Japan, Part 1

Torii at Miyajima

Moving to the tertiary stream at RMIT has one major advantage over teaching in English, and that is the between-semester non-teaching weeks ... perfect for taking a little trip! At the beginning of the year, I decided to short-list a number of ‘must-see’ countries while I am in Vietnam and at the top of that list was Japan. My trip came hot on the heels of the end-of-semester tizzy and my training in Kuala Lumpur, so I hadn’t done much planning prior to going. I knew I wanted to see my former students, Kayo, Asuka, and Machi and visit Tokyo and Kyoto. Aside from that, I was not sure what I wanted to see and do.


Restaurant Decoration

 Kayo and her husband, Yoshi, kindly invited me to stay with them while I was in Tokyo. They and their little girl, Yune, live in a lovely apartment in a very nice part of Tokyo. I was able to find their subway stop and exit easily. Despite the systems being daunting, the public transportation is pretty easy to get around on and the people in booths and near machines are very helpful in giving information and directions. Even other passengers were extremely gracious in assisting this sojourner ... even though I mostly tried to be self-sufficient.


View from Yoshi and Kayo's Apartment



Kayo and Yune

 It was wonderful to see Kayo after seven years ... I can’t believe it has been that long. She looks great and is a very sweet and patient mum. And very creative, as she has made some of Yune’s toys. Yune just turned one year old the day before I arrived; she is absolutely adorable and is a petite perpetual-motion person. What a going concern! She had a bit of a fever and was in the process of cutting some teeth, so she had other things on her mind than meeting me ... but I was enchanted by her. Kayo had made plans to take her to see a doctor, as Yune’s temperature was a bit high and so I walked to their neighbourhood hospital with them and was very impressed by the service. We were in and out of the place in 45 minutes. Kayo swears it is not always so efficient, but it seemed very smooth to me. On the way back we popped into the supermarket and patisserie that are in the lower floor of Kayo’s building. How convenient!

Yune - one-year-old cutie-pie



Kayo in Neighbourhood Supermarket

 We spent a lot of time gabbing and I met Yoshi, who is a very involved and hands-on type of dad. We had a lovely meal prepared by Kayo, and then I settled in for the night. The next morning we all went to Nikko, (Japanese for sunlight) which is a lovely town about a 2 ½ hour drive from Tokyo.


Yune and Yoshi



Shinto Attendant at Nikko

It is the site of an ancient Shinto shrine which is a World Heritage site as well as a beautiful lake and national park. It was a wonderful day, with the company, weather, food, and vistas all being incredible. We first stopped at a traditional Nikko restaurant where we had an amazing meal centred mostly on yuba, a tofu by-product. We had a private room, which was great, so Yune could play and wander at will when she had eaten. Everything was delicious and most beautifully presented.

Lovely Yuba Lunch

After lunch we got to some serious sight-seeing at the Tosho-gu and Taiyuin-byo Shrines, which are very ornately decorated mausoleum-shrines to the shoguns Tokugawa Ieyasu and his grandson, Tokugawa Iemitsu. There is a striking contrast between the opulent ornamentation of the shrines, gates, fountains and approximately 1300 cedar trees on the grounds of the shrines. We spent a few hours wandering around the grounds of the shrines and walking up many, many, many steps to Taiyuin-byo. The shrines are very popular and there were crowds everywhere we went, but for the most part folks were laid back and very courteous. The intricacies of the carvings and the paintings and decorations were just amazing ... one very famous one is of a little sleeping cat. Yoshi mentioned this carving is also a symbol of peace, as the cat is sleeping near a sparrow ... natural enemies peacefully co-existing.

Tosho-gu Shrine and Cedar Trees



Sleeping Cat Carving

 Afterward, we had a very exciting mountain drive up to the Nikko National Park to see Kegon Falls. I am so amazed by how wooded this part of Japan is ... many, many deciduous trees. The autumn colours had not really begun yet, as I had hoped, but it was very beautiful. The rice crops were close to harvesting and so the rice fields were a lovely golden colour ... in contrast to Vietnam, where a new crop has been put in and the fields are a brighter green. It was really nice to be in a place where there was obviously a change of seasons and in Japan the onset of Autumn is reflected in the clothing and food and colour palette as well as home, store and even street decorations. The waterfall and Lake Chuzen-ji were lovely and we got to see them just as the sun was going down.

The Otsukas at Kegon Falls

Lake Chuzen-ji

The next day I was picked up by Asuka and her husband, Saburo, and their little boy, Kota. Kota is about 3 months older than Yune. I had seen Asuka and Saburo when they came to Canada for their honeymoon a couple of years ago. Their second son is due to join them in January, and they were just getting ready to move into their new home, so Asuka has her hands full. She is a wonderful mother ... so patient and calm, and Saburo is also a very devoted father. It was lovely to see them and to spend the day together.

Kota, Saburo, Asuka, and Kayo in Tokyo

They took me to Asakusa, which is a very interesting part of Tokyo, dominated by the Senso-ji Temple, Tokyo’s most sacred and spectacular Buddhist temple which seems to be devoted to Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of Mercy. I was surprised not to see many mages of her (Guanyin/ Quan Âm) in Japan ... she is certainly evident everywhere in Viet Nam. Asakusa is a real commercial centre as well with several streets full of vendors selling traditional arts and crafts, souvenirs, religious memorabilia, and of course ... many, many sweets and snack foods. And I saw a sumo wrestler walking down the street! That was very exciting.

Senso-ji Temple



Nakamise-dori

 It was a glorious day and we strolled down the Nakamise-dori, stopping to look at all the wares on offer and ended up at Senso-ji. We poked about the temple complex ... several different temples actually and a pagoda, which can be seen in stark contrast to the Tokyo Sky Tree, which is due to become the tallest tower in Japan ... or maybe the world.

