Daihikaku...Bless You
Trip Start
Sep 25, 2002
1
12
40
Trip End
May 15, 2004
Arashiyama,
Japan
Monday, November 11, 2002
Day 22 - 11.06.02 (Wed) - For the boys, it's all about fishnet stockings and ho-boots here (stilettos, sheet-rippers, whatever you want to call them)! Yup, the women all wear skirts with fishnets and ho-boots. As my Scottish roommate says, it's quite lovely!!
Day 23 - 11.07.02 (Thu) - It was really strange today b/c I heard yelling for the first time since I left America...and it was some Japanese guy. People here just don't yell! Also, I finished another book, a book about one mans conversation with an Indian (native American) elder of the Lakota (Sioux) nation
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. Very similar to Ischmael in that it talks a lot about a great change or a great disaster coming if we don't change the way we live in our world. If you read and like Ischmael, I'd recommend it.Day 24 - 11.08.02 (Fri) - Only a few comments...today I taught a lesson about Elvis and started off by singing Elvis songs and making them respond with an Elvis like "un-huh"! As for the rest of night, the only thing I can say is that I was hanging out in an Irish pub, listening to two New Zealanders sing classic American songs while surrounded by only white people from the US, England, and Australia...in Japan!! Holy globalization!!
Day 25 - 11.08.02 (Sat) - Teaching is getting a lot easier and a lot more fun. I'm really relaxing more and starting to have loads of fun with the students. After work, I went to the internet café and surfed and read emails for an hour. Thanks to everyone who has kept in contact...it definitely helps to have so many waiting emails.
Day 26 - 11.09.02 (Sun) - Hilarious!! I think I really embarrassed this Japanese girl today b/c I was laughing so hard. I was walking on a busy side street when this nice looking Japanese girl jumps out and asks if I want a massage
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. After telling her no, as I was walking away, she says "you want massage with happy ending?"!! That's the code word here...happy ending...for more than a massage! I just started cracking up in the middle of the street and think she got really embarrassed, but I couldn't help it! It can be anything here...haircut, massage, a drink..."you want haircut with happy ending?"!!!! hahahahah BTW, unrelated, Snoopy and Hello Kitty are huge here...figure that one out!Day 27 - 11.10.02 (Mon) - Ahhh, another day off! Today, it's off to Arashiyama in Kyoto for some sights such as temples, shrines, and the changing of the maple leafs. I went to Arashiyama with my roommate Bill from Scotland. It's only about a 40 minute train ride and the fare is Y720, which is about $7, roundtrip. We arrive and it's absolutely beautiful...this is why I came to Japan I think to myself. The maple trees are changing colors, so the landscape is filled with reds and purples and yellows and oranges and greens. Our first stop is a Zen temple named Daihikaku. I have no idea about its history and haven't been able to find anything in English on it, but it was a nice hike to get there and provided many good shots. Then we wandered around the small city a bit and went into a huge temple complex to see Tenryu-ji temple, which is one of the major temples of the Rinzai school of Zen. The temple was built in 1339 after a priest had a dream of a dragon rising from a nearby river...the dram was interpreted as a sign that the emperor's spirit was uneasy and the temple was constructed as an appeasement. The name tenryu means "heavenly dragon". The most beautiful part of the complex was the 14th century Zen garden. Truly beautiful, as the many pics I took show. We then just wandered about, grabbed a bite to eat, and headed off back to the apartment.
