Buddist Temples, Missionaries and Sumo!

Buddha's World became our world for several hours on Tuesday morning, as we toured the Zenkoji Buddist Temple. It dates back to 1707, and is designated a National Treasure! It is an active Buddist Temple, and in a daily ritual, without fail, the priests will come out and face the visitors (or visiting pilgrims) in the Main Hall to pray for their salvation, and that of the world.

The Zenkoji Temple retains the religious ferver of a functioning pilgrimage mecca. Many people come from all over the world to offer prayers here, and to be blessed by the priests. Clouds of incense smoke attest to the importance of this temple as an authentic place of worship! It is surrounded by gardens and ponds that encourage feelings of harmony and meditation. It is a very spiritual place for those who come to worship here.

 

Visitors will come to rub the worn figure of Binzuru, a physician and Buddha's most intelligent follower, hoping their own aches and pains will be alleviated! We didn't get a chance to rub Binzuru, but we should have!

 

When Doug was a missionary here, this Temple was in his area and he visited it several times. He wanted to take me below Zenkoji's Main Hall down into a pitch dark tunnel. The dark is meant to take away any light, making people become completely equal in their inability to see and represents hell. While walking through the dark tunnel, you are supposed to feel for a 'Key to Paradise' somewhere on the inside of the tunnel. It is very small and with NO light available, many people go through the tunnel never finding the key. As we continued down the tunnel, Doug said, 'here it is' and placed my hand on it. It didn't feel like a key but more like a door handle. It was so cool when Doug found it because then others began to place their hands on it. In the Buddha belief it is said that touching the key will guarantee 'Eternal Life'...can you imagine how excited those people were who actually touched it!

As we continued looking around the Temple, I heard an excited voice in Japanese saying something to me. Doug interpreted what they said...these ladies recognized us from the day before when we were up on the Tatayama Alpine Route, they were there too, and they were so excited that we were in the same place together again! I love the Japanese people, the are so kind and even small things can bring them great joy!

Tuesday afternoon, we took the train down to Kamakura, it is a resort city near the ocean. As we were walking to our hotel, we saw four LDS missionaries...we were so excited! We have been watching for them as we travelled throughout Japan! They were just going for dinner, so we asked if we could treat them, and of course that was OK with them! They took us to a great Hawaiian burger place. We had a good time visiting with them, they are great missionaries! Doug enjoyed telling them stories from his mission, one of the Elder's father's served in Japan the same time as Doug. It 's a small world!

Wednesday morning in Kamakura, we went to see the local Buddist Temple and Museum called Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. It is also an active Buddist Temple. It was so interesting for us to see the young adults living and working there.

 

 

After touring the Temple, it was time to catch the train to Tokyo. We had reserved tickets to the Sumo Tournament, and we had been looking forward to it for several weeks! As we got off the train and walked up to the Kogugikan Arena, there were banners everywhere celebrating the tournament!

 

We found our seats, which were cushions on the floor arranged in a six foot area. We had seats that were on the opposite side of the main presentation, but it gave us a good view of the wrestlers faces as they prepared. It was so interesting to see them psychologically prepare themselves before each fight! I was amazed how big these guys were!

 

 

 

 

We had arrived mid morning and there were bouts going on between new Sumo trainees that were yet to be officially ranked. The bouts begin from the lowest rank moving up in seniority to junior grade.

 

During a visit to the bathroom, I think I found the funniest thing on my whole trip to Japan...I had to tell Doug about it and then I just had to go back and get a picture. A push button 'flushing sound effect' box on the wall next to the toilet. It really works, I pushed it just for fun and it really sounds like a flushing toilet, it is to be used when you want to cover up any other personal sounds! So funny, the Japanese think of everything!!

After watching,the beginner Sumo wrestlers for several hours, we left the arena to go for lunch. As we walked around looking for something good to eat, we came across the Ganesh Indian and Nepali Restaurant. We went in and ordered butter chicken and chicken curry with naan bread, how fun it was to eat Indian food in the middle of Japan. These two guys, one from Nepal and the other from India, are trying to sell Indian food to the Japanese! We hope it goes well, the food was so delicious!!

