Kanazawa, part 1: The Ninja Temple

~Hello again, readers. Today's post concerns my exploration of the city of Kanazawa, a large city three hours by train from Nagaoka. In the feudal age, the domain of Kanazawa was second only to Edo (modern Tokyo) in power and rice production. Luckily, the city was not a military target in WWII, so most of its amazing array of temples and structures survive intact to this day.


Above: Snowy mountains near the sea, taken on the long train ride to Kanazawa. I actually took about 20 pictures of the mountains because I was bored. I love digital photography.

Above: A broad view of Kanazawa and a one of the several rivers that flow through it. Does anyone know the purpose of that space needle-like structure on the left? My current theory is that it's midget housing.

~One of my first stops in Kanazawa was the amazing 'Ninja Temple'. Before you get excited, the Ninja Temple dosen't really have anything to do with ninjas (or so they say); it's actually a Buddhist temple constructed hundreds of years ago by a powerful feudal lord, who wanted a safehouse near Kanazawa Castle.

Above: Ninja Temple exterior view. There were lots of other gaijin there, some of whom asked for directions.

~The temple is filled with secret doors, traps, hidden staircases, and seven different levels scattered across four floors. I think it would be so much fun to live there, what with secret stairs hidden in the closets, escape hatches beneath the floorboards, a watchtower at the top, and of course the last resort: a seppuku chamber in the middle. The idea behind all of this is that if enemy soldiers are chasing the lord, he can escape into the temple to confuse them and then sneak out through one of the many hidden exits...or take his own life, if worst came to worst.
Above: The watchtower atop the Ninja Temple, perfect for spotting approaching armies of samurai intent on decapitating your overlord...and you.

~Unforunately, photography was prohibited inside of the Ninja Temple, but do you honestly think I let that stop me? Going into ninja-mode, I was able to grab a couple of pictures for you:

Above: Remember, the Ninja Temple really is a Buddhist temple. This was the main worship chamber. Naturally, the secondary offering box is actually a spike-filled pit trap.











Above left, a set of stairs with translucent backing. Above right, the view from the secret compartment beneath the stairs, where you can easily see the shadows of people walking down...but they can't see you. Perfect for some unexpected foot-stabbing.



~After the Ninja Temple, I was off to see the castle and gardens of Kanazawa, supposedly one of the three best garden-parks in Japan (one of the others is Okayama, which I previously posted about). On the way, I observed some unusual statuary:

Above: I actually took two pictures of this little guy, but I liked the one with the flash off; the shadow makes him look more menacing. Or more constipated.

Above: ...words fail me.

~Stay tuned for amazing shrines, castle ruins, Japanglish, and a one-man-band! Oyasumi.

Yay Sado!, part 2: Saké it to me!

~Before I post the rest of my travels on Sado Island, I have an offer for everyone. I've been buying a lot of postcards recently, and I'm going to send them out to many people in the next few days. If you want a postcard, and you haven't given me your mailing address, please email me at dusty788@hotmail.com and I'll send you one. Even if I don't know you. If you've already given me your address, or you're related to me, don't send me any information...I know where you live!

Moving along, here's the rest of my Sado Island trip:

Above: A waterfall outside of the museum. I used the 'slow shutter speed' setting on my camera to create a blurred water effect; do you think it worked well?

~The next stop on the tour was 'Nishimikawa Gold Park', which was filled with items made from Sado Island gold. Nearby was the famous Sado Gold Mine, where political prisoners were sent to work during the Shogun era. The mine was the largest producer of gold in Japan for many years.

Above: This jolly fellow was here to greet me as I walked into the Gold Park museum. I think he's been in the mines for one-too-many years.

Above: Gold silverware (goldware?), presumably made from Sado gold (hey, don't look at me, I can't read the writing). Security in this museum was surprisingly lax; you'd almost think the items were fake.

Above: The lovable mascot of Gold Park, the Japanese raccoon dog (Tanuki in Japanese, or Nyctereutes procyonoides, for those of you who prefer Latin). The reason that he is the mascot is that in the gold mine, there are small pits called "Tanuki ana"; pits so small that one has to crawl like a racoon dog to fit inside. There were stuffed animals of this guy all over the gift shop; I think he's supposed to be a gold-thief, which makes him an odd choice of mascot for a gold museum.

