November 2005

November 18
Takayama
Desperately seeking fresh air, last Thursday, Alex and I headed out of the city. We took a two hour train ride north and ended in a town called Takayama. The train ride alone was worth the trip. We travelled through mountains scattered with beautifully coloured trees (the leaves haven`t completely changed here yet).
When we arrived, I was immediately fond of the town. There were small buildings lining narrow streets and in the distance, I could see the snow-capped Japan Alps. We took a short bus ride to `Hida no Sato` where we were able to view old buildings with distinctive `Gassho` architecture (apparently named for the roof`s resemblance to praying hands). The thick roofs were made of straw and designed to prevent damage after heavy snowfall.
Set amidst bright red cherry trees and other autumn foliage, the old farm houses were spectacular...pictures soon to arrive...

Within walking distance, Alex and I were lucky to discover (I say `discover` loosely because the building encompassed the entire western skyline and was impossible to miss) what appeared to be a large shrine/temple-like building. It was The Main World Shrine of the Sukyo Mahikari religion and was a gigantic gold structure with an enormous red ball balanced on the top. The guidebook described it as either a mixture of Buddhism and Shinto or an anti-semitic doomsday cult (always a good start...).
As we approached the building, hundreds of Stars of David were revealed - imbedded in the walls. On surrounding pillars, swastikas were also visible (a common Buddhist symbol)...a very strange site, indeed.
Although unusual, nothing could have prepared me for the inside. The building opened up into a large maroon velvet-clad auditorium, trimmed with gold. The giant alter held a smaller gold building behind a gold fence and underneath, stretching the entire width of the room, was a thin blue band. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that this blue band was a back-lit fish tank. Truly indescribable, sufficed to say that I felt like I was in a John Waters film. We were given a pamphlet and a shot of sake on the way out. Weird stuff.

The rest of the day was much more `normal`, but equally exciting. Once back in the central town area, we wandered towards the Hida-Kokubunji Temple. In the temple garden, there was a ginko tree that is over 1200 years old - wow!

From there, we went to the Old Private Houses section where old traditional looking stores and houses were separated only by narrow walkways. The stores sold beautiful fabrics and wooden carvings - my new favourite place in Japan!
Maybe not the best place to visit for shrines and temples, but Takayama definitely was ideal for a view of historic Japanese living - and has convinced me that Kyoto is over-rated!



November 03
I`m in Love
Yesterday, I was serenaded by a lovely woman on the way to work. I believe that she appeared quite young for her age - looking a mere 95 - with two sparkling white teeth. She must have also been well-off because she had an assistant that seemed content to push her around in her sparkling wheelchair.

The moment she was wheeled onto the subway she pointed at me...and proceeded to sing as loud as she could in Japanese, stopping only to yell out in English, "I LOVE YOU!". When we arrived at her stop, she left waving with a big smile...I think I love her too.