Sunday, July 11, 2010

Johgi Nyorai Saihoji Temple (AND TONS OF PICTURES)

EDIT: Okay, the pictures really messed up here. I think I'm missing a few too... I'm kinda rushed so yeah. I'll fix later (probably meaning when I get home)... sorry! They will, of course, all be on my Facebook too, along with all the tons of other pictures which I haven't posted here. :)

*****

Well, what is the "Johgi Nyorai Saihoji Temple," you may ask? It just happens to be the name of the temple/shrine place I went to today--a Buddhist temple located in the hills about 40 minutes away from my house! :D

On the way there we saw a couple getting married, standing on a bridge overhead. We waved and they waved back. :)




I also saw many rice paddies and when we stopped to get gas, they put the gas in the car for you... and then gave you a towel to wipe the insides of your windows with while they wiped the outsides. Pretty neat. :D The scenery really was beautiful... but the temple was even more so! (is that the correct use of 'more so'? Google isn't really helping.) First, we went over and in a little cup you filled up with water from a bamboo spoud, washed our hands. Then you drank some of the water from your hands and spit it into the rocks (I accidentally drank mine). After that, we went over and paid 100円 for a candle and some incense-- we lit the candle and stuck it on a ... pick thing (pictures later and you'll get what I'm talking about) and then prayed (or something)... and with the incense, made circles in ash and then lit it on fire and afterwards stuck it in the ash to burn with the rest of them (and then prayed some more). We then threw in a 5円 coin in to a big wooden rectangle and prayed once again. :P





We then entered the main temple... which was BEAUTIFUL. So much intricate detail... it was stunning. We sat down as a person said prayers and other complex Japanese things I obviously couldn't understand. Afterwards two people (monks? whatever you call them if they're Buddhist) read off names for good luck and wished you to do something well (whatever you wrote on your card that you gave to some other people earlier, I think). Outside we saw people buying wooden slabs with animals on them and writing their wish on the back, and then hanging them up... :)







We explored some more, went inside some buildings, saw some fishies and even ate some tofu (which was fried so I didn't absolutely hate it). Then we didn't get ice cream even though they said we would and then WHAT THE HECK THERE'S ANOTHER TEMPLE PLACE. It was hiding in the trees! This one had a big bell that I rang, but my mom wouldn't because it was too embarrassing, apparently.






After that we went to eat some very AMAZING AND DELICIOUS ramen which is nothing like the instant-noodles that exist in America. This stuff is hardcore, salt/soy-sauce/misoshiru (miso soup) flavored noodles and broth with meat, vegetables and some awesome spiraly kamaboko (I shouldn't still need to tell you that the blue text is a link). But before that, we went to get some fruits and vegetables... and I saw some cherries that were SEVENTY-TWO DOLLARS. Some of the lower priced ones were around $45 or $20... one pack was only $5 but they were all yellow. Cherries are SUPER expensive in Japan, and usually treated as a desert (along with pizza-- that's a 'dessert' or delicacy too). Oh, also, the pet bird likes eating my socks.





IS THAT ENOUGH PICTURES FOR YOU EVERYBODY? :P

And that's it for now. 11 DAYS LEFT. ;____________; SO SAD. Tomorrow will be the start of my last week at school (except for next Tuesday, which will be my actual last day).

Bye for now. :)

5 comments - click to comment:

Michael said...

Pizza is a dessert!? Sad.

And it's gone so quickly! I'm looking forward to you being back, but I wish you had more time there.

Chris said...

Wow, awesome pictures. Did you make a wish? I loved the temple, the mask and the dolls, and the ramen made me hungry :-) I guess you will appreciate cherries more now, hmm? The time is flying by. Even "more so" (yep, that was correct, but you "rang" the bell, didn't you? :-)) for you, I'm sure.

eli said...

Hah, thanks Michael. :)

And mom... fixed. heh.

Amy said...

It's hard to believe that you only have 11 days left! It sounds like it has been a pretty amazing experience overall - can't wait to see more of your pictures and hear more of your experiences once you are back.

eli said...

Thanks Amy!

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