Hello and welcome to episode 7 (part 2), as previously promised. Last time, we had just been on the first of our three ‘big’ outings, interstate as it were (inter-prefecture???). Our next two ‘big’ outings also took us to places we had meant to go for some time but just hadn’t got around to it, for reasons of weather (ie too cold/snow on the roads, etc), time (all three of the journeys were day trips) and money…

Before I get onto them, I must mention how wonderful the weather has been since I last wrote. Barring a couple of days, the weather has been in the 20s and not particularly humid (I have all my fingers and toes crossed when I write this, which makes it difficult to write but I know the humidity is coming and I don’t want to hurry it along!). I’m hoping the weather will remain like this for a while longer, because we haven’t really had much spring weather since we have been here (or autumn weather for that matter). It seems as if summer and winter are just getting longer, subsuming the other two.

So,our next ‘big’ outing took us to Hikone, in Shiga prefecture, specifically to see the castle there. Hikone is one of the towns lining the shores of Lake Biwa, which is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. Apparently it is one of the oldest lakes in the world, dating to at least 4 million years ago. Lots of interesting archaeology there, no doubt.

Anyway, we took a route that did not involve toll roads to get there which took us over a bridge spanning a narrow part of the lake near Otsu city. As we started over the bridge, I started hearing some music and wondered out loud where it was coming from. We quickly realised it was being made through the tyres of our car running over grooves on the bridge!! It lasted for the entire span of the bridge (1.4km) and was truly an amazing experience. I think the song is called Biwako Shuukou no Uta (literally: Lake Biwa circumnavigation song).

Hikone castle is one of only 12 castles in Japan with the original keep, and it is one of only five castles listed as a national treasure. It was opened for use in 1622, although the keep was originally built in 1575 as part of Otsu castle and later moved to its current position by the Ii clan, who also moved their original castle (Sawayama castle) to this site and added other parts from Nagahama castle. As an aside, it constantly amazes me how many complexes here, including castles, are amalgams of buildings and parts from other sites, some a long way away. Otsu is approximately 70 kms by road from Hikone, though they possibly could have taken it via barge on the lake, I suppose.

The castle complex comprises a museum as well as the castle itself. We went into the museum first as it was outside of the main entrance to the castle proper. There were some very interesting exhibits in there, along with a fully functioning Noh theatre, where performances are still held. This stage was originally part of the residence of the Ii clan at Hikone Castle and was subsequently moved to the castle Museum and reconstructed in its original layout. It is said that the Ii clan were great lovers of Noh.

After, we climbed to the main castle area, which includes the keep and surrounding gates and buildings. It was a bit of a climb up many stairs with no ramps, so was quite difficult for the oldest member of our group, who is 92. In the end she didn’t make it all the way up, but gave it a good try 😊. It is a beautiful castle and the views up there of the lake and surrounding hills is lovely. Inside the main keep, as is the case with so many around Japan, the stairs were incredibly steep. How anyone would manage to run up and down them during a battle is beyond me. After we left the castle, we stopped and had lunch on the lake shore, which was most pleasant.

Note the mascot in the foreground

Next day we headed off to Miho Museum, which is located near the town of Shigaraki in Shiga prefecture. The museum was the vision of Mihoko Koyama (after whom it is named), who is the founder of a religious organisation known as Shinji Shumeikai. She commissioned the building of the museum in the 1990s and it was officially opened in 1997. The museum houses Mihoko Koyama’s private collection of Asian and Western antiques bought on the world market. There are over 2,000 pieces in the permanent collection, of which around 250 are displayed at any one time.

The museum complex is s stunning design which fits in with the landscape, while being large enough to house the collections and having a Japanese ‘feel’. The complex comprises a reception building, a restaurant and shop and the main collection building, which you get to via a tunnel through part of the mountain. The architect who designed the museum was I. M. Pei who has also designed many other well known structures internationally, including the glass and steel pyramid at the Louvre. His design was effected in the hilly and forested terrain and he apparently came to call it Shangri-La. Approximately three-quarters of the 17,400 m² main building is located underground, carved out of the rocky mountain.

The bus stop for the electric bus

There was a special spring exhibition at the time we went, entitled Living in Zen and the Daitokuji Ryōkōin Heritage. This consisted of an overview of 400 years of the Ryōkō-in temple’s history and also featured the Tennōjiya family treasures, Abbot Kōgetsu’s belongings that reflect the aesthetics of the Kan’ei era, works associated with historic figures the abbot revered, and objects owned by successive abbots of the temple.