On our way back to the Arena we saw a couple of the Sumo wrestlers going for lunch, too. Wouldn't this make a great ad for McDonald's?

Well, we needed to get back to the Sumo Arena by 2:00, because that was when the real Sumo wrestlers started to arrive. The 'Juryo' Division wrestlers are young hopefuls aiming for higher division rankings. Fights in this rank and above are considered full fledged salaried professionals.

Then the 'Makuuchi' wrestlers from the Senior Division step into the ring, with their ceremonial aprons on, which cost $50,000-$60,000 a piece!

 

 

After they finish, 'The Grand Champion' or 'yokozuma' makes a ceremonial entrance. He claps his hands and stomps his feet drawing excited calls of 'yoisyo' from the crowd. There is only ONE 'yokozuma' in the world today!! This is him...In the past three hundred years since the title was created, only sixty nine Sumo wrestlers have been so honored.

To become a Grand Champion, or 'yokozuma', he must win two consecutive tournaments while holding the rank of 'ozeki' (the highest rank), and has proven himself to be a man of character worthy to hold such an exalted position. He was so honored at this tournament. He is very wealthy, and will earn several million dollars at this tournament alone!

Many of these Senior Sumo Wrestlers are millionaires, they make very good money! Kinda like hockey players in Canada!

Then, after the Grand Champion's entrance, battles between the highest division wrestlers begin, with the bouts featuring the wrestlers at the top rank at the end with the Grand Champion fighting the last fight of the day!

We were truly entertained watching these massive Sumo wrestlers, they are so big, but still strong and powerful! Sumo wrestling is the national sport in Japan, so we were glad that a tournament was happening while we were here! There are only six tournaments a year!

Well, we are staying in Tokyo tonight, our last night in Japan...I am so sad to leave. This has been such a wonderful experience for both of us!

Tonight, we just went to the 7-11 and picked up a few things for dinner. Doug got a corn dog, because he always had them on his mission. I went for the potato wedges, but when we checked out we could have easily had octopus!! It was for sale right there on the counter! Maybe if I lived here a little longer, I would learn to love it, but not just yet!

 

 

 

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Experience

Saturday afternoon after we left Mina, we made our way over to Toyama. We arrived there late in the evening after coming down from the mountains and going cross country on the trains.

 

I love the trains. They are easy to get around on, they come often and they are usually very comfortable! Doug gets around on them so well, he is right at home! You can tell he had done this before!

 

it is so fun to interact with the Japanese people while riding the train. This is a school basketball team that were traveling home from a game together on the train.

 

 

Up early Sunday morning, we went to church in Toyama. It was great to be with the members. We had an interpreter that was an older woman who grew up in Hawaii but now works in Japan. She was so interested in us and just loved having someone to talk English with. She was very impressed with Doug's Japanese! The Primary children sang 'I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus' in Sacrament meeting, it was so touching to see those children singing that song in Japanese.

It's a funny thing in Japan that one of the only places you can get money from an ATM is a 7-11 store. It is called a '7 bank', and it accepts foreign cards. We were running low on Japanese money, so we hired a cab to take us to the nearest 7-11 store. He kindly did so, but the '7 bank' just kept rejecting our cards. It wasn't until the cab driver came in to the store to help us talk with the cashier, that we found out that '7 banks' don't operate on Sundays!!

Well, we went back to the train station and talked with someone at the information desk, she indicated that the Main Post Office has 24 hour ATM service for foreign cards. We were thrilled!! Luckily, we were back on track and soon found ourselves travelling on the train across rural Japan to Tateyama. Often in the fields, we would see monuments to dead ancestors, always to be remembered!

In Tateyama, there is an Alpine Route that starts here that Doug wanted to take. We arrived here and stayed over, planning to start the route the next day...it takes a full day, about 7 hours. To complete. We got settled in before dark and were able to enjoy the beautiful mountain surroundings of this little village.

