Upward Over The Mountain (Buddhas, Ninjas and Nature)

Grab a cup of tea. This is going to be a long one.

I have no idea why there are so many national holidays in this country. No one seems to celebrate or honor anything. They just stay at home and do nothing. It's very strange...
I, on the other hand, took the opportunity of another long weekend to do some more traveling. I spent Saturday and Sunday atop Mt. Koya. ('Koya-san' as it is affectionately referred to by the Japanese people). The monastic complex of Koya-san is the headquarters of the Shingon school of Esoteric Buddhism (in other words, a gigantic Buddhist monastery on top of a mountain). It was founded by Kobo Daishi 1200 years ago and remains a very popular school and World Heritage Site (over 110 very old temples remain) as well as an extremely popular Buddhist pilgrimage site. I went with my host mother, two Buddhist priests and six other women. It took three trains, a cable car and bus to get there (5 hours!) but the journey was actually not so bad on account of windy railroad that brought with it some very beautiful scenery. When we got to Koya-san, we first visited the Garan, or main temple complex. The bright red pagoda and old wooden buildings looked stunning against the background of red, orange and yellow Japanese maple trees (Japan is in the midst of the leaf change right now- gorgeous!). The priests led us through the complex in the proper order and we entered some of the temples to bow and pray to the deities inside. The priests were explaining all about Esoteric Buddhism, each specific deity and Buddhist customs as we went along and I was absolutely choked that I couldn't understand much of what they were saying (my host mother translated what she could, but her English seemed to get worse and worse as the weekend went on). I loved the temples. I've never seen anything like them. Inside are gigantic carvings of deities surrounded by beautiful golden adornments and the thick, overwhelming scent of incense- the feeling of entering one of these temples is indescribable. Also, when you enter, you rub a fragrant powder on your hands that is meant to cleanse them which, for me, resulted in such an overwhelming peaceful and calm feeling as I knelt with my hands clasped close to my face (it almost helped me forget the pain in my knees and the pins and needles in my feet that result from kneeling for a long period of time). After paying our respects at the Garan (and about 20 other temples along the road), we went to another temple where we received Jukai. Jukai is an Esoteric Buddhist ceremony that one must complete in order to be officially Buddhist. You enter a very dark room (complete with another beautiful Buddhist shrine), meditate and chant. It takes about 30 minutes. Anyone can receive Jukai regardless of religion (I love that about Buddhism) and receiving it does not mean you are a Buddhist unless you wish to be so. After this, we arrived at the temple at which we were staying the night. Being that Koya-san is located on top of a mountain, it was rather cold. Oddly enough, inside the temple was colder. Luckily, our room had two small heaters. Our room was large with tatami mat floors, sliding paper doors and two tables. It is customary when staying in these temples (called Shukubo) or Ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) that your futon is laid out for you while you are eating dinner away from your room- which is exactly what happened. After a delicious (all vegetarian!) Japanese dinner prepared by the monks, we returned to our room to find futons laid side by side all across the room (with nice little feet warmer things-it was very cosy). Seeing as we were joined by two priests on our trip, we did everything according to proper custom, which meant paying our respects to the shrine in our room. This is where things get a little unbelievable so please bear with me and keep an open mind (and remember I was a guest and extremely lucky to have been asked to go on this trip). One of the priests was apparently able to contact the deities who would then speak through him and offer advice if properly enticed to do so. So, an incredible feast was laid out before the shrine (of each of the deities favourite foods apparently) and we were asked to meditate. After a short time, the priest informed us that deities were present and pleased with the offering. He then called us up one by one to receive a message from one of the deities. That is all that I will say about that.
The next morning, we woke early to meditate with the monks and other temple guests. Again, the room had a beautiful Buddhist shrine and we meditated and chanted as per the two monks who lead the meditation. The calm feeling this creates lasts all day. After packing up, we went to Oku-no-in. Oku-no-in was on my list of top 10 places I wanted to visit in Japan and it didn't disappoint. Oku-no-in is a world famous Buddhist graveyard set in an old cedar forest at the eastern side of Mt. Koya. It is absolutely enchanting. You cross the bridge (bow first of course) and instantly the world is silenced as gigantic cedar trees loom and you are surrounded by ancient, moss-covered tombstones. Because it was early in the morning, the sunlight that shone in beams through the trees was just beginning to evaporate the dew which rose into a beautiful mist and made the forest look like something out of a dream. It is quite possibly the most utterly peaceful place on earth. We walked along the path, stopping every so often to bow where it was customary (thank goodness for the priests) until we reached another bridge. Before crossing the bridge you must first go to a long line of Buddhist deity statues and toss water on each one as an offering for the dead. Then you may go to the bridge, bow, introduce yourself complete with name and address, bow again and cross (which foot you step up with is also important). Beyond this point is one of the most spiritual places on Earth: the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi (now you understand the history lesson). You first pass though Lantern Hall (where it is said there are lanterns that have been burning for more than 900 years) and go to the back to see Kobo Daishi's mausoleum where it is believed Kobo Daishi is not dead but has been meditating for 1000 years awaiting the future Buddha's return to Earth. Everyone who is anyone is buried here in the hope of being rewarded when the future Buddha returns. This place is world famous among Buddhists and was naturally incredibly busy. Everyone crowds this one area to light candles and incense for their family and pray to Kobo Daishi for the health and prosperity of themselves and their family (yes, Mom, I did it too). The result of all this incense burning is the most incredible, fragrant fog that fills the air on this side of Oku-no-in. I've never experienced anything to rival this. It was so meaningful to me and I will never forget it. As we left Oku-no-in, the priest led us past a very long line of Bodhisattva carvings (there are hundreds of Bodhisattvas in Esoteric Buddhism). Every so often he would stop, call someone forward and announce that this was their guardian Bodhisattva. He would teach that person how to properly worship them (chant, offering, ect.) have them bow, chant, pray and bow and move on. My guardian Bodhisattva apparently is Monju Bosatsu: Buddhist Deity of Wisdom. I thought it was interesting that this is my guardian deity as he is the only deity pictured riding a lion and my star sign is Leo. Maybe I am forcing a connection, I'm not sure, but I thought it was interesting anyway. Then it was the five hour journey back home. I must have bowed over 500 times in two days- quite the abdominal workout!

