New Blog Domain

As you may have noticed I haven’t posted to this blog for a while.  I’ve been consolidating my website and blog at my own domain www.branto.net and we are now live.  Please visit me there.

Quote of the week: Priorities

Green Python

This gorgeous wee fella must have been so bored in his little glass case at Australia zoo that he’s practiced knotting himself symmetrically.  I doubt I’ll ever see one in the wild so I took the photo anyway but I feel so sad for him.  In Australia they are only found in the rainforests of eastern Cape York peninsula up in far north Queensland which is pretty isolated.

Which way: Rarotonga

Even in a tropical paradise there are important decisions to be made when you hop off the rented mountain bike or moped.  What to do first, a swim in the clear turquoise lagoon or quench the thirst with a drink in the laid back, side of the road cafe?

At only 32km around the islands flat outer ring road you can even feel terribly virtuous as you cycle around the WHOLE island, or use it to justify to your waistline that extra cocktail or two at happy hour.

Cheung Sha Beach: Hong Kong

With views out to South China Sea and located on the southern side of Lantau Island this is Hong Kongs longest beach.  On a brighter day it might have had a different appeal but on an overcast day, with the highlights of the tour ahead of us a 3km long beach wasn’t going to stand out as uniquely Hong Kong and we were pleased to get moving again headed for the Tai-O fishing villages, the Giant Buddha and a vegetarian lunch at Po Lin Monestary.

Hachiman-gu in Kamakura

Once in Kamakura we walked through the underpass next to the station and along the Dankazura under the cherry blossom, we weren’t alone on this trek it seemed the most of Kamakura and a good quantity of tourists also thought it was a good idea.  This old road which we are told was the first in Kamakura has been retained as the median strip through the new modern road to the Hachimangu Shrine.  You can see it ahead of us here but it is still further than it looks.

As you approach the shrine there is the usual storage of sake that has been donated to the shrine, this isn’t for ornamental purposes the casks of sake are regularly opened and used for ceremonial functions.

Each entrance is marked by a Torii, this gate marks the division between the sacred and the profane.  Tied on the frame next to it are pieces of paper containing fortunes, these are purchased at the shrine, if it is a good fortune and you tie it here it should come true, if it is a bad fortune and you don’t want it you also tie it here to leave it behind.  I’m not quite sure how the fates differentiate between the two but there are hundreds of these added each day so you’d think there must be something in it.

You can just glimpse the Shinto bride and groom during the wedding ceremony in the centre of the first stage before the entrance to the main shrine ahead.

It is a huge space, even with all the crowds they seemed to be absorbed and you had a sense of peace.  The shrine is the most important in Kamakura and is dedicated to Hachiman, the patron god of Samari.  It was founded in 1063 by Minaoto Yoriyoshi and moved to the current position in 1180 by the first shogun of the Kamakura government, Minamoto Yoritomo.

With a day trip to Kamakura from Tokyo we managed to include the Buddhist temple Hasedera, the Great Buddha, a short walk through the town streets,  the Dankazura, Hachimangu, and Kencho-ji.

Bullet Train: Japan Spring 2010

The Shinkensen or Bullet train was a must do on the list of things for our two weeks in Japan and with our flights going in and out of Tokyo it was the ideal way to get between there and Kyoto.  For the price of the return tickets we got the JR 7 day Pass which meant that all our Japan Rail travel during that week was covered so we got a few other bullet train day trips too, it’s really good value if you’re moving around a bit in a short time.

Any concern about finding the right platform or getting on the wrong train was quickly resolved, all signage in the train stations we saw was in Japanese and English.  It was very easy to find your way around on the trains, subways and even on the Kyoto buses.

We got green car tickets, sort of like business class I guess, a bit more space and not so crowded.  I’d be happy enough with ordinary cars next time which have one set of 3 and one set of 2 seats so you can imagine they are a bit smaller but not so bad.   At the back of each section there is an area to put suit cases and smaller bags can go overhead.

The scenery was really interesting on the way, we missed Mt Fuji but we did see this snow-covered mountain.  It was very different from traveling through New Zealand and Australia where there is a lot of open land, in Japan you are constantly in towns and cities, it all blends into the next.

Jizo Bosatsu Statues: Japan Spring 2010

During our visit to many Buddhists temples around Japan we became very familiar with the Jizo statues but our limited Japanese made it difficult to understand the local custom associated with this obviously revered statue.

Jizo Bosatsu (Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in Sanskrit) is one of Amida Buddha’s attendants along with Kannon (Avalokitesvara) the Goddess of mercy / Lord of Compassion.  Jizo is a bodhisattva, one who has acheived enlightenment but as tradition tells us he will not exit the cycle of samsara until all the hell realms are empty.  It is Jizo’s role to guide those in the hell realms and this is likely why his image is so commonly seen in cemeteries.

Jizo is a friend to all and embodies optimism, compassion and universal salvation.  He is the only bodhisattva portrayed as a monk with simple robes and shaven head, he often holds  a staff said to awaken us from our delusions and a jewel which represents giving blessings to those who suffer.

I still haven’t been able to understand exactly why Jizo is often dressed in red or white clothing, particularly hats, scarves, a bib and holding childrens toys,  this seems to be a local cultural adaptation in Japan.

Coral Church: Rarotonga

While cycling around the island of Rarotonga we passed the CICC church in Avarua.  It’s made of crushed white coral and lime, probably not an environmentally acceptable way to build today but founded in 1852 it remains an active church in the local community and a reminder of the work of pioneering missionaries in Polynesia.

Himeji, Japan: Spring 2010

I didn’t get around to blogging the photos of our trip to Japan while we were there so thought I’d do a few posts now to cover some of the places we visited.

Our JR Pass was valid for our stay in Kyoto so we were able to use it to make a day trip to Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture.  We travelled by bullet train, the Hikari Shinkensen and it took just under an hour to get there.

Once we found the right exit from the train station through the underground maze of stores and food options we surfaced on the road to Himeji castle, it is flat and straight so you catch a glimpse fairly early and WOW, it is really impressive.

We liked the feel of Himeji, it was still busy but had a more relaxed sense to it than Tokyo and Kyoto.  We detoured off into a few of the little covered shopping streets on the way up but it was too early, most stores were still closed so we left that for on the way back to the station if we had the energy.

There were so many people in the park on the way up to the castle and we were concerned about how busy it would be but it is Sakura and we knew that many places we went would be very popular for cherry blossom viewing at that time.  A bonus was this Japanese lady having her photo taken in a beautiful kimono.

In hindsight if you get there early you’d be best to go through the main castle first when there is not many queues, we didn’t know and looked around and through everything else first then went through the castle. We spent a long time standing in line inching closer but it was a sunny spring day so it was nice to be out under the blossom trees.

Once we were inside it was shuffling room only as you followed the long line of people snaking through the castle up and down the floors.  It took a good portion of the afternoon and I wondered if we should have skipped going inside as it mostly empty, just the wooden floors, stairs and partitions but when would I get the chance to be inside a real castle again, especially one of the three premier castles in Japan.