 

 

We had reservations at the Senjuso Ryokan, and we were thrilled that it was an old style Japanese Inn.

Everything was very traditional! Our room only had tatami mats and a futon to sleep on, with a shared toilet and bath.

 

 

We were given slippers to wear inside, and special 'toilet slippers' when using the bathroom! The Inn had six rooms on two levels and it was just like a Japanese 'Bed and Breakfast, where we shared bathroom facilities and meals together, but had our own room. We didn't see anyone else except at meals, and they were all very quiet and polite Japanese guests, occasionally Doug had a chance to speak with someone, but rarely.

 

Our meals, dinner and breakfast were served with all of the elements of a traditional Japanese meal. Miso soup, sushi, shiitake mushroom salad, egg sushi and fresh Japanese apples! It was all very delicious and true..."first you feast with your eyes!" Our host was so amazing!

The town was so quaint and quiet, we went out for an evening walk, but we were the only ones out and about.

Doug thought it was his turn to drive the train, but somehow couldn't get it to move! They carry supplies up the mountain in this train.

We were up early Monday morning, and excited to start on the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route! What is so interesting and famous about this Alpine Route is that you use eight different methods of transportation during your trip through these Northern Japanese Alps!

We started by taking the Tateyama cablecar, which was just 100 metres from our little Inn. It chugged up the mountain to Bijordaira, gaining about 500 metres. We then were escorted to a bus that continued up the mountain to Murado, another gain of 500 meters.

We stayed and hiked around here and enjoyed the view for about an hour. One trail was closed because of recent volcanic activity. We could see the steam coming off the rocks and could smell the sulphur in the air.

We then went through the Tateyama Tunnel on a trolley bus, completely encased by cement, so amazing how these things were built! We arrived in Daikanbo, at 2316 meters, looking down on the Kurobe Lake.

We then took the Tateyama Ropeway down to Kurobedaira at 1828 metres.

 

 

Then, a fun experience was taking the Kurobe cablecar down to the Kurobe Dam. It went right down into that cement tunnel and came out at the top of the dam.

 

Arriving at the Dam, we walked the half kilometer across it . The Dam is so gorgeous with it's beautiful water shooting out, surrounded by magnificent mountains, we enjoyed just being there!

It was built from 1956-1963. It took over 420,000 men to build it!! The Kurobe Dam is the tallest Dam in Japan, and it cost the country $51 billion to make! Sadly, 171 men died during the project!

After our time on the Dam, we took the Kanden trolley bus down to the little town of Ogizawa, which sits at 1433 metres. Our last leg of the trip was on a local bus to a town called Shinano-Omachi, where we caught the train and travelled for two hours to Nagano, where we are staying for the night.

It was an amazing day spent on The Tateymaya Kurobe Alpine Trail. It was fun to watch the Japanese people enjoying this part of their country. A favorite part of our trip, beside the scenery, was the 'black sesame' ice cream that was to die for!!

 

 

 

Japanese Paper and Udon

Saturday, during breakfast, something caught our attention that wasn't even on our 'to do' list...Japanese paper making! The Mino Washi Paper Museum was offering paper making classes, and it sounded fun! So... Doug, with his great Japanese quickly got us tickets to Mino!

 

I was excited to go and learn about the history of paper in Japan, but Doug was more excited because it would take us 'off the grid.' And it did...two long train rides and a bus to get up through the mountains to Mino.

 

Mino is located on the Nagara River, one of the most beautiful rivers in Japan.

They have been making paper here in this valley for 1,300 years, because of the clear water than runs through here!

 

The Mino Washi Museum was so amazing. I am glad we took the time to go! It is a great place to learn about 'Washi'... Japanese paper.

We also learned alot about the history of paper and it's beginnings. It is said that paper was first used in the 2nd century, and the art of paper making reached Spain in the 12th century. It was then popular throughout Europe and in the 1690's made it's way across to the America's.

 

This museum is also a factory that still makes almost every kind of paper product you can think off...here is Doug just showing a small sample of what the factory makes!

