Week 9: Takayama... Scratch that, Toyama (ft. Eiheiji)

I can't believe I'm saying (writing) this, but here are the details of my last major trips around Japan. The last two weeks have been really busy due to finals, and the next week and a half look to be just as busy, and so I have no other major travel plans planned within the time I have left. More on how crazy it is that I'm almost finished later; the rest of my blog posts will be mostly reflection-based, along with some insight into what exams are like in Japan, so I hope the pictures in this post make up for the lack of pictures to come.

The weekend after the Halloween party (November 11th I think, it's a bit hard to tell thanks to my master procrastination skills), I was invited to 高山 (Takayama) along with some friends. Takayama is a picturesque town filled with wooden buildings dating back from the Edo Period in Japan, and it is filled with history in spite of its small size. Or so I've heard, because the morning of our trip, it was pouring rain, and the decision was made to go to 富山 (Toyama) instead, as we would have less walking around outside there. Either way, we had to be up at 6:30 in the morning, so I was out of it and would've agreed to pretty much anything at that point. It's a miracle I even woke up on time; I take pride in the fact that I did, although I know it's quite sad that waking up brings me any sense of personal validation.

Regardless, after some coffee and a train ride I was feeling more awake, and our first stop was the Toyama Glass Art Museum. I'm not really a fan of modern art, but I guess modern art made out of glass is different because I wandered around the museum feeling like I was in some sort of fantastical dream. I'll let the pictures explain this sensation! 

Seaweed? Grass? Swords? Who knows, but it caught my attention!

Glass balls are surprisingly captivating

Okay I definitely remember that this one is a plant-scape made out of glass! I think.

Oh, and before I move on to our next stop, what would a trip in Japan be without running into a convention of strangely-colored, cartoon mascots? Right before the museum we ran into some sort of mascot convention at a nearby mall, which was interesting, to say the least. I had trouble hearing what was being announced (and I'm still not fluent in Japanese, lol) so I don't know what was going on but I got a picture of my favorite mascot- I don't know why but in my mind the mustache really completed whatever sort of look it was going for!

Mr... Cucumber King? Ft. Flame-Head Moose Guy in the background

Icy Building Thing (yeah they're all getting names now)

Mr. Samurai Movie Star? Who even knows at this point, ft. Creepy Blue Clown King in the background

Anyway, after a bite to eat at a local restaurant and a quick (failed) attempt to make it inside some sort of temple in downtown Toyama, we headed off towards 黒部峡谷 (Kurobe Kyokoku), known in English as Kurobe Gorge, in order to snag some sweet pics of the stunning landscapes the ravine is famous for. Of course, with our luck, by the time we got there it was pouring again, and after a brief walk to the nearest bridge and some quick pictures, we ran back and found a coffee shop to warm up in for a bit before travelling back towards the city of Toyama. But hey, I got a nice Instagram picture and some beautiful scenery pictures out of the ordeal, so I'm labeling this as a win in spite of how soaked I was on the train ride back.

I mean, look at this!

For once I took good photos

The rain made the air misty and gave everything a mysterious look 

Kurobe Gorge is also well-known for its numerous 温泉 (onsen)/hot springs, but we weren't prepared for a dip and ran out of time so unfortunately missed out on that experience. Afterwards, we stopped for another bite to eat and then it was back into Kanazawa. In the end, while I'm sad Takayama didn't work out, Toyama and the surrounding area was beautiful, and I think it was for the best that we made a last-minute change to visit Toyama instead.

But wait, there's more! Because the next day, I went with my tutor and his friend to the nearby 福井県 (Fukui-ken)/Fukui Prefecture to visit 永平寺 (Eiheiji)/Eiheiji Temple, one of the main temples of Zen Buddhism, a widely-practiced religion and a subset of Buddhism here in Japan. Also, since I've been taking a class on Zen Buddhism, it was nice to gain some practical exposure to the topic.

And wow am I glad the two of them planned this trip because the temple was stunning. It was quite literally nestled in the mountains, and the traditional Japanese architecture of the temple was interspersed with perfectly cultivated trees and plants. Even though I was woefully under-dressed, given that the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees from usual in the mountains,  it was a wonderful experience, one that my pictures don't really do any justice.

This roof had hand-painted pictures of plants and animals from corner to corner

Not captioning all these because they mostly speak for themselves- the lanterns here were under construction, but I thought they were still photo-worthy!

From left to right: Kosumo (my tutor), me, and his friend Miho (all looking bewildered as a stranger snapped a blurry photo)

We spent a solid two hours there before heading back and settling in for the long drive home (2 hours each way), but thankfully this time we stopped for dinner in the middle of the trip. I have no idea where the restaurant is or what it's called, which is a shame, because not only did they serve my favorite Japanese food, tonkatsu, it was delicious, and I think I dozed off on the rest of the way back because it was both good and filling. Another successful trip in the books!

That weekend was one of my busiest since the weekends from when I first arrived in Kanazawa, and even though I was exhausted on Monday it was awesome being able to experience even more of Japan. It's both very strange and totally normal to imagine not being here now, and  returning home is going to be something of an adventure in and of itself, I imagine. Thankfully, I'll have plenty of experiences to take back with me.

And that's a wrap! Thanks again for sticking with my posts this far, and I'm doing my best to catch up to the current date, although with three weeks left to write about, we'll see what happens with that. As I mentioned earlier, be on the lookout for posts with more writing and less pictures, and I plan on doing a final wrap-up post either right before or after I return to the States. Until next time, thank you for reading, and さよなら！