Wabi-Sabi Sole

Owls

On March 18, 2017

Anticipating the jet lag and culture shock our friends would experience, I planned a very low key and local day. We had an early start, walked a lot, rode several trains and tried to blend in like locals.

One of our goals for the day included finding a temple book and acquiring stamps. We were able to get five stamps in The Cummings’ family temple book. Pretty impressive for our first day! We went to visit:

Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū

Kōtoku-in (Great Buddha)

My favorite picture from the Great Buddha. Dave is worried about the guy walking up the steps into our picture. Little did he know about Sara’s photo bomb!! Haha

Jōchi-ji Temple (Happiness Temple – my favorite)

Shokozantokeiji

Time became a factor at this point and I didn’t take a picture of the family before we left. I did however take a picture of the small Buddha and daffodils.

Engaku-ji (The fifth temple of the day)

It was a fun day sharing my favorite places in Kamakura. Plus, we went to a new place. The Owl Forest! It has been on list and I was so excited to have saved the experience to be able to share it with friends! It did not disappoint! You were permitted to pet the owls with the back of your hand on the back of their head and take pictures. Keep in mind, their heads move… quickly!

Hoot Hoot! Our first full day was a success!

Lucky

By wabisabisole

On March 17, 2017

In 2017, Friendship, Japan

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We were fortunate to be able to share the day with friends… who flew in from the U.S. Yay! Team Cummings! Our first visitors!

Today was a lot of first. Not only did we welcome our first visitors, it was also my first road trip in Japan! Sara, JJ, Delaney and James arrived via an AMC flight to Yokota Air Force Base. The easiest way to get back to our was in a car. Hooptie couldn’t all handle us or the road trip so, we rented a van!

Yokota is on the west side of Tokyo. When we passed through Atsugi, had it been a clear day, we could have seen Mt. Fuji. Sadly, we had clouds. Here is the route to get to Yokota. I must remind you – I drove that – twice!! Maybe you call me: Princess Road Warrior!

I was able to see so many new signs on my way to pick them up. I quickly assigned Sara the job of “Queen Shutterbug” and to take pictures of the road signs. Sara was an excellent assistant to wabisabisole. I must give her props for most of the pictures in my post today! Some of the signs were ridiculously confusing and worthy of documentation.

This one is undeniably my favorite! I mean seriously!?! You want me to do what? And go where?

I assigned James the job of counting how many tunnels we went through. He promptly fell asleep and released his crown, thereby designating JJ as “King Tunnel Counter.” He came through like a boss. Even when I thought he had fallen asleep, he counted. We went through 10 tunnels!!

Delaney was the “Princess Backseat Driver.” She was the ultimate trooper and refused to take a nap on the way home!

There was one more first of the evening. A first crockpot fail. Being St. Patrick’s Day, Dave and I prepped corned beef and cabbage for dinner. I put the crockpot on at 10am on low. When we came home at 4pm, it was far from being done. I flipped it on high and by 6:30, we were ordering pizza! Fortunately, no one went to bed hungry and we have dinner for tomorrow night!

The best part, we have our friends, our people here for a week. We are feeling pretty lucky in the Dwyer house!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Kanpie!!

Now That’s a Woody

By wabisabisole

On March 13, 2017

In 2017, Fertility Festival, Japan, Nagoya

Before I begin, I must give caution. This post might be considered rated R by many. Proceed reading at your own risk… it is not for the easily offended.

Last year after we found out we were officially moving to Japan, one of our neighbors in Great Lakes gave me very important advice. He told me to make sure I attend the Fertility Festival. Seriously!?! There is such a thing as a Fertility Festival?

Oh, yes, there is indeed. It is held on March 15th every year in Komaki, a small town north of Nagoya. The festival is known as the “Honen-sai” has been celebrated for more than 1500 years and is a festival for fertility and good harvest. Unfortunately, this year March 15th fell on a weekday and Dave wasn’t able to join me on the ITT tour. Fortunately, I could convince Dina to go with me! The drive to Nagoya was about 4 hours on the bus – plus a couple rest stops.

The celebration takes place at the Tagata Shrine. At the shrine are a variety of statues allowing couples to pray for a child, singles to pray for love, and farmers to pray for a good harvest.