If you are still with me, here is what you were waiting for: Ninjas. On Tuesday (national holiday, remember?), Sean, John and I went to Iga which is famous for it's ninja history. I love ninjas. Who doesn't?? Stealthy assassins are so cool (why do you think the James Bond movies still make so much money?). We went to the Ninja Museum where we were showed around an old-style 'ninja house' complete with trap doors, revolving walls, lookout points and the like. The ninja who was showing us around (yes, they still train ninja's here) demonstrated the revolving wall. I swear she disappeared in half a second and the wall looked completely normal (when I did it, it took about five seconds for me to get behind the door and I had a heck of a time keeping the door still). Then we got to look at real ninja weapons. There is a lot more to ninja weaponry than shurikans, swords and nun-chuks. They had more gadgets than Batman and this was around 700 hundred years ago. We then watched a weapons demonstration where we saw ninjas fight each other and throw shurikans (throwing stars). Yes, it was extremely cool. From here, we traveled to Ise where the most sacred shrine in Japan is located: Ise Shrine. I can see why it is considered more sacred than Atsuta Shrine (in Nagoya) because it is located in a peaceful place in the woods, surrounded by trees and rivers, and all the buildings are wooden with moss roofs (Shinto is a nature worship religion by the way) whereas Atsuta Shrine is located in a big city and all the buildings, while gorgeous, look shiny and new. Iga and Ise are very far from each other and from Chiryu so this was an extremely long day trip but definitely worth every minute of travel. All of these places had the most beautiful trees also on account of the autumn colours. I wish you could experience it as a camera can only capture so much.

That took a long time to retell but I really enjoyed reliving all that as I typed. Thanks for reading, I wouldn't be writing this if not for you!

I understand Vancouver has a lot of snow. Well you know what Vancouver? Keep your snow, I like it right here where it's 15° and the leaves are still falling. (Bitter? Maybe.)

Peace, Love and Throwing Stars,

Britt


I miss fireplaces.

