Syonara!

My friends.
The sun has finally set on my trip to the Land of the Rising Sun.

It was a wonderful journey during which I learned many things about Japan and a few about myself along the way.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures and I thank you all for taking this journey with me; it made me feel like I wasn't travelling alone.

All that remains is to bid you all a heart-felt Syonara,

with much love from
Avy in Japan.

Koya-San - Demistifying Japanese Religion

Throughout my travels around Japan, I had seen countless temples and shrines of various shape and size, dedicated to various people or gods with reference to Shinto and various sects of Buddhism. I felt i had to clarify these issues before I leave Japan as the religion seemed to play such an important part in Japanese history and culture.

In order to unravel the mysteries of Japanese religion, my last Japanese adventure before returning to Tokyo would be to Mount Koya or Koya-San, one of the most sacred places in Japan. Founded by Kobo Daishi, a revered Buddhist priest responsible for establishing Shingon Buddhist (Esoteric Bhuddism) in Japan in the 800s, Koyasan was established as the main school of Shingon Buddhism in Japan. The best way to gain access to Buddhist monks in Koyasan is to spend a day in one of the temple accomodations, so I went straight to the tourist center to find a suitable vacancy. The temple lodge I stayed at, Eko-in, was much more lavish than I expected with beautiful tradional Japanese Tatami rooms, (it would have had to have been at the price I paid). The very friendly young monks all spoke English and I was duely invited by one particularly well-spoken monk to join his tour of the Koyasan Bhuddist cemetary that evening. I immediately signed up as that would be my chance to have all my questions answered.


In the meantime I casually walked around Koyasan for a few hours before dinner at 17:30, taking in the views of yet more beutiful Japanese Temples.


When I returned to the lodge at 17:30, I promptly received a phone call asking whether it's ok to bring me my dinner which was immediately delivered by one of the monks in intricate Japanese utensils. The two trays of vegetarian food presented to me were simply a feast for the eyes and the food tasted as good as it looked. It was yet another example of outstanding Japanese cuisine.


After dinner the guests congregated at the entrance for the trip to the cemetary and, fittingly, we set off just as it was getting dark. Okunoin Cemetary is the most sacred and famous cemetary in Japan, primarily because the great Kobo Daishi is buried there, and many wealthy Japanese pay small fortunes to be interned near to him. Along the way we stopped at various points with our young guide explaining to us about Buddhist burial and images and pointing out the graves of important individuals, one of whom was the ex-CEO of Panasonic, at which point I asked if there was anything i could do to get my Panasonic camera working again. Our young guide just laughed.

Along the way I asked as many questions as I could about the differences between shrines and temples and Shinto and the various forms of Bhuddism; it was all becoming a lot clearer. After walking for 45 minutes or so through this vast forest cemetary in the dark, we reached the tomb of Koba Daishi, who the monks believe is still alive meditating in his tomb. We stood in silence while our guide chanted a matra for ten minutes or so before heading back to the lodge.

I learned that Shinto, Japans original religion is based on nature and has thousands of deities each of which represents different aspects of nature, for example, the wind, trees, water etc. Shrines are dedicated to one of these Shinto gods and can be identified by a simple gates with two horizontal beams at the top which can be seen all over Japan. Praying at a shrine involves first cleansing ones face and hands at a font, then ringing a bell and the shrine, throwing some money into a box, bowing, clapping the hands twice, saying a prayer while holding the hands together before bowing again.





Temples on the other hand are dedicated to the Bhudda, and exist for the purpose of teaching Bhuddism which explains why there are often so many close together. They have bigger, more lavish gates with doors at the entrace, and inside contain the familiar images of the The Bhudda. The word Bhudda is also used to refer to Bhuddist saints, once living Bhuddists whoes images can also be seen in temples and cemetaries.


