Stairway to Heaven, Part 3

Waking up this morning was rough. It was dark and rainy outside, not a great day to go anywhere. Although I went to bed before Nick and Tala, I found it hard to get out of bed when my alarm went off. I slept for another 15 minutes before realizing that we would be late for breakfast. I brushed my teeth, put on clothes, and woke up the guys. It's always really horrible to have to wake people up - even when it's necessary, they're never happy about it, and they usually take it out on you. Not that it can be helped of course.

Finally, the three of us headed downstairs. Compared to the day before, we had a much 'simpler' breakfast than the day before. It was still a better and bigger breakfast than I get at home, so I wasn't complaining. She did put out these funky tiny fish, which are usually fine, but today they were kind of hard. I finished them all anyway. The miso soup was really good this morning as well.

Although we were leaving in the afternoon, we decided to check out "View Land", an amusement park on the mountain just behind the ryokan we stayed in. The obasan of the inn gave us free VIP tickets, so we headed up right after we ate. After asking directions at the convenience store (the nice old man wasn't there though), we found our way to the lift. It was pouring, so we took the monorail instead of the chair lift. Tala amused himself by taking super hipster photos on his iPhone, and I was mesmerized by the colors of the fall foliage as seen through the foggy window.

When we reached the top, we looked down at Amanohashidate, which could barely be seen through the thick clouds. We did have a number of great photo-ops, what with the clouds and everything. It was like something from a Japanese folding screen painting. Unfortunately, all the rides were closed! I'm not sure if it was due to rain or mechanical issues, but it seemed like nothing was open. We wound up playing a couple rounds of Taiko no Tatsujin, walking around on the sky bridge, and heading back down. We almost missed the monorail, but the driver waited for us.

Back on the ground, we decided to grab lunch before taking the bus back to Kyoto. We passed through the Daimaru "department store", possibly the smallest in Japan. It was one floor just for souvenirs and such. Nothing at all compared to the one in Kyoto.

We decided to have lunch at another of the main street restaurants. This time, Nick picked a place, because they had a tempura and soba combo set that he wanted to eat. Me and Tala went for donburi this time. I have to say, Nick’s was definitely the nicest of the bunch. Not that ours was bad, but I don’t see tempura look that good very often. I guess you really do find the best cuisine when you go out into rural Japan! 

As we headed back to the ryokan, I decided to get a fortune at the temple. It was kind of cool – instead of the usual long papers fortunes are usually written on, they had these little paper fan fortunes. I was lucky enough to get Great Luck, the best of the bunch. Here’s hoping it actually works: Sam could always use more luck.

We arrived at the bus stop with a little bit of time to spare, but there was already someone there waiting for us. A station attendant told us that the bus was running behind schedule, and that we had to wait another 40 minutes or so before it would get there. We chilled out in the station, and I went around looking for some cool souvenirs (didn’t find anything I liked though). Before too long, the bus arrived, and off we went back to Kyoto. 

Given that we hadn’t slept all that much over the two days we were there, I nodded off on the bus while writing this blog. When we got back to the city, I opted to go home, rather than to Doshisha’s school festival. There were still two days left in break that I could go there, after all. And boy, were they going to be awesome!

Stairway to Heaven, Part 2

We woke up early Sunday morning. Well, I woke up early, and had to wake the guys up. Since Cara had to leave by noon, we decided to hit the major sightseeing spots before lunch. Shockingly, the ryokan didn't have hot water in the morning, so the frigid water woke me up with a start. We shambled into the dining room around 7, and ate a big breakfast. The fish was really salty, but otherwise it was a good meal.

Cara, raring to go, led the way across the land bridge. We saw all sorts of pine trees along the way. Some massive, others that were growing in multiple directions. There was one that had iron grafted to its trunk, and another that had two trees growing from the same roots (they called it the happy couple tree). As we approached the other side, there was even a tree tied up with rope. I couldn't read the kanji, but I figure it was something like "Rope Bondage Tree". Kinky.

The walk across the bridge took all of half an hour, so our next step would be to climb the mountain. There were signs for a cable car, which led us alongside the ocean. There were dozens of sleeping ducks, which apparently Tala really likes, because he made a big fuss over them. Some ferrymen tried to get us to take a boat back across the bridge, but I played my gaijin card and ignored them, pretending I didn't understand Japanese.