Don't Stop Believing (Until You Burst)

And 10 hours later...I exit my food coma. Yes, I have been literally dizzy due to an overdose of sugar caused by something I ate 10 hours ago. Doesn't sound so bad does it? Trust me when I say it was worse than swine flu. No, I'm exaggerating, but that really was the worst stomach ache I have had in a very long time.
So here's the story: John loves food. Loves it. Never stops talking about it or thinking about it. Everyone knows this by now, including Professor Nishio, one of our professors here. So a couple of weeks ago, Professor Nishio told John about 'the unbelievable.' (Sounds ominous doesn't it?) We were all astounded and intrigued by 'the unbelievable' and bragged how there was no way it was too 'unbelievable' for us. But really, something called 'the unbelievable' doesn't seem like something you would ever actually encounter. But then, last week, Nishio-sensei very casually said, "Okay, so next week I'll take you to get 'the unbelievable.'" No problem. I looked forward to this class all week. I think perhaps one reason it is called 'the unbelievable' is because you really can't picture this thing. You have absolutely no idea what is in store for you. That is, until you reach Cat's Cafe. Quite a different Cat's Cafe than the one I've already visited. Now, in Japan, you see, it is believed that sight of food invokes hunger. So almost all restaurants will display plastic versions of the food they serve outside of the shop. So our first glimpse of 'the unbelievable' came before we even sat down. And let me tell you, when we sat down, we were positively shaking from fear. We all exchanged these looks that seemed to say, "What have we gotten ourselves into??" But Professor Nishio seemed positively chipper. He ordered our 'unbelievable' with a smile and then sat back and sipped his coffee. "You're going to help us right Nishio-sensei?" John asked. "Maybe I'll just have a couple if bites," he replied. Oh my, no. We are down to three people. "Better prepare ourselves, guys." Then Sean informed us that he can't eat a lot of sweet stuff. "Half a chocolate bar and I'm done," he said. Great, just perfect. John and I exchanged very worried glances. After the 20 mintues it took to make this monstrosity, it arrived. (That poor girl who had to make it..) We snapped some pictures and dug in. Fast-forward about 30 mintues, 'the unbelievable' is half-eaten and we are coiled over in our seat, seconds from vomiting. Oh yes, the first few minutes were heaven, the last 25 were like Chinese water torture: slow, painful, and all you can do is think about and dread the next drop.
Alright, I've kept you in suspense for long enough. What is 'the unbelievable' you ask? Well here it is (drum roll please):

'The unbelievable' is ice cream, whipped cream, cornflakes, ice cream, whipped cream, brownies, pudding, wafer, sorbet, fruit, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce and powdered sugar. (Layered a few times over.) Served in a bucket. Yes, a bucket. A bucket that was bigger than my head.
Why did I eat this? I have absolutely no idea.

I hope you enjoyed that. Now onto the real adventures.
Actually I only have one for you this week. On Saturday I ventured on my own to the little seaside town of Tokoname (and didn't get lost!!). Tokoname is famous for pottery throughout the world and is the top manufacturer of maneki-neko in Japan (that cute beckoning cat in the front of Asian stores). I am not normally a big fan of pottery but I needed something to do and Sean recommended it to me. It was actually very neat! (That's right I said neat.) When I got off the train, I popped into the tourist center to grab a map and followed it to the start of the "Pottery Walk" which takes you through the quaint little streets of Tokoname which are littered with pottery and pottery shops. And it's true, there were maneki-neko everywhere! Even a very large one overlooking the main road. It was all very adorable. I wandered along the path, browsed the little shops with their statues, vases, teapots and more, stopped to pet a couple of real 'neko,' watched numerous artists as they sketched the picturesque little town around them full of old looking rooftops and old pottery smokestacks, took lots of pictures, grabbed lunch and headed home. It was a very pleasant day.

I'm afraid that's all I've got this week. I am still really enjoying riding my bike to school. It's getting colder but I like riding my bike so much that I don't mind. I have a very full weekend starting tomorrow so I'll have lots to report next week. (A little something to look forward to for you procrastinators out there.)

