The temple I was going to was Mount Shosha Engyoji Temple, which is apparently where they filmed "The Last Samurai", with Tom Cruise in it. My hostel host avidly told me about how he had to come in by helicopter for each day of filming, because his contract meant he had to stay in 5 star hotels, but there aren't any in Himeji so he literally wasn't allowed to stay there. Anyway, the temple itself was very beautiful and old, with dark, wooden buildings nestled amongst the forest greenery on a narrow path winding over the side of the steep mountain. I had to catch a cable car to get up there, complete with smiling tour guide jabbering about the cable car and the temple, I can only presume, and a disconcerting view of the trees rapidly disappearing from beneath me.
Up, up and away!
One of the statues lining the path.
A sign warning about the steep fall beyond the edge of the path (I can only presume).
Steep, windy path!
The view from a clearing partway up.
The gate showing the entrace to the sacred ground.
A fountain outside of the the temples.
Inside a temple.
The one at the back is actually a huge hall where they used to house and train young monks (it is the largest of its kind remaining in Japan). I actually sat in the open door on the right hand side of the second floor for quite some time, silently enjoying the view and the sounds of the forest.
Some of the items on display in the former monk training hall.
Old wooden statues that have lost face over time.
A small pond that was home to many large frogs (as pictured) and several smaller, which were perched on the side of the pond.
The temple I believe they used in The Last Samurai (anyone recognise it?)
One of the oldest bell towers still in Japan (dating back to 1332).
My dorm room in Himeji (complete with giraffe silhouette!)
After enjoying Himeji and saying farewell to my sister city, my next destination was Fukuoka, which is actually on Kyushu, the southernmost island of the four main islands of Japan. Somewhere along the line I must have gone underwater on the train, but the actual moment was so brief (the islands are pretty close together), and we were going underneath so many mountains in the mean time, that I didn't actually pinpoint the 'underwater travel' on my jouney to Fukuoka (on the way back I managed to take note of when it was). One of my reasons for wanting to visit Fukuoka was because I would be able to see the start of their annual festival, which runs from the first to the fifteenth of July. At the start of the festival, they erect gigantic, colourful floats around the city, which are about 4 meters high and weigh about 2 tonnes each. Traditionally, these floats would then be raced through the city by teams of men on the fifteenth, but due to the construction of low hanging power lines, it was impossible to run the floats anymore, so they have smaller floats that are about 2 meters high and 1 tonne each instead, and the larger floats are left around the town as decoration during the festival. Although I wouldn't be there for the end, I was hoping to see a couple of the floats during my stay. I wasn't disappointed.
The float that greeted me outside the train station.
Again, I had the problem of 'no English and trying to find my way', but this time I was trying to get off the bus. At the train station I had been directed to the correct bus stop and told which area to get off at, but as the bus travelled onwards, the station names stopped having English, and suddenly I had no idea where I was. After a few stops I was pretty sure I needed to get off, so I approached the bus driver and said the area name in an enquiring tone. He then proceeded to start talking in huge sentences and explanations, waving his arms around, and I was overwhelmed and baffled. I thought he was gesturing for me to get back in the bus, but when I stood back, he started talking again, and I tried to sit down and other people called "Get off!" so I jumped off the bus. He sped off, and I was left wondering where the heck I was. I had no GPS or internet connection, no phone, and no way of finding out where I was other than trying to find a sign in English somewhere. So, I started walking. Thankfully I had taken a photo of the hotel's explanation of how to get there, so once I found one of the landmarks (I had been walking in the right direction, at least!) I was able to find the actual hotel and settle in.
I was sharing a 6 bed female dorm, and there were two other occupants in the room, which I quickly got to know. One was a Japanese girl, Miho, who I met first, and we decided to go out to dinner together. Her English was really good, although she was still learning, so it was fun sharing stories and learning about each other, punctuated every now and then with her rapid typing on her Japanese>English dictionary and then reading the new word out loud. Once we got back to the hotel, we met our other room mate, Liza, who was from Florida. She was studying during the day though, so we could only really chat at night. We instantly clicked, and had quite a few common interests, so it was immense fun getting to know her too. We started excitedly chatting about several shows that we both love (BBC Sherlock, for instance!) and poor Miho got a bit overwhelmed by the rapidity and complexity with which we were jabbering (and occassionally squee-ing). It was a lot of fun though, and we talked quite late into the night.
