Kyoto Day Three: Fushimi Inari

On our third day in Kyoto Julie and I woke to gray skies and rain. Our plan had been to go to Nara, an area near Kyoto famous for the semi-tame deer, and then possibly stop at Fushimi Inari Taisha before taking the shinkansen back to Tokyo. We bought some rain gear (and umbrella for me, a rain coat for Julie) at a convenience store and ate breakfast while we debated what to do. Finally we decided to see Fushimi Inari first, and decide from there if we wanted to continue on to Nara.

Fushimi Inari is an incredible shrine that I highly recommend. It's famous for the long path of torii gates that wind up through the mountains. Most people don't walk the whole way up, but if you have the time I think it would be amazing. The rain cut down on the crowds, but there were still plenty of people with umbrellas bumping into each other. We got started on our walk up through the gates, and it was almost like an obstacle course with all the umbrellas and people stopping off and on to take pictures backing up the line of people behind them. But to be honest, it's such a beautiful place that for once I didn't really mind the crowds.

At one point Julie and I found a little spot between the two rows of gates to stop and have a little photo shoot without getting in everyone else's way. Eventually we turned around and walked through the rest of the shrine's grounds. It was so peaceful and beautiful with rain drops dripping off the cherry blossoms.

When we left Fushimi Inari we decided not to venture on to Nara. It's a wonderful place, and I'm so sorry that Julie wasn't able to see it, but one of the things Julie was most excited about was feeding and interacting with the deer, and we decided that petting wet deer might be kind of gross. So we headed back to the station, bought our train tickets and some box lunches and headed back to Tokyo.

It wasn't a very long trip, but it was absolutely amazing. Kyoto is such a beautiful place and it was so refreshing to spend so much time outdoors in nature instead of surrounded by buildings. I love Tokyo, and I feel so grateful that I'm able to live here. I'm able to take advantage of so many amazing opportunities, and I have access to just about anything I can imagine, but the longer we stay here the more I realize what an impact growing up in the mountains of North Carolina had on me. Without time in uncrowded green places around I start to go a little crazy. Our time in Kyoto just soothed my soul.

Loving that rain jacket!

The torii gates at Fushimi Inari

Goofing around at Fushimi Inari

Rainy Cherry Blossoms

Cherry trees near the train station

Train station in the country side

The roof of Kyoto Station

Places we went:
Fushimi Inari Taisha

Read about the rest of our trip:
Arashiyama and Kawaramachi
Kiyomizudera, Nanzenji, and The Philosopher's Path

Hikawa Matsuri

This past weekend, our local shrine had it's annual festival - the Hikawa Matsuri.  We went to check it out Saturday night and John took some photos of the event.

In the center of the grounds a booth was built for a man to play a drum while people did traditional dances in a circle around it.

Bon Odori Dances

There were tons of food stalls selling everything from grilled fish on sticks to chocolate dipped bananas on sticks.  Most of the food was on sticks, actually.

There were also a number of stalls with children's games including little pools to catch goldfish, and other water games involving toys.

It was a hot sticky night just before a typhoon rolled in, but it was fun to stroll around taking in the smells and sights at a little community event.  Something about lanterns in the nighttime just makes everything seem magical.

Hikawa Shrine

There's a beautiful little shrine just down the street from our apartment that I love.  Even on days when I am in a bad mood, distracted, or feeling homesick it always makes me feel peacefully and glad that I'm here in Japan.

Hikawa Shrine

Hikawa Shrine was built in 1730 and has and was one of the lucky shrines to survive the bombings during WWII.  It is always so quiet and still when I walk through, unlike some of the bigger temples and shrines that are tourist attractions.  If you're ever in Akasaka, don't miss it.

Prayers

Hikawa Shrine

Hours: Open during daylight hours

Address: 6-10-12 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokoy

Map

Kyushu: Dazaifu

While we were in Kyushu, Sarah got to visit two of her friends that had been JICA volunteers (the Japanese equivalent of Peace Corps).  One of them had a car, so they drove us out to Dazaifu, which is a town near Fukuoka.

Daziafu is know for Tenman-gu Shrine.  It was the perfect day to go - the sky was sunny and blue, it was warm and breezy, and we were all happy from our delicious waffle brunch.

Tenman-gu was incredibly beautiful, and it was great to be there with Japanese people.  We all got fortunes and they read ours to us (John and I always struggle with that part) and they explained the history of the area.

I'm always terrible at taking pictures of shrines and temples.  It's partially because I'm just using my phone, but it's also because I want to focus on the details rather than the whole shrine, so lets just get this first picture out of the way.

Tenman-gu Shrine

The Shinto religion celebrates nature, and I've heard of shrines where a tree will grow up, and they will just let it grow through the building, but I finally got to see an example!

Isn't that great?

We saw some really interesting trees that were covered in a sort of hairy moss.

And there were lots of turtles sunbathing in the lake.

Turtle Dominoes

We stopped to have some green tea and grilled red bean and mochi cakes.  I've said before that I'm not a big red bean paste fan, but when it was warm the texture was a lot different - smoother - and it tasted better too.  We sat on raised tatami at a little table, and it was absolutely lovely.

Snack Time!

After the shrine, we walked up and down the little shopping street in Dazaifu that sold crafts and snacks and souvenirs.  It reminded me a lot of the main shopping street in Kamakura.  On the ride home we could barely keep our eyes open, but it was a really wonderful afternoon!

Enoshima

Last week Raku and I spent a day exploring Enoshima, a tiny island to the south of Tokyo.  We went to a spa on the island in December which I briefly mentioned in this post.  But this time we went to actually explore the island.

