2015-04-24: Tradition! Style! Dedication!

Kyoto! It is Right Over There!

We learned today that only the most dedicated of people can drink more than 2 beers on the train to Kyoto from Nagoya. It's a damn good thing I am dedicated or Ewa would have had to waste half of her second beer.

Apparently dedication for pointing is a feature of the shinkansen. Someone with gloves does this every time. I dig it and usually wait to watch.

This weekend is a naginata seminar for 4th and 5th dan people (otherwise known as Wanting to be fancy or Resting on their laurels). Naginata in Japan falls under the auspices of the Kendo renmei.
I am told that naginata only goes to 5th dan because the blokes in kendo figured chicks could never really get any higher. Probably that was a joke. Probably I should never mention that joke around any of my sensei as they are significantly female and significantly better than me.
They might want to illustrate that the naginata response was "we can only have five? fine we'll just make them each twice as hard"
In retrospect that was a hilarious as nowadays when a kendo person faces a naginata person of the same numerical grade they invariably get their arses handed to them on a plate. So I guess 10 minutes of funny for the kendo guys making the decision and a lifetime of funny for the naginata people using it. Seems fair.

Kyoto has a tower too. Nagoya is pissed and just added random lightning bolts to theirs.

All of the above is hearsay and there is no way in the world a dedicated follower of budo would giggle deliriously after completely trouncing a confident fellow treader of the path. Sometimes the stories I am told are hard to believe! Of course I am not so dedicated and so I do giggle. One of the super fancy jukendo guys said the only other weapon they have trouble fighting is naginata, I giggled then too. But in a dignified manner, because I had a shirt with a collar.

Kyoto has innocent rabbits that reflect light instead of Nagoya's cynical winking frogs. I am sticking with Nagoya on this one. The watchmen guy was totally cool about me wandering into traffic to take a picture which was cool but I reckon Nagoya guys would have done the same.

Anyhoo. Naginata, Kyoto, Budokan, Seminar in Zen Nichi. Zen Nichi is the kata which the Americans eventually allowed the Japanese to do after war. It is kind of a blend of the old schools. It is super important you are good at this if you want to get 5th dan or one of the teaching grades. Mostly, for me, I just want to be good at it because it has lots of stuff which works well in competition. I am told I will grow out of this. I am told I will grow out of lots of things. I guess it could happen, it's not like I am fighting the maturity thing.

Just because I took about 600 photos of the fire wardens practicing on the building next door doesn't mean I was hoping one would fall on their arse. I mean it would have been hilarious if one did. Especially the guy who looked all cocky and stuff. But I might have done it so I can show other fire wardens how to spray a hose.

Due to our superlative planning (turn up at station, ask for ticket) we had some time to kill.

Tourist Checklist: You Thought I Had Forgotten!

Ramen! Ramen is great. If you're not American. Americans had Cup of Noodles branded as Ramen and they thought it was crap until recently when they realised they were lied to and, somewhat typically, went too far the other way.

If your ramen doesn't have eggs you are probably going to be sad.

The rest of the world only met ramen as a japanese noodle soup and haven't lost their minds yet.
There are lots of varieties of ramen. Basically it is a stock (differentiator #1) poured over noodles (#2) with a flavour base added (#3) and then toppings (#4).
There is a great movie about Ramen called Tampopo. You should watch it. It teaches you about noodle soup and how to become your own person. Plus it has truckies slurping noodle soup.

Polish Princess: Wait you are saying that this is the one time I can lift the bowl off the table and just scarf away like a monster of eating? Me: I'm not saying you can I'm saying I think it is rude not too!

There is a specific ramen I like (negi miso) and there is a Nagoya specific ramen (can't remember) but it didn't matter as the menus were in japanese anyway. Each shop in Ramen Alley (Nagoya station, just down from the south shinkansen entrance) does a specific style. We ended up choosing based on smoking (they all approve), beer (they all have) and then seating. The one closest had free seats, we went there.

Never let it be said that Poland doesn't bring the love to the japanese traditions!

I forget which style it was. It was the furtherest back one because I wanted to look at all of them. It really doesn't matter. All of these shops are under the fiercest competition you can imagine and all make great noodle soup. Go there. Choose one based on your own preferences (the back ones have better air con) and eat some damn noodles.

Rating: Don't remember I think we are at 4/10 items checked off now.