Early mornings and dark spaces

---

The journey continues via several long train journeys to Nagano, a temple town based around Zenko-ji and the hosts of the 1998 Winter Olympics (a podium and signboards from the Olympics can be seen randomly at the back of a car park).
We were staying in Buddhist lodgings close to Zenko-ji but finding the actual building on arrival was easier said than done as most of the buildings looked similar, it was a case of playing match the kanji to the sign outside and hope! Our game of match the symbols was a confirmed success when we noticed a welcome sign outside the door with our names on. The accomodation was beautifully decorated in traditional Japanese style and the owner was very attentive and he even managed to persuade us to get up super early the next morning to join the morning prayers at the temple.
Now when I say super early I mean super early...we are talking up, dressed and making your way to the temple by 5.50am- ah the things that seem a good idea the day before!
Anyway get up we did and off we wandered to the temple both feeling a little bleary eyed and our bodies feeling more than a little shell shocked and confused. Outside the temple we lined up under instruction and knelt down in preparation for the arrival of the priest and the ojuzu chodai (being hit on the head by the Buddhist holy beads- he hit hard!). We then proceeded to the temple, took off our shoes, joined the morning service and subsequently lost all feeling in our legs after kneeling for half an hour. It was quite the spectacle and the sense of ritual and theatre was overwhelming with the chanting,drums,gongs and smoke.
After this we were invited down to Okaidan which basically is a pitch black tunnel under the alter that symbolises death and rebirth, the idea is to try and find a key that is somewhere on the wall and thusly salvation.

---