After we viewed the exhibition and the permanent collection pieces, we headed back to the restaurant for lunch, which they kindly served us despite it being just before closing time. They had a mainly vegetable menu, although none of it was fully vegetarian or vegan. Once we asked if they had any options, they said they could make us a couple of dishes without fish stock and later asked us if we would prefer noodles made without egg. It was a very nice meal and they really were very helpful and accommodating.

On the last day of Steven’s visit (his friends had left the day before), we went to a festival in Okazaki park, which Craig had found out about via Instagram. When we got there it was like a walk back in time to a hippy festival in the late 1960s. There were many vegan/vegetarian food stalls and other stalls with mostly locally made items, as well as a line-up of musicians playing throughout the day. As we got there, there was a woman playing a keyboard and singing – and I use that term in the sense that she was trying to do so, since I think I could have carried a tune better than her – so, at that point, I was a bit concerned about the music side of the festival.

Following that assault on our ears and a brief respite, a band started playing, and very loudly at that, but they were amazing!!! They looked and sounded like they had just stepped out of San Francisco circa 1967. They all had very long hair and were playing very psychedelic style music. I have to say, though, that it was so loud it was hard to buy things at the stalls which were close to the stage area. Despite this, they were so good we watched them until they finished up (each band/individual played for around 30 minutes).

What the?

Feeling hungry, because the food looked so good, we bought some vegan burgers and sat to have a very delicious lunch. Following this we continued around to the rest of the stalls and bought some more food items (they really were very nice – we had them for dinner later that day). As we were thinking about leaving, the next band started setting up and they were also dressed up, but this time much more Marc Bolan-esque; very glam. While they were still setting up, the lead guitarist was wandering around on stage playing bits and pieces of songs, some of which sounded rather like T-rex songs. He was very good and so we decided to hang around to see what they were like.

The lead guitarist turned out to be the lead singer and he was a brilliant showman (very funny too). Some of the songs weren’t as good as the warm-up promised, but they were very entertaining and very good musicians – two women (bass and keyboards) and two men (guitar and drums). Again, the music was very loud, but it didn’t seem to worry the varied crowd. They were enjoying the band a lot and were getting into the songs, singing along and even making appropriate hand/arm movements. Needless to say, we watched the whole set, which was fantastic fun.

After that – the beautiful weather, wonderful food and great entertainment (except that one “singer”) – we decided to walk back via one of the canals, which is a lovely way to pass time too. It was so pleasant, we stopped at a small café along the way, had a drink and watched the world go by for a while. What a wonderful way to spend a day. I so love spring 😊.

The duck just stood there (yes stood on the bottom) quacking at me…

Before I sign off, I thought I should mention that the new emperor is now ensconced in the palace. Interestingly, though, the official enthronement ceremony is being held later this year, at which international dignitaries will be present. As a result of the abdication and transition to the new emperor, we are now into the Reiwa era, which officially commenced on 1 May. So, for official forms, the year is now Reiwa year 1. Up until the end of April, we were in Heisei year 31. A somewhat complex system, where you need to know not only the world standard year, eg 1970, but you also have to know the Japanese era and year of the era, eg Showa year 45, for 1970. So, here we are in year 1…Happy New Era!

Cheers

Hikonyan and Craig / the ‘royal swan’ / Hikonyan and me / me as Hikonyan (sort of)

A plane inside Aeon Mall…

Ah, Spring

Hello all – I have returned to the keyboard and it’s only been three weeks! It has, however, been quite a busy time with many ‘big’ outings and we had three visitors from Australia for the last two of those weeks. It took me half of Monday just going through the photographs (read: you’re in for a lot of photos). In fact, I have decided to split this episode into two parts, so that I can get the first one out faster and you won’t turn into fossilised beings while reading the full account of this period.

As is my wont, I will firstly mention the weather – there, that’s over…Actually, it has been quite variable, from cloudy to cloud free, with some rain, and from mid teens to mid twenties. Just when I thought I could pack away my winter puffs and thermals, I had to pull them out again. I did get to wear a t-shirt on a couple of days, though 😊.

Prior to the arrival of the Oz crew, we finally got to go to an exhibition I had been wanting to see – Kyoto Textiles: From the 1960s to the Present – which was held at the National Museum of Modern Art. The backstory to this is that I had met a woman at my gym who is Japanese but speaks very good English. On her first day there she came up to me and asked some questions about the ballet class. She wanted to do the class but was a little reticent, so I encouraged her and helped her through the class. Not sure why she picked me, but she was really nice and we ended up doing a few classes together.

After one of the classes she asked if I was interested in art, to which I of course said yes, then she offered me two free tickets to the afore mentioned exhibition. It turned out her husband is a famous ceramic artist, who comes from a very famous artistic family – his father was an avant garde ceramic artist whose works are exhibited in museums around the world (Yagi Kazuo) and his mother was a famous textile artist (Takagi Toshiko). So, we arrive at the connection – one of her works was in the exhibition. It was a very eclectic mix of styles, colours and textures and a wonderful visual experience.

