Happy New Year! 〓
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Nikkō, Tochigi (Part 2)
Once again, sorry for the extreme delay! Dealing with so many photos is incredibly intimidating...and most of my pictures sucked, except for the ones I took of people ^_^
So once again MOST of these pics were not taken by me!
Part 2 is dedicated to visiting Nikko's Tosho-gu (Shinto Shrine), Yomeimon, where Tokugawa Ieyasu is enshrined. Ieyasu was the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1868) and by building the shrine it helped legitimize the families right to power (thank you Japanese Civ. class for that ^_^)
There is a long walk up to the shrine and many beautiful buildings with intricate decorations.
This is the Five Storied Pagoda which is 36m high. Originally built in 1650 but then burnt down in 1815. But descendents of Tadakatsu Sakai (the original contributor) had it rebuilt in 1818.
PS- Tadakatsu Sakai was the governor of Obama prefecture!
The building which appears in each of these pictures is called Kamijinko (upper sacred warehouse) of the Three Sacred Warehouses.
"See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil"
As always, there is the omizuya (water house) for purification. Left hand, right hand, mouth, left hand, handle DONE!
The main Yomeimon Gate is very large, and as Jessica pointed out to me, one of the white pillars was purposely inverted to leave imperfection.
The girl in white is Shoko ^_^ she is my JUSCO contact of sorts haha
The temple is surrounded by trees and green (which was absolutely wonderful since Tokyo is mostly buildings!)
Three of us climbed up to the Inner (back) Shrine [Okusha]. Even though the hike up completely exhausted me and made my fever go up, it was well worth it!!!!! 
The Shrine was very beautiful and I suggest it for any tourist! In Nikko there are also many Onsen and other historic sites.
After the Shrine we went to a traditional wood carving shop where we were able to carve our own souvenires! But that will be in Part 3Thursday, December 23, 2010
Watch this
I was watching this while toasting some bread.....and I was mesmerized.....and now a piece of very black bread is in the trash can
<p>Tempus II from Philip Heron on Vimeo.</p>
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Nikkō, Tochigi (Part 1)
This post is mostly a jumble of pics of the train ride to Nikko and then eating lunch, so if you want pretty pics of the temple, all that is in Part 2~ ☺
On December 12th I went to Nikko with a group organized by JUSCO (I love that organization more and more!)
And yes, my post about the trip is a little bit late but hey I have been busy!
Where is Nikkō - Located in the Tochigi Prefecture about 140 km north of Tokyo (aka about 87 miles) in the mountains surrounded by lovely nature
What is important about Nikkō - It is the location of a UNESCO World Heritage Site= Nikkō Tōshō-gū (I will go into that more in part 2)
Even though I had a fever which I new would get worse I still went and it was worth it ^_^ (and I REALLY hope I didn't get anyone sick!)
I didn't take all these pics!!!!!!!!! I wonderful gentleman sent me pictures from what I think was 4 different cameras so for once I am in some pictures!!!!!
Train ride- A wonderful place to sleep, read for literature class, and chat. One of the members handed out christmas presents to everyone!!!!! Nothing beats Ferrero Rocher chocolates!
[[posterous-content:pid___3]]Luckily someone took pictures of the scenery! (I fell asleep)
[[posterous-content:pid___9]]After getting to Nikko we settled down in front of the train station and ate obentou's (Japanese boxed lunches)
[[posterous-content:pid___1]]After eating you really must have some exercise! Trying to teach Grainam how to fall into a back arch.....I don't think it is a talent he will be picking up soon[[posterous-content:pid___24]]Waiting, waiting, waiting for the bus ^_^[[posterous-content:pid___31]]In the same area there was a tiny fountain, equipped with cups for your convenience, for a refreshing drink! (I didn't taste it but I hear it is very refreshing)[[posterous-content:pid___33]]
Friday, December 10, 2010
Something I love about schools in Japan
Pre-story to what I love:
So I caught a cold two days ago and have been feeling rather crummy. The cold is very very inconvenient as this weekend I am planning to be very busy with a trip for my history class on Saturday and a trip through JUSCO on Sunday so I really can't afford for my cold to get worse.
I did the "wear a mask on the train" thing so I wouldn't spread germs....but it's stupid because it doesn't actually work and my glasses kept fogging up >.< So unless I am hacking my lungs out I am going to avoid that as much as possible.
