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Published: February 23rd 2007
Himeiji Castle
I like my hair in this picture!Spring has sprung here in Kagoshima. The temperature is warm, the plum blossoms are blooming (cherry blossoms won’t come until April) and everyone is back down to wearing one layer of socks at school. We had “haru-ichiban,” the first winds of spring, last week so I think that makes it official.
Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe Retreat
I have continued to have exciting adventures regardless of the weather. I’m on a new quest to see as much of Japan (or maybe the world) as possible on foot. I have also decided to get to know myself a little better by experiencing more things alone. I’ve been doing pedestrian tourism for a couple of months now, but I got things off to an independent start with a trip to Kyoto, Kobe and Osaka two weekends ago.
Though I had planned to do the trip alone as a kind of retreat, my friend Maya decided to join me at the last minute. This was her first time visiting Kyoto so we made an agreement to spend our days doing separate sight-seeing activities and to meet up for dinners. It turned out to be a perfect plan! It gave me some company
The Full Thing
Himeiji and its wings viewed from the entrance gate. and backup on the ferry where there seems to be a rule that you will be accosted by the drunkest and most talkative man on the ship (this time he gave us a lecture on Japanese history followed by a monologue about how the countryside is better than the city - in every case they sit with you long past the time when you start to yawn, fiddle with things, read your book. You have to be really rude to get rid of them!); and it was nice to have someone to exchange stories with at the end of the day. Even though the trip wasn’t nearly as solitary as it would have been without Maya, my two days alone allowed me to spend some time examining the random thoughts that popped into my head.
I had been a bit disappointed at the urban setting of all the temples in Kyoto proper so I decided to escape to some different areas and use Kyoto as my base. The ferry docked in Osaka at about 8am on Saturday morning and Maya and I made our way to Kyoto and Kobe respectively. My original plan was to spend an entire day
Hydro Power
Most traditional Japanese buildings are ornamented with these fish - they're supposed to invoke the water gods for protection against fire. seeing Kobe (which I had heard from Andrew, my fellow ALT, was very exciting) but as I approached Kobe train station, I had a change of heart. I had read that if you were going to see any castle in Japan it should be Himeji Castle, just 30 minutes from Kobe by train and this was sure to be my last chance to see it.
I hadn't found the castles I had seen until that point very interesting because they are completely empty but I decided to give castle-kind one last chance. My “Lonely Planet” guide book had mentioned the availability of free English tours so I decided to ask at the ticket booth. I thought maybe this would give me some insight on the emptiness (read boring-ness) of the castles.
I think I got the only tour guide on duty that day because as soon as I asked about it they flipped their sign to “English tour not available” and told me the guide would be right out. Though he spoke with a bit of a lisp, my guide was wonderful. He seemed to know everything about the castle and was able to answer all my questions
Symbol of Power
Each castle lord had his own symbol so there are about 5 different seals to be seen on the roofing at Himeiji. while pointing out many details about the castle I would have overlooked on my own. He even explained why the castles are unfurnished. The Japanese only used their castles in times of war as hiding and fighting places. Otherwise they lived in houses surrounding the castle. In fact Himeji castle wasn't ever used while it was inhabited during the Edo period. Japan was too stable but it is a strategic masterpiece.
After saying goodbye to my guide I headed next door for a quick walk through a traditional garden (Ko-koen) then headed to Kobe. I ended up feeling pleased with my decision to spend the morning at Himeiji as Kobe was a pleasant but not very exciting daytime city (all the action happens at night). I met up with Maya and her friend Tim for a delicious falafel dinner in Kyoto before Maya and I turned in at our hostel.
Sunday was definitely the highlight of my trip. After getting off to a later start than I had hoped, I took an hour-long bus ride from central Kyoto to a village called Kiyotaki. From the bus stop I followed a beautiful trail through the village and up to
Great Guide
My guide and me at the end of a fantastic tour. a mountain shrine. Although it had poured rain during the bus ride, by the time I started hiking the weather was perfect. I plodded my way up the hill to the temple (all 4km of it), stopping occasionally to take photos and greeting what seemed like an endless stream of people coming down. About ¾ of the way to the top I began to see snow. By the time I reached the temple there was about an inch of snow covering the trees, ground, gateways, everything. I was feeling warm from all the walking I had done so the snow just added to the mysticism of the place. This was what I had always imagined Japan to be like.
