My Japan Adventure18829
 Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I'm currently on a little train headed for one of my transfer stations on the way to Taima-dera Temple in Nara prefecture. | ||
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 Masculinity takes a holiday.
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EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by JustThatGuy Christian Bale made the most of his time there: |
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 It gets old smelling it everytime I go outside my door.
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Nearmint67 private msg quote post Address this user | |
@EbayMafia Are you shopping for a new Kimono? Easier to pack than a Bonsai..  |
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Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by WMorse YES, advertisements everywhere when I was in Tōkyō, though not so much out here. The temple I'm visiting right now is waaaay out there. |
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Nearmint67 Kimono are a bit much, plus it wouldn't all fit in my luggage. They're so big! I'm more of a hankies & hand towels type. |
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 Not trying to be an ass since February 12, 2020.
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| I feel like id enjoy how weird “big city” Japan is. I hope you are enjoying your trip. | ||
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
I've got a little fall colour here, but not much. That's okay, though, because the garden is pretty anyway. |
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It gets old smelling it everytime I go outside my door.
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Nearmint67 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Byrdibyrd That's awesome.... Are there any fish in the pond? | ||
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 -Our Odin-Rest in Peace |
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Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd Wow!!!! |
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See the vents under the seats on this local train? They blow warm air on the passengers' feet when it's cold. |
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Quote:Originally Posted by HulkSmash I'm loving my trip  and the big city places have their charm, too. I'm staying in Ōsaka, after all. |
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Nearmint67 Absolutely. There were small to medium size koi. |
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Check out this manhole cover. It's on the street leading to Taima-dera. It's commonplace to see custom manhole covers unique to a city or local attraction. |
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Check this out. I left Sekkō-ji temple and walked a loooong way to the nearest train station. This was the sort of road I walked on part of the way. For scale, those mirrors are the same size as the ones we have in the States. They drive cars down these roads. The real fun? This road is two-way. |
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I lucked out when I went to Sekkō-ji Temple. The winter peonies were blooming. |
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As promised, here is my US $37/night hotel room in Ōsaka: |
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Here's what I had for dinner at one of my favourite Chinese food chains in Japan, Gyōza no Ōsho. That is a gorgeous plate of onions, sprouts, chives, and liver. Yes, I love that stuff. 🤤 |
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This yummy bevvy is a Hot Lemon, which is just as advertised: it's a lemony bevvy that has been heated.  Before anyone gets sick, I thought it would be gross, too, when I first heard about it, but in order to maintain my rep as someone who will eat/drink just about anything, I had to try it. It's frickin delicious. Try it if you get the chance. |
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| Got rained on a little today, but aside from that (and waaaaay too much walking) things went well. I went to Taima-dera Temple in Nara prefecture, and then Sekkō-ji Temple that wasn't anywhere near as close by as I remembered it being the one other time I went there many years ago. Hence the too much walking. I digress. It took a non-trivial amount of trouble to get to Taima-dera despite it having its very own train station named after it, because it's pretty far out there in the hinterlands. I think I transferred four times before I finally got to Taima-dera Station on a Kintetsu train line, which meant my JR Rail Pass wouldn't work and I had to pay a nominal fee to ride the Kintetsu trains. Anyway, Taima-dera Station implies by its very name that Taima-dera should be there. It is... kinda. It's maybe a 12 ~ 15 minute walk away in an area that doesn't seem to be much of a fan of signs. Once I figured out which direction to walk in, I got to the temple a while later. Taima-dera is a beautiful temple with a number of lovely sub-temples, some of which have gardens that attract a lot of visitors. The temple itself was founded in the 7th century, making it one of the oldest surviving Buddhist temples in Japan. It has a number of notable attributes, too. It is the only temple that still has its traditional TWO pagodas set in an east/west configuration. These pagodas are both designated National Treasures and have been incorporated into the garden designs for two of the sub-temples, the Naka-no-bō and the Sainan-in. One of the temple's most celebrated icons is a stunning statue of Miroku, or Maitreya, the future Buddha. This statue is made of unfired clay, and is very fragile, and yet it has survived for over 1300 years, and many believe it is the sacred nature of the statue itself that has allowed it to survive for so long in such excellent condition. Another thing that makes the temple unique is the principal icon: the Taima Mandala. This massive tapestry is said to have been woven from lotus strands by Chujō-hime, a daughter of the powerful Fujiwara Clan who became a Buddhist nun to escape her abusive step-mother. Many miracles have been attributed to her, making her a much-loved sacred figure. When I visited the temple, I first went to the Naka-no-bō sub-temple. I went through the garden and it was very nice, but that was when it was raining and my photos sucked. Sorry folks. However I did get a good shot of this small hall:  The hall is 'Chujō-hime's Shaven Hair Hall.' This is said to be where Chujō-hime shaved her head in order to become a nun. The hall now houses an icon of Michibiki Kannon. Kannon is the Goddess of mercy, and Michibiki Kannon is the incarnation of Kannon who appeared to Chujō-hime and lead her to become a nun. 