Because I was feeling really sick and worried I caught something pretty bad I went to the school's clinic
One of the nurses spoke English so she help me etc.
This is when she takes my temperature and I find out I am running a slight fever (and it was in Celcius so I really have no idea what it was)
So she gives me directions to a clinic down the street where a doctor speaks English in case anything gets worse (since it is probably just a cold)
Now for what I love:
Then she asks me if I want to sleep (YES)
I think it is typical for campus clinics to have a few beds where students can rest, our school has 6 beds. All of them have curtains so you can sleep in the privacy of your own little haven.
And the mattress was way better than the shitty one that came with the apartment ^_^
Having beds available for students makes a lot of sense in a big city where many students get to school via public transit which might take them 30 minutes to an hour (or 45 minutes like me!)
So being able to sleep saved me from possibly passing out on the train home
I love that there are beds there!!!!! <3<3<3
And when I emerged from a wonderful nap much refreshed and (probably) fever free they all greeted me with a smile ^_^
And then told me to drink energy drinks (for the electrolytes!) and wear many layers to keep warm haha
Nice people
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Kamakura Trip (Part 2)
The original shrine is much much much smaller than the famous Hachiman-gu Shrine [[posterous-content:pid___0]]We stopped there for a bit before grabbing lunch ^_^[[posterous-content:pid___34]]After everyone ate we went to the Kamakura Museum of Literature which was inside the house of Soseki Natsume (I might be wrong about that) We couldn't take pictures inside but it had the original manuscripts, tools, letters, etc. of the authors.
The surrounding area had a pretty garden and a really nice view of the ocean.
[[posterous-content:pid___3]]
(and at the entrance there was a huge spider waiting to great us)[[posterous-content:pid___2]][[posterous-content:pid___5]]From the museum we walked to another shrine which had many steps (which I ran up as fast as I could, of course)
There was a great view from up there as well
[[posterous-content:pid___9]]After seeing that lovely place we went and saw the Daibutsu! (Dai- big) and it was BIG!!!![[posterous-content:pid___16]]It is so very Buddha-y
[[posterous-content:pid___21]]It was a very fun trip [[posterous-content:pid___32]]and I'ma go to bed now kthxbye <3[[posterous-content:pid___31]]
Monday, December 6, 2010
Kamakura Trip (Part 1)
A wonderfully nice girl named Nanao in my Literature class organized a trip to Kamakura ^_^
Kamakura is famous because of the rich history (location of the Shogunate and the Regency in the Kamakura period [1185-1333]) and because there are many temples, a huge Buddha, and a lot of nature.
We first went to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu, a very famous Shinto shrine. The original shrine was built in 1063 by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi in Zaimokuza, Kamakura. But Minamoto no Yoritomo ( the founder of the shogunate in Kamakura) was the one to build it in the current location...
There are two gates leading to the shine, and if you walk from the first to the second the path actually gets narrower as to make the shrine at the end look even bigger. The path is lined with cherry trees which must be absolutely beautiful in the spring.
The original shrine (built by Yoriyoshi) was much smaller and if I remember correctly Nanao brought us to the original later in the day...but it may have just been another shrine...there are shrines everywhere in Kamakura....
At the temple we did the typical cleansing which involves first washing your left hand, then your right, then pouring water into your left hand and using it to rinse your mouth, then rewashing your left hand, then lifting the ladle in a certain way to rinse the handle.
After cleansing you climb tot he top!
At the top of the shrine you get to pray for whatever you like, with the two claps and bow (or two claps two bows???) After tossing a coin in with other offerings of course.
Just outside of that building you can buy a fortune for ¥100. (They have them in English just for gaijin like me)
You can also buy a little wooden placard to write your prayer/wish on.
(This below is just a shot of the larger temple....I liked the lighting)
On the same property there was another shrine, which I only took a photo of for the guardians (komainu) on each side. The fox komainu protect Inari shrines, and white foxes are considered messengers of the kami(god/s)
I like this photo below a lot because of the birds ^_^ The building is the one below the main shrine up the steps. They hold wedding ceremonies there
We got lucky enough to see a wedding procession! I love the traditional wedding outfits ^_^
Below is another shrine on the same property. I think it might be one dedicated to the Minamoto clan (I could be wrong), the colors and emblems signify the family.
And these two pictures below are just pretty ☺
PS- I LOVE Ctrl+Z it saved this entire post ^_^
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