Old Temples

Sunday October 25, 2015

Breakfast, Ioan takes his test and then we leave for Biyodo-in, a World Heritage Site. We change the train and we sit in the new one, waiting for the scheduled time to leave. A young man, while entering the wagon, juggles his many possessions and his iPad cover slips in the space between the train and station. Immediately he deposits his phone and iPad on a chair, but takes his backpack and runs to get an attendant. The other people are calm, there is nothing wrong with leaving your things behind. We, foreigners, are more concerned about his things and start calling him. He bows and makes signs that he will return, not to worry… No one is interested in stealing a phone and an iPad just sitting there…This is the second time in Japan when I think this is a safe country. The first time was when I saw a pigeon sleeping on the rail of the bridge in the middle of the traffic. The attendant comes armed with a mighty claw, but he is not able to grasp the cover. Our young man collects his possessions and waits for our train to leave, so he can have his cover back.

Red Gates and Grey Turtles

What is so special about Kyoto?

The old capital is imbued with history and lore...

It still has many pre-war buildings as it was not heavilly bombed during the second world war...

People are encouraged and rewarded to wear the traditional kimono (the buses and the temples offer a reduced rate)...

It has a harmonious mix of old and new ...

It has gardens and temples….lots and lots of gardens and temples...

The White Heron of Himeji

The morning is different for each of us: Mihai goes to the Prefectural Art Museum of Hiroshima to see “The Dream of Venus” by Dali, Ioan does Calculus, and I am doing domestic things. At 11 we board the train to Himeji and arrive in no time. It takes more time to find an empty locker, all the ones from the train station are taken, but eventually we find plenty in the bus station. 

Hydrant hidden in the sidewalk.

Miyajima

One of the Three Views of Japan.

That’s where we’re going today.

It’s called Itsukujima or Miyajima. The Strict Island or the Island of the Shrines. The Strict, because no death or birth is allowed on the island, to keep it pure. Even today, women close to term and people who will dye imminently go to the mainland. I could not find provisions in case of an accident. For this strictness it reminds me of Delos, Greece. The Shrines, for the so many shrines found here, hidden by the forest.

While Ioan is doing school, Mihai masterminds the transportation there: first train, then a ferry (free for the JR permit). He also buys a picnic. He takes care of us.