 

We had fun! We both made six post cards, using the traditional 'washi' paper making technique!

it's so cool that the materials they still use are 100 % natural. They use the bark from "Nasu Kouzo", the mulberry tree and "Taroroaoi" a hollyhock plant, from which they use the slimy liquid extracted from it's roots.

 

Doug was so funny to watch, he was having a good time putting his maple leafs on his postcards until he got in trouble for using more than six!

We have our postcards as a souvenir and if you want one, just ask...we'll be happy to share them with you! (Then we'll know who reads our blog!)

 

 

We also had lunch at the Museum restaurant and I had my first experience 'slurping' Udon noodles. We laughed so hard because there is a proper way to 'slurp' and I just couldn't get it! But how fun to slurp in public!!

 

 

 

 

 

From Hiroshima to Kyoto

We have been in Japan for only a week but I am ready to stay forever...I love it! We are starting to feel more confidant as we maneuver ourselves around on the trains and buses. If we get lost, we just ask for help, and the people go out of their way to help us.

On Thursday, we spent our last day in Hiroshima. We had fun touring the Mazda Museum. During the tour, we got an overview of Mazda's history, and an in depth look into the technology of their cars, and saw new designs and developments. The funnest part of the tour was the assemble line where we saw a number of models actually being assembled...dash boards, windshields, and all! So cool!! Now Doug wants a new Mazda, seeing the quality that goes into each one. The plant in Hiroshima produces 2000 new cars a day! Amazing!

 

Thursday afternoon we took a ferry over to Mijajima Island, it is just off the coast of Hiroshima. It is one of Japan's Crown Jewels. Mijajima Island means Shrine Island, because it is home to several Buddist shrines.

 

This is the Itsukshima Shrine, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This shrine was constructed in the 6th century.

Situated in front of the Shrine, as you approach the island, is the floating 'torii', which serves as a gate to the island. Commoners approaching the island in the early days of commerce had to steer their boats through the gate before embarking on the island.

Mijajima Island has been considered holy for most of Japanese history. In the past, women were not allowed on the island, and old people were shipped elsewhere to die to preserve the purity of the island.

This beautiful little island reminded us of Banff in a way, with lots of tourists, and so many little stores and small shops selling souvenirs. Even deer wander freely through the streets and parks. It was so fun to be able to get so close to them, they love paper and will even eat your map!

So, as it started to get dark at the end of the day, we travelled by train to Kyoto, arriving after dark.

This morning our first stop in Kyoto was the Nijo Castle.

It was originally built in 1603, as the official residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Within the castle is a floor that was built to 'creak' when walked on to warn the Shogun of approaching enemies. It was so cool, but very squeaky!

 

This castle was amazing with so many rooms and tatami mats, with superb wall paintings in every room! It was surrounded by a mote, and beautiful gardens.

 

 

We went next to the 'Golden Pavilion'. It is a Zen Buddist temple, containing relics of Budda. The 3rd Shogun of the Muromachi period bought it in 1397.

The interesting thing about this temple is the gold foil that covers the upper two levels, with a shining 'Phoenix' standing on top. The lake and gardens around it are lovely, and are said to represent 'the pure land of Budda' in this world!

The end of the day found us at the Ryoanji Temple. It was originally a country house, and was acquired in 1450 by Hosokawa Katsumoto for use as a Zen training temple. The grounds are remarkable, with peaceful paths throughout with a beautiful pond in the middle.

The remarkable thing about this temple was the white rock Zen garden. No trees are to be seen, only fifteen rocks and white gravel are used in this garden, it is quite unique! The white gravel is raked daily!

 

On the temple site is also a stone wash basin for the tea room. It has a unique inscription on it..."I learn only to be contented." This concept is important in the Zen spirit, he who learns to be content is spiritually rich! That's a great thing to learn.

 

It was fun today to see and learn about so many historical sites around Kyoto, and to recognize how important these sites are to the people of Japan. I also realized what old means!!! Temples and shrines have been around for centuries in Japan. Our oldest buildings in Canada are just over 250 years old! We just don't know what old is in Canada!!