お寺が大好き！

howdy, everyone! wasn't going to update today, even though i have the time (should technically be downstairs hanging out with Izuno-san and Kyoko-san, but i'm pretty much Japanese-d out for today) and the internets, but then i reconsidered. (i didn't want you guys to get too sick of me! but then i wasn't sure when the next chance i'd have to update would be...)


in any case, today was completely wonderful! Blake, Renee, and i had all agreed yesterday after the horrendousness that was our first presentation that we'd meet early this morning and get all our research for this week's project done today. (did i write that last time? i have no idea what i write and where anymore. i have this blog, a written journal i keep every night, and a third journal for random thoughts that have no place anywhere else--it's all very confusing. also there is repetition. lots of repetition.) so this morning we met at the daigaku at 9AM--my bus got me there early for once, so i had the chance to use the internets a bit! once Renee and Blake arrived, we headed out.


first on our list of things to find was Nanzenji Temple. none of us knew anything about it, though Izuno-san had told me where to find it (it's also pretty close to where i live, also. everything is close to where i live, it seems like.) once we got there, we really didn't know where to start, so we pretty much wandered about and took random pictures. eventually, we stumbled upon this really ancient-looking aqueduct. it was really cool-looking, so even though it wasn't on our list of stuff to research, we walked up to it to explore, anyway. once we got to the top, we realized we could walk along the side of it, so we proceeded to do so, wandering all the way to its source: a water treatment plant. the place was basically deserted, so we explored a bit more, eventually finding a small Buddhist alter next to this disused playground. the area was a little sketch, to tell the truth, and Blake kept making comments like "Let's hurry and leave before we get shot" and so forth, but Renee and i were content to mess about and explore some more. we did leave eventually, though, following the aqueduct back to Nanzenji area. there, i convinced the other two to go into this Kamakura-period garden that i thought looked nifty. so we pay $3 to get in, only to find it's really small and not much more special than any other garden we've seen. (Ginkakuji had that thing beat.) but it was interesting, nonetheless.


afterwards, we headed down to Kouhoujyou (the U's mean each syllable's elongated.) the people there were really nice and i bought my shu-in book! (basically, it's this randomly expensive for no reason blank book that you can get stamped at every temple you visit. each stamp--elegantly painted on the spot for you--costs about $3 more.) really, there's no use for the thing, but i was looking through Blake's (he got his at Ginkakuji) and decided it was just a cool thing to have--especially because each temple's stamp is unique. the both of us are now determined to visit every temple we can to fill our shu-in up before we leave.


in any case, Kohojyo (same place, but the U's are silly. elongate the thing yourselves.) was really awesome--there were beautiful gardens and inside were these wall paintings (we weren't allowed to take pictures) that had been designated National Treasures--they were what we had been sent to research. after being very tourist-y for a while, we headed back out to Sanmon--this huge gate we had passed by upon entering--it was the second thing we needed to research. after speaking with some very rude ticket people for a bit, we headed on up some very scary stairs to the top. however, once we climbed out of the inner part of the gate to the outside, we were immeadiately awed by how gorgeous the view was. it was a little scary, being so high up in something so old. (it was originally built in 1262, burned down, and was rebuilt in the mid-1600s--it's also one of the three largest gates in Japan.) but i took a video walking around the entire thing--it's like 5 minutes long, but if i get the chance i'm going to upload it, because that's something you all have to see!


after a while we climbed back down--stairs were so frickin' scary--and headed back to Kohojyo to interview some people, as we had forgotten to earlier. we started with the nice ticket lady, but after a while, she couldn't answer any more of our questions and so led us into the restricted, staff-only area of the temple, down into the monk's administration office, all so we could interview some of the actual monks that worked there! it was really, well, kind of intimidating, actually. for one, all three of us felt horrible for intruding, and so the entire time we kept apologizing and thanking everyone profusely for their help. but two monks--one who spoke English and the other solely Japanese--took turns helping us. they gave us some papers on the temple and explained everything that wasn't covered there and were really nice and sweet. only in Japan would people go that much out of their way to help you!


by the time we left Nanzenji it was about 1PM, and all of us were pretty hungry. so we took a small break for lunch, walking back to Okazaki-michi (where i live) and searching for a suitable place. there wasn't any, so we eventually--out of sheer hunger--settled on this very seedy-looking ramen restaurant. however, luckily for us, the restaurant turned out to be amazing. the food (i got nikunashi ramen--meatless ramen) was delicious, and though somewhat expensive, was well worth the money paid. the people working there were also extremely nice and complemented us on our Japanese.

afterwards, we walked back to the Ninzenji area to find Eikandou, the second temple we were supposed to research. after paying admission, Blake and i took our shu-in to be stamped while we explored the temple and then the three of us began exploring. [it's getting late so i'm totally chopping off half the story/details.] the Buddha we were supposed to be researching turned out to have been moved due to renovations, so we spent a while looking for the thing. on the way, we found this awesome well: there was a small pool of water to the side with a dipping cup in it. next to that was a sign with instructions in English and Japanese. basically, if you scoop up some water and trickle it gently over the well (the well was closed but had a few areas in the wood where water could go through) the water would make the noise of a koto (Japanese traditional stringed instrument) as it made its way to the bottom. all of us tried it, and it did! it was one of the cooler things i've discovered since i've been here. (i even took a video, and checking it later, you can actually hear the koto-sounds! yay, spiffy camera!) right next to the well was this incredibly awesome staircase that was called the Sleeping Dragon because it, well, pretty much looked like one. we all spent at least five minutes just taking pictures of the staircase because it was so awesome.

around 3PM we were done with Eikandou, grabbed our shu-in and headed back. once we got back to the daigaku, we went across the street to the 99Yen Store (like the Japanese equivalent of the Dollar General. also my favorite store XD) to buy some ice cream. after that, we went to sit on the steps of the daigaku and eat our ice cream. Ross wandered up later, and ended up walking home with me a good ways after all of us split up.

after that, nothing much more interesting happened...oh! i finally got a video of our house! i've been too afraid to, because i thought it'd be very rude, but Izuno-san went to the supermarket today, and Kyoko-san wasn't home yet, so i made like a ninja and secretly videoed the house. i'm totally creeping about and whispering the whole time, but at least you all will be able to see where i'm living!

ah, it's pretty late now, and i have class tomorrow (Renee, Blake, and i were also going to finish up our presentation tomorrow so we'd have the rest of the week to practice it). so i should probably get, i guess. actually, i feel kind of bad i didn't hang out with the host peoples more, but maybe i'll try to stay home all weekend so we can hang out some. (i just hope they feel like doing more than just watching TV...) well, till next time!

also: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMA!