Weather:
The day started off well however, once past midday dark clouds
encircled the mountains in which I found myself in and rain started
to spit; however it soon stopped.
MP3
track of the day: cars - Gary Numan
I
pulled myself out of bed at 6:10am and started to get ready. Within
less than a week I'll be back at work so I better get used to it, I
thought to myself. Once again I skipped having breakfast within my
local area in favour of seeing what options were close to my 'car
hire shop'. Yes indeedy; today was my third 'car hire day' and this
time, I would be taking my 'wheels' into the mountains to see one of
Japan's most holiest sites.
I
used the same underground line as I had when I went to the aquarium
yesterday however, this time, I went four stops in the opposite
direction. When I surfaced, I immediately saw a Mr Donuts. It was
then that I knew that today was going to be a good day. Sadly, the
selection in Mr Donuts stores in Kansai, is not as broad as what I'm
used to. Within the kitchen, I could see a tray of freshly made
'cream doughnuts'; I waited a couple of minutes to see if they would
hit the shelves any-time soon however, they did not. I therefore
bought three doughnuts which, though delicious, were not my most
favourite. I then sat down and started to read my guidebook about
where I was going to today. Two seats to my left was a middle-aged
man who'd I'd seen on the train. On the train, he was fixated on his
smart phone. In Mr Donuts too, he rarely looked up from it. For quite
a lot of my trip, all I've witnessed is people either walking around,
on buses, in restaurants or on trains glued to their phones. Is this
really where the human race is heading? Are we so bored with what's
around us that we have to continually live within a virtual world of
games and messages filled with smiley faces? If so, then maybe we
shouldn't bother trying to save the planet; it's probably best if we
end it all quickly.
I
was so engrossed within my thoughts that time slipped by. I had to
eat my last doughnut in rather a hurry so that I could get to my car
hire place on time. The service at this garage was very professional;
the car was ready and filled with fuel. Today I would be driving a
'Suzuki Alto'; probably the sportiest out of my three car hires.
Though the ride, and the sitting position, were both uncomfortable,
the dashboard did have a cool feature. Depending on how economical
you were driving, the dash would either light up 'blue' - if you
weren't being economical - or 'green' if flowers were coming out of
your exhaust pipe. I was enjoying the light display so much that for
the first few miles I accelerated hard, before removing my foot from
the accelerator peddle, before accelerating again just to see the
dash board change colour. This wasn't at all dangerous.
Though
the route I'd chosen meant that I left Osaka in the quickest
direction possible, it was still pretty scary. Multi-laned roads went
in every direction; and there were so many traffic lights I lost
count. Thankfully the lanes rarely changed direction without ample
warning therefore, without any troubles, I left the city of Osaka on
it's eastern edge, heading south.
I
decided to slick to the 'outside lane' along the '170' as it was the
quickest overall. Within Japan, there are no 'driving lanes' and
'over taking' lanes. Basically the 'inside lane' is full of cars
which will turn left 'quite soon'. The 'outside lane' is for cars
which will be using the road for quite a while. Apart from the
endless traffic lights, nothing else really held me up. Though the
traffic was relentless, it kept moving and soon buildings gave way to
small pieces of farm land. I proceeded onwards ever south.
Yesterday,
Google maps had said that it should take two and a half hours to get
to Koya-san from Osaka however, here I was an hour later and Koya-san
had just popped up onto the top corner of my satellite navigation
screen. I was starting to rejoice; maybe it wouldn't take anywhere
near as long as I thought it would to get to the places I wanted to
see today, I thought to myself. I had of course, rejoiced too soon.
In between me and Koya-san lay the windiest mountain road you've ever
driven up. My speed was reduced to a stand still and, because of the
amount of clouds in the sky - plus possible death at every corner -
sightseeing wasn't that great either. It took another hour and ten
minutes to park within a free car park in the heart of Koya-san.
There
has been a monastery on this site since the ninth century and now,
hundreds of Buddhist sites fill these mountain tops. It is said that
a monk named Kukai – known after his death as Kobo Daishi – got
tired of urban life as he found it almost impossible to meditate and
reach enlightenment. He therefore threw his vajra – religious
implement – and, wherever it landed, would be the site for his new
temple complex. Apparently it landed in a tree here. Kukai looked at
this site; it was a plateau, with five mountain peaks forming a
protective bowl – the five peaks would later represent the five
leaves of a lotus flower – and everything was good.
