とうかさん Part I

This week has been a fairly busy week. I had a Japanese language test on Tuesday, and a presentation to do today, so I have been trying to be on task. So this blog is a bit late, but since last weekend was so memorable, I cant very well not blog about it. Although this takes place over three days, I've split it into two parts.

From last week Friday to Sunday, there was a big festival in Hiroshima City. Called とうかさん Tōkasan, it's ostensibly for one of the shrines in the city, and supported by a local business association. There were so many people attending the festival! They crowded the trains, trams, and walkways, and made it impossible to pass easily in some areas. But the pest part of the festival was that most people were walking around in yukata! As a wannabe yukata afficianado, it was impossible not to go. Another added perk was the bon dance that was put on. But that'll be more discussed in part II. All in all, this was the biggest, most active festival I've been to in Japan.

Like I said, I've got a thing for yukata, so I was super excited to find a new yukata. Although there were several I liked, I eventually settled on a rather plain, dark blue one. But make no mistake, I do love it. While it does not have a design, I prefer it that way, as it seems a bit more mature. It's also quite thin, which means it's not as stuffy as one made of a firmer weave. And the obi I bought for it is another gem. It's dark blue, with an interesting pattern. It is reminisent of the daimyo 参勤交代, which you can read more about here. The other Americans here also expressed an interest in buying yukata, which got my interest a little bit. You may or may not be aware of how badly put together 着付け bothers me. I'm not perfect by any means, and I make plenty of mistakes, but people that dress slopily get under my skin like no other. I try to keep it under wraps, but apparently I was so adamant, that one of my friends here was very scared to wear her yukata in front of me. But despite being a beginner, she was able to put on her yukata quite nicely. Her obi was nicely tied, and seemed to stay put all day (which is better than I'm usually able to do). On the other hand, there were some girls wearing yukata in a way that was rather distasteful, in my opinion. Instead of being a few inches below the hairline and covering the sholders, they were halfway down the back. And the bottom seam was above their knees, not near their ankle like normal. One of the Japanese girls we were with remarked that they were dressed like the prostitutes from back in the day. But in my opinion, even they would say, "Girl, you look so slutty." I didnt take any pictures, but it was quite a sight.

While I went alone on Friday night, I was with friends on Saturday. The main part of the festival was centered on えびす通り, which we don't normally walk. It was fun to be in a new area, I suppose. According to the same friend above, that was near the host clubs, and considering we walked past many drinking establishments and a love hotel (!!?), I'm not surprised. It reminded me a bit of the Umeda district in Osaka. Perhaps one night, we'll return there and have an enjoyable night on the town. Anyways, the part I enjoyed the most was the many stalls that opened up. Like most other Japanese festivals, there were booths with the goldfish scooping game, or other games of chance for the children. For food booths, there were the usual French fries and から揚げ, and also ベビーカステラ, which were tiny sweet cakes in the shapes of cartoon characters. I enjoyed them so much! In all, I bought three bags of them, and enjoyed them all. And while it didnt really interest me, there was also a taco stand, which I thought was interesting. If you wanted a drink, there were several to choose from: you could of course pick up soft drinks and bottled water, but if you were an adult, several different alcoholic drinks were available. I didnt patronise all the shops that opened up, but simply walking the streets was enjoyable. The energy of the festival was simply electric; the hordes of people walking up and down, chatting and eating, smiling and laughing, was simply the best.

Now, Friday night was the most...interesting experience I've ever had. When I decided to return to Saijo, it was quite late. I had the choice of taking the earlier train to Shiraichi, which would stop in Saijo. Or I could wait for the Saijo train. Being really tired, I chose the former. Big mistake. Enroute to Saijo, I fell asleep. The driver of the train woke me up in Shiraichi, where he informed me that that was the last train that night. In other words, I overslept and was stranded in a city I've never even heard of. In a panic, I called my friends in Saijo, hoping that they would have some idea of what to do. They tried to find hotels in the area, or think of friend that had cars. But there were no options. Having calmed down, I decided that the only thing I could do was to wait for the first train out of there. At this point, it was about 12:30 AM, so with the first train departing Shiraichi at 5:08 AM, I had about a four hour wait ahead of me. Reassuring them that I would be okay, I hunkered down for the night.