We came to a temple, which we had to pass through to get to the lift. It was a pretty temple, a little on the small side. There were a lot of interesting statues, including some sort of dog-creature, and a turtle made of bronze upon which some sort of deity was riding. People were rubbing the turtle's head, probably some sort of ritual to pray for wisdom. Amusingly, the head was the only unoxydized part of the statue - it had retained the original metallic color while the rest of it had turned Statue of Liberty green.

Beyond the temple were a number of small, winding streets. A lot of shops in the area had strung up little puffer fish for people to buy as souvenirs. On closer inspection, it seemed that they were real fish...with googly eyes glued on. We couldn't figure out WHY they were being sold, but it was kind of amusing, and we ignored the "no photo" signs and took some pictures. Gaijin Smash.

We reached the lift, and purchased our tickets. It seemed we had two options: we could take the trolley, which ran once every 20 minutes, or we could ride the chair lifts. Since it was a nice day, and we didn't feel like waiting in line for the trolley, we chose to ride the chair lifts. It wasn't actually that scary (despite my fear of heights) because there was netting just below the chairs. And looking back at the bridge as we rode higher up the mountain was breathtaking. Japan is a beautiful country.

There is a tradition, once one has climbed the mountain, to stand on these stone benches and look at the land bridge between your legs, making it look as if the bridge was rising to the heavens. We were determined to try this out. But so was the massive horde of tourists (only one foreigner though!), so we had to wait our turn. In the meanwhile, there was a ring set up through which visitors would throw (frisbee style) small clay discs. I bought a set and gave it a shot, but I missed all three times. Some random guy got all three of his through the hoop, earning a round of applause from the crowd. Nick and I taught a little kid how to throw the discs, and she asked us if we lived there. Haha, silly kids.

Finally, we were able to get onto those benches. We hopped up, and bent over (be mature, kids). The ocean became the sky into which Amanohashidate rose. A veritable stairway to heaven. The speedboats riding through the sky was a nice touch. Afterwards, we decided to grab a snack at the food stalls - there was a shop that had cream-filled ningyo-yaki in the shape of Kasabou, the mascot of Amanohashidate. It was tasty, even if it did set my diet back a few weeks.

Since we had some time left before we had to head back, decided to climb higher up the mountain. There was a cute little sign where the path began stating, "Caution, bears often appear along this path!" Great, I was climbing an bear-infested mountain. We walked for about 30 minutes, and actually didn't see a single bear. Finally, we reached the main gate of a temple, where we took a break.

Just a little further was a pavilion, behind which was another path leading upwards. At last, we reached the highest point on the mountain, on which was built an old observation platform. From there, we could look down over Amanohashidate, and at the beauty all around us.

Unfortunately, we had started to get low on time. I was worried Cara would miss her bus back, which would be really, really bad. As chance would have it, the bus headed back to the bottom had just reached the top, and we made it to the stop just in time. As we rode down the mountain, the driver pointed out certain famous spots, including a beautiful snow-capped mountain just barely visible on the horizon.

The bus ride down gave us just enough time to buy omiyage for our friends and host families before riding the chairlift back down. The view going down was even more beautiful then during the ride up. We were getting low on time, and we broke into a sprint for the last stretch of the trip. We got to the inn eight minutes before the bus came, and made it to the bus stop with three minutes to spare.

With Cara on her way home (and soon to be in Tokyo), the three of us opted to have lunch before doing anything else. There were three or four little restaurants competing for business on the main street, all with mostly the same menu. I don’t remember why, but we picked the place at the end of the street. Since I was on vacation, I figured I should splurge a little – I ordered an Unagi bowl. And boy, it was good!

Having finished with lunch, we once again crossed over the bridge, this time following signs to a nearby park. We strolled along the coast, then through the residential part of town. We saw some sort of hawk, and people drying persimmons outside their house. Finally, we came to the park…but it wasn’t the sort of park I was expecting. Rather than a natural park, it was a playground for the local kids to play. We hung out there for a bit; I pushed Tala on the swings, and Nick climbed some sort of jungle gym of a crazy hard-to-define shape. After a while, though, we decided to press onwards.

