#73 - Mountains and molehills

Added to the World Heritage List on June 22nd, 2013, Mt Fuji is perhaps one of the first images people think of when they think about Japan. Not surprisingly, Mt Fuji is a mountain. But it's not the only one in Japan.

Did you know that about 72% of Japan is mountainous? There is a mountain chain on each of the main islands. This was surprising for me to hear at first!

Sendai, or rather in Miyagi Prefecture, is bordered to the east and the west by the Ou mountains (奥羽山脈 Ou-sanmyaku). This is the longest mountain range in Japan which stretch for 500km. In fact, from most areas in Sendai, I could easily see the mountains in the distance. Whenever I would travel by Shinkansen to Toyko, I would always see the mountains in the distance. It got a little comforting knowing they were there (which later shocked me when I moved to Okayama, as it is terribly flat, thus no mountains). The Ou mountain range includes several well-known mountains, so for this entry, let's talk about Mt Zao.

Mount Zao

Mount Zao (蔵王山 Zao-san) lies on the border of Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture. It is the most active volcano in the north on the main island of Honshu and is 1841 metres high. It is a complex volcano - a volcano with more than one feature.

My photograph of the crater and view.

One of these features is the Okama crater (御釜 Okama). This crater was formed by an eruption in the 1720s and it contains a lake. An 'okama' is a traditional cooking pot which this crater is said to resemble. However, the crater and lake are also known as the "Five Colour Pond" (五色沼 goshikinuma) because the lake changes colour depending on the weather.

Me and Okama - it was very windy!

You are not allowed to go down to the crater, so you have to view it from a neighbouring peak called Kattadake (1758 metres). Actually, you can drive up to this part, which has a parking area, but the last part is a toll road so you would have to pay about 540 yen. When I visited at the beginning of June, 2013, a friend kindly offered to drive. It is also possible to get there by bus or by ropeway from Zao Onsen.

The shrine.

At the top of the Kattadake peak, there is a small Shino shrine. I'm not sure of the name of it, though I did buy some small charms. I also can't remember if I had my shrine book (my shuin-cho) with me to get a stamp. I have a feeling I forgot to take it, though. Also, there is a visitor centre here, where you can get some snacks (and of course there are toilets!).

Overall, Mount Zao is a great place to relax. A lot of people enjoying hiking around the area and you can see some great views!

#72 - Sendai Castle and Date Masamune

Castle Ruins

The first time I visited Sendai Castle was in the middle of April 2013. At the time, there were a few cherry blossom trees in bloom still, but it was at the end of the season so they looked rather poorly. I went with a fellow teacher and her student.

Unfortunately, due to time and other events, the castle no longer stands. Actually, it would be more accurate to call it castle ruins, and now only the foundation walls remain. Actually, the real name of this area is called Aoba Castle (青葉城 Aoba-jo) because it was built upon Mount Aoba.

Castle walls

There are a few ways to reach the castle, but whenever I went I always chose the same path. Its fairly easy to get to. You can get a bus in more-or-less a straight line from downtown Sendai and get off at the International Center. From there, cross the road to Sendai City Museum. If you walk behind the building, there is a tiny path which you can walk upwards towards the castle ruins.


It is completely free to visit the castle. In fact, I ended up visiting several times, sometimes during the day and sometimes at night. From the top of the castle walls, there is a great panoramic view of Sendai city. To the left you can see mountains and the large Sendai Daikannon - a great white statue of the Japanese Buddhist Bodhisattva Kannon which is 100 metres tall - which overlooks the city. To the right of the view on a clear day, you can see the ocean near the Sendai port area. On the castle grounds, there is also a Gokoku Shrine (護国神社 Gokoku-jinja) as well as a large statue of Date Masamune on horseback.

View of central Sendai from the castle ruins.
Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a photo of the whole view.

Date Masamune

Speaking of which, who is this? Date Masamune is a well-known historical figure in the Sendai and Tohoku region. You can see his figure on a whole plethora of souvenirs from Sendai. He was a daimyo (大名) - a powerful territorial lord - in the region, and helped to found the modern-day city of Sendai. 

Me and a bust of Date Masamune.

Rear of the statue of Date Masamune
on horseback at the castle.

Date Masamune is also known as the "one-eyed dragon" (独眼竜 dokuganryu). This is because he had an infection of small-pox in his right eye as a child which caused him to lose his eye. How he lost it, though, is unclear. Some sources say that he plucked it out himself.