Reaching Enoshima is an adventure in itself, including a ride on the Enoden line which runs little old train cars.  Not all of them are quite this old, but we rode in one that had wooden floors!

Once arriving at Enoshima station we then had to walk through the neighborhood (stopping to buy snacks along the way) until reaching the bridge to walk across to the island itself.  I believe there might be buses you can take to the island, but each time I've really enjoyed the walk past cute stores, stopping to buy mochi or cinnamon rolls from roadside stands, and the great view from the bridge.

Enoshima is known for the myth of a dragon that used to terrorize the island's residents.  But then a beautiful goddess emerged from a cave.  The dragon fell in love with the goddess and proposed marriage, but she would only accept his offer if he would stop harming the people of Enoshima - and so they were saved.

The island itself is great to explore, and is laid out in a simple path that leads from one point of interest to the next.   The first stop was a shrine with a carving of the dragon.

Climbing up past the shrine is the Samuel Cocking Botanical Garden. It had beds of tulips, trees from many countries, as well as a number of tropical plants blooming while we were there.

Inside the garden is the Sky Candle, a lookout tower with a view of the island.  On clear days you're supposed to be able to see Mt. Fuji.  Unfortunately for us, the sky didn't clear until later in the day.

Past the Sky Candle is a second shrine.  This one features a dragon guarding a cave.

Just past this temple is a short walk to a gate where couples can place a lock with a message and then ring a bell together.  There are several shops along the way selling locks with heart attached, or you can bring your own.

Finally there is a path down to the caves where the dragon and the goddess are supposed to have lived. When the tide is out you can also explore the rocks below the caves and even see local fishermen.

The tour of the caves is also very nice. The first cave has a number of ancient statues, and as you enter you're given a tiny candle to light the way. The second cave is small, but it has a recreated dragon's lair. Be warned, the climb back up from the caves feels like a million stairs!

At the end of the day we found a small coffee shop where we relaxed after a long day of walking around in the cold.  I've had a great time on both visits.  (Though I will note that if you go for the Enospa it seems to be better to go in warmer weather.  While our experience was nice, I was disappointed that the outdoor pools and baths were closed in December).  As we walked back across the bridge toward the train we saw that the sky had cleared and we were able to see Mt. Fuji as the sun was setting.

Hie Jinja

Last week Raku and I went to Hie Jinja, one of the larger shrines in Akasaka - and one of the more important shrines in Tokyo I later learned.  Hie Jinja was built in either the 1400's or 1500's and moved a couple of times during the Tokugawa Shogunate.  It has remained government supported until today (though it no longer receives as much support as it did before WWII).  Parts of it have been rebuilt to be quite modern, and though it dates back many centuries it does not have the ancient and secluded feel that some of my favorite shrines do.  When we got there I realized I didn't have a memory card in my camera, so apologies for the quality of the iphone photos.  

The only shrine I've seen with an escalator

Hard to forget you're in the middle of Tokyo

The skyscrapers seem to overshadow everything

Despite that, the inside was quite beautiful.

Oops, you can see our shadows

The intricately painted ceiling was beautiful

But the best part of the temple we were surprised to find when we wandered out what we thought was the back was a staircase of tori gates.

So beautiful and peaceful

Taking pictures of each other taking pictures

Hie Jinja

Hours: open during daylight hours

Address: 2-10-5 Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Map

Snow Day

On  Monday it snowed!  It was beautiful to look out the window of a high rise building and see the snow swirling so far above AND below us.  I heard we got between 8 and 12 cm (not that I measured myself).

I didn't take any pictures while it was snowing, but I did go to the neighborhood shrine the next day to take some pictures before all the snow melted off.

Slush and Flower Petals in the Street

Snow Melting From the Roof of a Well

I love that there is so much green foliage here even in the winter!

Snowy Entrance to Hikawa Shrine

Snowy Ornamental Cabbages

Later in the week I discovered a couple of really cute snowmen near our house.

That's a plastic spoon for a nose!

His eyes are pine cones.

Rumor has it John will soon be making an appearance soon with a blog about computer buying/building in Japan.

Hatsumōde and Other Japanese New Year's Traditions

For New Year's John and I decided to celebrate the traditional Japanese way.  Hatsumode is the first visit to a shrine (or temple) in the New Year.  Many people will go right around midnight, but shrines remain crowded for the first couple days of the year.  We went to Hikawa shrine, which is just around the corner from our apartment, just before 12:00.  Because it's such a small shrine it wasn't too crowded and we were close to the front of the line.  At midnight people begin throwing donations of money in a box and ringing a bell.  We were then given a cup of hot sake, from the sake drums they crack open at midnight.  It was very sweet sake, and I think it was unfiltered.  Then John and I bought fortunes (おみくじ), but alas John couldn't really read them.

Arriving at the Shrine

There were so many lanterns it was almost as bright as day

The money donation/bell ringing line.  John heard one Japanese man comment the place was full of foreigners!

Our fortunes.  John's might say that he's going to lose money, but have ease in childbirth.

Around New Year's decorations called Kadomatsu are placed in front of homes and businesses traditionally to welcome ancestral spirits.

They can be quite large

Or quite small

Starting January 2nd there are many sales, and we saw lots of Kadomatsu tucked in and around products at the stores.

2013 is the Year of the Snake

This is a decoration of mochi with a tangerine on top (fake), it's supposed to bring good luck.

Another New Year's tradition is sending postcards (ねんがじょ), sort of like sending Christmas Cards.  If you get them to the post office by a certain day the post office guarantees to deliver them on New Year's day.  This year they delivered 1.89 billion!  We were super thrilled to receive on from John's secretary.  It's proudly displayed on our fridge now.