(2012 is coming to an end soon, but before it does, I want to conclude this very eventful and memorable year with a reflection on my last big adventure of the year. This is a long post because there is so much to be said, but then I'm mainly writing this for myself, in line with this blog's stated aim of preserving as best as I can those unique moments in space and time of my life. May 2013 be just as eventful, fulfilling and memorable as 2012!)
I visited Japan for the fourth time in my life this month.
You’d think I’d be bored of Japan having visited several times before, but when
my mother first proposed that she and I travel together to Japan for a 15 day
holiday during my summer break, I readily and happily agreed. Japan is one of
my favourite countries in the world so I’m always keen to visit every now and
then.
I shall not give a detailed description of what I did and
where I went for each and every day of my trip. That’ll be too long, and besides,
that’s not the point of this blog entry. No, I want
to talk about why I find Japan alluring enough to visit again and again,
drawing mainly from my most recent adventures in Japan.
For my fourth trip, Mum and I covered 5 main places: we started in Kyoto, then went West to Hiroshima, back to the Kansai region to stay in Koyasan, followed by an Eastwards journey to Takayama and finally ending in Tokyo. Most of our time was in the Kansai region (where Koyasan and Kyoto are located).
Religion
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| Kinkakuji |
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| Nightime illumination at Kodaiji |
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| Rows and rows of toriis at Fushimi Inari Taisha, my favourite shrine among all that I have visited |
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| Beautiful and intricate designs of the shrine in Fushimi Inari Taisha |
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| Votive tablets at the Fushimi Inari Taisha |
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| The famous torii outside the Itsukushima Shrine, in Miyajima |
This trip to Japan was a pilgrimage of sorts. Mum and I visited many temples and shrines mainly while we were staying in the Kansai and Chugoku regions. My family isn't really religious; on census forms we usually declare ourselves free - thinkers. However, we do practice some Buddhism, such making a point to pray or burn incense at many of the shrines we visit. The main religion in Japan is Shinto, but we still visit and pray at many Shinto shrines in Japan since Shinto and Buddism in Japan overlap substantially. I enjoy these visits very much because I find the rituals to be followed fascinating: first the washing up done at the purification fountains, then stepping from the realm of the profane into the sacred space of the shrine grounds, clasping my hands in prayer before the deity (sometimes bowing, clapping and ringing a bell as well) and silently articulating my hopes and dreams. The visits sometimes conclude with buying some amulets or shrines at the shrine shops. Next semester being a very important one for me, I bought a few to guide me as I continue to chase my dreams in the year ahead.
The highlight of our "pilgrimage" was our three day two night stay in Koyasan, a sacred mountain in Wakayama prefecture, Kansai region. We lodged at a lovely Buddhist temple during our visit, which was a first time for both of us. We enjoyed very much the peacefulness of the rural and rather difficult to access Koyasan village our temple was located in, as well as the peacefulness of our temple itself (we came during off - peak season so there were very few other guests). A thoroughly unforgetable Zen experience!