Buddhist and Shintoism are merged in Japan and most people practise both in some way. This was evident in the cemetary where example of Bhuddist graves where marked with Shinto gates. As for the different forms of Bhuddism, the basic difference between Shingon Bhuddism and the other is that with Shingon, enlightenment can be reached now through meditation, much like with the Bhudda himself, whereas the other sects believe that enlightment can only be achieved in death. The other thing that distinguishes Shingon monks from other Bhuddist monks in Japan and elsewhere is that they can marry and occasionaly eat meat and fish; sounds like an easier life than I thought. My questions had been answered!

The next morning all the guests woke up for two rounds of meditation and prayer, which mainly consisted of sitting on temple floors meditating while the monks recited matras repetitively with drums, and burned insence. I can't admit to finding enlightenment but it certainly was relaxing in some way. The next morning I left Koyasan after another fantastic vegetarian meal, satisfied in the knowlege I had gained about this important part of Japanese life.

Osaka

With my time in Japan running short, Hiroshima was as far south as I could go, so I started heading back in the direction of Tokyo. One city I hadn't seen along the way was Osaka a sprawling industrial city, known for it's lively night life and one of the best aquariums in the world; well I would have to sample both then wouldn't I.

For the only time on this trip I had a travel companion - Alex from Germany now living in Switzerland - whom I originally met in a Kyoto hostel and then again in a branch of the same hostel chain it Hiroshima, that being K's House Hostel. Alex informed me that he had made a reservation in a "Capsule Hotel", a convenience hotel in which guests sleep in 1.80 x 1.0 x 1.0 meter boxes. This I had to try, so I agreed to join him.


After a struggle to find our orientation when we eventually exited the labyrinthian Osaka train station, we found our Capsule Hotel in the middle of one of the entertainment districts. Initially we mistook the sauna on the ground floor of the building for the hotel. It was a relief when we were informed of our mistake because there were monitors at the sauna entrance showing live feeds of the various rooms in the sauna, including the changing rooms.

When we arrived at hotel reception on the fourth floor we were told to wait 10 minutes as checkin was at 12 noon, and, of course, not a minute before. We first had to put our shoes in a shoe locker, then give the locker key to the receptionist who then noted down the locker number before giving us each a numbered key for our clothes lockers and capsule. Our luggage had to be left in a storage room as these hotels are not really meant for tourists, so beforehand we had to remove the clothes we needed, which was really a drag, before storing our luggage and getting a numbered tag for each. We started to think we made a mistake coming here. As we checked the place out a bit, it seemed that everyone was wondering around in dressing gowns, which were provided in the lockers. Obviously the clientel were not used to seeing non-Japanese in a place like this, as we got many strange looks. We sought out our capsules which were located in a darkened area on a lower floor - long rows of square openings stretching along the corridoors; the place looked, smelt and felt strange. We briefly climbed in our capsules and played with the panel of buttons which controlled a tv, radio and alarm clock. We were both glad we were not staying there alone. We showered and headed for Osaka aquarium.

Osaka's aquarium was definately the best one i had ever been to and helped me to temporarily forget our abnormal accomodation. The multi-storey aquarium with it's deep tanks allowed viewers to observe the impressive array of sea-life at many levels from all sides. We saw whale sharks, tiger sharks, an enormous manta-ray, giant turtles, penguins and sea otters amongst other impressive creatures. I felt it was yet another highlight of my trip.



We returned briefly to the hotel, before heading out to sample Osaka's famous night-life. The entertainment area was centered around a pedestrian street called "Rotembori", packed with neon-lit bars, restaurants and Pachinko halls. After having a beer while watching Alex eat, because we entered a restaurant with only pork on the menu, we went for a game of Pachinko, some sort of Japanese pinball game I heard. An assistant in the Pachinko hall helped us start up the game, and a load of pinballs poured out of the machine. Turning a dial on the side causes the balls to be fired to the top of the vertically standing board and they run down through the gaps in lots of pins sticking out. In the middle of the board there was a screen with all sorts of cartoony graphics. We had no idea how to play until another assistant proceeded to explain to us after berrating us for taking pictures. It turns out that Pachinko is the stupidest game ever. It's just like a fruit machine with balls. When the balls go into a single hole on the board you have to opportunity to play a fruit machine game on the screen and if you get three shapes of the same kind you win more balls. Then at the end you can exchange your pinballs for money. We promptly left when we discovered what it really was, a pimped up fruit machine.