Liza and myself (taken on the last day).
My first full day in Fukuoka I spent with Miho, and we walked around several of the main shopping areas, including a huge underground complex (at Tenjin), and then at the main Hakate station. We also visited a temple, and Miho talked me through the process of donating the yen, ringing the bells, clapping, bowing, and making a wish. We had a lot of fun and laughs, and at the end of the day, I saw her off at her bus back to Miyajima.
Canal City (complete with canal!)
Some more float construction we encountered.
The next day I was alone, so I went for a walk up to the main garden complex, which houses several sporting fields, the old ruins of Fukuoka Castle, and a large lake and recreation area. I sat and watched some kids play rugby for a while, walked around the foundations of the castle (all that remains), and did a huge loop around the lake, which was very pleasant and full of life, whether it be turtles and birds, or the people running and playing around it.
A lily pond surrounding the old castle wall foundations.
Rugby practice.
A random street in the garden area.
The lake in the recreational area.
Some of the locals sunbaking on the edge of the pond.
That day was also the first day of the festival, so I was able to see the floats complete and on full display, and there were several hiding around the place that I could easily find and enjoy. I also ventured back to Canal City, which is a huge shopping complex with a canal running through it (which I had also visited with Miho, as shown above) and found that they were having a live performance next to one of the floats, partly in celebration I am guessing (although I heard that they regularly have peformances at Canal City). Her name was Fumika, and I got to see her warm up, and then came back during her actual performance. She was really cute and fun, and her voice quite powerful. I enjoyed listening for quite a while.
The finished float at Canal City.
Fumika gives her performace.
The float at the JR station (giving a better sense of scale).
That night, as it was the first day of the festival, there was also a drinking special going on in the neighbourhood, where you could buy a 'ticket' and get a certain amount of drinks out of it, from any of a number of participating bars. The owner of the hotel approached Liza and I, along with his partner and her sister, and we all went out together around to the local bars. A couple of glasses of wine later, we were all happily chatting and enjoying each other's company. Our last bar was literally next door to the hotel! Once we got back, Liza and I followed through on one of our plans and sat and watched Thor together (although Liza nodded off halfway through). One step closer to the Avengers now...!
The next day I moved on (sadly, as I was rather enjoying Liza's company) back to Osaka. Skipping the part where I got lost at the wrong end of the railway station and spent an hour wandering around in the hot sun in completely the wrong area, I found myself the only occupant of a three bed dorm, so could enjoy having my own space again. I didn't actually do too much in Osaka, as I was feeling rather worn out from three solid weeks of travel and touring. It was nice to relax and catch up on sleep. On my second day there though, when I wandered out of my room at one pm, I found another resident of the hostel sitting on the couch, waiting for the owner to return so he could check out. We got chatting and, once the owner finally came back, we decided to spend the afternoon together until he had to leave for his flight in the evening. Although he had just spent two weeks in Japan, all the blatantly obvious Japanese-y things to do he didn't seem to have done! So I took him on a quick tour down Shinsaibashi street, a huge undercover shopping mall, and showed him the Glico man, before we made it to the restaurant street, where I got him to buy takoyaki. He was pretty hesitant, but still tried it (I'll give him that) even though he almost threw it back up right there on the street and had to spit it out in a plastic bag pile in a discreet corner somewhere (there weren't really any bins around). Needless to say, I got some free takoyaki to enjoy out of it! We went through a game arcade and played a couple games, and then it was time for him to go.
The next day I returned to Tokyo and went straight to my sister's home in Minami-gyotoku, where I promptly collapsed on the single bed we shared for two weeks. But that's a story for another night!