Our tour guide escorted us to the shrine and after that we had free time to bang the bell cock, rub the lucky balls, and take pictures with the large wooden penis.

“For whom does the cock toll? It tolls for thee.”

The sacred balls require a good rub. We were instructed to rub the right ball for luck and the left ball for children AND good sexual relations.

The Festival didn’t lack in the bizarre food category. Obviously, there was a lot of octoPUS, crab, meat on a stick and sausage. So much sausage.

Oh and if that wasn’t strange enough – the number of banana cocks were ri-DIC-ulous. I’m not sure I can ever look at a mini Ritz cracker the same.

The main focus of the festival is the wooden phallus that is brought down the hill from the Kumano-sha Shrine via a parade to replace the existing phallus. Here is the phallus from 2016. Once it is enshrined, it is sacred and can’t be touched. The long line is to rub the balls and ring the dick bell and of course make your wish.

Around the shrine are several penis and vagina resembling rocks.

The wooden phallus weighs approximately 620lbs. The phallus gets bigger every year! It is carved from a single cedar tree. I think we can all agree, that’s a lot of wood! Here is the 2017 lucky phallus.

Before the ceremony, photographs and touching of the 2017 phallus were permitted and encouraged. I can only imagine how many pictures are now on the Internet of Dina and me posing with the massive Japanese dick in a box. Seriously, the paparazzi was ready to get some…pictures.

We also had the opportunity to have our pictures taken with the God Tagata. It was when I approached him I realized I don’t like masks. My expression says it all.

Shortly after this, the parade began. The distance between the two shrines took about 10 minutes to walk normally. For the parade, it took over 90 minutes. Partly because the Mikoshi are very heavy and because there is a lot of free Sake to be drank and also because Tagata is wearing silly shoes for a parade!

Did I mention the steps, Sake and shoes?!?

As the parade progresses, it restructures. The “head” priest leads the way. In front of him is an elder who spreads salt on the road to purify the path.

Eventually, the parade makes it to the shrine of the old statue (2016). It replaces the new one, the old one is removed and purchased by private buyers.

I almost forgot about the virgins carrying penis. Which the crowd was encouraged to touch!!

Just when you thought it was over, it’s time to go again. Get ready to catch mochi! Large, hard flying mochi.

While we were waiting to watch and experience the situation, Dina made a friend who wanted to catch mochi together. He was talking into his phone trying so hard to communicate with us.

He told us he was a veteran at catching mochi and told us to follow him and get closer to the stage. Very soon, mochi was flying.

And shockingly, me – who can’t catch a cold, actually caught a mochi. Maybe it more or less landed on me. And then our new friend gave me another. I gave them both to a friend on the tour who is trying to get preggers.

Talk about an “only in Japan experience.” I hope I exposed you to the fully Monty. Plan your trip accordingly if you want to experience this next year!!

Mt. Takao

By wabisabisole

On March 13, 2017

In Hiking, Japan, Mt. Fuji, Mt. Takao, Temple

The ITT trip we took on Sunday dropped us off at the base on Mt. Takao around 8:30am. We had about 3.5 hours to walk around and explore the mountain before we needed to find our spots for the fire-walking ceremony. We posed for a couple pictures with the map of the trails on the mountain.

We were given tickets to ride the chair lift up and down the mountain. The ride on the chair lift took about 12 minutes. Once we arrived at the top of the chair lift, we had about a 45 minute walk to the summit. In true Japanese fashion, there were directions for how to enter and exit the chair lift.

The ride up the mountain on the chair lift was breathtaking. Literally and not because of the views. I didn’t realize how steep the chair lift would be and how far off the ground we would be at times. Please keep in mind also, there were no seat belts.

The chair lift took us up the steep mountain!

Don’t look down!

I did have to breathe a little deeper and remind myself not to look down!! Once we were on solid ground, I was much happier!

The walk to the summit included a couple of highlights. The first was the monkey park. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open and we didn’t have time to stop. Maybe next time! Fortunately, we brought our own monkey! The picture of Dina’s youngest daughter photo bombing is one of my favorites. Talk about monkey business.