When we returned to the capsule hotel the place was full of drunk japanese in their dressing gowns, many of them falling asleep in front of the TV. We wondered about these men's home life whether they have a normal one or if their working life consumes them. A pair of drunken young guys were overjoyed to see a couple of foreigners, asked us where we were from and proceeded to name as many football players as they knew from our countries of origin. My attempt to name Japanese footballers ended at one, at which point I mentioned "Noriyuki Haga" a famous Japanese motor-cyclist, but they had no idea who i was talking about. That was the end of that.

Sleeping in a capsule is the closest i've ever got to being buried alive, except if i was dead I wouldn't have any use for an alarm clock and a TV. In the end we both slept very comfortably; probably the closest we got to returning to the womb. It was a fun experience to share with a fellow traveller. We parted ways over a train station breakfast that morning.

Castles and Gardens

The Japanese love their castles and gardens so it was fitting that I spend one day visiting a good example of each. I dedicated my second day in Hiroshima to two short excursions outside of the city, first to Okayama which has one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan, Koraku-en, and then to Himeji-jo, the most impressive original Japanese castle left standing. I don't have much to tell except to say that they were both well worth it and to show you my best photographs with my 3rd disposable camera. I think I was getting better at using them, but you can be the judge of that.

Hiroshima - Ground Zero

On the morning of August 6th, 1945 at 8:15 a.m. the first atomic bomb ever used was dropped over Hiroshima by an American B52 bomber named "Enola Gay". The bomb , very inappropriately nicknamed "little boy", detonated approximately 600 metres above the center of the city, instantly killing around 70,000 people, and subsequently killing another 70,000 by the end of the year, owing to radiation sickness and burns.The ghostly skeleton of the Hiroshima Prefectural Promotion Hall, renamed the A-bomb Dome, has been left standing as a sombre memorial to the tragic events.

As I crossed the bridge to the Peace Memorial Park, my serious mood was momentarily broken by a middle aged Japanese man on a bike wearing a straw cowboy hat, who stopped when he saw me saying "Herro. You Bruce Wirris. Die hard. Bruce Wirris. I indiana Jones, Harrison Fold," gesturing to his hat. We just laughed together. After asking him where his whip is, making a whipping gesture, Indiana rode off and I continued on my way, thinking what a bizarre encounter. Clearly Hiroshima has come a long way!


I wondered around the beautifully designed Peace Memorial Park with its Peace Bell and the impressive memorial to the victims in which their names are enshrined. Most touching was the Memorial to the Children, initially deticated to a young girl by her classmates when she died ten years after the bombing, after a long battle with cancer. Watching a large group of Japanese school chidren singing a song at the memorial was a very emotional event to witness.

The Peace Memorial Museum was a fascinating, wonderfully designed museum explaining the history of Hiroshima before and after the bomb while giving an unbiased account of the events leading to the bomb. It also detailed the horrifying destructive effects of the bomb and Japan's fight for the abolishment of nuclear weapons. A globe marking both England and Israel as nuclear armed coutries made me feel uneasy, especially after observing real examples of what such a weapon is capable of. I can't see the point of such a weapon ever being used again for any reason and it's depressing to think that various countries are seeking to obtain nuclear weapons as a priority. It was comforting to see so many school children, probably from all over Japan, come to learn the lessons of what happened here. If only the whole world could.

Kobe - No beef but Sake and eh ....... Jews?