Oh that's right, we also had a takoyaki party with our friends. Takoyaki parties involve making takoyaki (who'd have thought?!) which is a lot of fun and extremely delicious.

Have a good weekend and stay warm Vancouver.

Britt♥

PS. Next time someone suggests drowning your sorrows in a bucket of ice cream, take my advice and DON'T DO IT.


I miss eggnog lattes.

Day Tripper (Eight Days A Week)

In an effort to distract myself from growing homesickness, I have made it my goal to keep myself perpetually busy and it seems I have more than succeeded. In fact, I have plans for every weekend until January. Last Saturday, while John and Sean were both doing some solo traveling, I made it my goal not to spend the day suffering through my homesickness at my host-home. Instead I went to a movie with my host mother and brothers. I knew I would not be able to understand the movie but I did not have any other plans and my host mother told me that this was an award winning movie. (It was called Genpin, if you are interested. I won't tell you about it so look it up if you want to know what it's all about. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.) Japanese movie theatres are kind of cool. They are seated and you choose your seats when you buy your tickets. They also sell churros which I loved- it was like being at the fair. Earlier in the week, one of my teachers gave me tickets to see the Century Chamber Orchestra in Toyota because I expressed my love for classical music. I had two tickets and, seeing as both Sean and John were out of town (and I get lost easily), I offered one to my host mother which she gratefully accepted. Unfortunately, my host father was working in the evening on Saturday so the children had to come as well. So, after the movie we grabbed lunch and suffered through traffic all the way from Okazaki to Toyota. It would not have been a problem if the children had not slept through the drive but, when we arrived at the concert, the kids were wide awake and in no mood to sit through a 40 minute symphony. I don't blame them, I would not have wanted to either at that age, however, the people around us were a bit annoyed at the children talking and bouncing in their seats. It was a bit awkward especially when they asked my host mother to take the baby outside after the first piece and I was left with my two other host brothers (ages 5 and 7) to take care of. (It's very hard to explain to children why they need to be quiet when you don't speak their language). But, for the most part, I enjoyed the orchestra.
On Sunday, Sean and I (John was still traveling) went to Tajimi in Gifu Prefecture to meet with Yamaguchi-sensei who wanted to take us around Tajimi and Seki to see some interesting things. (By the way, the train ride from Aichi Prefecture to Gifu Prefecture was gorgeous. You pass through mountains and numerous tunnels to get there.) Our first stop was the sword and knife museum in Seki where the traditional sword-making ceremony would be performed. Seki is renowned for being the greatest producer of cutlery in the world as well as for it's sword-making. You can see the traditional sword-making ceremony on only 6 days each year so we were very fortunate to be able to see it. It really amazes me how many traditions Japan has kept. Katana have been made in this exact same way for 1200 years so I was very thankful to have been able to witness the ceremony. Afterward, we browsed some cutlery stores before heading to the Enku Museum. In order to get to the Enku Museum, you must walk through a bamboo forest. It was so beautiful it felt like I was dreaming. On the other side of the forest where the museum was, it was so peaceful, too. There is no better location for a museum like this. Enku, was a Buddhist priest who, throughout his life, carved over 100,000 images of Buddha. He traveled all around Japan doing this but the majority of the statues are in Gifu Prefecture, hence the museum. The carvings were amazing but, unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take pictures. I will tell you that my favourite was a large Buddha that was found floating down a river after a flood that looked oddly similar to a statue of the Virgin Mary. I thought that one was the most interesting. Next was a quick stop at a pottery museum and then a looooooong wait for Sushi Ro (a famous kaiten-sushi restaurant). There were more people than I have ever seen waiting to get a table at this restaurant! There must have been 30 parties ahead of us (and this was the second Sushi Ro we stopped at- the other was too full too!). Luckily, kaiten-sushi is pretty quick as meals go so we waited about 40 minutes (it was worth it).
Wednesday, Sean and I skipped school to go to Nara. We were given permission to do so on account of the fact that the famous Shoso-in treasures were being shown only for 2 more days, so if we didn't go then we would have missed them. We got the bus early in the morning and arrived in Nara at about 10:30. My Japan guide book has a great walking tour mapped out of Nara Park (henceforth referred to as Nara-koen) which we had decided to follow. Nara was absolutely incredible and definitely my favourite place in Japan so far! It is a large city but has a much calmer atmosphere than that of Osaka (it reminded me a Vancouver a bit). Many people had told me that Nara-koen is full of deer but I did not expect this. Right away as we neared the park there was a deer standing in the middle of the sidewalk with people just casually walking by. As I got closer I saw another deer, and then another, and then another just casually standing around a little old Japanese woman selling 'deer crackers' at a cart. In Canada, a deer will run away the second you get anywhere close to it so I did not expect these deer to not even flinch as I slowly stepped closer and closer. Finally, I reached out (half expecting the deer to suddenly raise it's head and bite me) and touched the deer on the head. It looked at me and didn't move. I was thrilled!! I went and bought some crackers from the Japanese woman and fed my new friend when suddenly I was surrounded by about five deer all nudging me and biting my coat! I gave each deer a cracker moved away quickly. There are literally tens of thousands of deer in this park and, cracker or no cracker, you can just walk up to them and pet them (usually they give you this look that says, "alright now where's my cracker?") They are so cute! It's like a gigantic petting zoo! I could talk all day about these deer but instead I'll move on. First stop on our walking tour was Kofuku-ji and my first Japanese pagoda. There was another museum here showing a limited time display so we decided to check it out and boy am I glad we did! It was amazing. Tons of wooden statues of Buddhas, priests, Buddhist deities including a gigantic 1000-armed statue of Buddha, a national treasure. (definitely not 1000 arms, I counted.) It was amazing. Everything in this museum was stunning. Next was the Nara National Museum for the Shoso-in exhibit. It paled in comparison to what we had just seen. Yes, everything was from the 6th century from when Nara was the capital of Japan, but it all just looked like old, rotting, broken stuff. The only thing of any interest was a beautiful biwa (lute) inlaid with mother-of-pearl and amber. Although, after a 30 minute line-up to get into the museum and a 15 minute line-up to see the biwa, I was not so impressed with this museum. Besides deer, Nara-koen is absolutely littered with temples and shrines. We must have stopped at at least 20 before we decided that it would take too long to stop at every one. We did make a long stop at Todai-ji Temple, home to the famous Daibutsu statue (gigantic wooden Buddha), which was amazing. I could go on and on about Nara, I really loved it, but I won't bore you (this is getting a bit long as it is). I am going back to Nara at the end of December so I can visit with the deer and Buddhas again. :-)

