Kami, Kyoto University, and Karaoke

It's been a little while since I last updated. I guess I've fallen into something of a routine of going to class, hanging out at school with people, and coming home to do homework late into the evening. While routines tend to have the connotations of being boring, as it appears you're falling into a regimented, non-spontaneous lifestyle, I have to disagree with those thoughts in the context of Japan. Having a routine in a way for me seems to be more illustrative of the fact that I am now comfortable in my surroundings, that I have created my own lifestyle here in a foreign country. Sure, I may have the routine of going to school, class, and coming home during the week, but it never gets boring because there's always something new that happens. Inevitably. I get to wake up every day in this foreign country, wondering what new discovery I may make or new place I may see, a new person I might meet etc. In summary, life is never boring here, but perhaps that is only because I am abroad. Perhaps that's not endemic to Japan, but to any study abroad experience. I'm just so glad though that it's Japan that I'm experiencing currently as there are only a few places that I could see myself while living there being equally emphatic about each and every day.

So on Thursday, my religion class took our first field trip to Fushimi Inari Shrine, which is in the southern part of Kyoto. We left at about two in the afternoon, took the train to the Shrine, and arrived approximately at three. A little bit of background on the Shrine (though you probably could wikipedia it in a few seconds): this is a Shinto Shrine dedicated to Inari, the kami (in simplified terms, the Shinto "god") of fertility, rice, business/financial success, foxes, and a bunch of other things. Inari is one of the primary kami worshipped in Shinto. It was built in 711, and has been continuously visited every since.

(Worship Hall)

Anyway, the Shrine starts a the base of a mountain/hill and goes all the way up the mountain. It's pretty intense. And of course we went all the way up, but it was totally worth it, despite the steep steps and rise in elevation. Considering this is one of the first major Shinto Shrines I've been to, I don't know if it's true for any others, but the sheer amount of "torii" on the mountain (the large orange/red "gates") is incredible. Truly, seeing all these torii lined up one after the other is a little bit mind boggling! Of course, some torii are older than others; each has its own date on it from when it was erected/placed. Apparently, businesses and other financial organizations donate torii to the temple as offerings for the kami as a way to ask for financial success.

(At the foot of the climb; Torii in the Background)

So the route we took was one of the many routes a pilgrim coming here could take in order to petition the kami and seek spiritual fulfillment. In a word, we went around the mountain counter clockwise, starting at the Third peak, traveling to the Second peak, then to the first. The greenry up on the mountain is totally breath taking and I would love love love to go again sometime during the quarter. It is an intense climb though and there are many rest stops in addition to the many small restaurants that serve tea and other tiny finger bites. Of course, if you're hungry, you can always get something from the vending machines (yes they even have vending machines on the mountain hikes).

(View from the middle of the Hike)

One of the really interesting things to see in this shrine is the constant interplay between Shintoism and Buddhism. On the mountain there are tons and tons of personal sub shrines to the kami Inari but there are also representations of Buddhist figures of worship. If I understand correctly, Buddhists, at least Japanese buddhists (some if not all) believe that the Shinto kami are actually manifestations of Buddhist figures of worship, so in a way, it makes sense to have figures from the Buddhist tradition in their own smaller shrines on the mountain as well.

(Buddhist Figure in Sub Shrine)

"Echo Pond"

It is said that if you call out for a person who is lost in your life, the echo will indicate the direction in which the lost one can be found.

("Sacred Trash" -- Old Charms returned after they've outlived their use. The Temple staff subsequently burn them. I wonder if that's sustainable/environmentally friendly....)

Ultimately, the Fushimi Inari Shrine is not something to be missed. And it is definitely a place I want to revisit.

On Friday, a group of us went to Kyoto University to attend a series of lectures (we nicknamed it an "engineering progressive") at the Computer Science Building. The first lecture was a little long as it was just describing what the researchers at Kyoto University were working on. Primarily they've been working on alternative energy transportation. For example: the BamGoo is the electric car made strictly out of Japanese bamboo.

We also saw other electric vehicles they were developing. Essentially, it seems that Kyoto University is to Kyoto like Stanford is to Silicon Valley. Lots and lots of new innovation happens in this area; the city is just deceptively aged. The second lecture that was given was by Dr. Tomotaka Takhashi, President of Robo Garage. And they are AMAZING AND SO CUTE. I actually hope that somehow they will be released commercially soon that I may just buy one. No for real though; they are adorable.

(How could you NOT want one??)

Then the last lecture was on animation, 2d and 3d CG, given by Mr Eiji Mizutani, and Mr. J Honma of Production IG and Xbec, respectively. They showed a few demo reels and watching the creation of different scenes and how everything comes together was neat.

Later, a group of us met up with a few Japanese students and went out to Korean BBQ for dinner. So Korean BBQ is where they bring you food stuffs and you cook it yourself on a heater in your table. And it's so so so good. The place itself was a bit pricey but the experience is just too much fun to pass up. One of the meats we got was apparently beef tongue and it was actually good (surprisingly!).

And I managed to carry full out conversations in Japanese. Win! So good food, good company, good language skills...all in all a great dinner. And subsequently, our Japanese friends decided we should go to karaoke. So they called up two more friends, and then we ambled over to the karaoke place and got a room till 5 AM. Yes, that's right, 5 AM.

I managed to sing four songs in Japanese with Yuri-chan. Finally listening to Jpop instead of just American music has paid off! It was a ton of fun as we sang (or perhaps shouted) our hearts out and made new friends. However, we were all exhausted by the time 4:30 rolled around, so we decided to take off, stop off at a McDonald's (just like last time...I see a trend developing in the future), then catch the first train. That's why we stayed out so late, because the trains stop running at midnight (which is totally stupid, but whatevs) and our Japanese friends who live in Kobe (1 hour away) just karaoke until the train comes. So I've experienced the way Japanese stay up so late just to pass time till they catch the train...and it's absolutely exhausting. I rolled back into my room at just a little bit before six a.m. just as the sun was rising. All I can say is WOW, what a night. What an amazingly fun night. And then I promptly crashed and slept for five hours.

I love being abroad. :)