evdog

Osaka, Nara, Takayama, and Kamikochi

The night before leaving Kyoto I had dinner with Tomonori, his parents, and his great aunt. We had a big meal of sushi, a tasty tofu dish, Japanese beer, and a special dessert only served on May 5th, Kids Day. More accurately boys day, given they traditionally receive presents on 5/5; girls on 3/3. The evening was topped off by a mini piano recital by Mrs. Shimizu. The whole family was so very nice to me during my stay at the temple. I hope to get the chance to reciprocate, as Mr.Shimizu retires from teaching in a few years and promises to vacation state side.

The next morning I caught the early morning train to Osaka where I met up with Mrs. Matsushita, Mr. Nakagawa’s elementary school classmate, and her daughter in-law Keiko. We toured Osaka Castle, an impressive monument to fortification. The massive car sized stones used in the construction of the outer wall appeared much to large to be lifted without the aid of hydraulic power. Coincidentally, I picked up Shogun in the Kyoto train station, much of the early part of the book takes place in Osaka Castle. I wish I had started reading it before the tour.

Later we had lunch at a tiny little restaurant where we had okonomiyaki, a fritter like dish cooked on the table top griddle filled with the beef, pork, seafood, noodles, you name it. Between the three of us I think we ate five, plus a last course of soba noodles. I was completely stuffed. They were a little puzzled about where to bring me next, so I suggested we take it easy and counter-act lunch with a visit to Starbucks. After a nice chat I caught a late afternoon train to Nara.

In Nara I stayed at the Super Hotel, an inexpensive hotel for business travelers. It was, as they say in house listings, cozy, with just enough room for a bed and a desk, though very clean and quiet. My one day to tour Nara turned out to be rainy and cold. As I was leaving the hotel in the morning with guidebook in hand, the guy at the front desk handed me an umbrella and remarked that Nara is “beautiful in the rain”. There was a note of truth in the statement, for the mist in the trees gave the hilly area surrounding the temples an eerie feel. By the end if the day I was soaked, despite a raincoat and umbrella.

One unique aspect of Nara is the many deer that inhabit the temple area. They were once considered messengers of the gods and therefor reveared. Sadly, they’ve turned into four legged beggars, aggressively pursuing any tourist offering the deer “deer cookies”, wafers sold by the many vendors that line the trail leading to the main temple.

After navigating through a herd of deer and an equally large herd of school age children on a field trip, I took a walk through Todai Temple. The temple main hall features a massive 50 foot tall Buddha cast in the year 746. Behind the Buddha there is a large wood support column with a hole cut through it, approximately the size of one of the Buddha’s nostrils. Legend has it that if you can squeeze through the hole you are ensured enlightenment. I witnessed many a student giddily squeeze through that hole, but nope, not me, not sure if my head would have fit. I will have to ensure enlightenment by other means.

The next morning I caught the train back to Kyoto to activate my rail pass before catching the Shinkansenz, or bullet train, up to Nagoya enroute to Takayama. The high-speed ride was quite a thrill, like riding an earthbound airplane, clean, modern, complete with drink cart. I’m glad to read that we’re going to invest in similar technology in America.

I spent two nights in Takayama at a temple run by a guy from Colorado. Due to it’s listing at the top of the Lonely Planet’s budget category, it was full of travelers. After a full day in which I visited a morning market, toured a preserved Edo era neighborhood, hiked up a hill to check out castle ruins, viewed a museum dedicated to dragon masks, and sampled sake at several distilleries, I capped it off by drinking a few beers with a couple German travelers and a 67 year old englishman on his first solo backpacking trip.

The next morning I took the bus up into the Chubu-Sangaku National Park, commonly referred to as the Japanese Alps, no train on this route. I’ve spent the last two days in Kamikochi, a small resort town at the base of the peaks. The weather has been incredibly nice, sunny with a cool mountain breeze, perfect hiking weather. There is still snow on most mountain trails, so my hikes have been down a long river valley, criss crossing the river by suspension bridge. I’ve stumbled upon a couple neat little lodges down the valley only accessible by foot. At one lodge the owner took my picture as proof that westerners do indeed stay at the lodge. A hefty bend of the truth given that I was just walking by. Nonetheless, I expect to show up on their website at some point. The mountains remind me of the North Cascades with their jagged peaks and steep walls, inspiration for the painters stationed along the trail.

I just checked out of the hotel and will be taking a bus to Matsumoto. I’ll spend one night before going over an alpine pass tomorrow that utilizes six or more modes of transport, including a walk through a deep trench cut in the snow. A long post.. I’ve been busy.