Japan

Osaka, Japan

We had a great day in Japan today. We got up (relatively) early and headed out through Osaka. It was a warm humid day, but still great for strolling. We had brunch at Subway near Namba station. It's not exactly Japanese food, but it's been a while since we've had it. Mmmm, Subway tuna sub. Our original plan had been to spend the day in Kyoto, one of the most famous ancient cities in Japan. On the advice of Gavin (the husband of Barb's cousin Deb) we instead decided to go to Nara, which was actually the capital of ancient Japan before Kyoto. It has as many historic sites as Kyoto, but is better for a walking trip. So we climbed on the subway (more expensive than Korea) and headed to Nara.

We first went to Nara Park. There are hundreds of domesticated deer wandering around Nara Park, and throughout Nara. The deer is considered sacred to the Japanese. The deer will walk up to you and eat out of your hand. After being in industrialized areas for quite some time, it was great to walk around a park and enjoy nature, even if it's domesticated nature. It was a little ironic for an Albertan to be walking around Japan taking photos of deer. The park is next to Kofukuji Temple, which is a beautiful Buddhist temple. Japanese temples are very classic and subdued. There is none of the glitz that you find in places like Thailand. Even in Korea the wooden temple buildings are decorated with colourful, yet simple, painting. Japanese temple buildings simply use the natural muted colours of the wood. Kokufuji temple contains two beautiful pagodas. One of the pagodas is five stories and 50m high. It is the second highest tower in Japan. Most Korean pagodas are stone and much smaller, but the five-story pagoda is absolutely magnificent. There are a couple museums near Kofukuji, but being poor, we didn't enter any of them. The average entering price was 300-500 Yen ($5) compared to Korea where you can enter most sites for under 1000 Won ($1). It started to rain on us (we apparently arrived in Japan the week the rainy season begins) so we purchased umbrellas and continued on.

Next we went to Nandaimon Gate. Nandaimon is a huge gate leading to Todaiji Temple. The gate contains the Kongo Rikishi guardian deities, which are huge wooden sculptures of Buddhist temple guardians. They were nearly 10m tall, probably the largest wooden sculptures I've ever seen. Nandaimon is a very large gate, and probably rivals the old city gates in Seoul for its size. There were hundreds of school children there when we arrived - consequences of going on a Saturday I guess. They were all posing on the steps of the gate for class pictures (and escaping the rain).

The Todaiji temple complex was beautiful. It's a very large temple, and the grounds are encircled between Nandaimon and the main hall by buildings. The grounds are perfectly flat and the grass is gorgeously green. A large cobblestone walkway leads from the gate to the main hall. Todaiji temple was the central Buddhist temple during the time in which Nara was the capital. The main hall, Daibutsuden, is stunning, and is the largest wooden building in the world. It was originally built in 1752 CE but was rebuilt in 1692 due to a fire. Incredibly the original was actually a third larger than the current structure. Just outside the entrance of the hall is a spooky looking wooden deity that, apparently, can cure you of ailments. You simply rub the statue and then your corresponding body part. Perhaps it will cure Barb's stomach ache. The inside of the hall, known as the "Great Buddha Hall" is equally stunning. The enormity of the wooden structure hits you, and enshrined inside is a 15m tall bronze statue of the (Vairocana) Buddha. The huge Buddha is breathtaking. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a good picture of it, but I suggest you go see it if ever in Japan. There are many beautiful wooden sculptures inside the temple as well. There is a small hole cut in the bottom of one of the temple support beams. Legend has it that anyone who can fir through the hole is guaranteed enlightenment. I didn't venture it, despite my wiriness. It was funny to watch schoolgirls and skinny women squeeze through.



We left Todaiji and continued on in the rain. As we walked we were greeted with more deer. We visited a couple smaller halls, like Nigatsu-do Hall. We climbed one of the hills (I forget which one) to get a better view of Nara. There wasn't much of a view, however, as the sky was misty from the rain. There was a beautiful Shinto shrine at the top, though. After the hill we continued on to the Kasuga Shrines. The walk up to the mountain of the Kasuga Shrines is beautiful. Entering Kusuga Taisha you see beautiful vermilion coloured pillars and walkways with hundreds of bronze stone lanterns. The buildings and the forest surrounding these Shinto shrines is one of many world heritage sites in Nara. Walking through the forest at the top of the mountain is beautiful and there are hundreds of stone lanterns (unfortunately not lit) lining the way. We were beginning to get a little wet, so we headed back to the town to conclude our sight seeing.

I had a mission in Japan. I had to go look for some video game accessories for my brother. Now as a boy, I would have wanted to go electronics shopping anyway, but this gave me an excuse. We met up with Barb's cousin Deb at Yodobashi Camera in Osaka. After about ten minutes we had to leave to go for sushi. Yes, you heard me right, I was taken from a gigantic Japanese electronics store after ten minutes. Now for you women reading, that's like yanking a newborn puppy from its mother's teat. It just isn't done. I cry when I think about it. Panasonic Q's, millions of digital cameras, MP3 players, all taken from me.

So we went for sushi. Despite the tragedy of Yodobashi, I did very much want to go for sushi. Korean sushi, even the kind that purports to be Japanese - for lack of a better term - sucks. The good stuff (like tuna) is served frozen. Mmm, sushisicle. So I was delighted to go to conveyor-belt style sushi. After I grabbed what turned out to be the only tuna-rolls for the evening we all feasted on huge pieces of salmon (a rarity in Korea), tuna, scallops, etc. It was a belly-filling wasabi-riffic sushifest. Too bad it wasn't all-you-can-eat.

After sushi we spent about 40 minutes trying to find a bank machine for Barb. We wanted to go out for drinks. I wanted to go to a Japanese disco or nightclub, or something where I could experience Japanese nightlife. Barb's cousin instead took us to the cafe where the white people hang out. I didn't really go to Japan to hang out with foreigners, I can do that in Gumi. I'm not a big fan of drinking at cafes anyway. But we're staying at their place free of charge, so I couldn't really protest. We stayed there for a couple drinks then headed home.

My impression of Japan has been pretty good so far. It's expensive, especially compared to Korea. But it's not as expensive as many people will have you believe. Transportation is expensive. I can get from Gumi to Seoul - almost the entire length of the country - for around $15. It costs less for Deb and Gavin to fly to Korea than it does to go to Tokyo. So if you teach in Osaka, you're stuck in Osaka. Japan is cleaner than Korea, and that's one of the things I appreciate. I hate the film of grime that seems to cover everything in Korea. People here seem to know more English than Korea, but that's neither positive or negative. It's hard to compare, because you can't contrast Gumi with Nara. Of course it's beautiful in the ancient cities. Gyeongju is beautiful too. My students often describe Tokyo as "Seoul with Japanese writing on the neon signs."

Our experience in Japan has been tonnes of fun, and hey, we get to come back again soon!

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