I believe today was literally the longest day of my life. I was up for over 32 hours on November 5! We actually slept in later than any other day of this vacation, then went for breakfast before returning to the hotel for check-out. We left our bags at reception while we went and purchased food and snacks for our day of travel. Then we took a circuitous route to see the Hiroshima Castle. After retrieving our bags, we began the long journey home. We had to take two multi-hour bullet trains to get from Hiroshima to Tokyo. Then we took a local train, followed by the monorail to the airport. We spent over two hours at the airport before boarding for our 9+ hour flight to Vancouver. Because of the 17 hour time difference, we landed at YVR much earlier in the day than it was when we left Haneda Airport. We took the SkyTrain from Richmond to Vancouver, and on to Burnaby. June picked us up from the station and drove us to see Vecsey. Her eye is completely healed and she looks wonderful. We, of course, walked Vecsey in the park as soon as we could. That still left all evening for visiting, doing laundry, eating dinner, and reflecting upon another sight-filled, whirlwind vacation.
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Hiroshima is known for its okonomiyaki (grilled pancake of meat & eggs) so we made our way to Okonomi-Mura, ("Okonomiyaki Village") three floors of twenty okonomiyaki stalls. The standard pancake is made with a fried batter, lots of cabbage, bean sprouts, bacon-like slices of pork, egg, and seasoning. I ordered mine with udon noodles. The food was great and as the only white person there, I was a spectacle. I did manage to successfully manipulate my chopsticks, though. :)
Another multiple city day meant more trains, more coin lockers, and more walking. Our first stop was Himeji to check out another castle. After a train to Okayama, we hopped on a bus to the beautiful Koraku strolling gardens and yet another impressive castle. From Okayama, we continued on to Kurashiki, where our hotel was perfectly situated, right behind the train station and within an easy walk of the historic Bikan Chiku district.
A Buddhist service is held every morning at shukubo temples: the chief priest and monks of the temple chant sutras in the main hall. At Yochi-in, they "believe that by worshipping Buddha, (they) can make everybody happy." Prayers are offered for ancestors, family, and friends. We did a better job of coordinating our transit connections on the return from Mount Koya so the bus-cablecar-train trip to Osaka was efficient. We once again employed coin lockers to free us of baggage in order to walk to Osaka-jo and do some mid-day sightseeing. We continued our train tour of Japan by traveling to trendy Kobe. After checking into our hotel, we walked to Kobe's Chinatown. We noticed that both 7-11 and McDonald's offer delivery in Japan. These udon noodles in curry sauce were so tasty that we had them for both lunch AND dinner!
While traveling, much of my time is spent people-watching. I enjoy seeing different fashion ideas, and this trip to Japan was no exception. Today we made the journey to Mount Koya, a centre of Buddhist study and practice. Koyasan was founded deep in the mountains twelve centuries ago to be far from worldly distractions so monks could practise and pray for peace and the welfare of the people. Today, getting there involved local trains, shinkansen, a cable-car, and a bus. Over time, many came to believe that Kobo Daishi Kukai, the founder of Koyasan, had not really died, but instead had entered an eternal meditation for the liberation of all beings. This faith has sustained generations and drawn pilgrims to Mount Koya for over a millennium. Temples that provide lodging to guests are called shukubo; originally they were only for itinerant monks. In 1832, there were 1812 temples in Koyasan. Due to destruction by fires and also the combining of small temples into larger ones, there are now 117 temples here, 52 of which provide lodgings. We stayed at the prestigious Yochi-in. It's rock garden was registered as one of the Monuments of Japan in 2009. Danjo Garan is one of the two most important areas in Koyasan. The name Garan is derived from Sanskrit and means a quiet, secluded place where Buddhist monks may train. Konpon Daito (Great Pagoda) was planned as the centre for Kobo Daishi's monastic complex. Inside are five Buddha statues and 16 bodhisattvas painted on pillars. We walked past many temples, including Kongobuji Temple before stopping to read the story of Karukaya Doshin and Ishidomaru at Karukayado. The sad tale of father and son monks inspired us to purchase a small memento from the temple. We walked Odawara Street en route to Sando... Sando is the entrance path through Okunoin to the sacred ground of Kobo Daishi's mausoleum. The 2km path runs between ancient cedars and past more than 200000 grave stones for people ranging from important historical figures to commoners, attesting to the deep faith in Koyasan. Some Buddhists statues wear red bibs... The name of this bodhisattva is Jizo Bosatsu, believed to watch over and protect children in the afterlife. The bibs are placed on statues by those who have lost children, with the prayer that Ojizo-san will watch over them as a surrogate parent, and also for the long life of living children. At the end of the path, one finds the religious heart of Koyasan, the mausoleum where Kobo Daishi remains in eternal meditation. The Torodo (Lantern Hall) is a prayer hall in front of the mausoleum. The giant coffee/tea cup atop one of the burial sites struck me as a very appropriate memorial for many people today.
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