Since Japan is a very safe country, I wasnt worried that I was going to be mugged or murdered in the middle of the night. But that's not to say that I spent a restful night in the station. For one thing, the frieght trains that passed through made such a noise! The first one that passed through startled me, and the next two that passed by made my heart thump in my chest. The second was the utter lonliness of the place. There were no other homeless people lounging about, or even a security guard. Thank goodness the station itself was lighted, because if it was not, I'm sure I would have been more frightened than I have ever been. The third and final thing that scared me was the earthquake. At about two in the morning, there was a small earthquake. I was caught unawares, and had to tell reassure myself that it was only an earthquake, and that I've slept through stronger. "It's just an earthquake, the world's not collapsing onto itself," I told myself. When I finally boarded the train the next morning (surprisingly, there were other people that showed up for that train), I was so relieved. I have no desire to repeat this experience, but everything turned out fine in the end. It certainly makes for an interesting blog post, I think.

With the exception of my stay in Shiraichi, the first two days of the festival were just wonderful. I loved dressing up in my yukata, and seeing other people in yukata as well (both the good and the bad 着付け). The food vendors offered such a wide variety, that I was always quite full. And of course, I got to spend time with my lovely friends. Please be sure to read part two, which will be up soon!

Wandering about the Capitol

Kyoto is a far more urbanized city than Saijo, and as a result, the amount of walking one does is huge. Today was no different from the other days. I did so much walking, but it was mostly due to the fact that I got lost a lot. When I visited the flea market at 東寺 I got lost in the endless walkways of vendors. When I walked to Tower Records and ended up back at 寺町, I got lost looking for the Nishiki Market. But I did have lots of fun, and enjoyed myself. And of course, I made a generous contribution to the economic condition of Kyoto. Unwillingly, of course. ;)

I had a late start on what I wanted to do today because I was skyping with my parents. I managed to get along without it during the greater part of the semester, but I've grown to enjoy these sessions. Thank goodness for the wonders of the Modern Age! Anyway, I because of that, I only left my hotel at about eleven-ish. I grabbed a bento and headed for the station. One of the teachers in my Family Life in Japan class mentioned that one of the temples in Kyoto, 東寺, has a big flea market and that we should go to it if we can. A little bit of internet searching turned up that it's the 21st of every month. I planned the dates of my trip around this event, so it was most imperative that I go. I wasnt sure what to expect, to be honest.

I havent found a very good map of the Kyoto, but from what I surmised, I needed to take the 近鉄 from Kyoto Station to Toji Station. However, I've never ridden on that line. I had to ask several people for directions, but I finally managed to get to the temple. My friend had told me that she wasnt interested in the market, but I had the completely different reaction. I LOVED IT THERE! There were simply so many vendors. I wanted to see as many as I could, so I tried to walk in a regular pattern, but it is likely I missed some vendors because there were so many. I would go up one row, and see a side path. I'd walk the side path, only to realize that there was another branch! And this all before I saw the rest of the original row I was walking on! The items for sale ran the gamut of junk, antiques and collectables, to handicrafts and vegetables. There were a lot of vendors selling 漬物 and I really wanted to buy, but because they need to be refridgerated, they would be difficult to handle. Also, there was a lot of pottery type things, but those too would be easily destroyed. But what I really wanted to buy was kimono! Specifically a yukata to wear to the bon dances, but I was really open to anything. And especially because I had just bought an obi yesterday (which is a bit too small for me! T_T), I was interested in getting some use out of it. I ran into one of the few vendors that had mens wear, and she convinced me to buy one of the men's kimono she had. While at the time, I felt bad that I bought it because it was so plain and slightly resembled the kimono I already have, I have grown more attached to it when I realised that the pattern of the weave is slightly similar to the blue yukata that Uemura gave to me. I also picked up a haori at the 寺町 market (more on that later!), so if I get my zori sent to me from Hawaii, and some new tabi, I have more or less a complete ensemble! But that means I need to wear it. I refuse to wear kimono to school, so I have no idea when I'll wear it. I suppose the next time we go shopping in Hiroshima City, or we visit some part of Hiroshima prefecture, I'll be the most traditional guy there. Anyway, my haul for the day was pretty good. I got some two bags of dried ika, one for me and one for my father. I also got a tiny set of 七福神 dolls. And when I say "tiny", I mean tiny; they're probably an shorter than an inch. But they're so cute! I had to get it.

東寺 is not only the host of a monthly flea market. It is also a functioning temple complex, with religious services, and the largest pagoda in Japan. It is one of the many properties that have made Kyoto a UNESCO World Heritage site. As a religious site, the temple sells omamori and other good luck type charms. As a Shingon temple, they do a lot of esoteric rituals; one of the more intense ones is one where you write down your prayer on a piece of wood, and the priest burns them while chanting a sutra. There was a lot of that going on, as well as people making offerings of candles and incense to...um, okay, I dont know Shingon too well, so I dont know who, but they were making them. I made one to Kobo Daishi. He has a statue in the courtyard, and I prayed for the health of all the old people in my family. I also gave some money to one of the priest guys that was chanting by the gates.

