toyokawa inari betsuin

Diagonal from Toraya is Toyokawa Inari Betsuin, a branch of the Toyokawa Inari that is in Toyokawa, Aichi

The temple houses lots of kitsune (fox) and the shichifukujin (7 lucky gods)
 

I was amazed at how many tiny shrines there were on this property!

While waiting for Satoshi, I noticed this huge root?! coming down from the branch of a tree

I'm glad we got to check out this temple and will be back to try their inarizushi, which I had marked but hadn’t realized it until afterwards!

Toyokawa Inari Betsuin

1-4-7 Moto Akasaka

Minato, Tokyo

Hours: 7:00-20:00

*no admission

yabo tenmangu

Dunno what I was looking at, but I read something about Yabo Tenmangu's plum garden and the author was saying it being as pretty as Ikegami plum garden

So, I had the crazy notion to go check it out after lunch on Tuesday.

The funny thing is that this shrine is called Yabo, but the station you need to get off at is Yaho...

It is about an hour train ride from where we live and only a couple of minutes from the JR Yaho station.

Bummer that these were past their peak, the petals were fluttering to the ground whenever the wind blew.

Apparently there are 350 trees, Ikegami plum garden has 370 trees.

Will check this out again next year, hopefully I'll be able to catch them in full bloom...

It was interesting to check out this part of Tokyo.

I also got my hands on a taiyaki filled with sakura a from Naruto Taiyaki Honpo.

The weather is definitely warming up...have a safe weekend.

Yabo Tenmangu

5209 Yaho

Kunitachi, Tokyo

Phone: 042.576.5123

Open 24 hours

fukagawa ennichi

On the 1st, 15th and 28th of each month, the Monzennakacho area has a temple festival called Fukagawa Ennichi.

In the area there are several temples...the Naritasan Fudo-do (a branch of the Naritasan temple in Chiba)

Cool statue in front of Koiso's Ivory

Even though it was a temple festival, there weren't too many vendors.

Another temple is Tomioka Hachimangu.

At this temple they were having a little flea market.

There was a yokozuna monument, but I only learned about it afterwards, will need to go back...

I stood in line for baby castella from Nakazawa Seika.

35 for 1000 yen (tax included)...AND they actually gave me 3 extra...

Baby castella is so hard to find in Tokyo, I'm glad I got to try this.

And stuck the bulk of this into the freezer, so we can enjoy this another day.

There was also a botan (peony) park nearby, but nothing was blooming.

Crossed the Kurofune Bridge

This area has many cherry blossom trees along the Oyoko River.

Monzennakacho Fire Watch Tower.

 

I'm glad I got to explore this area a little and hope to come back when the peonies or cherry blossoms are blooming.

tokuya & kenninji

Saturday, we went to Kyoto. There was an exhibit that Satoshi wanted to see at the Museum of Kyoto.

So while he did that, I walked around Sanjo.

Afterwards we met up and headed towards Gion.

While we were waiting to cross, we were standing right next to a geisha...not 5 seconds later, bazillions of foreigners across the street pointed their smartphones & cameras at us.

When the light changed, boy, could she walk really fast and boy, did we photobomb everyone's pictures...

As we walked down Hanamikoji-dori, I remembered a sweet shop that I wanted to try...Gion Tokuya.

So, we stood in line.

They have warabi mochi & kuzumochi on their menu as well as shave ice.

It was a little to cool for shave ice, so we had warabi mochi & matcha kuzumochi.

This warabi mochi is served on ice and was silky...delicious with kinako (soy bean powder) and a little kuromitsu (molasses/black honey).

But be careful..if you try to "slurp" it, the kinako will hit you first, you will choke/cough and the mochi will go projectile...trust me, I am now forever traumatized by this...thank goodness no one was sitting right next to our table to see...eep!

The matcha kuzumochi was also served on ice and delicious, but really slippery.

With my chopstick skills this was also embarrassing...lucky for that wooden spoon...

We loved the chunky sweet bean paste as well as a mound of matcha to sprinkle onto the kuzumochi.

Down the street is Kenninji, the oldest Zen Temple in Kyoto.

For 500 yen, you can walk around their property AND take pictures...most places don't allow you take photos.

The highlight of this temple, in my opinion, is the twin dragons which is on the ceiling of a separate building and is 11.4 meters (37.4 feet) by 15.7 meters (51.5 feet) (the size of 108 tatami mats, which I think is a symbol for Buddhism/Zen)

If the weather is nice you can also sit on their wooden decks and reflect.

Despite my earlier traumas...it was nice to get out and about.

Gion Tokuya
510-217 Gionmachi-Minami-gawa
Higashiyama-ku,Kyoto
Phone: 075.561.5554
Hours:12:00-18:00 but closes early if they run out.

the pure land

Have you ever wondered why there are flowers blooming year round at temples around Japan?