Above: On the way to the next stop on the tour, I took this picture of an oddly-shaped rock. It wasn't until later that I took a closer look at the picture, and saw this:

Above: A miniature shrine on the rock! I wonder who maintains this, and how they get out to the rock. A ladder? Hang glider? Really accurate jumping?

Above: Next stop was by a pier, where women dressed up like...something...took passengers out in large tub-boats for a ride in the water. A very expensive, short ride. I thought it was more fun to laugh at people taking rides, so I passed.

Above: The next stop was an old miso factory, which the Japanese tourists seemed to find very interesting (they purchased tons of miso at the gift shop). Needless to say, this part of the tour wasn't a big hit with the gaijin, but I did get this picture of guys in funny hats working on giant vats of miso. I found the diorama vaguely disturbing; I had this horrible image of a worker falling into the miso vat and truly "becoming one" with his fellow Japanese...

~Finally, the part you've all been waiting for (or at least the part I was waiting for): the brewery!

Above: Our tour group was shown the inner workings of the brewery, the oldest on Sado Island. They make both beer and saké.

Above: A gigantic beer vat. 10,835 liters...I hope you're thirsty. I know I was.

Above: Behind the brewery was the storage room, which looked to me like either a bomb shelter or a pirate hideout.

Above: Definately a pirate hideout...who else would have all this grog? On the other hand, if you're stuck in your bomb shelter for weeks during armageddon or a massive airstrike, you might need this much alcohol.

Above: The best part of the entire tour: all-you-can-drink saké sampling!

Above: I sampled most of these bottles of saké. Oddly enough, the pictures I took afterwards all came out kind of blurry...

~That's it for Sado Island. Stay tuned for pictures and stories from the city of Kanezawa! Remember, if you want a postcard and haven't sent me your address (and aren't related to me), email me with your mailing address. Oyasumi~

Yay Sado!, part 1

~The trip to Sado Island on Tuesday was a lot of fun, even though I had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6 am (please don't kill me) after a refreshing three-hour nap. My bad sleep habits notwithstanding, I was more than alert enough to take plenty of pictures for your amusement. Here is a map of Sado Island for your reference:

The island is located 70 km off the coast of Niigata prefecture, and I didn't feel like paying for a plane, so...

Above: As you might guess from the picture, this is the ferry that took me to and from Sado Island. The weather was a bit rough, but I managed to distract myself by pretending to be a pirate and saying "Avast, ye scurvy dogs!" to the crew. I don't think they understood. They probably thought I was insane.

Above: First view of Sado island, just as the rain was clearing up. The island is a sort of miniature Japan: mountains in the middle, with people living mostly along the coast. I was on a package deal that included the ferry trip and a bus tour around the island.

Above: An amazing five-storied pagoda, part of the Myosen-ji Temple. This intricately-carved structure took two generations of carpenters 30 years to complete in the 19th century. You may recognize the person standing in front of it.

Above: A sort of gateway-structure leading into the temple area. Sure, the architecture is interesting, but what really confused me was when I went inside, looked up, and saw...

Above: Wards to keep away evil spirits? Graffiti? Collectable trading cards? "Kenji was here"? Does anyone know what these are?

Above: A pleasant garden in the middle of the temple.

Above: I'm told that having a picture taken of yourself under a cherry tree is traditional. Again, notice the mess these trees make!
Above: I couldn't resist testing out my camera's 'macro' function. Or maybe I just like taking pictures of flowers.

Above: This picture is blurry (it was taken through the window of a moving bus), but I love the sight of the snowy mountains climbing into the clouds, with a small town at the foot. Very picturesque; I'd like to live in a place that looks like this.

Above: The next stop on the tour was the Sado History and Legend museum, with what has got to be the coolest signpost in the world.

Above: Outside of the museum was a pond, and someone about to fall into the pond. In case you can't tell, he's fake, but in MORTAL PERIL!

Above: A tiny island in the pond...apparently inhabited. I wonder how much the rent is for this family.

