Home » Japan » Some More Unflavored Tofu to go with my Stringy/Gummy/Flavorless Root Onegaishimasu!

I was sad to be headed back to Japan; my trip to America was just a little too short. Yet lucky me, I already had a slice of home (well kinda!) waiting for me in Osaka. My friend Kelle was in Japan coming to visit me! She is a slice of one of my many homes (Japan included, I now have 5 places I consider home). Kelle and I met spring 2005 ‘studying’ in Barcelona. We use the word studying loosely, as more time was spent living the high life in Barcelona with crazy senoras, endless supply of 2 euro wine, Spanish boys, tapas, travels, getting lost on trains, absinthe, beaches, wrestling boots, mullets, and dancing till dawn. What can I say, it was one of the best semesters of my life. Kelle, Lindsey, and I dubbed ourselves the ‘3 amigos’ as we did everything together. Dos Amigos were reuniting in Japan- watch out Nippon dos amigos are coming at ya! Follow along on this blog and see how we conquered Mt Koya (location not even available on blog selection!) and the life of a buddhist monk, discovered the true beauty of Kyoto, played with some fierce monkeys atop Arashiyama, and were ballers Barcelona style in Hiroshima. Just like in Espana, never a dull moment!

Some More Unflavored Tofu to go with my Stringy/Gummy/Flavorless Root Onegaishimasu!

Casey Lary
2007-03-10 16:39:10

Displayed times (last time: )

We found our temple, and moved in. Dai-in was lucky to have us! We were going to experience the Buddhist lifestyle- sleeping on traditional tatami mats and futons, eating traditional Buddhist meals, and participate in a morning meditation the next morning. Super cool! The tatami and futon did not phase me- it was like sleeping at home! That afternoon we went to check out the temples, shrines, and pagodas scattered atop the mountain. The main areas is called the Garan. There were so many, I felt like I was in Nara, and was waiting for deer to come bow at me. Later that afternoon we went to the graveyard. Now this graveyard was HUGE and could rival the National Cemetery in DC. Any monk who was worth knowing is buried there. The really special ones kepts in the shrine atop the hill, called Okuno-in. There must have been thousands of graves. It was rather eerie, yet beautiful at the same time.

While there we definitely made one Japanese lady a believer in ghosts. We asked her to take a photo of us. In the photo there was a layer of smoke/mist over us so we were not seen clearly. When she took one look at the photo on my digital camera, her eyes popped out of her head and was determined it was a spirit/ghost! It was cool! A ghost, or smoke coming form the incense 10 feet away....believe what you want to believe! It started to rain harder, and we realized we only had a half an hour to make it back on time for
Kelle was hoping for an old Japanese man to take her there
our Buddhist feast. At 6 pm, dinner time, we still were only half way there. That's when you run along the side of the road and stick your thumb out. In less than a minute a lovely old lady picked us up. I love Japan.

Sopping wet we arrive at dinner. Now, it looked so cool. I don't know if my meal has ever looked so pretty! We were beyond excited to gobble our food up. I would consider my meal a Monet painting- pretty from afar but up close it kinda ...