Next we passed the octopus tree. The “octopus cedar” is a 450-year-old tree given its name because of its unique root structure.

Continuing along the trail, we walked passed many lanterns and large wooden slats leading to the Yakuo-in Temple. We couldn’t figure out what the meaning of the wooden slats. We were really confused when we saw “Gloria.” Our best guess was, these were names of people who made donations to the temple.

The temple is dedicated to Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of medicine and healing. The temple was very large with a lot of stairs between the two levels.

Dave and I walked around the corner right at the time the head priest was leaving the temple. Here they are starting their ceremonial walk to the fire-walking! Look how close we were!!

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We continued our walk up more stairs…

Until finally reaching the summit. Although it was a very hazy day, we had a small glimpse of the top of Mt. Fuji. Mt. Fuji is the small white spot in the middle of the picture.

Summit proof!

Going down the mountain was a lot faster with only a couple stops for silly pictures.

Even the chair lift seemed to go faster on the way down. Surprisingly, the chair lift wasn’t nearly as scary going down. Perhaps, because we knew what to expect.

The view was lovely. Dave and I discussed making a trip back to Mt. Takao in the fall when the leaves are turning. Now that we know we can easily arrive in two hours by train, we have a new place to see beautiful leaves and Mt. Fuji!

Mt. Takao Fire-Waking

By wabisabisole

On March 12, 2017

In Fire-Walking, Japan, Mt. Takao

On my “must do” list while in Japan is to attend a fire walking ceremony. Dina, her family, Dave and I signed up for the ITT trip to Mt. Takao and attend the fire-walking festival.

Here was the route on the bus from the main base in Yokosuka. It was just over an hour away by bus and about two hours away by train. The mountain has many hiking trails to reach the summit. For this trip, we wanted to get to the summit quickly in order to return to the Festival on time. So, we took the chair lift and then made a short walk to the top. I will tell you about our morning adventures in part 2. For now, let’s get to the fire-walking festival.

The Festival is held on the second Sunday in March. In Japanese it is called the Hiwatari-matsuri (Fire-walking festival). The yamabushi monks perform the ceremony for purification and as part of the training of Shugendo. Shugendo is a religion unique to Japan that mixes Buddhism and ancient mountain worship. The ceremony included many prayers and chanting as the monks prepare a sacred fire. The rituals to build the fire and embers are meant to cleanse misfortunes. The prayers said during the ceremony, are for world peace, longevity, protection from misfortune, traffic safety, and good health. To finalize the ceremony, the yamabushi monks walk through a path of smoldering embers. Spectators, regardless of their beliefs, are invited to walk across the embers as well. And we did!!

Here are a few pictures of the Festival. We arrived at the festival area about 45 minutes before it began in order to have a good view. The large square in the middle is where the fire will be built.

The head priest arrived a little after 1300. He is dressed in the purple robe. He had an attendant carrying the large parasol for him.

More monks continued to enter the ceremonial area.

After several speeches and prayers, the monks began the ritual of lighting the fire. One of the monks shot arrows into the crowd and then to the structure. The arrows create a barrier against evil.

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The fire was spectacular!

Talk about a fire pit!

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The monks rushed around with buckets of water to control the blaze and organize the ember pit. We could feel the heat of the fire from where we were standing!

Eventually, the ember pit was established.

Two monks, one either side, took bamboo stalks and dipped them in the urn of boiling water. He then proceeded to whip himself on his back! With hot boiling water for about a minute!!! What!?!

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This again was an effort to build a barrier against evil. We all contemplated way those two were the ones who had to whip themselves. Did they draw the short straw, most junior, or maybe bad behavior!!

Next was the fire-walking! The monks and spectators lined up to walk across the embers.

And then it was our turn! There were a couple rules when inside the ceremonial area. Obviously, we were barefoot, no cameras, no hats and one monk instructed me to roll up my pants. Also, you step in salt mounds before and after walking across. The coals were cool by the time we walked across. However, we could feel the heat on our face.

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It was yet another cultural event that provided insight to customs and rituals. It was really fun to watch and participate in the festival. Tomorrow, I will share with you our ride up Mt. Takao on the chair lift and the walk to the summit! Thanks for reading and I hope the pictures and videos load correctly.