We were walking down the road, talking and joking when all of a sudden, the most terrifying dogs I have ever seen started barking, and charged right at us. Luckily, the damn things were chained up, and it kept them from tearing our throats out. But holy shit, I was so startled. I didn’t even see them coming, so it gave me the shock of my life.

Having laughed off the “scary dogs encounter”, we bought some drinks from a vending machine and sat down by the sea to relax. As we were chilling, I noticed something red flop by the surface of the water. I mentioned this to Nick, but he thought it was seaweed. Still, there was something smooth and reddish flopping just where the tide met the beach, and so I went over to check it out. And there, struggling uselessly on the beach, was a squid.

This thing was several meters long, and being washed up onto the shore by the waves. It looked like it had been there for a while. The poor thing was so weak it couldn’t even swim back out to sea. So I decided we had to give it a hand. We found a stick, and gently tried to push it back into the water. Of course, animals don’t like being touched, and this squid was no different. As soon as I started moving it, it shot out ink from its ink squirting tube thing. Try as I might to push the squid back, it seemed the waves were just too strong. The squid’s end was near, I feared.

Rather than let it go to waste, me and Nick tried to approach some fisherman who were angling from a nearby pier. We tried to figure out how to ask them if they wanted a fairly large squid, but in the end, they had no interest in talking to us. When we tried to make conversation, they blew us off. Oh well, can’t expect everyone to be willing to talk to foreigners. Even if we do speak a decent amount of Japanese.

Luckily, Tala hadn’t given up, and had succeeded in getting the squid far enough into the ocean for it to start swimming. At first, it started swimming back towards the beach, and then at the rocky pier. But finally, it reoriented itself, and it swam off into the sunset with this other squid that had appeared. Maybe they were BFFs or something. Anyway, good luck squid! Don’t die!

We walked home as it got dark, and arrived at the inn just in time for dinner. We had yet another feast, featuring all kinds of foods, including a strange type of seaweed. Sadly, no crab, but it was still more food than I’ve had for dinner in years. 

After diner, we went back to Chie no Yu, the Onsen of Wisdom. They rotate the men and women’s side every night, so this time we got the outdoor bath. And man, was it nice! While the bath inside was nice and hot, the steam made it hard to breathe. Outside, your body is warm, but the air is crisp and cool. Rotenburo is the best. The three of us had the bath to ourselves again, and we talked about all sorts of man things. Whatever that means. Actually, bathtime is a great chance to get to wind down and learn more about your friends. Going back was definitely a good idea.

We went to this local convenience store to buy some cups – we were going to try to finish Nick’s absurdly large canister of shochu. Interestingly, we wound up have a very unique convenience store experience. It started when we asked where the paper cups were. The elderly man at the checkout counter asked us what we called them in English. One thing led to another, and we soon wound up talking with him. At first, it was about us: why we came to Amanohashidate, how we were studying as exchange students, and such. Then he started telling us about himself: he used to be a businessman, but he quit and came home to Amanohashidate. I only followed half of the conversation, but we were in there for a good 30 minutes. 

By the time we got back to the room, I was wiped. Nick and Tala were talking, but my eyes wouldn’t stay open. The last thing I remember is crawling into my futon, and then I was out.

Stairway to Heaven, Part 1

When my alarm rang on Saturday morning, I got out of bed and hustled to get ready. I had plenty of time, but I was determined to get into the city early to avoid potential complications. At last, I was going on vacation. I left the house around 10am, and took the train into Kyoto. 

Surprisingly, everything went smoothly, which got me to Kyoto Station nearly two hours before the bus left. I killed time by working through my Japanese copy of Phoenix Wright while relaxing in Porta Underground. Finally, around 12:30, I decided to go upstairs and wait for my friends. The first to get there was Nick, wheeling a small suitcase behind him. Apparantly, my meeting place was bad – unbeknownst to me, there are multiple entrances to Porta, so my instruction to “meet in front of Porta” was kind of useless. 

Next to arrive was Cara. We had relocated to a more visible location in front of the main JR gate, but I went to check the Porta entrances again, where I bumped into Cara. Last to arrive was Tala – due to my ambiguous meeting place, it was hard to find him. But eventually we did, and with plenty of time to spare.