A piece by Yagi Kazuo (L) and some by Yagi Akira (R)

The first exhibit is by Tagaki Tosjiko (it was huge, hung from the ceiling). The second was one of the many I liked and could find a photo of (!) (also very large)

A few days later the local kiln matsuri was held, which, sadly, we have been told was the last time it is to be held. There appear to be a few reasons for this, one of which is the ageing population amongst the local potters. We went around and visited them and bought a few items while we still could. It is unclear whether many will be closing down, but it seems there won’t be many opportunities to buy directly, and at discount, in the future.

Us at one of the potteries where we bought a couple of pieces

Two of our guests from Australia arrived during the following week; a friend of Steven (see previous post) and her mother, who is in her early 90s. They employed the services of our employee as a tour guide (which she is qualified to do) for the majority of the time they were here and we joined them for drinks, nibbles and dinner when they returned home each day. A few days in, Steven arrived back from his taiko sojourn and this time we were able to spend more time with him.

Our first outing was to an antique market held monthly at Toji temple. Steven’s friend and mother decided to join us in our visit to the market. I have to say that, over time, it seems there are more and more stalls selling items other than antiques at this market. Anyway, they decided to split up, as they were looking for different things, and we arranged to meet up after an hour (which ended up being more like and hour and twenty minutes…). Steven had three items he was looking for and it took so long to get around the market checking for these items that we were late getting back to the meeting spot. Steven did, however, continue trying as we were heading to the meeting spot.

We then had a look around the garden at the temple, which was lovely, with some blossom still open, some peonies and azaleas coming on. We also found a turtle pile on a rock in the middle of the lake in the garden, which was interesting 😊. While I was taking some photos on a rock crossing in the water, I was stalked by a bright orange koi, somewhat like a shark circling trying to lure me in!

The first of our ‘big’ outings took Craig, Steven and myself to Nara prefecture, to visit a temple complex we had seen on tv, Chogosonshi-ji, which is distinguished by the fact it has a very large bobbing head tiger statue in the grounds. This tiger is known as Fukutor, and is the world’s largest papier-mâché tiger. Information about the temple says that the tiger image used extensively in the complex comes from a story regarding Prince Shotoku, who was at war with the Mononobe clan in the 6th century. The story says that he went to the site of the current temple to pray to Bishamonten (protector of warriors and guardian of Buddhism) for victory, praying in the year of the tiger, on the day and the hour of the tiger, and his troops were subsequently victorious. The temple is said to have been built on the orders of the prince, in gratitude for this defeat.

The grounds of the complex are extensive with many buildings and statues of tigers, covering a huge area on Mt Shigi. There is also a brightly painted tiger tunnel, called Santora No Fuku Tainai Meguri, which supposedly makes you strong and brave if you walk through it, and also brings you luck. The entrance and exit of the tunnel is decorated to look like a tiger’s mouth (rather comic book style). We, of course, just had to walked through it.

There is also a trail that takes you up to the top of the mountain where there are supposed to be ruins of a castle – although we weren’t exactly sure where they were, in the end. None the less, it was a good climb up and the views from up there were lovely, if a little hazy. On the way up, I noticed some paw prints in the concrete stairs (two sets, in fact), which were quite large and very cat like. We speculated as to what it might be and, on the way back, asked a groundsman who spoke pretty good English what he thought. He said there were large cats (feral, I presume) on the mountain. They must be big…

Part of the ruins? (R)

Yes, I know, I should have put something in for scale…

There are photo opportunities at every turn at this temple, it is a beautiful and peaceful place, thanks to there being very few tourists there. We spent at least two hours there and I enjoyed every second. Despite it being a bit of a hike from our home, and having to pay some fairly hefty tolls to get there in around an hour and a half, I would definitely take another opportunity to visit.

Cages for statues?

Before I sign off, I should mention that today (30/4/2019), is the last day of the current emperor’s reign. He is officially resigning in a few minutes. Tomorrow is the first day of the Reiwa era. I hope they get a chance to really enjoy their retirement.

Cheers

Post Script: We ended up watching the official abdication ceremony, which was late yesterday afternoon. It was quite solemn, with many (important) people in attendance. The PM made a speech, then the Emperor made a speech; his official abdication speech. He looked like he was trying very hard to subdue emotions. It was over in around 20 minutes – the analysing of the whole ceremony went on for hours…

Saw this sign near my gym – what is it? Apparently Bump of Chicken (yes, it is meant to have an i) is a band…and they have a new album coming out soon.

Other random items at the gallery

At the entrance to the car park

It was cold????