly. How are the successive princess chosen? Every Kyoto girl hopes to be the princess? I don't know, but the princess face looked quite tensed up. This is a cool expression, Japanese style.
Very surprised! When I came back to my office, located in front of the Imperial Palace, I encountered the bus on which the Aoi-matsuri costumed women was geting. They came back to the Palace, and changed the costumes. It's a unique accident!

本日は葵祭のクライマックス、御所から上賀茂神社までの大行列です!毎年、丸太町沿いのカフェから眺めるだけでしたが、今年はスペシャルな観覧でした!昨年末、京都府文化財寄付金の募集に乗っかって、ちょっとだけ寄付したらフタバアオイのオーナーに当たって、今年の葵祭はフタバアオイオーナー席という一等席まで用意してもらい、そこで目の前で行列を眺めて来た,,次第です。ラッキー。。儀式なのですねー、上賀茂神社の参道入口の鳥居からは、牛車や牛なんかは入れないのですね、斎王代も籠から降りて、歩いて行くのですよ。歩く斎王代を見たのは初めてでした。
、、しかし今日は暑かった、、葵祭と言えば、雨のイメージ。今日は素晴らしい五月晴れで上賀茂神社での観覧記念を祝して良く晴れました,ほんとに。でも行列に参加していた人達は、暑かっただろうと思います。御所から下鴨を経由し上賀茂まで。
欧米人が多かったですね、、ジャーナル英語版仏語版を配りまくりました、皆さん喜んでくれて良かった。
上賀茂神社からのオフィスへの帰りに御所を通ったら、大型バスから仕事を終えた葵祭行列の女人達が降りて行くところに出くわしました。
おもしろーい。

13 May 2010

Gion delicacy!

Delicious sweets at Gion in a spring day..
We had a Kyoto sweets break yesterday. Do you know a white something in a green lacquer bowl? And a black somtehing next to a green bowl..is it shoyu soy sauce?

Udon noodle?
No! this is a kuzukiri noodle sweet which is a traditional Japanese cold sweet made from the roots of kudzu vine. The black sauce for kuzukiri is a kuromitsu made from a brown sugar.
It is soft and tastes naturally sweet. If you ate this special kuzukiri, you couldn't buy a simple kuzukiri at a convenience store!
Enjoy this unique delicacy at Kagizen in the heart of Gion.
(100m east from the corner of Shijo st. and Kawabata st., the north side of Shijo street)

昨日、ジャーナルの次号の取材の帰りに、エディターのよーこちゃんと祗園の鍵善さんで名物のくずきりを食べてきました。あ〜幸せ。。本当に美味しい。。京都に来てあ〜なんて美味しい、と思った甘味は多いようで実は片手で数えられるくらいのものです。そんな中で、鍵善さんのこのくずきりは本当に本当に幸せを感じる最高の京の味です。
私がブログで紹介するまでもなく(特に東京方面から)こちらは実に有名なお店ですが、噂には聞けどまだ味わった事の無い方は是非どうぞ。

11 May 2010

Looking for musicians!

Kyoto city Transportation Bureau is looking for some musicians (solo~group) who play their acoustic music at the hall of two Kyoto subway stations; Karasuma-Oike Station and Kyoto-Shiyakushomae Station.
Don't you think it's a good chance if you were a musician?

Interview and judgement : From the end of May to the middle of Jun
Live schedule : From July 1st to the end of next March, 10:00am-9:00pm
Application : By May 21st, 075-863-5068 (Kyoto city Transportation department)

10 May 2010

Japanese purple beauty!

Look at this photo! so Beautiful!
This flower is named Kakitsubata irises, and is the best season now. The combination of purple blue and green is a feast for the eyes! It was a beautiful afternoon yesterday at Ota Shrine.

This is a main hall of Ota Shrine. It's rustic and feel sacred.
I could listen to the fogs' songs. Nice atmosphere..

You can go up the small mountain from the side array of the main hall. I enjoyed the petit trekking!
Ota Shrine is located close to Kamigamo Shrine in the northern part of Kyoto city.
You can visit easily from downtown along the Kamogawa riverbank by bicycle.

出町柳より自転車で約20分、カキツバタを見に大田神社まで行ってきました。こんなに美しい群生は初めて見ました。ブルーや青みがかったパープルが元々大好きです。遠くから見ると、薄紫色のチョウチョの大群が舞ってるように見えます、幻想的です!本殿の脇道を上がって行くと、大田の小径という名で、プチトレッキングを楽しむ事が出来ます。なんという山かはわかりませんが、頂上から見た市内の景色はなかなかのものでした。この辺に住むのもいいですね。。

7 May 2010

Japanese tea leaves picking!

Why don't you try joining the event of tea leaves picking in Uji-Wazuka town on May 9th Sunday?
Look at the photo above! Wao..looks cute and interesting! It is a traditional chamusume costume.
This event,organized by Wazuka-town center, is including the tea leaves picking, the lunch made from Japanese tea leaves such as tea tempura (ohh..sounds yummy!) and tea factory tour. (tour fee is ¥2000)

Meeting at Wazuka-cho Community Center at 9:50 on May 9th.
(Take the JR Nara line around 7:15, change trains at Kizu stn., take JR Kansai-Honsen line and get off at Kamo stn.
And then take a bus to Wazuka shogakko elementary school from the west entrance of Kamo stn.)

The closing at 16:00

今年も新茶の季節がやって来ました。(しかし今年は4月の悪天候の為、例年より不作らしいです)宇治茶の産地、和束町で今年も茶摘みツアーが5/9に開催されます。茶葉で作られた天ぷら等の昼食もつくようです。何よりも濃い緑の茶畑が目の栄養によさそうです。私も参加出来そうだったら行くつもりです。世界での日本茶ブームはすごいですね。茶葉を摘むところから体験してみるとよけい美味しいでしょう!

4 May 2010

Pre-festival of Aoi-Matsuri



It's like a summer in Japanese holidays called Golden Week.
This exciting and a little funny video is the scene of Yabusame event at Shimogamo Shrine.
I went to Shimogamo Shrine to see this event yesterday. So so crowded! And it took much time to start the event. People ware patient in a hot afternoon.
Finally it started.Heian and Edo era costumed archers shoot the arrows on the running horse back. It's so powerful!
It is the pre-event of a famous Aoi-Matsuri festival held on annual May 15th. This is a gorgeous procession from the Imperial Palace to Kamigamo Shrine via Shimogamo Shrine. Yabusame event is held to purify the route of the procession.

Other events before the procession continue.
Check out the website of Shimogamo Shrine and Kamigamo Shrine.

昨日は有名な流鏑馬神事を下鴨神社に見に行きました。家から10分!のらりくらり行ってたらもうすでにすごい人だかりで、あまり良い場所を確保出来ませんでした。外国の人がものすごく多く来てましたね。アナウンスも日英中韓の4カ国語で対応していました。
実際に始まるまでものすごーく待たされましたが、いざ始まるとそのパワフルで豪華な動きにエキサイトしました!走ってる馬の上から的をめがけて矢を討つ、、ってものすごく難しいですよね。平安時代と江戸時代の装束の違いも楽しめて良かったです。
この流鏑馬という神事は15日に行われる葵祭のクライマックスの為のプレイベントです。連休中、このようなプレイベントが下鴨、上賀茂両神社で行われます。