Three Walks in Kyoto

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On my first morning in Kyoto I accidentally climbed a mountain! It was definitely not my plan to climb a mountain when the day began, but one thing lead to another and, well, I ended up getting a great workout. I was visiting a shrine that my guidebook recommended. It was early in the morning and I was at the base of a mountain. I gazed up into the misty peaks of the mountains above and my mouth dropped open at the natural beauty I beheld. When I approached the shrine I noticed a poem in English. I read it several times and was taken by the beauty of the words:
Summer, Saisho-in

The evening bell, solemn and bronze
In the grandfather temple down the hill,
Sounds dimly here.
Slow beat of the mountain’s heart, perhaps,
Or determined pulse of the pinetree (gift of the birds)
Growing out of the crotch of the slippery monkey tree.
All one, perhaps—
Bell, mountain, tree…
And steady Cicada vibrato
And little white dog
And quitet artist-priest, carver of Noh masks,
Fashioning a bamboo crutch for the ancient peach tree—
Symbol of strength, symbol of concern.
All cool under nodding crowns of the vertical forest,
All seeking in this place,
All finding in this place—
Hidden yet open to all—
The spirit of the cedars heart.

Saisho-in: a small, Eigth Century Buddhist temple in a mountain gorge near Kyoto, Japan.

After admiring the beauty of the shrine, the pleasant aroma of incense and with affect of the poem still charming me I wandered into the forest. I thought I would explore the forest for just a short while and then continue back into the city. But once on the trail I was completely taken by the beauty of the forest-the lush vegetation, the babbling brook and the aroma of cedar in the air. As I kept going the trail got narrower and more overgrown. I rammed face first into countless spider webs and came face to face with a large spider-let’s call him Ocho. None of these things would stop me once I had it in me to keep going. For most of the hike I had the mountain to myself. Only once did I meet anyone else on the trail. An older Japanese couple was on their way up as I was coming down. “Konichiwa!” we greeted each other enthusiastically. When I came back to the shrine that I had visited at the beginning of my hike, there were two burning incense sticks standing next to each other, their smoke carrying prayers into the forest interior. I thought about the older couple, their incense, their prayers and the mountain. The effect of the poem had not worn off yet. I remained charmed by it all as I strolled back through the gates into the city.

I contacted Takashi through couchsurfing.com and although he was unable to host me on his couch, he graciously offered to spend his Saturday taking me for a hike. I met him and his friend Zhu Hui at the Kyoto Station. Before we could leave, however, Takashi and Zhu Hui had to buy umbrellas because it looked like rain outside. The clime was at a place called Fushimi-Inari-Taisha. It is a well known place for visitors to Kyoto. During the hike one literally passes beneath a thousand Torii’s. There are five shrines which are stopping points along the hike. At the second or third stop an older man approached me and handed me a copy of some of his poetry. His pen name is Fu Nya Yamaguchi and hiked part of the rest of the way up the mountain with us. I am so grateful for the kindness of my hosts Takashi and Zhu Hui and the time we spent walking through the forest together. We shared some good laughs. Takashi made a joke about his tendency when speaking English to reverse the “r” sound and the “l” sound. One time he told an American that he would love to eat some rice. But, of course the American was stunned at what he heard, thinking it was lice that Takashi wanted to eat! We all had a good chuckle about that misunderstanding. I told them how the same is truth with some people I met from Kenya and Uganda. Especially, I added, when they speak of a “big election!” I laughed, but they didn’t understand. “Erection,” I said “A Big Erection! HA HA HA!” A still silence from my friends. “Do you know the word erection?” They didn’t. I started to try and explain by pointing and using hand signals, but thought the better of it. That could have been embarrassing!


On Sunday morning I woke up in Kyoto. I was to head back to Tokyo that day. But before I left I wanted to visit a church. I found a listing for a Catholic Church not too far from where I was staying so I decided to go. Unfortunately, the directions that were listed on the internet were a little vague. After giving instructions to take the first exit at Imedagawa Station the directions read simply: “the church is a 10 minute walk westward.” Once I decided which way was westward I began to walk. About 10 minutes went by and I saw no church. At about that time I said a short prayer to St. Anthony, the Patron Saint of lost things. I asked that he would help me find the Catholic Church I was looking for. Just then a man appeared on the corner of the street. I approached him and said “Catholic Church?” He didn’t understand. I said it again, “Catholic Church?” He still looked confused. I gathered he didn’t speak English. So I held up the cross I had hanging from my neck and pointed to it. When he saw it he said, “Oh, Church. I don’t know where there is church.” I pointed in the direction that I was walking and asked “West?” He said, “Yes, it is West.” I thanked him for his help and began to continue in the westward direction. But before I knew it, my friend had come up to me and pointed to a convenience store saying “we need map, Okay?” “Okay, that would be great.” Thus, began my walk with Hamada. After he thoroughly examined a map and found no church he asked the clerk for me. I looked on intently as they spoke to one another trying to gain a sense of whether or not the clerk knew anything about a church in the neighborhood. But in the end I just had to wait for Hamada to tell me. It turns out the clerk knew what I was looking for and gave Hamada directions. We set off promptly, Hamada leading the way. When we got to the building, I thought it didn’t look like a church at all. That’s because it wasn’t. Standing in the lobby Hamada read the signs and then turned to me and laughed, “Uh, I think this is not church.” “Oh, that’s okay.” I was disappointed and felt bad that I had gotten Hamada involved in this wild goose chase. By now it was raining pretty hard and I gave Hamada the umbrella that Takashi had given me after our hike in the woods. We continued to walk in the rain, aimlessly. Occasionally, Hamada would ask a passerby if they knew about a church in the neighborhood. That would usually begin a long conversation which ended in Hamada turning to me and saying, “Ah, I think it’s this way.” Then off we would wander. Although I felt guilty about taking Hamada’s time I was grateful for his hospitality and the chance we had to talk. I learned that he is studying law at Kyoto University. He was curious about my studies as well. Eventually we came across a group of foreigners. They were Dutch and spoke English, so I asked if they knew where the Catholic Church was. They didn’t but suggested we ask at the hotel they were staying at which was right up the road. Hamada and I wandered into the hotel lobby dripping wet. Hamada with his umbrella, flip flops and bags of groceries which he had been carrying the whole time and I with my backpack, squishy wet shoes and fishing/traveling hat must have looked ridiculous to the people in the obviously posh hotel. We tried to be inconspicuous, but how could we? Fortunately, we found the help of a concierge who gave a map to Hamada along with directions to the church. A short distance later Hamada and I came to the building that I had been looking for most of the morning. I was ready to step inside and thank St. Anthony for sending Hamada to help me find the church. The time had come for Hamada and I to say our goodbyes. How could I thank this stranger who had dropped what he was doing to walk all about rainy Kyoto so that I could find this Church? As I walked into the sanctuary and looked back he smiled a huge grin and said, “So, how do you like Japan?” “I love it,” I said, bowing.

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