Food
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| Yudofu at Sosoan, a restaurant specializing in soy and tofu located near the Philosopher's Path. Kyoto is known for its excellent tofu. |
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| An array of stewed goodies at the famous Nishiki market in Kyoto. This colourful and vibrant market is a foodie's paradise, and one of my favourite places visited. |
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| Green tea desserts at the cafe of the famous Nakamura Tokichi, a green tea merchant and confectionist based in Uji. Uji, located outside Kyoto, is famous in Japan for its premium quality green tea. |
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| This is one of my favourite meals this trip, called anago meshi (broiled conger eel on rice), a specialty of Miyajima. Anago meshi can be eaten piping hot straight from the kitchen or room temperature in a bento, but I prefer the former. |
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| Maple leaf shaped deep - fried fish cakes sold near Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima. The maple leaf motif is pretty common in the Hiroshima Prefecture. |
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| Another favourite meal, shojin ryori at the temple we stayed in Koyasan. Shojin Ryori is a Buddhist vegetarian cuisine, but while it may be entirely meat free, it is really pretty, delicious and healthy! |
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| Breakfast at the lovely temple in Koyasan we stayed in, shojin ryori style. |
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| Breakfast with grilled hoba miso (on leaf) on the side, in Takayama. Hoba miso is a specialty of the Takayama region, and it is so good with rice and grilled fish! |
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| Hot - of - the - grill Mitarashi Dango is a popular street snack in Takayama. |
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| The prettiest (and most expensive bento) I consumed this trip, eaten along the train journey from Takayama to Tokyo. It was a very well - balanced meal with great variety, but the only fault was that the brown rice on the bottom right corner was a little too salty. On the whole, though, it was a pleasant meal. |
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| Awazenzai (red bean paste with millet), a specialty dessert from Umezono, a popular dessert shop near the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. I still don't know what those peppery tasting seeds in the little blue container is, but it helps to cut through the richness of the awa and zenzai mixture! Perfect! |
I believe that the easiest (and possibly the most fun way) to immerse oneself into a new culture is to have a taste of the local cuisine. Japanese cuisine is popular worldwide and I'm a big fan myself. Some may argue that Japanese food is bland compared to other cuisines such as Indian and Thai with their bold flavours, but the beauty of Japanese food is precisely this keeping of flavours simple. Often, with just a little of the right seasoning, the Japanese can make the flavours of meat, vegetables and seafood shine. Less is certainly more. Other reasons why I like Japanese food is that it is (generally) healthy and the presentation is often beautiful even for takeaway bentos at the train station.
This trip to Japan, I decided to go beyond the familiar Japanese foods such as teriyaki, katsudon and karaage and focus more on regional specialities. Most of the food featured above are therefore unfamiliar to many including myself before I arrived in Japan. It was great fun eating my way around Japan! Markets are some of my favourite places as they offer an array of delicious street food that can be eaten on the go or plates of food to sample as one explores. Some regional foods I didn't like much, such as Onomichi - style ramen, which came with cubes of lard on top on the soup noodles ( talk about a heart attack waiting to happen!). My Mum and I also found Takayama - style ramen too simple as compared to more famous ramen varieties such as Hakata's Tonkotsu ramen and Hokkaido's miso ramen (which is our favourite ramen of all). Nevertheless, the fun was really in trying out as much as you can, and discovering what you liked and didn't like so it didn't matter that some dishes failed to impress. My favourite cuisines this trip come from the Kansai region, specifically Kyoto, the regions surrounding Kyoto and Koyasan. Simple yet elegant and delicious, they capture the essence of Japanese cusine so well.
Nature
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Beautiful autumn leaves in Uji
Wild purple flowers in Inari |
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| A rainbow appeared over the snowy mountains in Shirakawa - go |
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| An aerial view of Mt Fuji, seen while flying back home to Singapore from Japan |
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| The road to Okunoin in Koyasan, lined with tall trees (Cedar, I think) |
Anyone ever noticed that many Japanese surnames and place names reflect nature? E.g. The 'yama' (mountain) in Yamamoto and Okayama, 'kawa' (river) in Kawasaki and Shirakawa - go, 'matsu' (pine tree) in Matsumoto, 'mizu' (water) in Mizuno, 'aki' (autumn) in Akihabara and Akiko and many more. The importance of nature is related to the significant role the Shinto religion/ spirituality plays in Japanese culture, as Shinto emphasizes respect of nature.
I was therefore unsurprised to observe that the Japanese appreciate nature more than many other cultures do. Why else would they travel just to see the cherry blossoms bloom in Spring and the maple leaves change colour in Autumn? I, too, enjoy revelling in the beauty of nature. One of my best memories from this trip is the walk through the huge cemetery outside Okunoin in Koyasan, weaving our way through graves, memorials, small shrines and towering ancient trees. Melting snow from the leaves and branches above dripped gently upon us like a shower of rain, and shimmered in the sunlight that pierced through the canopy. So beautiful, so Zen.
