Watashi wa junreisha desu - I am a Pilgrim

You can read about Day 1 here.

Komodo Kodo Trip - (start of) Day 2

I got up early and had a “western breakfast” in the hotel cafe.  The decorations in the cafe were very interesting - mostly American West, but some other things like JFK and Marilyn Monroe, too.  

This is the lunch box they packed for my hike.

After checking out, I decided to do a little walking around Tanabe before I got on the bus for Takijiri, the start of my pilgrimage walk. The founder of Aikido (Ueshiba Morihei) is originally from Tanabe and he is buried at Kozanji Temple in Tanabe.  Ueshiba lived in Hokkaido from 1912 to 1918, and Ted is a second degree black belt in Aikido, so I wanted to see the burial place and other things at the temple.

After taking the bus from Kii Tanabe Station to Takijiri and getting let out on the side of the highway, I was able to get across the road and checked out the Cultural Centre there to learn a little about what I was doing.

The Kumano pilgrimage was started in the 10th century by Japan's Imperial ancestors who lived in the ancient capital of Kyoto.  Over time, people from all over the country travelled by a variety of routes to the Kumano region in the southeast of the Kii Peninsula.

I headed out on my walk to see the 99 Oji, starting at Takijiri. As I walked I read the posted information along the way and tried to imagine what the pilgrims long ago went through on their journeys.  When I read the dates, I tried to compare what I knew about what was going on in the rest of the world at the time.  I had a few history classes when I was in school, but most of the world history I remember being exposed to was European. I know very little about Japanese history, so I was excited to learn all I could about the history and culture on my trip.

Takijiri-oji marks the spiritual entrance into the sacred mountains.

This was a long day with many pictures, so I'll stop for now and continue my story in a couple of days.

Sunday Dinner Party

We were invited to Sunday Dinner at the home of one of Ted’s Aikido buddies and his wife. They are a retired couple who enjoy bicycling and mountain climbing.  The husband recently earned his second degree black belt in Aikido. They have a beautiful home at the edge of town with lots of beautiful windows looking out.

 

The other dinner guests were also Aikido people that Ted knows and I had met before.

 

The dinner lasted all day and we were treated to many delicious Japanese foods, and also some German foods.  The Aikido friend/host took a three week cycling trip across Germany this summer and acquired an appreciation for German food and wine.

 

We are very thankful to have been invited to such a nice party. We are so fortunate to have this opportunity to live in Hokkaido and experience so much os Japan with the people here.

The After Hanami Party

Ted’s Aikido group held a Hanami party yesterday at a small park near where we live.  It didn’t matter that there were no longer any cherry blossoms.  It was a time to get together to eat and drink and enjoy the company of the others.

We made Oni Tamago (what we call deviled eggs) and walked to the park since no one can be driving after attending a Japanese party.

 It was the birthday of one man so everyone celebrated that too.

At an American cookout, the food is cooked and everyone fills a plate and eats a plate full.  Here meat and vegetables are put on the grill and people pull off the food with chop sticks, eating a little bit at a time all day long.

And don’t forget about the beverages.  It wouldn’t be a party without the beverages – beer, sake, shochu, sparkling wine, and some kind of Siberian alcohol.  Don’t even try to have an empty cup – someone will always be trying to fill it up.

Just in case you are wondering, there are still patches of snow here and there in Hokkaido.  Maybe it will be gone in June -?