'Michibiki Kannon' meaning 'Beckoning Kannon.' Next I went to the Main Hall and found out they were having a special event at one of the sub-temples (I'll get to that in a bit). Because of the event, they had some buildings open that were usually closed to the public and some icons on display that were usually 'hibutsu' or 'hidden Buddha.' Hibutsu are kept from the public eye for a number of reasons, one being that the icon may be considered too powerful for the average worshipper to have access to it, and another might be that the icon needs to be preserved in a controlled environment. One of the icons on display was the clay statue of Miroku/Maitreya that I mentioned above. He was amazing, and bigger than I thought he would be. After the main hall, I went to the Sainan-in sub-temple and by that time it was no longer raining, so I was able to get some decent shots of the garden, one of which I already posted earlier today. Here's another:  Here are the two pagodas with some of the temple buildings in the foreground. I took this photo on my way to another of the sub-temples, the Oku-no-in.  The Oku-no-in sub-temple was where the event was being held. It was the unveiling of a number of stunningly painted sliding doors in six different rooms of the Oku-no-in's hall. They were painted by an elderly artist who is famous for his traditional nature subjects, in particular his bird paintings. They are fantastic. Beautiful birds with flowers and seasonal themes. Just gorgeous. As it ends up, today was the last day of the exhibit. Had I gone tomorrow, I would have missed it. The Oku-no-in has more to offer than just its new birds. It was already famous for its beautiful Garden of the Western Paradise.   Of course, there's also the Oku-no-in itself. The basins are for lotuses during summertime.  Once I was done at Taima-dera, I figured I'd head off to Sekkō-ji Temple, which I remembered walking to from Taima-dera maybe as many as 15 years ago. I knew it was not a short walk. I didn't recall that it was a freakin' slog. I thought my feet were going to fall off. It was nice to see that I was right in time to see the winter peonies blooming (I already posted a photo of one), but I was so fried that I didn't manage to take photos of anything else. Oops! Then it was time to go back to the train station - any train station - and go back to my hotel where I could finally stop walking. I was so far away from Taima-dera Station that I ended up walking to the next station down the line. And walking and walking and... Through the fields and the rice paddies and more fields and... Until I got to the station, got on the next train, and transferred a bunch of times. Again. Now I'm back and I'm really pleased with how my day went, but my feet want me dead. I'm going for something a bit more mellow tomorrow (Can I make peace with my feet? Maybe?) and I'll be heading for Mii-dera Temple in Shiga prefecture, southwest of Lake Biwa. Mii-dera has a very colourful history, because the warrior monks of Mii-dera had thrown down with the warrior monks of Mount Hiei and they spent quite a bit of time knocking the crap out of each other and burning everyone's temples down. There will also be a couple of shrines I'll be going to near Mii-dera Temple. One is a horse shrine and another is a rabbit shrine (my birth sign). |
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A bit more on goshuin, one of my favourite things to collect from Japan. The current goshuin-chō that I'm working on is this gorgeous beast: The icon on the cover is Enma Daiō, the king and judge of Buddhist Hell. This goshuin-chō came from Rokudō Chinnō-ji Temple in Kyōto. The temple is on the site of the home of an ancient demon-hunter and exorcist named Ono-no-Takamura. Ono-no-Takamura had an arrangement with Enma Daiō and was permitted to freely enter Hell and did so through a well in the garden (that well is still there and I have seen it). This temple is infrequently open to the public, so when I got a chance to visit, I did so, and one thing I got from there was this goshuin-chō. One of the goshuin I got yesterday was this one for Kannon, the goddess of mercy:  I posted a couple of goshuin yesterday, but those were some pretty fancy ones. This is a typical temple goshuin. It's notable for the red cartouche in the upper right corner that says this is a pilgrimage stamp for the Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, a pilgrimage to designated Kannon temples in Tōkyō. This is a shrine goshuin from Akasaka Hikawa-jinja Shrine. Shrine goshuin are much simpler than temple goshuin, but that can give them a sense of elegance.  I'm hoping that tomorrow I will fill my Enma goshuin-chō up completely and after this trip he will never return to mothership again. Then I can start working on my next goshuin-chō... |
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 I have a problem with fattening women up.
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| Simply amazing. Wow | ||
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 I don't believe this....and I know you don't care that I don't believe this.
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@Byrdibyrd This thread is a great document of your adventure. You should screenshot the thread when your trip is over. |
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| Post 97 • IP flag post | ||
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It gets old smelling it everytime I go outside my door.
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| @Byrdibyrd will you get a goshuin from the rabbit shrine? The Oku-no-in Garden of the Western Paradise is indeed quite magnificent. I like how some of trees are manicured like Bonsai. Awesome... |
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It gets old smelling it everytime I go outside my door.
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Nearmint67 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd It must be crazy to try to drive two cars in opposite directions in that "road", uhm, alleyway. Must be several fender benders. Could you see a 1978 Lincoln Town Car going one way and a Hummer going the other. |
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 Forum Crier
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@Byrdibyrd Cool pictures! Around 25 years ago we went to Taipei. That's the closest I've ever been to Japan. The architecture is amazing!!!  |
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 The Fifth Golden Girl
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| This is a fantastic thread! Sounds like you are having such a wonderful time! So happy for you and thanks for sharing with us! | ||
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Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Nearmint67 I definitely plan on getting a goshuin from Mio-jinja, the rabbit shrine. I understand it has a bunny stamp.  |
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| @Nearmint67 The way the taxis just blaze through those tiny roads, it's a wonder there are any people left! |
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by OGJackster Those places look gorgeous! Wow! Taipei is a place on the bucket list for me! |
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by sborock It's my pleasure. I often travel with a friend but this time I'm flying solo. Posting here on the forum is like having my friends with me on my journey. I love  it! |
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