{Shikoku Hachijūhachikasho Meguri}

--Thoughts during Week Three--

Like last time, the service was dark and mysterious. The room is divided into two with the guests sitting in the front half by the doors leading into the room and the priest and his one assistant performimg the service in the other half. The two halves are separated by a wall with the only openings being doors on the left and right and a large opening in the middle where offerings are made and left for all to see. All of this, unfortunately, blocks a lot of the view and everyone strains their necks to see what is going on during the service.

The service lasts about a half hour, during which the priest rings a bell and gong from time to time to accentuate his recital of some completely incomprehensable (to me) sutras and mantras. At some time he pulls out a large sword in order, i suppose, to threaten anyone who might try and stand in the way of him and Kōbō Daishi or any of the other Buddhas and Boshisattvas he may be sending entreaties to. Shortly after this, he lights a fire and in between a more frenzied ringing of a small hand bell, he feeds it at a frantic pace.

I still remember how cold it was when i went in late March of '99 when i visited before heading to Shikoku the first time. It was freezing (literally) cold and you could see your breath in the room. Since it is now the middle of April, it was much warmer this time. It was still cold enough that they turned on the space heater, but it was probably in the lower 50's and reasonably comfortable.

Speaking of being cold, in most of Japan, the Ume tree (Plum) blooms in February or March and the Sakura tree (Cherry Blossom) blooms in early April. It has been cold enough on Mt. Kōya that the Ume is just now blooming. I had forgotten how pretty they were.

After the service and breakfast, almost everyone checked out. I left my backpack at the front desk and walked up to the Okunoin to visit Kōbō Daishi's tomb and to take pictures in the cemetary leading up to it. It was a beautiful sunny day and the walk without the pack was relaxing. Being early in the morning, it was still quiet and peaceful.

After going back to pick up my pack, the rest of the day was spent traveling. Including the bus trip to the cable car station to get off the mountain, the ride down, and then the train to Ōsaka, it took me about 2 hours just to get back to where i start the trip to Nagoya, where i would catch my plane back to Chicago. Unlike the trip from Nagoya to Ōsaka back on the 6th, which took over 3 hours, i opted to spend the extra money for the limited express train in order to go the other direction in just 2 hours. Not only is it much faster, but you get real seats instead of benches along the sides of the train so you ride in comfort. The price is almost double the normal train, but i was tired and felt it was worth it.

I had no reservations for the night in Nagoya so when i arrived a little after 4:00, my first line of business was to find somewhere to sleep and then something to eat. There are always dozens of Business Hotels around the major train stations so i choose one of the first that i saw and got a room. After relaxing for a while and having a cup of tea, i set out to find my last plate of tonkatsu (deep fried pork cutlet) for the trip. I never eat deep fried food at home, and i love tonkatsu, so when i come here i like to treat myself when i arrive and just before i leave. I don't feel all that guilty since my meals for the rest of the trip are incredibly healthy — fish, vegetables, rice, and tea.

By the time i got done eating it was already going on 6:30, so i went back to the hotel and watched baseball for the rest of the night. The trip is now over and i am just waiting to get on the plane home.

--Tuesday, 4/19/2005--
I had absolutely nothing to do today so i lounged around in the hotel room until after 9:00. My flight isn't until 6:00 this evening, but i didn't want to walk around town all day because it was supposed to be in the lower 70's and that just sounded too hot to walk around with a backpack if i was going to want to sit on a plane with other people for a half a day. That meant after finding some breakfast, i was on my way to the airport around 10:00. When i got to the airport a little before 11:00, i found a sign that said that American Airlines wasn't going to open the ticket counters until around 2:30 so i found some lunch and a place to sit and wait. The next several hours lasted a long, long time, but i used the opportunity to sit with my electronic dictionary and listen to all of the public announcements and learn many new Japanese words and phrases, all related to airport prcedures, of course.

Nothing else to write. Will board soon and be home two and a half hours before leaving — depart at 6:00 pm on 4/19, arrive at 3:40 pm on 4/19. :-)

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