But what I enjoyed the most (and I HIGHLY recommend to you if you go to Kyoto) was the area around the pagoda. While I was slightly miffed that I had to pay admission, I am totally okay with it now. The pamphlets and explanations were all in Japanese, so I dont know exactly what was going on, but from what I understand, the pagoda was built under Kobo Daishi's direction. It was built to commemorate someone's death (「つまり墓というものなのです」) or something. Enshrined within are four bodhisatvas. They're to protect either the capital or the pagoda itself. Unfortunately, photography was banned within, so I cant show you one of the things that blew me away. The walls of the structure are painted with the various heads of the Shingon sect! While this may sound boring, I'd point out that they seem to be the original paintings; not reproductions, not restorations, but the real deal that was put on when it was built. And it's not behind the glass, or under some kind of touching; while you are expected not to touch them, you could put your face just inches away from them. You cant get that up close and personal with historical artifacts in most museums or displays. It was fascinating to be so close to something that was made hundreds of years ago. After the pagoda thing, I wandered about, and made it to the lecture hall. I dont know why they call it that, because there's no space for a lecture, but it was another fascinating and pretty amazing thing. There are twenty one sculpture things, each depicting a different Buddha, bodhisattva, or other important being in the Shingon theology. Again, you werent allowed to touch them or anything, and photography was banned, but I was so amazed by it. I dont know what it was about it, but there was just something so...awe-inspiring about them. I think the sign said that they were there to help protect the nation or something. To be quite honest, I was more impressed with these statues than I was with the Great Buddha of Todaiji in Nara. I cant explain why, but I was simply captivated.

At this point, I headed back to my hotel, to drop off my purchases and use the bathroom. I wanted to hit the Kyoto Tower Records, because the Hiroshima store doesnt have one of the (many) cds that I wanted to buy. It's a Korean boy band, MBLAQ, and you should click the link. I could go on about them, but that should probably be its own post. Anyway, I had a general idea of how to get there thanks to Google Maps, but it was mostly a lot of walking. According to what I understood, I basically had to walk up 河原町通り and eventually I would see it. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that I was simply a few blocks away from 寺町 and basically the entire 四条 area I had been to in the last couple of days! I simmered in mild irriation as I made my way up the building to the ninth floor where Tower Records is. But that all disappeared when there was not only one, but TWO copies of the album I wanted! After looking around to see what else this store had, I bought my cd, CELEBRATED, and then made my way back down. I had planned to go to 寺町　again tomorrow, but specifically to go to Nishiki to buy my parents scallops. However, by the time I made it to the market place, a lot of the vendors were closing up shop. I raced to where I needed to go, but I guess the special price they had was only for yesterday, because today's price was slightly more expensive. But because it's for my parents, I dont mind spending money. I stuffed my お土産 into my bag, and headed back to 寺町 to look for dinner.

Before I leave Kansai, I wanted to try 関西風のお好み焼き. There are two types of お好み焼き: 関西風 and 広島風. Because I've been in Hiroshima all this time, I've had a lot of that kind of お好み焼き. However, I have never had the 関西風 before, so since I'm here, I figured that I should have it. I walked around and made it to a restaurant that had it on their menu and ordered it. While it was delicious and filling, I think I've gotten used to the 広島風, and prefer it more. In my opinion, 広島風 has more vegetables, and because there's noodles in it, its volume is comparatively higher. Thus, you get more bang for your buck. If I get the chance, maybe I'll try the 関西風のお好み焼き, but if I dont get a chance to, I think I'll be okay. 関西の友達、ごめんね。やっぱり広島風の方が好きなんだ！

I spent another wonderful day here in the city of Kyoto. I had so much fun walking around 東寺, and got a real kick out of the national treasures housed there. While there, I also injected a lot of money into the city's economy. Another long walk netted me the KPop cd that I have wanted to buy for a very long time, as well as helped finish my お土産 shopping. Tomorrow is my last full day here in Kyoto. I'm not exactly sure what it is I'm going to be doing. But I still havent been to the 本願寺, which are just a few blocks from here, and neither have I been to 松尾大社. Hopefully I can hit the 本願寺 in the morning, and see 松尾大社 in the afternoon. And during the night, I can spend it packing up. But now it is late, and Terrence needs to go to bed. おやすみなさ～い。