Another symbol of Date Masamune was his famous crescent-moon shaped helmet. This won him a fearsome reputation. Actually, I have noticed that the figure of Date Masamune, or a similar design, is often used in anime or games (for example, Samurai Warriors). 

I also found out that the design of this helmet was the inspiration for Darth Vader's costume! 

#71 - Golden week in Kyoto - 28 April to 3 May 2013

Golden Week is a period of time in Japan where many public holidays fall in a very short space of time. Some companies close for this week. For most people, Golden Week (sometimes known as GW) is almost a week of holiday. Of course it goes without saying that this is the travel period! Flights, trains, hotels; everything will be fully booked (and expensive!). Make sure to book in advance!

I took this opportunity to go to Kyoto for a week. During that time, I managed to visit a lot of different places, and it remains one of my favourite holidays. I could write a very, very long entry about it all, but I think I will choose a few of the highlights.

Tourist map I found using a web search.
It shows the locations of the more popular spots.

Kyoto

Kyoto (京都) is in the central part of the largest island of Japan (Honshu 本州). About 1.5 million people live there, making it the seventh largest city in Japan. It was formally the imperial capital city of Japan for over a thousand years, so there are many impressive buildings. Of course, this makes it a popular destination for tourists. Many people try to spot geisha in the Gion district. I also tried, but failed.

It is very easy to get around Kyoto as a tourist. There are frequent buses that go throughout the city and stop at, or near, popular and historic sites. So, buying a day pass is great!

Kiyomizu Temple

Kiyomizu Temple (Kiyomizudera 清水寺, which means "pure water temple") is a Buddhist temple and a UNESCO World Heritage site. There is a wooden stage which reaches our from the main hall, which is about 13 metres above the hillside. This is maybe one of the most well-known views in Kyoto. Also on the site, there is a small love shrine with two stones placed 18 metres apart. It is said that if you can walk from one stone to the other with your eyes closed, then you can have good luck in love. Someone can help you walk between the stones, but it is then believed that someone will have to be an intermediary in your love life too.

My panorama of Kiyomizudera.

There are also lots of things to see within the temple grounds. For example, there is the Otowa waterfall. At one point, the water is divided into three streams by a structure. Each represents something different: long life, academic success and love. Using a cup on a long stick, you can drink the water and receive good luck. But apparently, if you drink from more than one, you are considered to be greedy. I waited in line to do this. The line was long! I drank from the middle one. I'm still not entirely sure which type of fortune it represented, but I hope it was love.

Kiyomizudera has great views during cherry blossom season and also during autumn, where the leaves turn red.

Kinkaku-ji

Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺 Temple of the Golden Pavilion) also known as Rokuon-ji (鹿苑寺 literally, "Deer Garden Temple") is a Zen Buddhist temple which is covered in gold leaf. This is one of the most visited sites in Japan. As soon as you enter the gardens, you can see the pavilion across a large pond. The gardens are also lovely to walk through. I really enjoy looking at nature and plants, so I found it very relaxing. At one point there was a bowl near some small statues, with people throwing money into it, trying to get good luck if you get your coin inside. I did it three times! There is also a tea garden, where you can try green tea (matcha 抹茶) which is a famous type of tea from Kyoto.

Kinkaku-ji and pond.

Ginkaku-ji

Ginkaku-ji (銀閣寺 Temple of the Silver Pavilion) is one of my favourite places. It is a Zen temple in the east of Kyoto. It has a garden which has a quiet atmosphere which includes a moss garden and ponds, and a unique dry sand garden. The trail also leads partially up a hill, so you are able to see across the grounds and a view of Kyoto city behind it. The atmosphere was so relaxing and the plants and gardens were beautiful. I really want to visit again and again (or, when I am rich in the future, I can create my own garden like it!) 

Although it is called the "Silver Pavilion" it is not actually covered in silver.
It is believed that the name came to make a contrast with Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Looking down through some torii gates
at Fushimi Inari.

The Fushimi Inari Shrine, or Fushimi Inari Taisha (in Japanese, 伏見稲荷大社) is an important Shinto shrine which is famous for its rows upon rows of vermilion torii gates. These gates follow various trails which lead all across the mountainside, so it is a great place for a mini-hike. It doesn't take so long to get into the first part of the area, but if you want to follow the trails to the summit it can take a couple of hours or more (depending on how you are at walking steps!). 

