[35-Days Trip 2010] Japan _ Temples and Shrines [continued]

Church of Light was one of the hightlights in my original plan and I even emailed the priest in advance for confirmation of visit ( followed the backpack guide tip). Thank God (literally) I did that, otherwise, I can't imagine if I had run all the way to that "in the middle of nowhere " only to find out the church was under renovation with no visitors allowed.

In order to fill the gap in schedule, I decided to go Awaji Island, where the famous Shingonshu Honpukuji is. Shall I say here that "the fate had brought me from the church to the temple"? Honestly, the most impressive temple I had even visited.

Shingonshu Honpukuji (Water Temple) 水御堂, Awaji Island 淡路岛 by Tadao Ando

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8499133@N02/sets/72157625546941417/with/5291179695/

Origined from the same East Asia root, "red" seems to have developped very different meanings across countries. As a color represented the top hierarchy in feudalistic China, red used to be the privilege of royal family.  After the empiror faded from the stage of history, this color has turned into a well-known Chinese symbol of happiness. However, Japanese are still taking "red" very "serious" and it constantly shows up in the places where the afterwards or the "other" life is conceived.

  

Even though Japanese love temples so much, temple is not the real host of Japanese spirit. While on the other hand, shrine is. It's like the English word "shrine" had never come across my life until the day I started to plan my trip to Japan.

Fushimi Inari Shrine  伏见稻荷大社，Kyoto 京都

There's a shrine, which had never been part of my plan until the minute I saw its name on my way to transfer subway. I believe, to most of Chinese, it is the only knowleged connection with Japanese shrine, and it always comes together with pain and hatred.
All the sudden, I wanted to know this place, not through anything I had heard or learned, but through my own being.

Yasukuni Jinja Shrine 靖国神社，Tokyo 东京

A friend said that I shouldn't have gone there and I'd better not tell anyone I went.
I did go, and instead of going Yasukuni Shrine, I realized I in fact went to a place where I was able to look at the people visiting Yasukuni Shrine. They were praying for "spirits and souls", just as what people do in shrines all over the country. And they were praying in a shrine whose name -"Yasukuni"  was quoted from a phase「吾以靖国也」in the classical-era Chinese text Zuo Zhuan (左传), which literally means "Pacifying the Nation", first used about 1500 years ago in Chinese narrative history to deliver the patriotic spirit of our ancestors.

[35-Days Trip 2010] Japan _ Temples and Shrines

On my last day in Japan, I met an American couple when we were all waiting on a long line. They told me they were in China for vacation a year ago, "We visited Forbidden City, Great Wall... and many more new developments, like "bird nest", bridges, skydeck... It's amazing in China today... While our travel arrangement in Japan is very different. They guided us to temple and shrine, then shrine and temple, and more temples and more shrines, I mean, we went other places as well, but it seems like they are very excited to show us all their temples and shrines just like the way Chinese showed us their recent achievements..."

Label #3: Temples and Shrines

I was on a DIY trip and I followed my own guts. I didn't realize how big the part "temple and shrine" had played in my trip until that last day.

Kinkakuji Temple 金阁寺, Kyoto 京都

This is the most "luxury" temple I've ever seen in Japan.

Usually, paint is not necessary at all for a temple and colors stay just as nature, white paper walls, grey roof tiles, brown wood framings, green gardens... All the bright colors come with people and their wishes.

Ryoan-ji Temple 龍安寺, Kyoto 京都

             

Fifteen rocks in Zen Garden iconically represent the most famous Japanese Dry Landscape.

I sat there, like all the others, with no word, only mind...

                                                                         [Tsukubai]

Temple @ Arashiyama 岚山，Kyoto 京都

                                         Arashiyama has its charm even without foliage, because temples are there no matther which season it is.

Horyu-ji Temple 法隆寺, Nara 奈良

I think it has been 10 years since I first heard its name as an architect student. And the big argument about which one, Horyuji (Japan) or Nanchan (China) hosts the oldest wooden building existing in the world is still going on. Regardingless of whose the winner, it can't be more exciting to see a pagoda almost 1200 years old standing in front of you. 

However,  I travelled across the Pacific Ocean coming all the way here, but couldn't get any closer. Simple reason, I had only 780 yen cash in pocket after missed an ATM that morning in Osaka, and the ticket is 1000 yen, no credit card taken.

Can you believe that?!!

I stayed in this temple, more precisely stood near the ticket booth, for less than 10 minutes. Thanks for my telescope lens and my faith, I caught more than the rest of my money could offer me.

[to be continued...]

[35-Days Trip 2010] Japan _ Subway, Bus and Vending machines

I relied on trains and buses much more than subways until the very end of my trip after I got to Tokyo and my JR pass ran out of time. If anything can reach the limit of complication in rail system, look at Tokyo. I joked about the subway map in New York City many times to my friends. The trick is: put your two fingers on 14th Street near lower Manhattan, pick all messy threads up and shake your hand a little bit. These 3 steps will be more than enough to straighten them all up with no nodes left.
Now let's see the metro map of Tokyo, I don't even know where I can fit my fingers between lines without tightening more nodes...

Anyway, the truth is that I did a pretty good job to not get lost and catch all the schedules, except, ok I'll leave this super dramatic end of my trip (crazier than the beginning) to later in "[35-Days Trip 2010] the Longest day".

These benches help relax your eyes,

but unfortunately not your back or butt...



The last topic of public transportation will be - bus. Sitting in a bus in Japan made me feel more like in China than in US, can't explain why, but don't think it's because the resemblance of people either. Besides this, there're three unique details on board I noticed, 

-rubber cover protection on all stainless steel railings

-LCD information system (not TV for advertisement which is common in buses / taxis in Shanghai)

-MAGIC ticket vending machine

Label #2: Vending machine
We all know Japan is standing at the cutting edge of all kinds of digital products, but still, I was impressed by how vending machines get so popular and thoughtful in Japanese daily life.

