Woke up at 5.30 and it was bright already but I went back to sleep until close to 7 got up and after a shower I went for a walk. I headed north to the water and port area and the roads there were not great so I ended up at a dead end before going back to find the bridge to cross the river. It was getting late so I had to head back and saw a shrine and a small lake. There was a supermarket that didn't open until 10 and a few convenience stores but when I got back Frances and Clive decided we should head out without breakfast. So we went to the nearby station where there was nobody around to check our JR pass but we got through the gates and a train came. We got to a station on the outskirts of Osaka and got off to change but Frances wanted breakfast so Clive tried to get out of the station to buy some but the man there wouldn't let him as we hadn't gone on the JR line and didn't have a ticket so we went and caught the train instead. The train was a slow one so we decided to change at the next main station and get a faster train which worked well but then that terminated. We got off at Hashimoto and the next train was 5 minutes away but there was an express train 15 minutes later and Clive wanted to buy food. I left my bags with Frances and Clive and I left the station where we had some trouble with the staff as the JR pass didn't work here as well. There was also no shops around and Clive ended up buying ice creams from a vending machine and then buying tickets from Namba in Osaka through to Koyasam for ¥1,200 so we weren't saving much money with our JR pass. I paid him back and then we tried to board the express train but our tickets were not valid on it as you need to reserve seats. So we waited another 12 minutes for the next train which took us to Koyasan where we then took the funicular which was included in our ticket. The station had quite a lot of people and leaflets for tourists to help them out and someone showed us the bus stop where we would get our bus as you ate not allowed to walk even if you wanted to. The bus was ¥340 and you can get a day pass but we only needed it the one way. We got to the temple where we were saying and after ringing the bell were welcomed and shown around and our room even though we were early. We headed out and got food at the nearby family mart where I got a potato cake and a 300g block of tofu and Clive and Frances bought a few things to share. We decided to see a temple and then go to Okunoin. The temple was a bit plain but quite big and we saw enough on the outside without needing to pay the ¥500 entry to the temple and possibly gardens. We walked to Okunoin and I bought 3 bananas at a supermarket but there were no bins as usual so I had to carry the skins. The site was nice and really big and it was a bit like walking through a big cemetery at first but there were lots of monuments, 200,000 it's believed and I can kind of see that although how and what do they count was not obvious. There were lots of different things to see and I took lots of photos as it kept looking different and it was also a nice peaceful place although there was always some other people around it wasn't packed by any means. We got to the temple at the end and had a look inside and briefly lost Frances but all reunited and headed back on a different path. I finally found a bin near a toilet to dispose of my banana skins and then there were Buddha statues which Clive joined in for a with water offering and Frances took photos of Clive throwing the water onto the statues. We headed back and went out a different exit which meant we had further to go on the roads. Clive was about to head of and just walk back on main road, but I looked at map and there looked to be a nicer walk so I said I was going through the forest and headed off. The path went uphill ad was quite nice with the conifers and turned out to be a pilgrims path. One area was blocked so monks could use it so I had to go up another hill where there was a sign warning of bears in the area. There were some nice views then I headed back and was near the hostel but couldn't find it so I wet to the main road and found Hooin which turned out to not have a road access in the back where I was trying. It was 5.50 so I did a few things, put my robe on and headed to lunch and sat down at one of the 3 spaces for our room. There were 2 tables laid out with dishes of food for everyone and opposite were 3 Spanish girls and then an Australian who was on his own. Clive and Frances came mid way through the explanation on the food and we were given rice then and started. It was mostly good with some pretty amazing flavours for basic foods such as carrots but they also had more unusual foods like sesame tofu. I had several servings of rice and made sure we got the noodle soup which Clive noticed everyone else had and we chatted to the Spanish a bit. After dinner we went for a walk to another temple which turned out to just be the gate and then got an ice cream at the family mart. We played a card game where you have to win tricks and then I went to the communal bath as you had to go in the evenings like at the park inn. We finished up with some more cards and went to bed around 11.
0 Comments
|
|