Takayama via Nagoya

  Nagoya, Japan
Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Wednesday morning 5 th Nov.08 :
Last night we slept at my son's apartment room in Tokyo. The weather is a a little bit chilling. We catch a  shinkansen  from Tokyo station to Nagoya .
We have a plan to visit Meiji Mura opn-museum in Inuyama, a 30-minute train ride from Nagoya. We leave our belongings at our hotel counter. I choose the nearest hotel . A mere 3 mninute walk from the JR station.  It  is sunny  I see an elderly grandma take three of her grandchildren on a stroll in a self-made stroller. Very cute!
Here we go! Finding the way to Inuyama.

(Please proceed to read the second and third entry about Inuyama and Meiji Mura before reading this entry further.)


Thursday morning 6th Nov.08  :         Today we will go to Takayama by 8.43 Hida Wide View train . We just reserved the seats yesterday, so each of us have to sit in  aisle seat separately.
  The hotel room rate include breakfast , so it is good for us .There are already several businessmen in black suit  in the small breakfast room. Fresh salad and boiled egg with sausages  , variety of bakery and bread  are simple but enough for us. Then we walk out into the chilling morning ,
cross the road to JR station by underground crossing. We  buy some bakery for our pack lunch  then go to platform 11 .    I board the train  car No. 4 seat 10-B .A young Japanese man already sits on the seat next to me.When it is take off  time the train slowly glides backwards! Question marks appear on foreigners' faces while the Japanese sit calmly.  Are we going to run backward like this all the way to Takayama? I asked myself and then turn to the young man and ask if he want to turn the seat around. ( the seat can be turned either way).He said something like don't worry , it will not be long after the first stop at Gifu it will run forward  normally.Later, the train announcement confirms that.
   The scenery runs back outside the window for about 15 minutes .We cross Kisogawa before arriving at Gifu where the young man gets off . I shift to the window seat  thinking that if the real owner of the seat comes I will shift back. If I am lucky no one reserve the seat and I can have a good mountain view from the wide window.

    A few stops later the seat owner comes. He is an old gentleman in his 70s but look stronger than his age ( as most elder Japanese look).I gesture to get up and let him have his seat when he kindly waves his hand as if to say  " go on , sit on that seat and admire the scene as the train runs".   I nod thank you to him . So now I have the window seat , and he sat next to me.     I have learned basic Japanese for two years so I think  I'd rather practice some conversation with this man while traveling.
    I break the silence by saying,  "do chi ra e ikimasu ka? " which means " Where will you go? " in polite Japanese language. 
    He may be surprise by my strange accent  but understands what I ask because he  answers
" Takayama."
   I suddenly retort back , " watashi wa Takayama " which actually means "I am Takayama". Instead I want to say   " I will go to Takayama too."  ( in Japanese I must say 
" watashi mo Takayama e ikimasu")


   That is how I open the conversation. Then he tells me when and where to look out of the window to see interesting things along the way. Such as the Inuyama castle on a hill not far from Gifu,and later on  the  famous arching sakura tree whose branches curve in artistic ways --if  we had come in spring it would have been very beautiful. 
   It is sunny and the temperature rises as we go .At one point  the food trolley is pushed pass the aisle, he  orders something and  gives us each a cup of ice cream! We say "doomo arigato gozaimasu"--thank you very much.   He even gives one to a French young woman who sits next to my daughter. This is the kindness of the Japanese and eastern culture. In Thai we say that he has " nam jai"  , pure kind heart that gives without expecting anything back. After finishing the ice cream my daughter turns to him again smiling and says "oishii!" .That is the only Japanese word she knows , it means " delicious!"
  Then we go through the most beautiful part of the Hida river. The railway runs pararel to the river showing spectacular views. The water is as clear as mirror and the colors reflected from it is equally as  bright and enchanted.      We come in the most appropriate time for" viewing the red leaves" or "koyo" . Some of the trees are still green while some already turn yellow to orange lighting up the mountain sides to cheerful colors. Last year I went to Kyoto too early and saw only the green leaves with just a few tinge of pale orange.
    As we are nearing Takayama, I try to ask our "ojiisan" 's address  so that I can send him his picture. He shyly denies. Then later he says something about "ichiban furui otera " --the oldest temple in Takayma. I nod and smile .( Actually , I can understand about 20 % of what he said)
10.52 am : arrive at Takayama station.

     We walk out of the station ,  surprisingly "ojiisan" comes out before us and is waiting at the Tourist Information , a Takayama map in his hand. He points to the temple on the map saying it is not too far away from here and make a gesture that we should follow him. We take one picture together and then walk after him,carrying  our backpacks all along the way.
     He walks with such rapid pace for a man his age.We have to quicken our paces too or else we would get lost . We cross the road which has very light traffic, turn left and then right into "Kokubanji doori" , walk straight pass two small roads and then we are in front of  Hida Kokubanji--Nara -peroid State-Supported temple.

     I walk to the main building and am about to begin  taking  picture but " ojiisan" calls us to the wooden building on our left side .An old lady appears at the window .He tells her that we come from Thailand and then pay for our admission into the inside of the temple. He tries to pay for his visit too but the lady greets and salutes him saying that "sensei" does not have to pay.
     Now three of us are all too surprised to say anything, we take off our shoes  go inside the old building ,trying to walk as solemnly as possible. All  around us ancient atmosphere prevails and it is very quiet. We put our belongings down at one corner and walk past a private room , put on the sandals and go out into a short old wooden walkway connecting to the "Hondo" --the one we are about to take a snapshot outside. Now we are going inside!
     The lady uses a key to unlock the wooden door and slowly opens it . We follow.This "Hondo" or the main hall was built during the Muromachi peroid ( 1392-1573) .The roof and the front porch are in the style of the Momoyama peroid using Japanese cypress ( "hinoki").It is registered as an Important National Cultural Property.

    As my eyes are adapting to the dimly lit small room, I begin to see the  most beautiful wooden Buddha image.The small room is divided into 3 sections each with a buddha image. The main image of worship is situated in the middle section , the image of  Yakushi Nyorai ( "physician of souls") . It was carved out of one block of wood and could be from the eleventh  century. The robe on the buddha image was so delicately carved that it looks like soft  and gentle creases  of  robe hanging loosely around the waist.  T he back of the head of the buddha image there is a round flowery wood carving with  a  halo of ring  around the head .  I  pay respect to each of the buddha image with peaceful mind and admiration for the artistic genius.
   After that we say good bye to the kind-hearted "sensei" by saluting him in a low head bowing the Japanese stlye and saying " Arigatogozaimusu". He calmly closes the old wooden door of the ancient building and thus disappears from our sight.




    Is it a dream? No, it is reality. We met with a highly respected sensei of the oldest temple in Takayama who kindly guided us to  admire  a rare Buddhist art from Nara peroid.  I am indeed moved by this once-in-a-lifetime chance.   This confirms my belief  that if you do good things to other people , in some way good things will return to you. And I am now writing in behalf of the gentle sensei who made my jouney to Japan more meaningful. Thank you very much again. If someone else happen to meet him in the future please bring him the deepest gratitude from me.
        I  walk around the temple area ,there is a three-story pagoda  and also The Bell Gate  with a bell tower on top. The gate was once one of the gates of old castle in Hida , the bell tower was added in 1764. The bell survived World War II because of its cultural value.
   This  121-foot tall and 33-foot in  trunk circumference gingko tree is 1200  years old.Its leavesis  still not turned into yellow yet. There are a lot of breast-like tubercles on the trunk so a legend was said that if new mothers pray to the tree they will have plenty of  breast milk!

    ( continue to 4th entry : Hida no Sato)