*bus ticket machine - magic

bus ticket machine is normal,

bus ticket machine onborad provides changes is not normal,

bus ticket machine onboard provides bill - coins, coin - coins changing sevice anytimes without requiring to buy ticket is "bank" (lucky coins-collectors like me).

*soft drink machine - everywhere

It's not necessary to keep a bottle of water in your backpack in Japan, because whenever and wherever you get thirsty, there's always a soft drink vending machine nearby, offering more choices of healthy tea than coke. They stand in city streets, suburban roads, village lanes, mountain paths... I don't know who's taking care of them when they're in the middle of nowhere, but they works 24/7 in all weather. Didn't see any of them tampered, even though, "illness" inside may be unavoidable like this one.

On the other hand, now I know how Suntory made its fortune.

*ramen machine - big potential improvement
It's a similar machine as those selling cans of drink, with pictures of various yummy ramen and bento boxes. The only difference is after you insert your coins, small ticket pop up instead of ramen, with which you can exchange for your food on the counter. See, big potention in the future, will be perfect if hot ramen is waiting in the bottom drawer.

*mysterious machine in temple- bizarre

I was making my best guess on what this machine was selling in front of Buddha in a famous temple. A Japanese calligraphic piece will come out of the machine after you put on 50 or 100 yen and people hold it to pray afterwards.
If it's what I guess it is, then I have to say, Japanese Buddha is real modern leader!

[35-Days Trip 2010] Day 27-35 _ 100% solo trip in Japan

I started this 35-days trip the day after my birthday, so it's a birthday gift to myself, to my last birthday begining with a "2" :)
Also, eight and half days in Japan crossed one item on the very top of my wish list - now I can say I had been travelling in a foreign country alone for more than a week, without knowing anybody and without speaking their lauguage.

It's not a surprise that I end up writing about this trip 4 months later. The good thing is that time is magic for memories, not only works like a filter but also puts whatever left in drawers with different labels, while the original sequence in which they happened doesn't matter any more.

Label #1: Transportation
I made a crazy long list of things-to-do for eight days, tighter than any travel agency can possibly schedule for a super-valued condensive trip (I mean those get you up at 7am). I didn't think I would be able to follow my itinerary all the way through, just try to be prepared in case some items get unvailable by the time.
However, thank for the amazingly convenient public transportation system in this country, I experienced more things than I ever expected. Yes, the bullet train is famous, but if a person like me barely able to communicate can get that far in such a cheap (consider this is Japan) and efficient way, there must be something more than fancy speed.

travel map








JR Pass
(only for non-Japanese and only sold out of Japan)

JR reservation ticket free with JR pass
(top left)
Hakone 2-day pass including cable car, tram, rail train, bus, cruise
(bottom left)
Tokyo subway 1-day pass (middle top)
Kyoto bus 1-day pass (top right)
subway tickets (bottom right)

The above pretty much covers everything needed to wander around Japan, except the bus ticket is missing from this show list, will talk later.

I read an article online, talking about some train fans waiting in one of the busiest JR station all day, collecting portrays of "bullet family", should have saved that link :( I was always in a big hurry getting on and off the train and usually from or to the car specified in the reserved ticket, which most likely in the middle of a train. This picture was taken in one of the only two times I saw its "head". Anyway, searching "JR bullet train" helps getting to know its siblings.

I was all excited after getting on the first bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto to officially start my trip, until the guy sitting next to me unwarped his well-prepared Onigiri. I tried very hard during 3-hours ride to cover the noise coming from my stomach while surrounded by smell of eggs and tuna and don't know what other yummy seasonings are, especially after I noticed almost everyone got something to eat, except me. So, I made sure to bring  my own from one of millions 7/eleven or equal since then and had been more than happy with my various train snacks.
4 or 5 days later, I took JR train in the moring, with a hostel roommate, Australian-Shanghainese girl, who had been studied Japanese and teaching English in Japan for more than half a year. I unpacked my breakfast shortly after on board as usual. Before I got started, she whispered in my ear in Chinese, "it's not allowed to eat in the train". "What?!" I looked around, no evidence of food, but...
The truth is, I hadn't seen anyone eating in the train (except in bullet one with hours run) after that morning. What a shame! I didn't notice this detail after that very first ride.
Ok, on the other hand, is that because in the extremely densive rail network in this country, only bullet train is considered "train" and all the other railways are just like subways...

(to be continued)

[35-Days Trip 2010] a TRIP going HOME

There was a time when I was in the college, I watched half of my classmates rushing into a trip short or long, at least twice a year. That trip was called "going home". At that time I didn't quite get the feeling of having to consider "going home" as a trip happen once in a pretty long while.

Now, I guess I finally got it, even though I'm probably staying in the stage of "denial". Shanghai was the longest stop of my 35-days trip. However, during my 13 days of stay, I tended to feel like I was just hanging out to meet friends, familiy from home instead of from thousands of miles away. Of course, I didn't miss the World Expo 2010, just like a Beijingnese wouldn't miss Olympics 2008, but even that wasn't "big" enough to make it as a "trip".

For a long time since I lived in New York, I had to tell friends "I'm going home - refer to where I lived in the city" in a quite awkward way, especially if I was saying it in Chinese.  There's something special about "home" in my mind, no substitute.
Maybe that's the reason it's still hard to connect HOME to Trip and this disconnection came up unconsciously. For example, I was uploading my trip photos by time sequence and after the folder of HangZhou, I headed directly to Japan.

Oops, guess I'll just follow my guts and represent this stop of my trip temporarily by