Last Saturday, I climbed aboard my trusty bike and headed in the direction of the mountain via the river. My goal was simply to head off as far as was interesting without getting lost and find vignettes to capture on film.
I’m new enough here that the small elements of daily life are still fascinating to me: the children feeding koi fish; the woman fishing; or, the seniors playing in the park.
Somehow, I was able to stumble on the road to the temples on Kanayama mountain I was actually hoping to find.
The Daikoin Temple was my first stop. The god of music is enshrined here.
Also called “Kosodate Donryu” which translates to, “taking care of children,” many parents take their newborns to the Daikoin Temple for a special naming ceremony. Several babies in long, flowing robes were being escorted in and out of the temple in the short time I was there, pausing for family photos on the steps.
A little further up the mountain revealed a shot path up to the Kinryuji Temple and it’s surrounding graveyard.
Somehow, I missed the proper path to hike up the mountain and attempted the winding road. It was uncomfortable competing with the cars and I decided to leave that part of the adventure for another day.
Life at school has been full of adventure too. A little time to explore the world outside of classes reveals even more pleasures. This week, students at the high school were practicing for a chorus competition. Before classes, at lunch, and after school the halls were full of wonderful singing. Amazing effort.
Some of the discoveries and new experiences were not as pleasurable. I experienced my first typhoon. Thankfully, the Gunma mountains shield us from the worst of it. And the brunt of the storm occurred last night after I was already in bed.
Perhaps, I should have stayed home and played it safe given the approaching storm, but there is so much to do and I don’t want to miss out on anything. So, even though the high school sent all of the students and staff directly home at the end of the day, I went to cooking class.
It was terrific fun with a tasty reward at the end. Caitlin, another ALT, and I attempted to follow along, translating ingredients and keeping a close eye on the entire process. We did well and only lost track of the pork dish once. Not to worry, we found it, retraced its steps and then devoured it.
What a delicious week.
See more pictures here.
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