Philosophical Kyoto

OK, so since it is Golden Week (Goruden Ueeeku), we are heading down to Kyoto.

No, I know what you're thinking, but the reason is not, in fact, to view Kyoto's well-known Polish Dill Pickles:

We need to firstly cross the Duck River:

And head down to the Philosophers Path. This is a path that runs along a canal. Nice, isn't it?

However, we are slightly late. During Sakura season, this is, apparently so beautiful that it may bring you to tears. That probably won't help you to become a philosopher. However, the air is very good - look at all the green stuff on the trees:

And the canal water is so fresh that it contains lots of Carp. One more than one occasion I head children asking their parents about the fish. All answers were: "yes, it is tasty!". The fish get progressively smaller as you go upstream, which gives you the impression that the big ones are too fat to make it, or that they slim down a lot on the way. However, observing the Carp swimming against the tide was somewhat philosophical.

So far, so OK, but then we get to ...

... a random pair of old teddy bears on a bespoke toy bench! With walking sticks! Clearly this has some deep meaning.

Also impressive were the dustbins, with a pair of what looks like smiling eggs ready to perform general cleaning tasks. Industrious.

You can also get Philosophy Soba (noodles)! Wow. Even they've really commercialised the experience, or this is a chance for gaining great wisdom. While I was pondering these two equally attractive options, I found...

A temple dedicated to "tying destiny" - i.e. marriage. Good place to put it, in Kyoto, that is.

And this temples mascots are a pair of mice. They promise to open your luck, bring wealth (always a good side-benefit), and tie your destiny. One seems to hold a scroll of something serious and important, possibly a diet plan, because the other one seems to have eaten all the pies.

However, this sign was the most interesting and informative, I found.

" YOU'VE FORGOTTEN SOMETHING ! "

Tidying up after poo is the responsibility of the dog owner. Please discipline you dog to, as much as is possible, do poos in your house. Let's take poo home and tidy it up there!
- Kyoto Municipal Home Animal Discussion Forum, Kyoto Health Protection Board


And this, very slightly, reminded me of the market - you've got to face up to your liabilities.

Service

After receiving a phone call from an excruciatingly polite, and very nearly hyperventilating employee of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ Bank, detailed here, I knew that it would be diligently seen to that my 500 Yen ($5) gift card would not deviate from a smooth and punctual delivery to my oversized foreign hands.

And, indeed, it was so.

I was not surprised to receive the letter on time. I was more surprised by my reaction to it. Not having opened a bank account since Nat West offered me a GBP10 book token sometime last century, I was curiously sent back to an earlier self, one that found the best thing about Corn Flakes to be the little coloured submarines and holograms they would put in them. And then I realised that there is still some of this in everyone. Anyway, back to the story.

So I get the letter, open it, and expect to see, you know, the kind of letter which starts with "Dear Valued Customer", reeks of fake politeness and insincerity, and goes on to tell you things which can't possibly be true, such as the "expert customer advisers" would be "delighted" to walk you through their mortgages "to find the right product to suit your needs", and that they value their relationship with you, and that if you are hard of hearing, you can phone a number where they speak really, really loud, and if you are blind, well, how the hell are you reading this anyway?

Suitably braced with this expectation on one hand, childishly excited at the prospect of a free $5 voucher and the excitement of what to do with it on the other (one medium-sized slice of really good cake with real strawberries), I open the letter to find this:



My gift card, in a high-spec, but understated (of course - this is Japan, not Las Vegas, you know) envelope. And the letter:



Not only is there a smiling and helpful cartoon staff member of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ Banking Corporation (very true-to-life, I felt), but also, there is a hand-written message!

When Japanese banks start to expand their operations to the UK, RBS, HSBC and Lloyds will have a tough battle on their hands.

And this episode slightly reminds me of the market. Always question your assumptions.

Always Look Out for Penguins

Now, while you're on a train platform in Tokyo, standing neatly in line at the designated boarding spot, perhaps you are bored. You are sure to look around and read everything your eyes can see - the posters, the newspaper held by the guy next to you, the health and safety notices, and even the vending machine.
　
So, good job that the vending machine has...

... a chance to win a Suica (Tokyo Oyster card but cleverer) penguin toaster !


　250 toasters per week available over four weeks. All you have to do is buy something worth over 100Yen ($1) from the vending machine, then use your mobile to go to their website to win!


　 And when you make toast in your penguin toaster, the bread comes out with...

...penguins on it!
　

　 Toast penguin San is saying "Let's toast a Pengin Hoto Sando (Penguin Hot Sandwitch)!"


And this reminds me a little of the market.


You don't always need to stand in the designated boarding space.


And remember to take a good look around you.