(Pop) Culture
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| Hyouka poster commonly seen around Takayama, the town this anime was based on. I liked this poster so much I went around asking many people where I could buy it, and was directed to the strangest of places (folk art gallery? pharmacist?). In the end, it turned out that this was an official tourism poster not available for sale, so I made do with purchasing another really nice Hyouka poster at a toy shop. I've now been inspired to watch the Hyouka anime! |
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| Giant anime ads at Akihanara, Tokyo, the mecca of electronic gadgets and all things anime and manga! |
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| Little boy playing with the water pump at the Ghibli Musuem, Mitaka, Tokyo |
When one thinks of Japanese culture, pop culture usually comes to mind. Japanese pop culture, particularly anime and manga, are very popular worldwide. Being a big fan myself, I always make it a point to stop by any shop I come across specializing in anime and manga merchandise whenever I come to Japan because of the sheer variety many of these shops offer. And if I happen to be in Tokyo, a short visit to Akihabara, that mecca of all things Japanese pop culture, is mandatory.
For this month's trip, I finally made my "pilgrimage" to the Ghibli Musuem in Mitaka, Tokyo! This museum has got to be one of my favourite musuems I ever visited. It has the same magical feel you get from watching the beautiful Ghibli films. Mum and I arrived on a weekday morning before 10am, thinking that it wouldn't be very crowded because it was, well, a weekday morning before 10am. How wrong we were. When we finally arrived at the musuem, there was a massive crowd waiting to enter, consisting mainly of international visitors like ourselves and locals. That crowd was a testament to the immense popularity of Ghibli films, which evidently cut across age and national boundaries. We all entered the musuem full of excitement, were collectively wowed by the very well - thought exhibitions (pity, though, that all the explanations were in Japanese!) and left with bags of lovely Ghibli souvenirs.
Conclusion on My Experiences in Japan
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| One of my favourite pictures taken this trip - a man selling Battledores at the year - end Hagoita - Ichi fair at Sensoji Temple, Asakusa, Tokyo. |
Rural mountain villages and bustling big cities. Traditional sho - tengai markets and glitzy malls. A pilgrimage of sorts to various temples and shrines and a pilgrimage of a different kind to the Ghibli museum. Not to mention eating my way through a diversity of regional Japanese cuisines. This may be my fourth trip to Japan, but never once did I feel bored, for there is a huge wealth of experiences to discover and rediscover in Japan.
Japan is definietly beautiful in the many ways I have described earlier, but what made all my trips to Japan truly beautiful was the hospitality and kindness of the local people. Truth to be told, before I arrived, I was a little worried about being discriminated in Japan. Japan is notorious for being an insular country where a clear distinction is made between locals and foreigners, so I was mentally prepared that people would not waste too much time on foreigners like myself. How wrong I was! There have been many occsaions of locals trying their best to help when approached, and service staff offering excellent service to the point of going the extra mile. I felt truly welcomed in Japan. At the end of my trip I realized that a meaningful and positive cross - cultural encounter is when both parties approach each other with an open - mind. For the part of tourists, it helps immensely to show that one is genuinely interestested and curious about the local culture. My own spoken Japanese is basic but I found that simply trying to speak the local language and being interested worked wonderfully well to break down barriers. "Doko kara kimashita ka (Where are you from)?" " Shingapooru kara kimashita! (I'm from Singapore!)" "Aa, Shingapooru... (Ah! Singapore...)" Smiles are exchanged and a mutual understanding is reached.
Japan in the international news is usually not so positive: frequent changing of prime ministers, rapidly aging population, the aftermath of last year's earthquake and tsunami, gender inequality etc. All these are no doubt very real, but I never got such a depressing sense whenever I visited, simply because there was so much beauty around me to discover and rediscover. Japan will always be one of my favourite countries to visit. Sayonara, for now, I will surely be back again to visit when I can!
