WEDNESDAY 28 JANUARY 2015 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 inside What happened MARKETPLACE to Johnny • City Lifestyle unveils Trump Depp? collection P | 5 P 8-9 | FOOD • With eggs and dairy, sugar and spice, bread finds its golden age P | 6 If you’re into cultural immersion, forgo a hotel room in Japan and FASHION book a ryokan such as Kyoto’s • Christian Dior’s Raf Simons constructs a 1960s vision Seikoro Ryokan. The inns are of the 21st century often at least a century old. P | 7 HEALTH • Want to improve your GPA? Get to bed P | 11 TECHNOLOGY • What is Trivia Crack and why are 100m people playing it? STAYING IN A P | 12 LEARN ARABIC • Learn commonly used Arabic words RYOKAN and their meanings P | 13 2 PLUS | WEDNESDAY 28 JANUARY 2015 COVER STORY Prop up your slippered feet at a Japanese ryokan By Paula Shoyer certain customs during their stay, and the procedures are the raveling alone with same at all ryokans. Upon arriv- two teenagers in Japan ing at Seikoro in Kyoto, we had to should have been enough surrender our shoes and put on Tof a challenge for me. slippers. (The ones provided were Add to that the fact that we eat two inches too short for my son only certain fish and vegetarian Jake’s size-10 feet.) We met our food when we travel, and we do attendant, Aya, who was dressed not speak Japanese. Those factors in a colorful kimono, and followed alone should have dictated that her up the narrow stairs to our we play it safe in choosing accom- room. Ryokans typically do not modations. Yet when my husband have elevators, so don’t bring too suggested that we stay in a tra- much luggage, or risk watching ditional Japanese inn during our a wisp of a lady carry your bags time in Kyoto, I was intrigued. up narrow stairs and refuse all Japanese inns, called ryokans, assistance, as we did. are found all over the country, We were instructed to leave our though they are typically in scenic slippers in a specific place outside areas and towns that feature hot the room. I noticed that after we springs. There are also ryokans removed them, Aya always turned in larger cities, but they are older them around so they would point and often not as pretty as those toward the inn’s door. Jake had to in smaller towns. Ryokans were bend down to walk into our room. developed in the 1600s to serve At 14, he is almost 6 feet tall and Japanese travelers journeying clearly too big for Japan. between Tokyo and imperial Ryokans serve Japanese break- Kyoto. fast and dinner, which are often Today there are more than included in the rate and consist 60,000 ryokans, ranging from of between 10 and 20 separate small family-run inns to larger, dishes. All meals are served in modern ones. The buildings are your room on your low table, so often at least 100 years old and you sit on the floor to eat. When have the traditional Japanese we arrived, Aya brought us a pot architecture of wooden buildings, of green tea and pancakes filled pointed roofs, bamboo and green- with a red bean paste. We were ery. Many have beautiful gardens. grateful that the legless chairs Ryokans have simple and serene at the table were cushioned and guest rooms with sliding paper had backs. (We’re supposed to screen doors separating sitting embrace travel in our Golden and sleeping areas, tatami (reed) Years, but I’m not yet 50, and I mats, low tables and closets to found it hard to sit so low.) Jake’s hide the bedding. Linens cover the feet came out the other side of the telephone and television, lest they table. Once we got comfortable, upset the soothing environment. though, our afternoon snack was I chose the Seikoro Ryokan in the perfect welcome. Kyoto because online reviewers After sitting on the floor, I mentioned that the staff spoke appreciated the appeal of the English, which was critical for onsen, an indoor hot spring on us because of our dietary needs. the bottom floor of the inn. There Travelers often say, though, that are separate ones for men and the lack of English is not an women, and bathing suits are obstacle to enjoying a ryokan. The not allowed, which meant that level of hospitality at ryokans is my teens had no interest in going. so high, and the staff is so eager The guest room provided yukata, to please, that guests are able to traditional cotton robes with communicate their needs even long belts, for each of us, which where the English skills are are very comfortable. I put on my Kyoto’s Seikoro Ryokan minimal. robe and went shuffling