Kouya-san and Kyoto pt.1

So okay, I have a good reason for the late update this time. My laptop charger died! I had to wait until I got to school and was able to use the computers here and borrow someone elses' charger to even think about this blog. Add to that all I have to do before orientation is over... So busy. So I'll do my best right now!

So Kouya-san, or Kouya mountain is this mountain near Osaka that is known for its many Buddhist monasteries. Mom and Dad somehow managed to get us a reservation to stay at one of them! How cool right? Here I was, having studied Buddhism (albeit Indian Buddhism primarily) and now I was staying at a monastery!

But getting there was the challenge. We had to take bus from Arima to Osaka, a subway to Namba station, a train to Gokurakubashi station, a cable car to Kouya-san, and then bus to the monastery. Confusing right? It's a good thing I've gotten the hang of transportation in Japan.

It was all worth it once we got there however. The rooms were amazing, and I say rooms because there were three connected tatami mat rooms, all overlooking this beautiful garden with a bunch of rocks that represented various mountains in Japan.

So the one room had a low table where we sat to drink tea, and I chilled reading my Nook. The next room was where we were served our breakfast and dinner, all vegetarian and basically a simpler version of the kaiseki meals I described in my last post. And the last room was where they laid our very comfy futons.

The whole thing was quite nice.

So we were given a tour, extremely taxing my Japanese skills as I tried to understand everything the guide was telling us. He pointed out various walls and scrolls that were on display that were apparently from the late 1800's, which given their condition was very impressive. He also of course pointed out the baths and the toilets and everything, so after we got our bearings he left us to enjoy the peace and quiet.

Dinner was brought to us at around 5:15, which we enjoyed immensely, especially given its lack of strange fish dishes that we had to try and force down. Then we chilled some more and planned out the next day before turning in.

The next morning we got up at like, 6am to get ready for the 6:30 chanty thingy the monks did every morning. I honestly have no idea what it was called, an if you care, ask Mom. But it was very cool either way. There was a beautiful room with all sorts of incense things, and scrolls and statues and this big upside down bell that one of the two monks struck every now and then.

So basically we sat and listened to the monks chanting and performing their morning ritual for a half hour. Afterwards we were served breakfast and we packed most of our stuff before heading out into town.

We walked down the street, check out some shrines and stores. I got some incense for home, and Mom got a prayer bead bracelet in her zodiac. I also ended up getting a zodiac good luck charm because it was really nice.

We didn't have much time, since we had to check out at 10, so we headed back and got our stuff before checking out, and walking to the bus stop. We got our tickets for the trip back which was just as complicated, only more so.

So, bus to Kouya-san station, cable car to Gokurakubashi station, train to Namba station, subway to Shin-Osaka station, shinkansen to Kyoto, and then a shuttle to the hotel. That is 6 different conveyances in one day. Whew.

Regardless, we managed to do all of that with relatively little hassle or wasted time. Again, I am awesome at this game.

So after all of that we landed ourselves at our last hotel, the Rhiga Royal Hotel Kyoto. It was a nice (though not as nice as the Swissotel) western style hotel that was a pleasant change to the familiar from all of the Japanese style hotels we had been frequenting (enough is enough already).

Not willing to be too adventurous that evening given our exhaustion we decided to simply take the shuttle back to the train station and choose one of the many restaurants there. Seriously, train stations in Japan, especially main ones, have all sorts of department stores, restaurants, shops, etc. in them. They are their own malls.

So we picked a conveyor belt sushi place to eat at because they are awesome and fun. We enjoyed the freedom of choosing whatever sushi we wanted from what passed in front of us, and not only was it much better than sushi in the States, it was also much cheaper.

We then got back on the shuttle and turned in for the night. That was actually the evening I last updated, and the last time I had a computer and internet before my comp died and I arrived at Kansai.

In the meantime, I have my placement exam tomorrow, so I shall say goodnight, even though it is early morning at home. More on Kyoto and then eventually Kansai to come.