Ladles are used in a cleansing ritual: first wash the left hand, then the right hand, and finally rinse your mouth.
In Memoirs of a Geisha, after young Chiyo’s first encounter with the Chairman on the wooden bridge, she runs with all her might through the Torii gates, all the way to the shrine where she faithfully presents her offerings and prays that one day she would find “a place in his world”.
Over 10,000 bright orange torii gates cover a 2 ½ mile path that meanders around the mountain at Fushimi Inari Taisha.
Many people have donated torii gates to the shrine so that their wishes will “pass,” or as a token of gratitude for their wishes that have been “passed.”
We’re all about community service. Yesterday we swept the castle gardens, and today we’re digging up rotten torii columns.
In Memoirs of a Geisha, after young Chiyo’s first encounter with the Chairman on the wooden bridge, she runs with all her might through the Torii gates, all the way to the shrine where she faithfully presents her offerings and prays that one day she would find “a place in his world”.
Dancers were accompanied by older Geishas who sang and played the shamisen, a three-string instrument. The dances in this show are performed by Maiko and Geiko of Kyoto.
We sat shoeless on tatami mats to watch the show.
The next morning, the girls all found a new calling in life. They’ve all sworn to honor the code of a maiko, an apprentice to a geisha (child of the arts).
Chilled white paint is brushed onto the face, neck and upper back area with a three-inch brush. The white face and small heart-shaped red lips are the classic ideals of beauty in Japan. We weren’t even allowed to smile with our teeth showing at the photo shot. There must be at least 10 layers to a complete Kimono ensemble, not including the socks, shoes and obi in the back!
It took forever to wash the paint off our faces.
Once you’re bound in a kimono, there’s really no other way to walk but to take those iconic quick tiny steps associated with Japanese women. There’s no other choice than to walk taller, sit straighter, and turn slower.
Thuy looks like a real Japanese doll.
From AD 710 to 784, Nara was the capital of Japan. Nestled among wooded hills, this ancient city still symbolizes peace and tranquility. Its unique location as the last destination on the Silk Road meant that many ideas from mainland Asia and the Middle East found its way into the culture of Nara. Evidence of these ancient treasures are still preserved here.
World’s oldest and largest wooden building. Completed in 752 to house the Great Bronze Buddha, there is not a single nail in the whole structure.
Daibutsu is 55ft tall and weighs 500 tons. The statue has been altered and restored many times since its conception; the lotus upon which the Buddha sits still retains original engravings.
Thu slid through the narrow hole in this pillar, ensuring her attainment of Nirvana in one of her future lives, as prescribed by a popular local belief.
After closing hours, all the deer are herded back into their sanctuary in the nearby forest.
Tame deer roam carefree outside the walls of the Great Hall. They’re literally everywhere.
The mountain air is crisp and cold on this mid-May night. You can see your breath floating away as you breathe out. But inside, you are warm; you are on your way to attend a grand ceremony in honor of Buddha’s birthday. Cupped in your hands is a small container full of oil that you have spent months saving and gathering. It is as a worthy offering.
A full moon lends its silvery rays to brighten up the path beneath your sandals. An elongated shadow of yourself is cast upon the dirt in front of you. On both sides of the worn path, candles flicker inside each stone lantern giving life to the gnarled tree trunks and their outstretched limbs.
You step sideways toward a lantern whose flame has grown small and weak. You tip your container letting its liquid contents pour out in a steady stream. The flame begins to grow and dance in front of your eyes. You can’t help it, a smile blossoms across your face. You step back, whisper a prayer, and silently witness the power and majesty of the present moment. And once again, you have confirmation that life is beautiful
Built in AD 710, the pathways up to Kasuga Taish Shrine are lined on both sides with hundreds of mossy stone lanterns and ancient droopy trees giving this place an eerie feeling.
After our experience in Osaka, we decided that a late-start day is a bad-luck day. So no starting after 9AM. And…Thu’s useless without her handy-dandy notebook, which means that she can never leave her trusted backpack behind again.
After talking to a tourist information volunteer at Nara Station, we decided to change our plans and head to Osaka instead of Yoshino since the cherry blossoms there are in their final stages. As we left Nara, the day had already turned gray and wet and was promising even more dreary weather. Upon our arrived at Osaka Station with our luggage in tow, on the spur of the moment, we decided to get off at Shin-Osaka instead. Bad move. At the moment, it seemed the most reasonable and time saving choice to make since we would have to leave from Shin-Osaka later that day. This way, we wouldn’t have to haul our luggage from one station to another. So we stayed on and got off at the next station.
Right away, we found lockers and deposited all our unnecessary items…and even some necessary ones, like Thu’s backpack and notepad with the name and address of our next destination…the Mint Bureau.
Walking into the rainy ally, we thought it odd that this place was so empty and looked a little neglected. Wasn’t this supposed to be one of the larger rail stations? Weirder still, there were no taxis waiting around. Where are all the people? Hmmm? Being the sensible people that we were, we assumed that we must have exited the rear end of the station. Yes, that must be it.
After walking a couple of blocks one way and still not seeing a large street let alone a taxi, we headed in a different direction. By the time we found an available taxi, the bottoms of our jeans were damp, and Thu’s socks were thoroughly soaked inside her shoes. But at least we had found a taxi and were no longer being pelted by the rain.
The taxi driver didn’t speak a lick of English, Vietnamese, or French for that matter. And we didn’t speak a lick of Japanese. So how do you tell the driver, who didn’t seem all too sharp in the first place, that we wanted to go to the Mint Museum for the cherry blossom festival. Vaguely recalling the street name, we tried consulting his street maps, but all the signs were in Japanese characters. No luck there. We tried drawing money, coins. You know, mint. We tried drawing the cherry blossoms. We even wrote the Japanese word for cherry blossom down-sakura. Still nothing.
Finally we decided that he could just drive us back to the train station, which was only about 8 blocks away. That way we could pay him for his time, get our notebook and find a more “with-it” driver.
“Shin-Osaka. JR.”
A nod, yes. Ah, he understands at last. He repeated what we had just said and added, “Shinkasen.”
“Hai, yes, hai, Shin-Osaka, Shinkasen, JR.” A big collective sigh of relief. We sat back and relaxed for a moment.
And only for a moment.
“Where is he going? Why is he turning around?”
“Isn’t the station the other way?”
“He’s probably taking us there the round-about way. You know, rack up the miles.”
“But he’s going on the free way.”
“Are you sure he knows where we want to go?”
With a questioning look written all over our faces, we ask him again, “Shin-Osaka, Shinkasen, JR.”
With a hesitant smile that showed his stained, croocked teeth, “Hai, Shinkasen, JR.”
“Look, the sign says Shin-Osaka that way, and that’s the way he’s turning.”
What else was there to do but wait nervously to see where he was going to drop us off? The mile ticker kept clicking, and the Japanese yens kept jumping higher and higher.
Once he rounded the curve off the highway, there in big blue block letters staring us straight in the face was the name of the station, SHIN-OKASA. There were three lanes of arrivals just for taxis alone. Another lane specially reserved for busses was to our left. Private vehicles inched their way to the parking lot on our right. Workers in navy blue uniforms and transparent raincoats dotted the lanes waving their florescent plastic wands this way and that way directing traffic.
Oh, if this is Shin-Okasa, then where were we before?
About 370 blossoming trees representing over120 different species line both sides of the path
“Pom-Poms” Late-blooming double-layered cherry blossoms. My favorite!!!
Despite bad weather, throngs of visitors crowded the path outside the Mint Museum in Osaka to participate in this cherry blossom festival. This area is only open to the public for one week out of the year.
