Long time no update: Seeing My Host Father, Jidai Matsuri, and Fushimi Inari

Hello everyone!


Sorry for the lack of up date. I just finished taking numerous tests so I have been studying a lot recently.

Tonight is the SKP Halloween party! I am attending however, my costume that I wanted to wear, has, well, not arrived from the states. So, I am just going to have to do a makeshift version of my Star Trek costume. Maybe I can borrow leggings from someone.

Anyway, so, many things have happened since I last posted. Tons of really awesome things. Where should I start...

Two weekends ago, a friend of mine from Pitt came from Kobe to Kyoto for a school trip. She stayed in my apartment and we went out and saw Kinkakuji and did Nomihoudai (all you can drink) together. It was so much fun. So many funny conversations.

That same weekend, I saw my host father for the first time in 3 years. It was just awesome to spend the day with him. He is currently on a business trip in Kobe, which is close to Kyoto, and had time so he came out to visit me. We had lunch together and talked for hours! So much to catch up on!! We then went to Kiyomizu Temple which I have officially decided is my second favorite place in Kyoto. This temple is literally built on the mountain side and you can see all of Kyoto. I need to go back there again when the leaves change color and in the spring. There is a whole hillside of Cherry Blossoms there. I bet they are stunning in full bloom.

Last weekend, my lovely traveled all the way from Sendai to watch the Jidai Matsuri with me. The Jidai Matsuri is one of the three big festivals in Japan (Gion Matsuri and the Aoi Matsuri are the other two). We watched people dressed in traditional Meiji costumes parade to the Heian shrine. All of this is a re-enactment of when the Shogun handed the central government power back to the Emperor of Japan.


After that, the two of us traveled to the lovely area of Inari, home of the Fushimi Inari shrine. This place is by far my favorite place in Kyoto. I had been there with my sister and my Dad three years ago on my first trek to Kyoto. I remember seening the endless lines of Toorii gates (red gates) all with inscribed with the names of different compaines who purchased the gates as a way to try and please the mercantile god, Inari. This place is also shown in the film Memoires of a Geisha, which is one of my favorite moves.

Inari uses foxes as messengers so naturally the shrine is filled with statues of foxes (though oddly enough I never saw any real foxes. However, there were countless numbers of cats.) When I was there three years ago, I knew that this would be somewhere I would want to come back to and walk the entire trail of Toorii gates.

Last weekend, with someone near and dear to me, I finally lived out my dream and walked the ENTIRE trial which took about 3 HOURS. It was AWESOME and at some points, a bit scary. It was dark and there were no people (we would maybe see one person every half our or so). While the trail was lit with electric lanterns, the dark wood surrounded us on all sides and it felt like all that was protecting us was the red gates lining the path. Along the way we saw the homes of the caretakers of the shrines. Seeing the houses and hearing the boom and clack from within the house made us feel unwelcome at that hour of the night.

We reached the top of Inari Yama (Inari Mountain) and couldn't help but feel some sort of presence. The wind was blowing gently through the trees and I sensed that something was near by. Perhaps it was Inari!

Also, if you walk the trail to a certain point in Fushimi Inari, you can see a splendid and breathtaking view of the western part of Kyoto.

Wow so much has happened and already I am more than a month into my Journey. I wonder what lies in November for me.

オリビア
10/30/2010