Bridge to the Nara neighborhood shrine
We had a bit of time in the morning, and Non had one more treat in store for me. She took me on a walk in her neighborhood to visit her “local shrine”. I was expecting something small and modest, but the shrine was absolutely beautiful. Best of all, we had it all to ourselves. Frequently when looking at these beautiful places in Kyoto, I was sighing to myself about how the crowds took away from the experience, and thinking how wonderful it would be to visit in peace and
stillness. Today I got my wish. The only other person around was a monk, chanting and beating a drum from within the shrine. Non explained the significance of the various statues and writings around the shrine, and showed me a round marble ball engraved with good wishes for various aspects of life (including one for successful travel). (I thought it would be easy to look up the name of this shrine, but I have been foiled — so I’ll need to ask Non and update this later.)
Soon it was time to say goodbye. We met the other members of the Nara club at the station. As always, they demonstrated their kindness and generosity by sending us off with individually packed lunch bags for the train. We very much hope that they’ll take us up on our offer to visit us in New Hampshire soon.
We had to take one train from Nara back to Kyoto, then get on the bullet train (Shinkansen) bound for Tokyo. We had a bit of a snag because we’d lined up in the wrong place for our assigned seats, and had to race to get everyone on the train in time. (Japan trains are extremely reliable — even one minute late is considered unacceptable — so there is no wiggle room if you’re too slow to get on.) We were still on the wrong car, so we had to traipse through several cars full of curious school children, hauling our luggage behind us and probably bumping into people left and right. Despite some trepidation we managed to navigate Kyoto Station successfully, figure out where to line up, and get onto the right train car. (In Japan, people line up in neat queues when waiting for a bus or train.)
Robot assistant at Kyoto Station
The bullet train was a fun experience — clean, fast, and comfortable (like all the trains here). Our Nara hosts had told us what time to look out the window, and we were very excited to catch a glimpse of the top of Mt. Fuji, emerging dramatically above the clouds, seemingly impossibly high up. It was also very interesting watching the conductors. First off, there were multiple train staff walking through the carriage throughout the journey, ensuring that everything was clean and in order. We were sitting at the front of the carriage and saw that they would stop and bow before entering each time. They also performed a set sequence of movements — with a sort of military precision — where they would point to each item on their checklist (bathroom, trash bin, etc). as they went through their checks. We’ve noticed that people seem to really take pride in their work here, even jobs that we would consider fairly menial.
Peak of Mt. Fuji above the clouds!
In under three hours, we had arrived at our destination west of Tokyo. Our hosts are the “West Tokyo” group, and we found that this is not centered in a specific town, but rather a collection of people who live in the western suburbs of Tokyo. We got off the train to find an enthusiastic welcome committee smiling and waving. From there we dispersed with our hosts to various train lines leading to the different cities and towns in the area. I’m very glad we didn’t have to figure out the train system on our own — it was extremely efficient and brought you anywhere you wanted to go, but also seemed fearsomely complicated.
Margaret and I are staying together, with a host named Yoshie. She is a very interesting woman who has traveled all over the world and lived in Qatar for a time when her husband was a diplomat there. We took the train to nearby Yokohama, where Yoshie lives. Yokohama is a major city in its own right — the third-largest in Japan. Yoshie was a wonderful host. Despite being in a more urban area where space is at a premium, we each had our own comfortable room. Yoshie took us for a walk around her neighborhood and to a cool, tree-lined park, which was just the right antidote to a day of travel.
A little later on Yoshie’s daughter came over to help prepare dinner for us. She made okonomiyaki — Japanese pancakes with cabbage, egg, yam, and seafood (which Yoshie calls “Japanese soul food”) — similar to what we’d had in Nara. It was delicious, just as before. Yoshie’s daughter was also very kind and welcoming (and as seems to be the norm, looked far younger than her age of 38). Later on Yoshie’s granddaughter, age 12, joined us as well, after completing her school day. She goes to a private school, and has class 6 days a week — plus long days and homework.
We loved the hustle and bustle of our time in Nara, but it was also nice to have a more laid-back day today as well. We’re resting up for more exploration tomorrow.