Heed the Advice
Every twenty five minutes an elevated train rumbled past our 3rd floor window. At midnight it stopped. Thirty minutes later a group of Friday night revelers planted themselves under our window.
Which do you think was louder?
The first morning walk break was a winner. Literally. Unclear why we won when the 7-11 clerk reached under the counter and pulled out a cardboard box. She motioned for us to reach through the black fabric and pull out a ticket.
Twice.
The first win was a bottle of Pocari Sweat (sports drink) and a Chocola BB Royal 2 (energy drink). Perfect prizes for a day of full walking. The second draw yielded ice cream. Our savvy clerk, understanding pilgrims needs, immediately swapped our frozen treat for more liquids.
Did she know about our rule?
The three elementary schools we passed between temples 84-86 were a flurry of outdoor activity. Children marched and sang to songs delivered by over modulated speakers. Overheated mothers sheltered under hand held umbrellas, their awkward husbands standing next to them wearing something between golf attire and pajamas. All the while dozens of overly enthusiastic teachers kept everything smoothly moving along.
We knew the steep accent to Temple 84 (Yashima-ji) would be anything but easy. Where the road began its twenty-one percent incline, something caught my eye. Dozens of tall bamboo poles peaking out of a bin. A closer look identified them as walking sticks. They were available for anyone trekking up the mountain path.
Why, oh why, have I not been using 2 walking sticks throughout this journey?
The simplicity of the rented bamboo poles was brilliant. Walking with them made it seem as if I were gliding up the hill. At first it took some practice. This was a new partnership after all. The more dependance that was put on the poles, the harder it was to work together. They would slide, get stuck and even slip out of my hand. By relaxing my grip, the poles lightly tapped the ground and a rhythm was found.
Then, just like that, we were effortlessly at the summit.
The return bin at the top was unwelcome. Parting with my walking companions had not entered my mind. But alas goodbyes needed to be made. My partner could now help another.
A white tent with tables, chairs and smiling faces greeted us at the bottom of the hill. An osettai station! Tea, cookies, hard candies, and conversation were part of the stop. A senior lady entered our stats into a semi-official looking notebook and we were off again.
Further down the road we rested at a cable car station. Like our foggy recollection of Temple 83, neither one of us recalled a cable car that would go Temple 85. From the looks of it, it has been there since the 60’s.
Foregoing the tram we started our second steep climb to Temple 85 (Yakuri-ji). Five minutes in we heard “O-Henro-san, O-settai”. A senior mans and woman sat on a patio waving us over.
The day had been a stop and go day. Another stop would be easy to decline, but then the advice of a gentleman from a weeks ago repeated in my head “Meet people”.
We sat down with the father daughter pair. The daughter immediately ran inside for our osettai while the father talked of baseball, President Obamas upcoming visit to Hiroshima and Matt’s resemblance to Gary Cooper.
The daughter returned with two full trays of homemade jelly, sweet rice, crackers, tea and fruit. We ate it all as our hostess showed us her international collection of ofudas (pilgrims name cards). Her home on the main pilgrim path has given her and her father the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. She made us realize, even more, the importance of the tradition of osettai. It is a connection that binds strangers together.
What goes up much come down. Another twenty-one percent grade, this one downward, and no bamboo poles to help.
Our late afternoon kilometers to Temple 86 (Shido-ji) took us down the middle of an old neighborhood lined with wooded traditional homes. A small company vehicle passed us on that street. Moments later “O-Henro-san, O-settai”, and again we heeded the advice of “meet people”.
May 21, 2016 - Temple 84, 85 & 86
