Planning a trip is a delicate balance: on the one hand, you don’t want to overplan, leaving no room for spontaneity. On the other, you don’t want to leave everything to chance and risk missing out on something that you would have loved.
While in Kyoto, I signed us up for two planned activities, both through AirBnB Experiences (not a sponsored post – I just like it!) These Experiences are offered through the platform by locals looking to share something about their city that is in some way unique. Experiences are designed to grant travelers access to something usually reserved to locals – exactly what we as a group love so much when we visit a new place.
For our first experience, we visited Akira’s tiny gallery in a residential neighborhood, where he introduced us to the art of traditional calligraphy.
We learned about the tools of the trade – brushes and ink – before beginning our own experimentations with different strokes. Akira is an artist, and his passion for his craft shines through in the exuberant way he encourages participants to feel the movements and to avoid seeking out the “perfect” line.
After practicing, we each selected a single word that Akira wrote in kanji, and we practiced copying our word until we felt ready to transcribe it onto our own board…
… and took home the finished kanji as a souvenir! I loved this experience: at just an hour and a half, it didn’t take up a huge portion of our day, but I left feeling like I’d really experienced a bit of local culture, and being able to chat with a local (who speaks wonderful English – embarrassingly, none of us speaks particularly good Japanese aside from reading sushi menus) was wonderful.
We also participated in a samurai experience in Kyoto, where for an hour and a half, we were immersed in samurai history, culture, and – yes – swordfighting.
We started by visiting the historic samurai home where the experience takes place. It’s one of the last remaining ones in Kyoto, as many were destroyed when the final shoguns fell from power in the 19th century. This house was lucky enough to escape destruction thanks to a relative of the emperor who lived here.
Next, we were introduced to the theory – and practice – of the martial art of Iaido by our hosts. We witnessed as one of them used a sword to cut a soaked and rolled tatami mat in three (and were told that the reason the mat is used is that it has the same approximate density as a human shoulder!)
Finally, it was our turn.
Decked out in traditional samurai robes, we practiced the three movements that would allow us (hopefully!) to slice through the tatami mats ourselves.
I did it!
… Almost.
After passing the sword back to our teacher, it was time to decompress.
Firstly, with tea.
And secondly, with zazen, accompanied by singing bowls.
I would recommend both experiences to anyone visiting Kyoto for a taste of local culture and tradition that you wouldn’t usually have access to!