yamaonna

ah, what a day!  Im really pooped.

My aim for this weekend was to visit 4 different temples, and you know what, I did it

The first off the list today was the Osaki Hachimangu Shrine, which, once arriving there, made me realize that they really like their stairs in this part of the country.  In tokyo all shrines are on street level….  so I’ve been spoilt.  It was pretty intresting.  Very elaborate carvings and all.  The god that is worshiped there is especially important to ppl born in the year of the dog, and boar.

Then it was back into town to have a coffee and a scone (it was lunch time by then) and then on to the fuidon shrine that’s in the middle of a shopping arcade.  no surprises that this god is the one you go to for good business.  plus in the statues of him, his little dicky pokes out…  quite intresting……   (kinda like on telly, for nappy ads you sometimes see little willies.. unlike they ads in aus….)

then I attempted to go to the mutsu kokubunji temple, only to be told that ‘this bus doesnt go there’ and then at the information center ‘use that bus’ (which i had just tried….) so i decided to go to the other temple I wanted to go to tsutsuji tenmengu.  Took the train, but when I got off realized i could have walked easily….  neway.

that temple was kinda boring.  but the area around it was intresting in that there were heaps of shrines.  Stumbled across a road called ‘shintera dori’ which literally means new shrine road. and they aren’t lying.  theres over 20 shrines in the district.  All new, massive and very quite.  so with my ‘7 color asian tea’ in hand I did some exploring.

not long after that I realized that i could probably walk to the mutsu kokubunji temple from there, so i did.  half and hour later, and testing out my japanese reading skills, I found it.  i was quite happy.  it is actually the ruins of a very old temple, with only this great hall, and a bell tower there.  It was actually pretty run down, the grass needed a cut, but it was the best of the lot, becuase unlike the other temples, there were people there, and kids playing around.  Most working temples and shrines are really quite and kinda foreboding.  Or a tourist trap.  The kokubunji was neither.

And then i caught the bus back.

It was quite a day, lots of travelling around, but i managed to stay in budget.   and lots of walking, so currently, I am hungry and tired.  think I’ll go and have dinner