off in my Guests are expected to follow slippers to find the onsen. PLUS | WEDNESDAY 28 JANUARY 2015 3 Japanese breakfast spread Signs in English direct guests to rinse off in Jake should have gone into the onsen because he luxurious. Jake slept well, too, although the bed a space with shower sprays and little wooden could fit into the tub in the guestroom only while was too short for him. Within minutes of our wak- benches to sit on. There are also small wooden in the fetal position. The shower head sprayed ing, Aya had cleared away all the bedding and set buckets that I assumed were for rinsing yourself. water no higher than the middle of his back, but up our table for breakfast. Next you are told to soap up, rinse and then relax he managed to get the job done. At the lower end Don’t stay at a ryokan if you don’t like Japanese in the pool. The water was really hot and made of the height scale, my daughter, Emily, and I had food; there is no other option. Each day started all my traveling aches disappear. After only 10 no problem showering. with Aya bringing us a lavish breakfast. We ate minutes, however, I felt fully cooked. After I dried Japanese bathrooms are extremely clean, and grilled salmon or mackerel, dried fish, grated rad- off, I put the yukata back on and tied the belt. On the toilets offer a full spa treatment. In Japan, ish, pickled turnip and eggplant, dried seaweed, the way back to the room, a staff member told me even the toilets in public places have warmed toi- tofu, miso soup and rice. The first day we had egg that I had wrapped myself in the wrong direction. let seats and a console with buttons to press to custard, the second day we had a barely poached I learned later that you are supposed to tuck the play music, spray water or activate a dryer. This egg that is mixed into the rice with chopsticks. right side under the left. Only corpses have the fastidiousness was also in evidence at the inn: Each food item came on a separate plate, which left side tucked under the right! Guests are given separate slippers to wear into made me glad I was not a Japanese housewife. the toilet room and are forbidden to wear them The food was prepared simply, yet everything was anyplace else. delicious. No one missed their cold cereal. My son’s size was not the only challenge we The stay was extremely relaxing, and the faced in Japan. We had to be careful about food, ryokan was a true oasis for travelers like us, so we were armed with a printout from a website rushing to pack in a week’s worth of sightsee- that explained our dietary restrictions. I gave the ing in Kyoto and Nara into three days. Every printout to Aya, who told us it would not be a time we returned to the inn, we were greeted problem for us to have the traditional Japanese by a team of people, our slippers, glasses of cold Ryokans serve Japanese breakfast. It wasn’t always so easy: One night in water and smiling faces. breakfast and dinner, which are Kyoto, we presented our sheet to a chef who, after Although staying in a ryokan is ideally suited reading it for 10 minutes, simply said “No.” Other to the nimble and petite, the experience was well often included in the rate and restaurants were more accomodating, including worth any minor physical discomforts. We expe- a vegetarian eatery in Kyoto’s Gion neighborhood rienced travel the way the Japanese did 400 years consist of between 10 and 20 called Mitoko. ago, a far cry from staying at a Western-style separate dishes. I slept nine hours straight on both our nights at hotel. And although I cannot imagine crawling the ryokan, something I haven’t done since college. across a tatami mat in my 70s, I noticed that The futon on the floor was so comfortable, the the elderly people I saw in Japan were very spry. linens made of the softest cotton and the duvets, WP-Bloomberg 4 PLUS | WEDNESDAY 28 JANUARY 2015 CAMPUS MIA visit The children of Pearl School West Bay Campus were taken to the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) recently for a study trip. The children were accompanied by teachers and all were enthusiastically listening to the museum guide. Children were also found to be taking notes and asking relevant questions. They also spent time in the MIA park, playing and having snacks. Traffic awareness programme at SIS ommunity Policing, working students got the opportunity to learn under the aegis of Ministry many set of rules that are manda- Cof Interior, organised a tory for driving.