~The museum itself consisted of several animatronic exhibits of moving, talking figures. Of course, I barely understood a word of it, but I was provided with a paper that described, in English, what each exhibit meant.

Above: Empress Keiko, wife of Emperor Juntoku; she was born (and later deified) on Sado Island. Her husband (the Emperor) was later exiled to Sado Island, where he died in 1242; he has a tomb on the island, which was unfortunately not part of the tour.

Above: Nichiren, a Buddhist monk who was exiled to Sado Island (that's what the island was for back then). In this animatronic scene, the samurai is about to decapitate Nichiren, when suddenly lightning flashes, miraculously spelling a word, which Nichiren began to chant; the samurai was afraid to kill him after this.

Above: Two old drunk people apparently telling jokes (try finding that in an American history museum). While the animatronic figures spoke, the Japanese people in our tour group would burst out laughing every so often. The woman is petting a cat which would meow loudly every few seconds. I thought that was funny.

Above: One of my favorite exhibits in the museum. It's the legend of a poor couple who own a failing restaurant. Their pet cat decides to help them...

...and transforms into a beautiful woman, whose entertainment makes the business thrive!

Above: After the animatronics, there was a small section of traditional exhibits. This unusual statue depicts a Japanese Crested Ibis, an endangered species found only in China and on Sado Island. There are only a few hundred left in the world, and as-yet-unsucessful efforts are underway to breed them back to sustainable levels. The bird is the symbol of Sado Island; the name of the bus tour I was on was the 'Ibis Tour'.

Above: Another ibis. Shiny.

Above: This scary-looking fellow was guarding the door to the gift shop. But he was nothing compared to what was next...

Above: Gyaaahh! It's almost as if they want to scare people away from the gift shop! "Flee now, mortals, lest your wallets be drained of cash!"

Above: Mmm, lunch! I wasn't sure what everything was, but you know (say it with me now), "Rice is always nice!"

~Tomorrow, Yay Sado!, part 2. Actually, tomorrow I'm taking a trip to the city of Kanazawa, so as usual, I'll take pictures to share with all of you, my adoring readers. Oyasumi!

Chinese Garden

~Yesterday I went on a road trip to the beach with some friends, and on the way we stopped to look at a Chinese Garden. I wasn't expecting much excitement here, but it turned out to be hilarious (as do many things in my life):

Above: The entrance to the garden. If you click on the picture, you can see the lion (?) statue to the left of the middle portal. To the right, of course, are a couple of clueless gaijin and a Japanese friend to keep us in line. And through the entrance...

Above: I just LOVE the expression on this statue's face. It's as if he's heard the world's funniest joke, or he's watching an episode of MXC. I think he's holding a rake in his left hand. Meanwhile, the statue with the crown seems not to have heard any jokes.

Above: This statue looks like he's disco dancing. Speculation: perhaps his dancing is what the other statue is laughing at? The laughing statue is looking in the direction of the disco dancer, after all.

Above: I'm about to Summon the Gods by ringing this bell! Awaken, ye spirits! Spirits such as...

Above: A large frieze featuring MONKEYS; I think they're supposed to be gods. I created this image by using a program to stitch together several different pictures; please click on it for the full effect. My favorite panel in the frieze is the second from the left, where a monkey god is painting a book with copper, and the actual copper color appears on the frieze.

Above: Behind the statue park was this building, which at first I took to be a temple. However, it turned out to be a combination museum/food shop, selling ice cream and various unidentifiable foods (when in doubt, "Rice is Always Nice").

Above: This amazing model of a golden ship was in the museum. No, it's not real gold, but it does look really cool. It would look great on top of my bookshelf.

~Lastly, here's some more quasi-Japanglish for you, visible from the Chinese garden:

Above: My first thought was, "I don't even want to know what they do in that factory." I had this image of a call center where frantic callers would say that they'd lost their wax, and the company would dipatch wax-finding specialists.

Later, I googled the name and was surprised to learn the truth about the lost-wax process, an industrial method of creating machine part moulds, which of course is what Hayashi Lost-Wax Industries manufactures. Wow, Japanglish and a science lesson, aren't you lucky?