After taking some photos and eavesdropping on a man chanting prayers I headed back down the temple steps towards the main path. I had wanted to take a side route to Takao, a different town than the one I started in, but wasn’t sure of which way to go. It was getting late and I began to consider that I should just go back to Kiyotaki rather than risk being caught alone in the dark. Luckily, as I was pondering
Ko-koen
If I ever own an estate I will recreate one of the gardens I've seen here... my options, the man in front of me turned around and asked if I would like him to take a photo of me and the temple. The batteries in my camera were too cold to take the shot but we ended up talking all the way down the steps. At the bottom, I asked for his advice on the path I wanted to take. He looked at my guide book and personally escorted me to where the next trail began.
The path wound down through the forest and passed by a second temple before dropping me off at a road. In the 8km between the main temple and the road I saw a total of 6 other people on the trail. I was thrilled to find the solitude I had been looking for.
After reaching the road I was supposed to walk about a kilometer before turning off onto another path but about 500 meters along, I noticed someone driving towards me on a motorcycle; it was the man who had helped me at the temple! I guess he had come to make sure I was okay because he turned his bike around when he saw me and
Into Kobe
A typical Japanese city with ads the size of buildings. I think this one features Meg Ryan! A grizzled looking Tommy Lee Jones is the model for Boss Coffee...we see him on vending machines everywhere. offered me a ride to the next trailhead. This was not only my first ride on a motorcycle, but a great reminder of how kind people can be over here. I spent the bus ride back to Kyoto musing about the great day I had just had and feeling proud about having done it
almost entirely alone.
On Monday, Maya and I headed back to Osaka so we could be closer to the ferry port. Since it was a national holiday everyone seemed to be out shopping. Even with all the challenges I have faced in Shibushi, I have never wished that I had been placed in a big city. As we tried to find my friend Tyson so we could eat lunch together, I was thankful not to have to deal with this kind of chaos on a daily basis.
To be honest, I think big cities just aren’t for me, especially as they have sprawled into the surrounding countryside. Instead of having fields and gardens in the open air, they are often lurking under car overpasses. This is very creative, but not as attractive as the fields down here.
I also don’t fit in with
Slurping Noodles
A bunch of men gather at an outdoor noodle counter for a quick snack. These noodle stations are very convenient - we even see them on train platforms! the current fashion mentality. Women here are naturally much smaller framed than most Western women and it doesn’t help that they diet on top of that. As I was sitting on the train on the way to Himeji feeling very unfashionable in my red zip-up sweater, “stretch” jeans and grubby sneakers, a girl dressed to the nines got on and sat down on the bench across from me. She was very well dressed; her scarf matched her skirt, her shirt matched her socks and her nails matched the bag she was carrying. She looked immaculate at first glance, but if you let your eyes linger you couldn’t help but notice her knobby knees and skeletal hands. I was only half-surprised when she pulled out a 0-calorie gel pack from her purse and began to sip it. I always think that I would love to be skinny to fit into all the fashionable clothing here but no amount of dieting would be worth it to me; hence my decision to forget about fashion for now.
Kirishima Hiking: Mountain Traverse
Last weekend I did more walking with my friends. Braving an ominous looking sky and lots of mud from the
Nankinmachi - Kobe's Chinatown
I've seen better Chinatowns in Canada... previous two days of rain we ventured into Kirishima National Park for a mountain traverse. The 14km trail took us from a plateau, up to the peak of the highest mountain, around a couple of craters (all the mountains around that area are volcanic) and back down to the base of the second highest mountain in the park (which Sophie, Robin and I climbed last month). Our group of four was fantastic and the weather behaved itself enough for us to have a comfortable if windy journey.
My next pedal adventures include the Sakurajima Half-Marathon around Sakurajima Volcano near Kagoshima City and the Tanegashima Half-Marathon on one of Kagoshima’s southern islands. Even if I am considered “fat” in this country, I sure am getting fit with all this walking!
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Dana
non-member comment
Those are some awesome pictures! Looking forward to reading your upcoming entries! :-)