The smart phone: a note on that, a new character as of
September 14th or so, and a vital player in my ability to do
anything by the seat of my pants. I lost my phone in the first big typhoon in
early September, and after doing a little math and considering the benefits, I
decided to replace it with an upgrade. I now don’t know how I managed without
it. Actually, I do. I was late a lot, and lost even more often than that. It’s
a great comfort to me now to know as I run out the door to catch the bus that I
can look up train times from the bus ride itself, making use of that two hours
for something other than drooling (while I sleep with my head tilted back and
mouth open).
So as mentioned before, my plans for the three-day weekend of
September 16th-19th were also typhooned out in the form
of major damage especially to the area in Wakayama I was planning to visit. The
weekend of the 23rd-25th, we were planning to go up to
Tottori and attend the Ji BeerFest Daisen there on Autumnal Equinox Day (I
love, by the way, that we get that day off as a holiday).
So, planless, I somehow decided not to make any new real
plans, and just go with the flow. I knew Shiso was going clubbin’ in Osaka on
Saturday night, and I knew the Italian and his brother (hereforward, the Mario
Brothers) would be in Kyoto area, and I knew that Kyoto and Osaka were a
stone’s throw from one another, so I figured I’d just throw some walkin shoes
and some clubbin clothes in a bag and call it a weekend.
In my head, the ideal thing was going to be spend Saturday
night in Osaka with the gang, then head into Kyoto on Sunday to hang out with
the Mario Brothers and Nami-san, spending Sunday night with Nami. Monday I
could make my way back to Shiso whenever it seemed good to go (there are only
four direct buses, so, you know..).
But as it happened, Nami-san was making an awesome sukiyaki
dinner on Saturday night, and was going to be unable to host me on Sunday. Way
to like, inform people of your brilliant have-it-all schemes, Lemmon. So I
shrugged and figured I would just miss out on clubbin’ because I was pretty
guaranteed to enjoy dinner with Nami and Hiroshi and the Mario Brothers. I can
go clubbin’ any old weekend. I took along a short skirt just in case, and told
Shiso not to wait up for me.
Got to Kyoto station a little before the group I was
meeting, so I set myself up at the counter overlooking the central gate and
started to play with my new phone. I figured that while I was in Kyoto, I could
hit up one of the temples on the pilgrimage. I had wanted to do them In Order,
but I figured I might never get finished if I didn’t get started soon. I used
some sweet features on google maps (it’s an android phone, because I’m AU and
because I <3 google, the benevolent rulers of all the world) to discover
that there was one temple within walking distance of the station. I looked it
up on sacredjapan.com (the source, by the way, of basically every bit of help I
have on this pilgrimage idea) and discovered that the temple is tied really strongly
to Seiganto-ji, the first temple of the pilgrimage.
It’s called Imakumano Kannon-ji, “ima” meaning “now” or
“present,” and “Kumano” being the name of the shrine connected to the first
temple (the one that I linked photos of, all washed out). Kannon being the name of the major Bodhisattva we’re going to 33
temples to see, and ji just meaning
temple. It turns out the temple in Kyoto a half hour’s walk from the station is
in many ways an old stand-in for the first temple. You can read more about it
here, and see some sweet photos. Reading about it in the station, I was warmed
and floored. I like to think that omens are something, and this seemed pretty
awesome as they go.
Then the group arrived, and we headed out toward the
homestead for dinner. Alessandro (the younger of the Mario Brothers, and a
resident of Tokyo) had brought along some sake from a brewery that no longer
exists, that he received while volunteering in Tohoku, and Nami had me “make”
the sukiyaki. Actually she put everything in the pan and instructed me to stir,
then took photos that make it look like I am a great cook. We dined happily and
sipped wine and chatted, and I so enjoyed their company.
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| From Kansai by the Seat |
As the hour drew near for the brothers to depart, I assured
myself that an early bedtime would be good for me, and I could get up the next
morning refreshed, unlike what I would have been if I had gone dancing… but
part of me itched to get out and move and flail and generally go maenad. I told
it to shut up just as Nami was saying, “If you go now, you can make the last
train to Namba.”
So without knowing I was going to Osaka til I was on my way,
I headed out the door with the rest of them, headed to more of my adventure.
I hit Namba rather late, and used my new phone to navigate
the streets of Osaka, dropping my stuff off at the capsule hotel where “we”
always stay (there was no one but me, this time, as the others were staying
elsewhere), quickly throwing on something more appropriate to the evening’s
plan (“slut it up,” as one might have said, once), and finding my way to the
place that had been chosen. It was called “Jaws,” and although I was
disappointed that we weren’t going to the legendary and disgusting Pure, the
undersea theme of the place suited me just fine. It was crowded beyond reason
and I was sad I had worn flip-flops until I managed to get onto a stage with
Liz. I liked it better there because there was a lot less getting run over
happening, and a lot less stepping on my feet. We danced the night away, or I
did until my knees started to complain rather loudly to me. When I felt ready,
I took myself back to my capsule to wash the club sludge off my poor toes and
catch a few precious winks in my bed-sized room.
I’m struck even now by how independently I moved through
this whole night, joining and leaving the group when I liked. I realize that
this would not be safe in most countries, including my own. My first trip to
Osaka, I was married to the group, unable to even begin to guess where I was,
let alone march confidently back to my room, giving catcallers the evil eye as
I went.
Check out time is ten, unfortunately, and after grabbing breakfast
and attempting to charge my phone, I met Lauren, Katie, and Kam for a brief
lunch in Osaka Station City. I then trained it back to Kyoto and walked to the
temple I had read about, Imakumano Kannon-ji. I had intentions to meet up with
the Mario Brothers that afternoon, but the temple excursion took considerably
longer than I planned (as these things often do), so I ended up not meeting
them til almost dinner time. I was thinking I would be on the 7:20 bus back to
Shiso (the last bus), because I’d called the hostel I like most in Kyoto and
they were booked.
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| From Kansai by the Seat |
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| From Kansai by the Seat |
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| From Kansai by the Seat |
Monday, finding a coin locker took the better part of
forever, so I met up with the brothers near Ryoan-ji after they had finished
seeing it, and we wandered through another large temple complex in the nearby
area. We also visited one of my favorite shops (across from Ryoan-ji), and it
was a nice laid-back afternoon.
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| From Kansai by the Seat |
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| From Kansai by the Seat |
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| From Kansai by the Seat |
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| From Kansai by the Seat |
Kyoto station was full of music that evening for some kind
of band presentation, or competition, or performance. The air on the roof of
the station was chill and lovely. I took the 7:20 bus home.
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| From Kansai by the Seat |
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