I think it may finally be autumn now. I haven’t worn sandals in nearly a month and it’s now a bit too nippy for shorts and finally the leaves are starting to change. So as I did in spring with the sakura and in the summer with the fireflies ‘tis now the season to seek out the leaves!
A pretend long weekend fell a bit short of its potential by giving us a random Thursday off making us work on Friday and then the weekend. Making the best of it I dragged Nikki back to Minobu a place I visited fleetingly with Rhee in early summer. Unfortunately it was cloudy in the way it was last time so still no amazing shots of the beautiful extensive grounds but on the way I was at last able to capture Fuji kinda like how it appears on the thousand yen note. I’m hoping for a better shot still later in winter when Fuji has his hat of snow back! Anyways onwards through the misty mountains and down to Southern Yamanashi we found ourselves at our destination. As Rhee and I missed the opportunity to climb 300 stairs to the temple last time, not wanting to forgo such a lovely activity, I forced my and Nikki to do it this time! It was painful!
Once up top, and with our breath found, we explored the outer grounds again where I discovered some Autumn blooming sakura, almost fell in a pond and realized that one thing I missed last time is that you can actually go within the temple! Barefooted and padding around the beautiful main hall with a marvelous dragon painting above and a golden alter in warm gold light before I saw that unlike most temples this was not just one room, it was a labyrinth of passages that led through at least five main halls and countless alters and paintings and Buddhist monks chanting their daily prayers to the sound of chimes and gongs and to the aroma of sandalwood. It was positively uplifting! The passages just kept going, we were sure we would be caught at any time and told to leave but never were, and at the end we were greeted by a courtyard garden surrounded by the mountain on one side and the temple on the other making it a little gem. We watch the koi for a bit and resisted the urge to take to the garden and climb a small slope that led to a little red shrine but we were good in the end before weaving our way back.
Over an hour later we descended back to the little town and toured the small shops and were gifted with green tea and cookies and a lovely hostess that for once didn’t treat me like a tourist but asked me instead if I was an English teacher or a student and where must I live? It was such a nice change to always being treated like a tourist in my own prefecture and quite heartwarming how she took us off the street and took care of us. Next, as I once promised an owner of a little curry shop, I returned to the restaurant from last time and he actually remembered me! That was really cool and his curry and mango smoothie was just as delicious and his cake divine, along with his company and gorgeous glossy books of Minobu. In the afternoon we drove about the mountains around Minobu and found a little shrine with a cute dog and a Shinto priest blessing a couple’s new car and the mausoleum of the founder of the temple which is very important as it is the birthplace of the Nichiron sect of Buddhism. As evening fell we wound our way back through the mountains to delicious Canadian burger and home. It was a very pleasant day!
Friday was another great day at my favourite school and then Saturday dawned cloudy again despite all the days I was in school being lovely. I pouted a little. So I decided to take us to this really cool shopping centre in Shizuoka with a Nikon store! Along the way we stopped at any place I deemed pretty, which was many, including a cool Fuji blanket in soft clouds. Every kilometer I’d point out another gorgeous tree and be like ‘look at that one!’ They were all pretty! Especially the little Inari shrine we stopped at.
Anyways, we eventually made it there and the Nikon store was fabulous! I could have spent a million dollars there but instead I tread myself to one filter for my lens and left before I bought the lens I’ve been drooling over. It was an outlet mall so we were surrounded by Prada, Gucci and Dior and walked into each store like we belonged there even when the price tags told us otherwise but it was fun none the less and it had a great view of Fuji as it was outdoors! Also, Nikki and I shared the most marvelous Irish latte and Raspberry white chocolate mocha and found western candies and I bought a very pretty pashmina!
The next day was even cloudier with threats of rain which was a shame as we had planned a hike with Rhee and Sheena for the day and last time I went it was rainyish too. Regardless we set out to go north in Yamanashi to where autumn is a full blown event already! We returned to the Nishizawa ravine which is beautiful when it was green and full of life during the rainy season, in early summer, had reached a divine level with the onslaught of fall foliage. It was gorgeous and we had to stop far too often to take pictures of another tree of a different gold or red than the others or so I could slide down the slippery rocks to touch the emerald-blue waters of the river that cascaded down the valley in endless pools and waterfalls. It was gorgeous and the rain that eventually fell only put us out the smallest amount as it’s hard to be miserable in such a beautiful place. The entire hike was ten kilometers but it was only the first four that were difficult as they cause us the clamber over wet rocks and scale ravine walls hanging on to chains or ropes to prevent us from slipping to our doom. I exaggerate only a little bit. The second part of the hike was much easier as for all the climbing we did up the river it was a gentle slope back down above the valley with autumn displayed at our exploit for photography! As the day went on the mist began to roll in first over the mountain sides and then on to our path and through the trees in a very storybook way.
In the end we survived the trek and made it back just as it got dark. We hunted down hot chocolate at a combini and I longed for Tim Hortons but settled for curry at my favourite place for Indian in Otsuki. Finished the weekend by curling up and watching the new X-men movie with Nikki as if the cool damp forest was a long ago affair.
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