As you can see, it's day trips galore. And I have so many coming up I really feel like I do need eight days in a week. It's a good thing though. The busier I am, the less time I have to think about home. It's strange to miss home and not miss it at the same time...

I should mention the other great news from this week. I was given a bike by the school. It's not necessary, but I love it all the same. It is pink and has a basket and a bell (I'd be jealous too). It takes me about the same time to get to school when I park it at a station close to school but I love riding it so much that I plan to ride it to school often. Finally the vision I had of myself riding my bike through the streets of Japan is coming to life. (All I need now is my school girl uniform).

That might be all for now...I'm not sure anymore, I am lost in thoughts of my bike...and now of Vancouver....and now of everyone I'll miss at Christmas....oh dear, I need go find something to do.

Until next time,

Brittany

I miss walking dogs.

Lost In The Supermarket (Probably Eventually...)

Next time I go traveling, the first thing on my list will be a compass.
I thought it was very coincidental that I was listening to 'Lost In The Supermarket' by The Clash this morning and I got myself very lost again today for the third time. Every time I have gotten lost, it has been entirely because I never know which direction I am facing. As I was going over the directions with Nishio-sensei to where I was heading today, John said, "Make sure you get on the train going south." Right....towards....the ocean...which is...where again? I know what you are thinking. 'Brittany, you have been living in Japan for over a month now. Shouldn't you know how to get from place to place?' Well, let me tell you something. We, in Vancouver, are completely spoiled by those big mountains and that huge sparkling ocean. You hardly have to think at all to know which way is north. Not to mention, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, East Vancouver...it's like a child named our city! In Japan, if you don't know which way north is at all times, well, good luck. And you'd better know which way you are traveling all the time because once you realize you've gone wrong, backtracking is a real pain (if you even remember which way you came from- yes, I've gotten lost that way too). And another thing: you try finding your way out of a huge train station where all the signs and maps are in Kanji. No, not hiragana or katakana (the two Japanese alphabets I can actually read) but Kanji- the most ridiculously complicated script you can imagine. You know those symbols that people like to get tattooed on themselves? Well, that is an actual form of writing. A very common form. There are thousands of them and they are completely impossible for any foreigner to understand. But they are everywhere. It's like some cruel joke the Japanese (and Chinese) are playing. Oh, they'll write the station name in hiragana once you've gotten to the wrong station just so you can read it then and realize that you have gone in the opposite direction. I'm sure they find it hilarious to watch the foreigners get off a train only to walk to the other side of the platform to catch a train in the opposite direction, making it completely obvious that they made a rather stupid mistake. In many train stations, they will very kindly mark the north exit and the south exit but then proceed to take you on a wild journey through the train station turning you in every direction so by the time you are outside you have absolutely no idea which direction you are facing (this has been my downfall a few times now). Large train stations often will have multiple train lines with multiple entry points, multiple subway lines (better not get on the wrong one) bus stations at every exit, staircases and escalators in every direction and all the signs are in Japanese. Imagine, if you will, if M.C. Escher designed a train station that he modeled after Heathrow Airport with no English signs and you will understand how I feel everyday.
On the bright side, getting lost gives me ample opportunity to practice my poor Japanese on sweet, unsuspecting school children (my guide book says they are less likely to be afraid of you and will answer your questions more simply). Here's a sentence to remember if you ever travel in Japan, "Sumimasen. Kono densha wa _____ ni ikimasuka?"(Excuse me, does this train go to ___?)If you are as lucky as me, 100% of the time you will get a rather shocked expression followed by, "Ikanai!" (Nope, doesn't go there.) Lately, I've been trying to say it quietly to the person sitting next to me so that only they know what a pathetic excuse for an independent traveler I am (there's no use really, everyone on the train is already staring at me and probably straining to hear how my Japanese sounds or whether I will speak English). Here's another one for you, "____ wa doko desska?" (Where is ____?) Now, using this sentence may presuppose that you know a bit of Japanese and will usually attract a long response spoken at light speed. In that case, choose a direction, any direction will do, and say "Soko?" (Over there?). I find they usually slow down, walk you a bit of the way or just give up speaking to you, point you in the right general direction and leave. Any are helpful, really (I find the more meekly I say it with a sad sort of confused expression, the more helpful they are). Make sure to thank them before you take off, of course (gotta keep up that Canadian courtesy!). Arigato (pronounced ah-li-ga-toe), arigato gozaimasu (ah-li-ga-toe-go-za-i-mass) or domo arigato gozaimasu if you want to really thank them. I usually say it with a bit of a tone that reflects, "I am such a pathetic foreigner, thank you for taking pity on me."
I found out today that I only really care about being late before I am late. Afterward, well who cares, I am already late, I don't see how it can get much worse.
It's getting a bit sad, actually. I'm finding I am unwilling to try and go places on my own for fear that I will get lost. I can't google map anything because it all comes up in Japanese (darn Kanji) so I am left, compass-less, to guess and test my way across this country with only my Lonely Planet book to guide me. Unfortunately, Lonely Planet doesn't have anything to say about my little town of Chiryu or the neighbouring town of Kariya where I was trying to go today. However, on the bright side, I now know what lies in every direction from Chiryu train station: West- Nagoya, East- Okazaki, South- Kariya, North- wrong way.

I didn't do much this week of any interest, really. Went back to Nagoya briefly to see a friend's band's concert, got sick and stayed home for a couple of days, went to a Denmark-themed park that was aptly named Denpark. For those of you who know what a pun-loving person I am, you know I was very entertained by this.

Fingers crossed I don't get lost on the way to my bed...

Missing Canada..

Britt♥

I miss the ability to eavesdrop on strangers' conversations when I am bored on the bus.