Wanting
to get the most of my car – and having had enough of temples – I
quickly walked around the site as fast as I could, taking photos
wherever possible. The sky was filled with clouds therefore, I knew
that photos with the sky in them would look pretty bad. I therefore
decided to work on my 'close-up' photography skills. Now that
everyone was back at work, their were only a handful of people
around. Being halfway up a mountain, it was pretty cold which added
to the tranquillity of the place. Within one of the temples, prayers
were being said and, I had to admit that the whole place had a strong
feeling of peace. Once I'd photographed the main sites, I walked up
to the main gate to take a photo before heading back to my car. I
then drove to two UNESCO world heritage sites; one of which was
located at the most northern end of the town, and the other at the
most southern end. Having not paid for anything so far, I paid £1.00
to enter a UNESCO heritage site which contained the burial chambers
of the Tokugawa clan. After that was done – and still being pushed
for time – I proceeded down to the areas huge cemetery where,
sadly, I had to pay for parking. This huge area houses over 200,000
stone stupas, spread within an ancient cedar forest. Though it was a
cemetery, I still look quite a few photos as there were quite a lot
of interesting bits (though I did feel bad). The first
interesting thing was that, at the end of the cemetery was the burial
chamber of Kukai himself. Before reaching his grave, a sign asked
people of all faiths to be respectful of the area. I mean; this is
like the father figure for Buddhism within Japan. I therefore put my
camera away and took off my hat. His mausoleum was extremely
interesting because the roof has ten thousand paper lanterns burning
brightly. It is said that Kukai is not actually dead; he has entered
'eternal meditation' and is waiting to return as Miroku – the
future Buddha – when he will help lead the faithful to salvation.
It is for that reason that a lot of companies have bought land close
to Kukai's mausoleum so that their high ranking employees can be laid
to rest here. On my way through the giant cedar trees, I saw a grave
site purchased by Panasonic. Interestingly, at the front of most
companies mausoleums is a small post box. This is for current
employees who, whilst visiting the graves, are able to post their
business card and address it to a fallen colleague, asking for help
with a tricky business decision.
Though
I had raced around the whole site - and had only paid to enter one
thing – I had still spent three hours in Koya-san; one hour more
than I wanted to. I had planned to head to the sea next however, with
an hour less of time, I wasn't sure if I could make it. The sea was
kind of on my way back to Osaka plus, to get there I had to follow,
what looked like, a beautiful road which wound its way along a
valley. My road map made this road look so appealing that I decided
to follow it and, when I reach 2:30pm, I will just cut my looses and
head back to Osaka.
The
road did not disappoint. Luckily for me, there were two roads heading
in the same direction away from Koya-san; this one and another. Of
the two, this one was the slower road therefore, I pretty much had it
all to myself. There were far fewer sharp corners than the road I had
taken to get to Koya-san, and a lot more straight bits. This allowed
me to appreciate the scenery. The floor of the valley was covered in
dried rice fields, with small farm houses dotted around. The river
raced me all the way to the sea. The sides of the mountains were so
sharp, I wondered how all of the trees stayed upright. This is what I
wanted to do on one of my 'car hire days'; I wanted to get lost
within the mountains of Japan.
Once
the valley opened out, urban settlements came into view. It was then
that I wondered why I had ever wanted to go to the sea; it would just
be an urban site. The time also helped me decide to abandon my plans
for a drive along the coast; once out of the mountains I actually
back-tracked a little, and hugged the edges of the mountains before I
found myself on the road I'd used to get to Koya-san. I followed it
back, ever wishing that I could replace these endless traffic lights
– and countless cars – with the corners of that superb valley
road.
As
I approached the suburbs of Osaka, the clouds darkened and spots of
rain fell. I thought it was fitting that it should rain on the first,
and last days of my holiday. I had been blessed with such wonderful
weather that I could not begrudge a small sprinkling of rain on my
final day. Even so, I got lucky again and, by the time I gave my car
back, the rain had stopped. The time was 5:30pm and, having not had
lunch I was very hungry. Having seen a sign for a restaurant I
decided to walk in the direction the sign was telling me however, I
never did find the restaurant. What I did find was a 'Jolly Pasta'; a
restaurant which I haven't tried before. I went in an ordered a
superb pasta dish with many different cheeses, potato and a lovely
meat sauce. It also came with a nice salad. Being my last full day I
decided to 'push the boat out' and order a chocolate cake which I'd
had my eye on ever since I read the menu. Once finished I paid the
bill and waddled to the nearest underground station.
Once
back at my hotel, I inquired as to how long it should take me to get
to the airport tomorrow. After a few minutes a lady came back with
three possible routes, all suggesting that a little over an hour was
needed. I would therefore need to visit the three museums I have
planned for tomorrow by 3:30pm; this should give me ample time to get
my 6:40pm flight back to Sendai. As the lady was explaining one of
the three routes, I noticed that it was quite close to one of the
museums I want to visit. I may take my bags with me and find a
locker, before visiting said museum. So there you have it; I now find
myself in my room on my final night. Can someone please explain where
the last two weeks have gone? Tomorrow's blog will be written from
the frozen north of Japan; which is where my shoebox of an apartment
is located. When, now that’s another question. As I arrive home
late tomorrow, my blog may not be written until Thursday.
Though
Kansai has been busy beyond belief, I have still thoroughly enjoyed
my holiday. I have managed to fit in so much within a short space of
time. Once home I need to plan another trip soon so that I don't just
reminisce all of the time.
Toodle
Pip!
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