We made some preparations for the bus – Nick went to buy a new DS game, after which we bought some snacks for the bus. When we got back, Cara had gone to buy something as well, but time was running out. By the time we were all back, it was just about departure time. We cut it close, but we made it to the bus stop on time, and with no difficulty, got on board.

The ride was by no means a long one – total time of just under three hours. We took one rest stop along the way, where we picked up some donuts. They were good, but Mister Donuts is neither Krispy Kreme nor Dunkin Doughnuts. On the way out, we were offered a sample of…mushrooms. To be specific, matsutake mushrooms (one of the most prized mushrooms in Japan). It was really good – it had a very rich flavor, almost meaty. I’d be more than happy to eat those again. Of course, they’re also pretty expensive, so it’s not something I can see coming out at dinner.

When we arrived in Amanohashidate, the first thing I noticed was the air. Kyoto is a fairly clean city, but the air out there was so clean and fresh. Looking at the map I had printed out, we walked from the station to the ryokan. I had anticipated it taking five minutes, but it was actually much closer. In fact, the entirety of Amanohashidate was more compact than I had thought – we could see the ocean from where we were staying. 

Check in was really simple – the obasan who ran the inn brought us a form to fill out, and we were set within half an hour. Before dinner, we decided to scope out the town to get a feel for our surroundings. We crossed the street to head for the ocean. But before we got there, we saw something else that captured our interest – a shop that was selling dried fish and squids, which were hanging out front. We took some pictures, at which point the shop keeper told us in Japanese to take lots of good photos. Calling himself the “Ika-ojisan”, he told us about bigger squids caught in the area that aren’t sold in shops because they’re so big. Squids of that size get sold to sushi shops, he said. I really enjoyed the “small town” feeling that makes people comfortable to talk with strangers. 

We walked alongside the ocean, over and under overgrown trees, around a bend until we came to a dock, near the bridge leading to the land bridge. There, by the water, was a strange stone ring. We read a signpost that explained that it was “The Ring of Wisdom”, which it might have been used by ships in the past, but that nobody actually knows why it’s there. We passed by the main street in the town, and through a temple, only to wind up back by Ika-ojisan’s shop! It turns out we made a big loop around the town.

Since we still had some time, we decided to check out the land bridge. We walked past a shop selling yaki-ika, and onto the beach. We played around for a while, and then then looked at a bunch of stone monuments placed around here and there. Finally, it got dark enough that I figured it would be better just to come back the next day, and we headed back for dinner.

We were served a true feast – fried ebi, oyster soup, grilled fish, sashimi, rice, and more. It was possibly the biggest non-izakaya meal I’ve eaten since getting to Japan. And it was REALLY good. I ate till I was bursting. We had a hilarious dinner conversation, winding up talking about how dumb animals are. Especially turkeys. Nick was talking about weird pets his elementary school teachers had, including hissing cockroaches. Tala provided us with a fantastic example of what these beasties sound like, leading to further laughs being shared.

We bought discount tickets for Chie no Yu, the local onsen. It means “Hot Water of Wisdom”, and I could always use more wisdom (or onsen). We walked over (again, taking about two minutes), and hopped into the bath. We had some hilarious discussions over the hour we spent in there. There were actually three rooms – the actual bath, some outdoor wooden tubs, and a hand-and-foot bath. We liberally made use of all of them. Coming out, I felt both refreshed and drained at the same time. I mean, I guess that’s what really hot water does to you. But man, it was nice! In the Japanese fashion, I drank down a bottle of milk before leaving the bathhouse.

 After a quick stop at the ryokan to pick up some refreshments, we went out to stargaze. We walked back towards the ocean, and found a nice spot away from the bright streetlights. We drank a little and chatted while looking up at the night sky. The weather was clear, and I was able to see more stars in the sky than I have in years. It was beautiful, and reminded me of just how vast the universe is. We had some real heart-to-heart storytelling, and I felt like I was able to let my problems melt away. Even now, I feel that I’ve left some sort of weight behind.

