A Mountain, Two Bugs, and Three Temples

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March 11, 2014: Itsukushima (Miyajima)

A Mountain, Two Bugs, and Three Temples



Today I returned to Miyajima to explore the forests of Misenyama. I had the hopes of acquiring a goshuin-chou, a book where you can collect temples’ original calligraphy and stamps when you visit. I heard about them from Ellen, who heard about it from a friend. They’re not that well known, it seems, but it’s a fun thing to do, especially if you visit a lot of temples.

On the way there, I met a Polish tourist who asked me the way to the train. I ran into him again once we got to Miyajima. He was really friendly and talked a lot. I think he enjoyed having someone to talk to in a language he knew. I ran into him again later on the mountain and we talked again. He gave me some travel advice and told me about the situation in the Ukraine.

I began my day at Miyajima with some fried momiji manju, shaped like maple leaves and filled with custard, akameshi, or cheese. Momiji manju is a Hiroshima specialty. All the regions have their own special foods, and the major train stations are packed with shops selling omiyage, usually featuring a region’s special foods. Kyoto’s seems to be matcha-flavored things.

After that, I went to the Itsukushima Shine, a complex built such that when the tide is high, it sits right above the water on wooden stilts. Seaward from this shine, the major Otori sits on the water, except when the tide is lowest, when you can walk right up to it if you don’t mind the squishy sand.

I asked about the goshuin-chou near the end of the shrine, where staff in white robes sold souvenirs, and they pulled out a book from behind the counter. It was like ordering from a secret menu. Then one of them took the book to a little side window and I watched as he stamped the first page and wrote calligraphy over top of it. It says the name of the shine, the date, and some other stuff I have yet been unable to read.

The man gave me a pamphlet on Japanese Buddhism and Shinto, too, and I happily took my book and pamphlet over to the coast to examine. But while I was taking pictures there, a deer snuck up from behind and rooted around in my camera bag, pulling from it the pamphlet. It began to devour it and I tried in vain to stop it, though I was able to pull a good portion of it from its mouth. I figured it wouldn’t be good for the deer, otherwise I would have let him eat it. Ellen’s supervisor Yuko told me of a friend of hers who had his Japan Rail Pass eaten by the Miyajima deer, and I was forewarned not to keep it in my back pocket.

After that, I headed up the mountain, Misenyama, and stopped at the Daishoin temple there, where there were hundreds of stone statues of Bodhisattvas and monks. Small crocheted hats and shawls were left on them. It was quite a sight! I heard a midday service from a high up temple, and got to hear some traditional Buddhist taiko. I got another goshouin there, too, and on the way down from the temple, I got to ring a big gong with a log. It was like new years with a gong ten times as big.

Also, while I was at Daishoin, I found a ladybug drowning in a pot full of water. I pulled it out and put it on a plant. I didn’t think much of it then, but it would be one of two bugs in distress I happed upon today. I suppose as long as I’m running around temples collecting stamps, I should also take time to absorb some of the history of the ethical principals that inspired people to build these wonders and practice being kind and gentle to all living things.

On that subject, if anyone is wondering how I’m faring being vegetarian in Japan, I have to give a big thank you to ume musubi, sometimes just written as うめすび (umesubi).You can get them at train stations and “Family Mart” for pretty cheap. Also, since I’ve been living residentially, cooking for yourself is an easy way to be vegetarian. I even bought instant Indian food from a going-out-of-business clearance rack.

On the subject of Indian food, there are a number of restaurants in Japan. Hindi is even a second language on signs in some places, and there seems to be a population of Indian-Japanese. The Indian food, compared to the United States, tends to flavorful, but much more mild to suit the Japanese pallet.

Oh also on a side note, I have learned hiragana and it’s come in handy. I’m working on katakana, but it’s actually a bit trickier. Although it is primarily used for foreign words, it’s really ubiquitous. I even saw スシ (sushi) one time, but that may have been a unique occurrence. As for kanji, the ones you use a lot are actually easy to identify when you see them. I can see Hiroshima, Kyoto, station, open, close, sentence, and others at a glance, but that doesn’t always help me say them. Without internet on my phone, though, I can’t just use the web. I should probably find a book or app, though.

Back to the story, I climbed Misenyama after Daishoin. It’s not too far of a hike, and they say it is about two hours one way. I might have taken that long, but I took constant detours and lots of pictures on the way. At the very top, there is an observatory platform that says it’s 535 meters above sea level, so it’s that much of a climb from the otori.

On the way back, I stopped by a temple that was on the map called Okunoin. It was abandoned and under repair though, but the way over to it was nice, especially since it was rough and overgrown. I didn’t run into anyone out there except for one couple on the way back who asked me how far it was and what it was like.

After the descent, I stopped by one more Buddhist temple near the beach and a long path of stone lanterns. I got one more goshuin there and used the hand washing station correctly as I learned from the pamphlet before the deer ate it. Using the ladle, I washed my left with my right, then my right with my left, then I poured water into the left and drank it, then I washed the left again. Only afterward did I consider that maybe I shouldn’t drink the water. Not everyone seems to anyway. It’s ritualistic and not necessarily Buddhist, but I figured that I’d use it correctly out of respect for the local traditions.

But I haven’t been sick yet! That’s pretty good for me. Even just coming back from Davis, I would get sick a lot when put in a new germ environment. In Nicaragua, I got seriously knocked out for a day by something nasty soon after we got there, but the next day I was back to work. But I have been fortunate in Japan. I hear there’s a flu going around, and many people are wearing masks. That’s probably a good contributor to why I haven’t been sick, despite being packed tight on the local trains.

On tonight’s crowded line from Hiroshima to Kure, after transferring from the line from Miyajimaguchi, I saw a new kind of train patron. A small, brown caterpillar was inching across the floor near the doorway. It would almost certainly be trampled, so I picked it up and carried it back to Kure. Before he got off, a young man next to me offered to take it in a plastic bag, though, but I he might have meant to throw it away. I told him I didn’t mind, but thanked him and he seemed to appreciate my willingness to just hold this caterpillar on the train. I let the caterpillar go in a park in Kure. I’m not sure if that was its stop, but I hope it will do.

So that’s about it for today. I made it back to the apartment just after Ellen and we made yakisoba. Up until this week, everything was planned out, but now I just travel during the day while Ellen is at work. I take a bag or just a camera and hop on any train I want except for two specific shinkansen lines, which are really fast and never full so it’s kind of a shame. So I’m actually leaving pretty early and coming back in the evenings this week. I’m planning a trip to Wakayama, but that might be an overnighter.

Hope everything is well back home. I will get pictures up soon, but I don’t have an SD card converter, but I’ll try to get one tomorrow.

Until next time!

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