Inari is a Shinto god of rice, fertility, and also business and commerce. The red torii gates are actually donations to the shrine from individuals or companies. On each one, details of the donor are written. Foxes are thought to be the messenger of Inari, so there are also many fox statues found in the area (as indeed for any shrine dedicated to Inari). The word in Japanese for fox is kitsune きつね. According to beliefs, foxes are said to enjoy eating friend tofu. Seeing as there was a small place to eat on the mountain, I ate kitsune udon, which is thick what flour noodles topped with deep-fried tofu. Delicious!

To get here, you would have to go south of Kyoto City. You can get there by train (there are two trainlines) and then it is a short walk to the shrine. 

==============

So, there you go. Those were some of my favourite places in Kyoto. This is definitely not an extensive list of things to do in Kyoto by any means. If you have any questions or want to know anything, let me know! I hope you enjoyed reading about Kyoto!

As a last note, I want to mention shrine books. They are called Shuin-cho (朱印帳) in Japanese. At most shrines and temples, you can get a stamp or seal (shuin 朱印) written into your book. It show the name of the temple or shrine and the date and often has red stamps symbolising the place or other things. It usually costs about 300 yen for a stamp, and you can see the priest or priestess writing the stamp with an ink brush. During my time in Japan I managed to complete at least 3 of these books! They make great souvenirs! If you are spending time in Japan and like visiting temples and shrines, I recommend getting a book!

#70 - Tokyo and Cherry blossoms - April 2013

The themed drinks from the scary restaurant.
Like a mad scientist's equipment.

In the first weekend of April, I visited Tokyo. I stayed at the apartment of someone from my initial training group, and I was very thankful to her! We met up with some other teachers from the same training group who lived and worked around the Tokyo area, and we spent the day touring Ueno park, Akihabara, Harajuku, Shibuya and Shinjuku. In the evening we went to a themed restaurant called the Lock Up. This was actually terrifying! The theme was basically to scare you, so the staff were dressed in masks and costumes. Every so often, all the lights would turn off in the building and UV lights would come on. The staff would then sneak around in full monster costumes and try to scare you to death! Luckily, this only happened once while we were there. We quickly ate and left! But it was definitely an interesting and fun experience!

 Around April it is cherry blossom season. So, on the next weekend I was able to have my first cherry blossom viewing party. This is known as 花見（はなみ ）hanami in Japanese. We went to a park in Sendai and laid down our blue tarp on the ground. Basically what happens in a hanami party is that you sit outside – preferably under or near a cherry tree – and eat and drink alcohol and have fun with a group. If I remember correctly, I think we arrived around midday, and we left the park around midnight. Some of the group got excruciatingly drunk, like the majority of people during cherry blossom viewing. Unfortunately, the peak for the blossoms were earlier in the week, so this was towards the end before they started to fall off more. Nevertheless, it was still a great party and very beautiful.

#69 - Long Overdue

久しぶり。Or, in other words, long time no see.

I haven't updated this blog in a long time. I have several reasons for this. Firstly, after working hard, I didn't have a lot of time or interest in writing entries. This eventually led me to putting this to the back of my mind to eventually be forgotten. Secondly, and maybe the most importantly, I lost my password, then the email address I created this blog with, so I couldn't log in! And every time I tried, it got me frustrated so I had to give up.

For these reasons and more, I apologise to those who kept reminding me that I hadn't updated and that wanted to know about what I was up to.

However: good news! I now have my log in details (obviously), so I can once again post entries! Hooray! From my 14 months in Japan, I have accumulated a lot of photographs and stories, and visited many places. So, I thought that, as penance, I would slowly tell you all about what I was doing in Japan during the past year and a bit. So, keep your eyes peeled!

Before I go, I want to say something about my situation now. I no longer live in Japan. I have returned to the UK and I am back living at my parents house, looking for my next job (or even next adventure!). The reason is that I decided it was time for me to move on from Japan. Of course, I have no idea if, or when, I will have a chance to go back in the future. But for the time being it is the UK and Europe for me. One thing I can say about my experience is that I feel I have matured a lot more, both personally and professionally. My experience has been positive! But of course, I shan't forget there were negatives, too. But looking back, I feel that the positives have prevailed, so I would happily like to share some of them with you via this blog.

As for the new updates, I plan on posting one new entry each week. My last entry was at the end of March 2013. Coincidently, it is almost one year after (albeit approximately 1 month later), so I guess in a sense I will literally be reliving my time abroad following the seasons!

So, if you are interested in:

• Japanese culture
• travelling
• what I myself was doing

then come back soon and read about it!