Oh, but there was one creepy thing too. There was a buoy in the water that seemed to be moving like a person, but we all ignored it. Finally though, it DID start to move. It came closer, until we saw that it actually was a human being – a fisherman who was standing in the water up to his waist who decided to call it a night. It startled the living daylights out of me, because I had thought we were alone. Still, it takes more than that to spoil such a good night.

We went to bed pretty late, since we wound up talking after getting home too. Maybe a bad idea, since the next day would be packed with adventures far beyond what I had imagined possible.

Kiyomizu Revisited, and Kyodai Festival, Part 2

Friday was a big day made of many little things. First off, I went over to Yodobashi Camera to buy my host mom a webcam so she could Skype some of the previous exchange students. I bought one of the 'starter models', which I figured would be the best deal for the price. I doubt she needs the top of the line model anyway. On my way to the checkout counter, a small kid goes running by, crying and shouting for his mom. A store attendant saw him, and went over to help him find his parents. Something about seeing this warmed my heart; I guess I'm a sucker for that sort of thing.

Next up was a trip to Nano Universe. My bag, the one I bought three months ago with Hidehiro, was broken - the zipper came right off. Haruhi's mother came to the rescue, calling the store and using her motherly powers to get them to replace the damaged bag. I swear, she's the Japanese version of my mom back home. I walked into the store, and the shopkeeper immediately asked if I was the exchange student he had heard about. Within five minutes, I had a brand new bag in exchange for the broken one. It's hard to find words to describe how grateful I am to Haruhi's mom...again. The timing is perfect, what with Thanksgiving and all.

I met up with Dani at Kyoto Station, and we took a bus on over to Kiyomizu-dera again. If you're wondering why I went to the same place twice in two days, it's because I really wanted to go to the shrine inside of the temple. We went, prayed, and bought good luck charms. I can't say no to a little luck, now, can I?

Afterwards, we went to Kiyomizu's main attraction: the fresh spring water. As always, the tastiest and purest water I've drank. It was Dani's first time at Kiyomizu, so I insisted she try it out. Since we were getting hungry, we popped into this restaurant inside of the temple. I got kitsune udon, and Dani got tsukimi udon. It was surprisingly good: both fresh and flavorful.

Having finished, we went on over to Kyodai's school festival. By now, it was in full swing. The entirety of the campus was filled with booths, shops, performances, and various displays. I first went to find Haruhi, although it took about a half hour to do so. Finally, I found the stand she and her friends were running – it was some sort of Korean okonomiyaki. I introduced her to Dani, but simultaneously got a call from Nick, who had just arrived. Like me, he wasn't familiar with Kyoto University's campus yet, so I ran over to the field to find him. It took about ten minutes to find my way there and back.

Introducing Nick to Haruhi was an interesting experience. It was less of a first introduction, and more of putting a face to the person she heard so much about. I guess Nick has become something of a celebrity among my non-Doshisha friends. We were all pretty hungry, so we bought some of the Korean pancakes. It was pretty good, all things considered. As expected of Kyodai students, after all.

Next, we decided to wander around. We checked out the Astronomy Society, which had constructed a planetarium. Unfortunately, we missed the show. We bought some food, and thanks to Dani, I got tricked into a tequila shot. Unfortunate. The guy we bought it from was an NBA fan and was pretty interested in talking with foreigners, so it was fun to talk with him.

We checked out a bunch of other clubs, including the computer gaming club (where Nick played a bunch of games the club had made), before deciding to head home. Well, not right away. The three of us marched onwards to Book-Off, where we helped Nick pick out a DS. Fun times were had, as always.

When I got to the station, I headed towards the bus. I normally walk, but it’s gotten too cold to do that. I need winter clothes. Anyway, as I turned the corner towards the bus stop, this enormous golden retriever lumbers slowly towards me. Like a freaking bear, that thing. Anyway, I ignore it, but this one lady goes over and pets it. As I wait for the bus, a man, who looks like a shop attendant, walks around the corner, searching for the dog. It turns out that he and his wife own the dog, but sometimes it walks off, and goes as far as the station. He had to push the beastie to get it moving. It was hilarious and adorable to watch, the big doggie lumbering him with the man following him closely behind.

Arriving at home, I packed my bags, and went to bed early. After all, I was finally going on vacation.