I hadn't thought about it much until I saw a story on the news.

The priest mentioned that the reason most temples have flowers blooming year round is to replicate the Pure Land of Buddhism.

I thought that was pretty cool.

Next time I go to a temple, I'll appreciate the flowers a little more.

mount koya

Friday was a very rainy day and Saturday morning we awoke to a beautiful sunny day.

From our place, Mt Koya is a two hour train ride, 5 minute cable lift ride and 10 minute bus ride away. We bought the Nankai Mt Koya free subic (I'm not too sure about the spelling or what it means but in katakana it is pronounced koyasan furee saabick) ticket for 2780 yen per person (about US$30). This fee included the cable lift, and round trip train ride, off and on privileges for the bus, plus, discounted entrance fees to some of the temples, museums and discounts at some gift shops.

Mt Koya is located in the Northern part of Wakayama prefecture about 1000m above sea level. The Shingon(True Word) sect founded in 816 by Kobo Daishi has a huge religious retreat here. If you want to truly experience everything, it is best to stay a night at one of the shukubo (missions).

From Gokuraku station, you need to ride the cable lift up to the top of Mt Koya. At the top, there are buses waiting to take you to the retreat area.

The first place we stopped at was for lunch. One of the things you have to try is the goma tofu (sesame curd). I won't tell you the name of the restaurant because the one that we ate here was a bit bland to me, a better goma tofu would have been really fragrant from the sesame seed paste that is used to make it.

Next we walked to Okunoin. This area is a huge cemetery with very old and large sugi (cedar). It is a very tranquil place. One of the people buried here is Tokugawa Ieyasu, a famous shogun (Japanese general). Kobo Daishi is also said to be in "eternal meditation" in the cave of Okunoin waiting for the Buddha of the Future to meet him. Other people also want to be "invited" to attend this meeting, so they are also buried at Okunoin, waiting along side of Kobo Daishi.











There were some interesting headstones here, and many companies have graves here also. Take for example, the UCC coffee company. And the astronaut association. Satoshi and I overheard a guide say that most companies have graves here but it is also a good way to advertise for them.

At Okunoin, we were able to see a group of monks. There were a lot of interesting artifacts inside of Okunoin, but no photos were allowed.





From Okunoin, we took the bus to Karukaya-do and walked the main street. We stopped at Shoeido for some yakimochi (grilled rice cakes).









We tried the yomogi (mugwort) and plain--both were filled with tsubu-an (chunky sweet bean paste), just off the grill...delicious.

We then walked to Kongobuji. This temple was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (a Japanese warlord). There was a free tea ticket with our transportation, so we were able to enjoy a little tea break here.


This temple also had a very nice rock garden.

And a very old kitchen area that was still being used.


Nearby Kongobuji is the Konpondaito. This pagoda is 48.5m tall and situated in the center of Mt Koya. Again, no photos were allowed, so I could only get a shot of what was on the outside.

At most places, you are required to take off your shoes. I thought this sign was funny...."off shoes, off"....





At many of these temples you can get your prayer books stamped and then something written by the monks. These ladies happened to be doing just that and apparently, many people travel all around Japan getting these stamps and calligraphic writings....kind of like an autograph book of sorts.

Next to Konpondaito is Kondo Hall. This is actually the 7th reconstruction of the building. Sorry, I didn't take a photo of it.

From Kondo Hall, we walked to Daimon. This HUGE gate stands at the main entrance to Mt Koya. I had to walk across the street to get the whole thing in!

From Daimon, we walked to the Reihokan. This building displays many National Treasures. Again, no photos allowed.

From the Reihokan it is about a two minute walk to Daishi Hall, this is where all that want to become Daishi missionaries come.

We caught a bus from Daishi Hall to Namikirifudomae. This is where the Tokugawa Family Tomb is. In the front of the tomb is a temple called Namikirifudo, here there is an awesome dragon covering the ceiling. To tell you the truth, we were a bit disappointed with the Tokugawa Family Tomb. Admission is 200 yen (about US$2) and there wasn't much to see because the tomb is fenced in.

We then caught the bus to Nyonin-do. Nyonin-do is where all the women who came to Mt Koya were allowed to stay and worship. Apparently, they weren't allowed into the retreat area until 1872. This shot is of the entry way--all women were to stay behind this gate. (There used be 7 other entry ways, but this is the only one still in tact.)


Then it was time to return to the hustle and bustle...we took the bus back to Mt Koya station to catch the cable lift down the steep mountain.

Since the cable lift uses one rail, there is a point where you pass another car.

Here are some omiyage (souvenirs) that we bought--goma tofu and ume (pickled plums). (Wakayama prefecture is also known for their ume.) I hope this goma tofu is better than the one I had for lunch.

After all that walking I felt like this little guy...I hope you enjoyed our adventure as much as we did.

Have a great week.