A couple of days back I took a trip to Kobe, world famous for its beef and the earthquake in 1995. An attricative city sandwiched between the sea and green hills, today Kobe has recovered from the disaster as is a thriving cosmopolitan metropolis; it has one of the highest concentractions of foreigners in all of Japan. Since I already tasted Japanese class A beef in Takayama, I wasn't about to pay 25% extra for the same product just because it has the word "Kobe" at the beginning, so beef was off the menu.


Having done the cable-car ride and taken in the views of the city, I took a stroll round the very European looking Kitano neighbourhood, where various foreigners settled and built houses when Japan opened its door to international trade.

There were numerous churches of different Christian denominations, a mosque, and yes, finally I found the Jews in Japan; I knew it was only a matter of time; there's nowhere us Jews don't reach. And Jews like a good steak, so Kobe makes sense. The community here is called the Jewish Community of Kansai (the region centered around Kyoto).


With great satisfaction I continued my tour of Kobe, to the bustling shopping area and then to the Sake Museum of one of the Largest Sake breweries in Japan. There I got a step by step Audio-visual description of the quite involoved Sake making process.

Now when in the James Bond Film "You only live twice", which is set in Japan, Bond (played by Sean Connery says, "Oh I like Shake. Eshpeshially when it'sh sherved at the right temperature; 98.5 degreesh Farenheit," he wasn't completely wrong. Sake can actually be served hot or cold depending on the type of Sake and the season. The secret of making Sake is the use of a fungus called Koji, which turns the rice starch into sugar but i won't give you a run-down of the whole process as, of course, the highlight of any booze museum is the free tasting at the end. Kampaiiiii!

The Ainu

My followers! While i'm waiting for my latest disposible camera photos to develop so that i can tell what i've been doing recently, I feel it's only right to write a blog about the "Ainu" people, the indiginous people of Japan who were here before the Yayoi people (ancient Japanese) arrived around 400 BC.

The Ainu , moved further north when the Japanese started to settle the land and were mainly situated in northern Japan, in particular in Hokkaido, the northernmost island, where I spent some time a couple of weeks ago.

Few remain today, as they are mostly mixed with the Japanese population, but i was lucky enough to come across a very different looking fellow when I was taking a stroll early one morning in Kushiro National Park in Hokkaido. He was clearly a guide and was giving a young man a nature tour. I subtley took a couple of photos and later checked with the hostal landlady wheather he was indeed an Ainu, which she confirmed as he was apparently one of her neighbours.

I didn't find out as much as I would have liked about the Ainu; I managed to visit an Ainu museum on one occasion, but at least I had a close encounter with an Ainu fellow. He's the one that looks like the Malboro Man in the photos. Click on the images and enlarge to see the difference more clearly.

Takayama - Japanese Tradition and Beef

Yesterday, in an attempt to discover the Japan of old, I ventured to Takayama, a town in central Japan in a region called the Hida-District. Admitadly my motives for travelling to there did in fact h ave a culinary aspect to them. Hida is one of the regions in Japan famous for high-grade beef, made famous by Kobe, but not exclusively produced there as I discovered to my delight yesterday.

But before we go into that, Takayama offered a side of Japan I had not seen before; beautifully preserved traditional Japanese buildings, both urban and rural in style. The center of Takayama contained an area of urban "Tatami" style shops and houses with straw mats, sliding doors and low tables.
A rural village just outside the town showed original "gassho-zukuri" houses typical of the region, identifable by their triangular thatched roofs.


Anyway, let's talk beef, or as they say here "Wagyu".
How can i put this? If I were a man with an addictive personality, my vice wouldn't be gambling, alcohol or women, but Japanese Beef. You know when you let a put a piece of chocolate in your mouth and let it slowly melt; this is similar to the experience of eating Japanese high-grade beef. Cutting it is like a knife through butter; it's so juicy and tender, it just melts in your mouth. The secret of it's intricate web of fat marbling, which can make it look almost white, is a combination of the type of cow, in this case the Japanese Black cow, and the cow's diet. Let's just say you haven't really tasted beef until you've tasted this stuff. Japan takes beef to another level.