The four of us went together to the father’s grave, because that day was set aside to respect the dead. Okaa-san said he passed on about ten years ago. I wasn’t sure how I would feel standing with them there, but I was really glad they wanted to include me in the visit. Okaa-san told him that I was there with them and that Mai-chan and her boyfriend were getting married. She put new flowers on both sides of the pillar in the middle and then we placed incense in a special holder. Again, I was so happy that they brought me along, even though it was kind of a sad experience. I really felt like one of the family for a little while.
When we got back, we ate ramen and watched some silly Japanese variety show together. It was a nice day.
Monday, I was well rested and ready for another trip. We had made plans to go to Toji temple for the flea market, which takes place on the 21st of every month. It was always crowded, my guidebook told me, but I knew it would be even more crowded this month due to the holiday.
Toji temple is in Kyoto and boasts the tallest pagoda in Japan, beating the five story pagoda in Nara by a few centimeters (also according to my guidebook).
Notice the sea of heads at the bottom. You wouldn’t believe how crowded it was. On that note, let me backtrack a little.
The train ride to Toji was probably one of the most hilarious, awkward and uncomfortable events in my whole life all at the same time. We got in line for the limited express train to Tambabashi station, and were pretty far back in line. We were standing where the door would be to the double-decker car, but figured that we would have to wait on the next train to come through because we wouldn’t fit behind this large line.
Wrong! People piled in, and we piled in, then more people piled in after us. It almost seemed like some kind of physics paradox. I say “almost” because I knew it wasn’t. Although the amount of people getting in the train, and later back off, was of clown-car-sized proportions, the train car was as big on the inside as it looked from the outside.
We were piled into the middle of the car, away from anywhere to hold on to, with about a square foot of space to put our feet in. I was hanging on to Cailyn and Kelly, for fear of falling on to the seated, older Japanese man behind me, and a random Japanese lady was leaning on me. We stayed this way for probably… 20 minutes. We laughed the whole time. It was the only way for us to keep from suddenly becoming claustrophobic. We wanted to take a photo, but there was no room to reach in our bag and take out our camera…
Anyway, back on track. The market was just a little bit less crowded than the train – we had room to move around and the crowd was moving too.
Vendors were packed in, selling everything from China dishes to glass beads and old rings, and from Magatama to Anpanman or Doraemon bags of cotton candy. (You can see a Doraemon balloon floating above one of the booths in the last picture.) In fact, the booths were so packed in that there were some in the main gate and out on the sidewalks surrounding the temple, which was not an easy place to browse.
After picking up quite a few good souvenirs, we found the part of the temple where there was actually some worshipping going on. There was a Buddhist monk meditating in front of a fire, and people praying in front of various statues. These were the most interesting to me:
People were walking around the turtle, running their hand along his side. And this one:
Which I found out is a replica of one of the statues where Buddha’s remains were rumored to be placed. This one even has a tiny Buddha statue sitting inside.
After that, with my bag a lot heavier though my wallet emptier, we headed back for the day.
Silver Week sounds pretty eventful; we went to the flea market last month, but we got there too late, and all the merchants were leaving. :( It really is a nice temple, though.
ReplyDeleteAs far as awkward train rides, I completely empathise; on the way to watch the fireworks show at Biwako, we had something of a packed car. Fortunately, the way back was much less man'in kondeita, and I never had that experience again. As far as I know, there's no 'fire hazard' or other means to limit the number of passengers on trains there, and there are workers at the station whose job it is to literally pack people in. The motto is rather "we make sure you get on your train." Still, I rode the train quite often, and, it's not something I actually encountered more than once.