Weekend Jaunts

(click the links to see the pictures....and click the pictures to see them bigger!)

Last weekend I had no plans, so I set out around my neighborhood to do some exploring. I had heard from one of my students that there is a small shrine near where I live. I hoped to find that, and to explore a bit in the area behind my house, down the other side of the hill, the side I never frequent.

I had no idea where to even begin to search for the shrine. I had only heard that it was in the area, and had no idea what it might even look like. In light of my lack of direction, I decided to begin the day by walking down the other side of the hill past my house. The other side of the hill seems to be mostly residential, with just a few small shops, and was very unexciting...

On the way over, however, I reached the end of a street...I had two choices, follow a man on a bicycle who fearlessly rode his rusty vehicle up the tamped dirt and moss pathway, shrouded by trees and suspiciously alongside a building, like some private drive.....or turn right to continue on the street.

What did I do? What did I do??

After a slight moment of hesitation...and with cloudy visions of myself being accosted for trespassing wavering, ghostlike, in the back of my head, I cautiously ducked under the lowest arching branches, and made my way up the long, low stretched out earthen steps. I soon found myself on a gravel pathway of new chalky rock, to the right of which I saw this. It appeared to be a very tiny kind of shrine, and as I turned away from it I realized that the suspicious building from behind which I had just emerged was actually the very shrine I had been looking for. The shrine seems to be situated very near the top of the hill, and has two entrances, one from behind, and the main entrance. My house is just behind the shrine, a short walk of a few minutes in a straight path. As it turns out the road goes around the shrine, but many people just walk or ride their bicycles through the land of the shrine. The main building is small, and looks nice, but it was loud while I was there, though it was empty. Apparently they are constructing a new building. The construction area is directly adjacent to the main building and it really diminishes the peacefulness, and overall attractiveness of the shrine, but I suppose improvements must be made. Here is the main building and to the left you can see where I came from, there is a storage area for seasonal objects like portable shrines, and an outbuilding, which is right next to the back entrance I used.

After leaving the shrine, I headed back toward my house, but on the way was distracted by a glimpse of that grave yard I live next to. I decided on a whim to try and find my way down to it, curious at what I might find. I turned back around, back towards the shrine, but this time I made a left at the first available street. This is the view I found, and I thought it would give you an accurate example of the general look of my neighborhood. You'll notice that the houses have little to no land surrounding them, and also the laundry and bed clothes hanging on one balcony.

Just after rounding the curve to the left, I saw a smaller street on my left. I was intrigued, since it was not of the same paved asphalt as the regular road. I decided to turn there and was soon rewarded with the sight of graveyard in the near distance. I ventured further, and found more than I expected. I had expected to find an entrance to the small graveyard next to my apartment, as it turns out the graveyard is rather expansive, but due to lack of space, is divided into small sections, which seem strewn about on the left and right sides of the road, and are stratified like terrace farming due to the incline. As I approached the first section of the graveyard, I saw this fellow, he appears to be welcoming, but whether he is welcoming the living or the dead, I don't know. Underneath him, is actually a tiny building, where I think someone is employed to sell incense to those visiting loved ones, but I visited on a holiday, thus there was no one inside.

In this first section, I found a mixture of seemingly old and new stones. More accurately, I found old stones, and new.....monuments. Here in Japan, the dead receive a veritable shrine to themselves. On these shrines loved ones leave plants, talismans, offerings...in fact, this person seems to have been a fan of the Pepsi...

I was alone in wandering through the cemetery, and I was glad, as I wasn't entirely sure how welcome I was there. Though each section of the cemetery was nearly all concrete and talismans, the general area was quite pretty. The smell of incense was carried about by the breeze. It was evident that someone had recently been there to pray for their dead.

As I ventured further down the hill I saw this awaiting me on the left. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but judging by these...at another location...that they are monuments to children that have died. They are interesting, each is unique, or at least there seem to be different kinds..one is dressed as a monk...and of course they are wearing hats and bibs...even not being sure what they are to mean, they seem to be surrounded with a sense of sadness and loss. Especially these nine who are all in the same location, separate from the other children, and all wearing similar hand made looking items. It's just so terribly sad.

After spending some considerable time with the children, I moved further down the hill to find the end of the cemetery, a gravel parking lot bordered by a bamboo forest, and this ambiguous path. Of course I followed it...trying not to look too suspicious. I had no idea where I was going...if maybe I was walking the path to someone's house...or...a giant snake pit. Turned out to be more graves behind the bamboo forest.

After hitting that path, I went back up the hill to the building I passed up on the way down the hill. It was evident that the graveyard I can see from my apartment was behind this building, and it was really quite beautiful. On the same grounds, it seems, directly to the right of this (what I think is a temple?) is someone's house. I suppose that whoever manages this temple(?) also lives there...I felt strange going there, and I wasn't entirely sure I was supposed to be walking around here either, but I took my pictures quietly and left in good fashion.

But not before going around to the back and climbing this hill where I knew some small alter to be...I can see the tops of these torii from my apartment as well. They seem a bit run down, but I like them.

I left in good time while the neighbor was gardening, and under the watchful eyes of sleepy, shy cats. I headed home and took these random pictures on the way, some of some quite lovely flowers, and this one of a convenient home storage solution for those with too many cars.

It was a nice day out, and after I did some grocery shopping.

Whew! Long post! It took too long to put this together and post it, and I think it will take you too long to read it and look at all the pictures. In the future, I may divide these outings into more than one post. And in fact, I am one weekend behind, as it is now Friday, and I haven't even emptied my camera of the pictures I took from last weekend at Asakusa, and around Tokyo....[just a preview of coming attractions!] and I need to do THAT so I have space on my camera for this coming weekend.

I have plans to go see some gardens around Tokyo as well as Tokyo tower with a Japanese coworker who wants to introduce me to his friends...haha. Apparently one of his friends wants to meet a foreigner. Hahaha. Also, on Monday, one of my students invited me to join her for some Ikebana (flower arranging). I'm not sure what we'll be doing, I'm under the impression she is heavily into this...so I hope that will be fun. I'm interested in learning it!

And apparently according to some other students who frequently attend tea time to chat, I have a small face.

Which...is...apparently a good thing that they are jealous of.

And here I always thought I had a rather large face....

<3!

(wow! thank goodness for my new highspeed internet connection! the second half of this post took so much less time! i managed to set my new internets up all by myself! with directions and account info only in japanese!)