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  2. Tetsugaku no Michi

Tetsugaku no Michi

By drorzel on August 22, 2007.

(These regular updates are brought to you by the loaner laptops in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency, and the fact that jet lag has me waking up at 5 every morning, well before the restaurant opens for breakfast. They may or may not continue from Yokohama when we get there, but for now, it gives me something to do that won't disturb Kate's sleep...)

I've reproduced this title from memory, so I may have dropped a syllable or two. It refers to a scenic path running between the general area of Nanzen-ji and Ginkaku-ji, where the Silver Pavilion is located. The phrase is translated as "The Philosopher's Path" orã"The Philosopher's Walk" in most guidebooks, but a bunch of local signs render it as "The Path of Philosophy," which amuses me. From walking it, I learned the following:

1) The path of philosophy is fairly flat, and winds along a shady canal for about a mile.

2) There is no single path of philosophy: walking on either side of the canal brings you to the same place.

3) Sometimes there are carp along the path of philosophy. Also, ducks.

4) The path of philosophy ends in a jumble of tacky souvenir shops, but if you look, there are mochi.

Really, from listening to Janet and Wilkins, I thought there'd be more to it...

It's finally raining today (rain has been "forecast" for a while now), so it will probably be relatively low-key. Which is good, because my legs can use a break.

Mata ne.

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Japan

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I could have told you philosophy was cr-

Oh, wait, you said carp, didn't you?
Sorry.

I'm sorry, but the path is winding and torturous, with dangerous drops on every side and a rock and a hard place near the end. But you're right about the tacky souvenir shops, though.

Gotta disagree with you there, John. The path is very, very flat. So flat, in fact, that sometimes you can wander off the path and not even realize it.

Or maybe: the path is immensely wide. Dunh dunh dunh...

Oh, I seem to be standing in a cow pie. Oops.

Which is pretty amazing considering that the only place that you'll find cows grazing in Japan is on the side of a mountain.