Say it With Flowers

By wabisabisole

On March 10, 2017

In Japan

At my Friday class with my Japanese grandmothers we discussed the Tokyo Marathon. (Side note: to pronounce Tokyo like a local say Toke-yo. Not Toke-e-o). They were so excited that Dave and I were running and we excited to hear all about it.

Hisako-san told me she watched the TV broadcast looking for me. I said you didn’t see me because I was in costume. I showed them my favorite picture from the day.

We all laughed at my Hello Kitty costume. They were all eager to hear about the marathon. They asked so many questions And they were so proud of Dave and I for running and also for finishing.

I shared with them how much we enjoyed the experience. I told them the Tokyo Marathon was a “World Class” event. In true Japanese fashion, they were very thankful we enjoyed it so much. During my description of the marathon, I gave them a couple big vocabulary words. The words included: participate, supported, organized, spectators, recognize, and nutrition. I was spelling a lot during class today!

We spent the first hour talking about me and the marathon. That is not usual. Normally, each student reads something she wrote in English and I assist with grammar and sentence structure. It was very different talking all about me. Their interest felt genuine. I will make the comparison yet again, it was as though my grandmothers were asking me all about the race. So sweet and dear.

Once we reached a break in the conversation, Yasuko stepped out of the room and came back with daffodils for me!

We discussed in a previous class that daffodils were my favorite flower. They were so proud of Dave and me for running they wanted to congratulate us! What a thoughtful and kind present. I felt pretty special because they wanted to hear all about our experience and were so proud of us.

Today, I had the chance to reflect on how fortunate we are to meet so many kind and thoughtful people through our journey in life. We sacrifice a lot being away from our family and friends. Simultaneously, having the opportunity to meet new people and make new friendships helps ease the pain of being away.

I know I’ve said this before, it still remains true. I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience another country and culture. We are fortune to have so many friends and our family who care about how we are doing. Thank you for reading. We miss you. We love you and we think about you always. Xoxo

PS. Sorry, that got a little heavy for a Friday… so, on that note… Kanpie!

Cemetery

By wabisabisole

On March 9, 2017

In Dharma, Japan

I realize how weird this post will sound even before I start typing. After our hike yesterday, Sonia and I stopped at a cemetery that has been on my list of places to see. Yes, a Japanese cemetery and not just any Japanese cemetary – this specific cemetery. My research told me the cemetery offered great views of the area, a pagoda, and a large Buddha. Plus, many additional statues and a picnic area.

After our hike, we took the train up one stop to the Keikyu-Nagasawa station. We then walked to the yellow star. It was about a 10-12 minute walk.

The cemetery didn’t disappoint. There were a lot of unique and interesting statues.

And lots of stairs to reach the Buddha and pagoda at the top of the hill.

The views were amazing.

All of the gravestones are part of this cemetery!

The Buddha was pretty cool. Especially, with the Sakura blooms and the birds perched on him.

Also with the pagoda.

Around the pagoda were several other cool statues. Like meditation hands.

Buddhas and Gods.

Even a Dharma Doll!

We couldn’t resist a picture with the hands.

The pagoda itself was pretty cool. The trees around it are Sakura trees. I look forward to returning when they are in bloom.

This adventure was a lesson in finding beauty in unexpected places. Ahhh… so, wabi-sabi!

Mt. Miurafuji and Mt. Takeyama

By wabisabisole

On March 8, 2017

In Hiking, Japan, Miura Peninsula

The Miura Peninsula has several great hiking trails that provide magnificent views. Here is a picture of The Miura peninsula, we are the blue dot near Zushi. The naval base is in Yokosuka. My journey today took me to the bottom middle, where I have placed a gold star and green marker.

Today, I invited my new friend, Sonia, to join me on a hike through the Miura Hills. We took the train to the Tsukuihama train station and then walked to the trail head marked with the green marker. There are two distinct peaks in the Miura Hills – Mt. Miurafuji and Mt. Takeyama. These two peaks are connected by a network of trails and on a clear day, from Mt. Miurafuji you can see Mt. Fuji.