Asuka, Kota, and Saburo

After prayers and getting our fortunes, we went to a great restaurant for lunch. The specialty there was tororo, which is grated yamaimo (Japanese mountain yam) and is often served on noodles, sashimi, or steamed rice. It was the first time I had ever even heard of it and I really enjoyed it.

Lunch at Tororo Restaurant

The restaurant was lovely and everything was so beautifully presented. And I was so full I waddled out of the restaurant. Little Mr Kota fell asleep in the car on the way back to Kayo and Yoshi’s place … what a cutie!

Sleeping Kota

After spending another lovely day with Kayo and Yune, I took the overnight bus to Hiroshima. I was really ambivalent about going to Hiroshima … not keen to see the terrible effects of war, I guess. But Kayo encouraged me to go and I am so glad I took her advice. It was an amazing experience. I took a streetcar from the Hiroshima Station to my hotel, which is near the Peace Park. My first sight was the atomic dome … gulp! I wandered around for a few minutes and was surprised by the quiet and peaceful atmosphere, but I needed to get rid of my luggage.

Atomic Bomb Dome

I had a bit of trouble finding my hotel … no identifying signs in English … but when I finally found it, I dropped off my bag and got instructions on how to get to Miyajima Island, another one of Kayo’s suggestions. Miyajima is amazing … the whole island is sacred, and so the torii (which is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the sacred to the profane … thank you Wikipedia) is located in the sea quite close to the island. The torii at Miyajima is supposed to be most beautiful at high tide, when the gate seems to float on water, but I went at low tide and so people could walk right up to the gate.

Miyajima Torii

The lower part of Miyajima is dominated by Itsukushima Shrine, which is a UN World Heritage Site and also a Japanese treasure. This Shinto shrine has been rebuilt many times, but the first shrine buildings were probably erected in the 6th century. It is huge and built on stilts and also seems to float when the tide is high. The main hall is stunning and I was fortunate to see a young, newly-married couple who must have gone to Itsukushima to have their marriage blessed. Or to have photos taken…^-^…

Itsukushima Shrine



Itsukushima Shrine

 I walked partway up Mount Misen and spent a long time at a Buddhist temple called Daishō-in, which was founded by the monk Kūkai, who was the one of the most famous monks in Japan and the founder of Shingon Buddhism, a sort of esoteric sect, from what I can gather. So, Daishō-in is the head temple of one of the denominations of Shingon Buddhism as well as very old, dating from 806. It was such a beautiful day and the grounds of the temple and associated buildings were largely deserted, so it was very peaceful. Lots of (like 500) small statues of various Budhist divinities ... each one of them different. There were prayer wheels and sutra and various temples and halls and incarnations of Buddha are at Daishō-in.

Shaka Nyorai or Shaka Buddha

And there are many jizos here … Jizo Bosatsu is a bodhisattva, who receives enlightenment, but delays Buddhahood until all of us are saved; jizos are much beloved figures in Japan. Jizo is a special protector of children, travelers, and women. You often see jizos dressed in red bibs or with hats ... parents who have lost babies often look after jizos as though they were their lost children. Lots and lots to look at and the view was lovely with the sea and trees visible from the mountainside.

Jizo

View from Daisho-in Temple

As I left Miyajima, I was aware I had not even seen half of all that there was to see, but I knew the Peace Park awaited and so I left reluctantly. Next time I would definitely stay for the night on Miyajima.

Rakan Statue

Once I got back to Hiroshima, I had a chance to explore the Peace Memorial Park. It was rather late to go to the museum, so I contented myself with exploring the outdoor features of the park. For those of you who know how important origami cranes are to me, you will appreciate how moving it was for me to see the Children’s Peace Monument and all the senbazuru (1,000 cranes) nearby. I was so happy that I had some cranes in my purse (I folded a lot of them while I was travelling) and I could place them in a spot where others had done the same.

Cranes at Hiroshima

Children's Peace Memorial

The light was gorgeous at that time of day and it was hard to believe that this serene setting was at Ground Zero for the atomic bomb dropped on August 6, 1945. I saw kids playing, people walking dogs, folks jogging, businessmen strolling home and couples sitting and talking quietly ... Today it is hard to imagine the scope of the destruction and havoc that was wreaked 65 years ago. One of my favourite scenes was at one monument festooned with many senbazuru. Atop the monument, making itself comfortable among the cranes was a black and white cat ... I was instantly reminded of the cat carving at Nikko and how Yoshi had told me about the peace symbolism. Surely it was replicated at Hiroshima that day. I felt really blessed to see it.

Sleeping Cat on Cranes, Hiroshima

I stayed the night in Hiroshima after eating Hiroshima-okinomi-yaki ... I guess the only carb missing would be potatoes ...^-^... The guys making it were very cute and were a pleasure to watch work.

Hiroshima-okinomi-yaki

Cute Chefs

I took the bus from Hiroshima to Kyoto and I should end this blog with one of my very favourite features of Japan ... the WCs. At a highway rest stop, this is what travellers were greeted with ... flower arangements, bidet, heated seats, handrail and diaper changing.  I am assuming one if for the elderly and the other for the young, but I could be wrong. Highly civilized, I must say!

Roadside WC

Rest Area Decoration

I will write Part 2 soon, but this entry has taken me ALL week ... getting back into the swing of things has been more time-consuming than I might have guessed. Lots of exciting projects and I will talk about them eventually. In the meantime, I was thinking of all Canadians on Thanksgiving and hoping it was beautiful for you. After my trip to Hiroshima, I have a better sense of just how fortunate we Canadians are. LOTS of photos on flickr if you care to see ...http://www.flickr.com/photos/raven_chick/. Please let me know how you are. I love to hear from you all!

Beautiful Baby Kota

Noren