IMG_5981.JPG, originally uploaded by walrus713.

So, today was my last day in Japan. I have had a great experience here, and will be doing a lot of reflection for a while. I did not write in this blog as much as I had anticipated, and I think that was partly due to the difficulty of describing experiences while experiencing them. Of course I don’t mean something like writing a blog while visiting a temple, but even later in the day when there was time to blog, i was still in the middle of generally experiencing Japan. So, I think i will write the majority of blog entries in the following weeks as I begin to synthesize my experiences over here. I hope the entries I did write were insightful and meaningful, for I tried hard not to compose a list of just “First I did this, then i did that, and that was really cool.” That would also be a waste of my time as well as yours.

I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with a wide array of people over here – many of them not even being from Japan. I’ve befriended people from Israel, England, Scotland, Korea, Australia, Holland, China, Taiwan, Ireland, Canada, and France. My interactions with the Japanese have been nothing but pleasant. They are the most unique culture I’ve experienced on this planet so far…I would be joking myself if I could describe it right now with even partial accuracy, so I shall describe my impressions of them over the next few weeks.

I depart in 14 hours and I’m looking forward to being back at home, for I am not Japanese, nor will I ever be. However, I feel like I will return as a more cultured American (yes, that almost sounds like a paradox.)

I think it is of utmost importance to always allow our minds to be open to new ideas and experience is usually the best way to help pry our minds open. Getting in a daily routine can lead to this “knowing” mentality where we just expect the same thing each day and perceive things in the same way. Zen Buddhists have the expression “beginners mind” stressing the importance of never “knowing” something, for if we know something, we tend to judge other things based off of what we know, even if it’s in the most subtle of ways. Everything in this world is constantly changing, and if we are to feel connected with life, we must allow our minds to be open to this change and not set things in stone.

Thanks go out to my percussion professor Fred and his wife, Asian Art professor Dr.Lillehoj, Zen Buddhism professor Dr.Strain, the helpful people at the Japan Travel Bureau for providing me with a wealth of helpful information about Japan, its people, art, and history. This trip would have been half as exciting without the rich knowledge they transmitted to me.

Lastly thanks to my Mother for giving me birth, so I could enjoy a more lively experience in Japan

Why do people enjoy visiting temples and shrines? Is it just the beautiful architecture? Perhaps they’re curious about the religion… Perhaps not…Regardless, when you’re in Japan, you should visit some temples and shrines, even if it is just for their physical beauty and mystique.

I woke up early this morning (about 9:30 ) and promptly left for my day trip to (cue drum roll…) Nara! Nara is just an hour train ride on the JR line from Kyoto, so it was possible to leave and arrive early this afternoon, see enough to feel “productive” and then leave in early evening to arrive in Kyoto at early evening (should one focus on being “productive” on a trip, having a lot of different experiences, or should one focus on quality of each individual experience to maximize the richness of each experience? What does my audience have to say?) Nara is famous for many things, but from a tourist’s eye, it is the number of temples and the sheer physical beauty of the park in which the majority of the temples reside… and did I not mention deer?

IMG_6054.JPG, originally uploaded by walrus713.

There are thousands of deer spread out through Nara Park. They exist and roam as freely as the people who visit the park do. It’s incredibly beautiful on many levels for, after visiting your first temple in Nara, you start creating this image of Nara as a city that exists harmoniously with nature, just as any Buddhist or naturalist would have it. With the addition of the polite people roaming and interacting with one another, you can’t help but allow yourself to fall into this imperturbable bliss. Also, I can’t stress how lucky I am to be here during autumn. I was never in a rush to get to the next temple, because the fall foliage was as attractive as a Geisha in the Gion district.

IMG_6046.JPG, originally uploaded by walrus713.

So after enjoying viewing the deer, i enjoyed viewing the deer some more…then after that… Todaiji!

The great temple of Todaiji (pronounced toh-die-gee) was the first on my list of “If I don’t see these, my asian art professor will likely go back and change my grade to an ‘f’ ” places… But also because I really wanted to see it. I don’t know the dimensions of the building, but it is considered the largest wooden building in the world. When you look at it, you don’t doubt that fact.

IMG_5974.JPG, originally uploaded by walrus713.

One great thing about Japan is that you can take photos without (besides being non-japanese) looking like a tourist. Japanese carry cameras with them all the time and are constantly taking photos of their own home country. I don’t know what draws them to it so much, but they are very traditional in many regards, and taking photos allows them to recall their cherished past. I’ve talked countless times about the polite nature of the Japanese (we’ll talk about “second skin” later,) however photo-taking is so commonplace that they’ll come up to you without saying anything, quickly hand you their camera, and say “Photo please??” It’s pretty humorous, and they’re very appreciative. Todaiji was no different.

I must rest for now, as I depart back to Tokyo tomorrow, but I shall update again tomorrow. I hope everyone is well.

-d