My research told me the trail head was located behind the elementary school and marked with a Tori gate. Bingo! We began our upward climb.

The view from Mt. Miurafuji didn’t disappoint. We were so happy to have a clear enough day to see Mt. Fuji!

No matter when I see Mt. Fuji, it makes me super happy! There was a shrine at the summit and we took a few pictures before continuing on our hike.

The trail took us down and then back up to Mt. Takeyama.

Along the trail we passed an old gun turret.

We also passed a map and signs giving us updated directions.

I took a picture of this sign for my mom. I hope it makes her chuckle. She would tell us a story when we traveled on road trips about “Falling Rocks” – it was a ploy to keep the three of us quiet for a little bit…

We continued up and down.

Finally, we made it to Mt. Takeyama and enjoyed more beautiful views.

We also discovered a hidden away temple.

We finished our hiking loop and made our way back to the train station. What a great day! This will definitely be on our list when you visit!

One more thing, I took a couple of close up pictures of the map. The characters are hilarious.

And my favorite sign from the day!!

Hahahahaha

Taura Plum Grove

By wabisabisole

On March 7, 2017

In Japan, Plum Blossoms

I have been hearing a lot about the Taura Plum Grove over the past couple of weeks. Several people have told me how beautiful the trees were last year when they were in full bloom. Others who have been this year, reported the trees weren’t in full bloom yet. Simultaneously, someone else who went last week was told by the locals that most of the blooms were damaged from the cold weather or maybe they were told the trees had a disease. As always, a little bit is lost in translation. Regardless, I wanted to get out and about on the sunny early spring day. So, off I went. The route was a bit round about because the closet station to the Taura Plum Grove is Taura station. Taura station is a JR train line. The closest train station to our house is Jimmuji Station, on the Keikyu line. To get to the Grove, I went from Jimmuji station to the Kanazawa-Hakkei station, switched trains and went down to the Anjinzuka station. From the Anjinzuka station I had about a 30 minute walk to the grove. Coming home, I walked to the Taura station (20 minutes from the park) and took the JR line to Zushi and switched to the Keikyu line and came back to Jimmuji.

The walk to the park was pretty easy. There were flags marking the route as well as signs.

The park is on a hill. Which means there were a lot of stairs to climb. There were six long flights of stairs all similar to the two pictured here.

The view from the top was lovely. And as I had been warned, the Plum trees were not spectacular. As I walked further to the top, some of the trees offered more blooms.

You can imagine how beautiful this would be during the full bloom season.

I was able to take a few close up pictures.

There were several daffodils still blooming as well.

From the very top, the view was magnificent.

Interestingly, this sign is one we see when we take the toll road home from Main Base. I had some what of an “I know where I am moment” when I recognized the sign!

I took a different route down the hill to get out of the park. Still just as many stairs!!

Despite the lack of blooms on the trees, I enjoyed the afternoon exploring an area right in our backyard, so to speak. Imagine if all the trees looked like this one!

Popin’ Cookin’

By wabisabisole

On March 6, 2017

In Japan, Popin' Cookin'

Popin’ Cookin’ is a unique Japanese Candy creating experience. Today I purchased my first Popin’ Cookin’ kit at the Yorkmarto when I went to get Japanese groceries.

Popin’ Cookin’ is an edible candy kit. The kit I selected was a relatively simple one where I would create miniature ice cream cones, a wafer dessert, and a cupcake.

It is a rainy Monday and I thought putting together a candy creation would bring a little happiness to the dreary day.

Notice the directions are in Japanese. Google translate was of little help. I relied mostly on the pictures to make my candy art.

Here is what comes with the kit.

Two mini sugar cones, two sugar wafers, and a sugar dish. Two types of icing, plain and strawberry. A mixing stick and icing bag. And sprinkles for the topping. Time to get to work. First I cut out the dishes from the bag and wrapped the cones and set the cupcake holder on it.

Then, I chopped the sugar wafers into the suggested pieces using the included shovel. I feel like that was a messy attempt.

It was now time to mix the water with the icing packs.

And then place the icing into the icing bag. I did my best to keep the two icing colors separated. By the time I squeezed them out, it didn’t quite have the swirl look.