Totally by accident, Aya and I were able to witness one of the most special New Year’s Eve traditions in Japan–the ringing in of the new year by 17 monks at Kyoto’s Choin-in Temple.  This was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen.  The bell the monks were ringing is the largest in Japan, weighing in at nearly 80 tons and having a diameter of some 2.7 meters.  It’s also very old, being cast way back in 1633 C.E.

Of course there was a huge crowd wanting to see this.  It was like a rock concert really, the pushing was constant and at times you were even swept off your feet and had no choice but to flow where the tide of people took you.  Luckily, at the very end I was able to get to the barrier fence and get a few unobstructed shots.  Aya managed to get some steady video with the Xacti HD700 as well.

The monks chanted while ringing the bell.  First they would all chant at a barely audible level, then the main monk, the one with his back to the bell, would give out a cry and the other monks would chant louder and pull quicker (although they seemed to be making little real effort), then they would all in unison say sorei and the main monk would literally fall over backwards pulling the fulcrum rope and the ram would thud into the bell bringing forth a lingering ringing resonance.  

CHOIN-IN MONK’S BELL RINGING PHOTO GALLERY: 

CHOIN-IN MONK’S BELL RINGING HD VIDEO:

After five and a half years in Tokyo, Japan, I finally made my first visit to Nikko.  I had heard about Nikko many times, as it’s one of the premier tourist destinations in all of Japan, as well as being a World Heritage Site.  I heard of monkeys running wild, and even taking baths in outdoor hot springs.  I was expecting a huge hub-bub.  Of course, like most things, my expectations and reality were nowhere near matching.  I found Nikko to be a small, reserved sanctuary of temples and shrines tucked away amongst a forest of tall trees.  And no monkeys.

I expected Nikko town to match its reputation as a major tourist attraction with the coinciding tourist trap type places, but instead I was very surprised to find the area between Nikko train station and the temples themselves to be nothing more than a humble kilometer of road with a few modest shops on them, all of which were nearly closed by 8pm!  

Aya and I drove up early Friday morning having both taken the day off.  And why not, it was Halloween after all!  This allowed us to almost have the whole of Nikko to ourselves, relatively.  We could explore and ponder around the most popular spots as well as the lesser heralded ones without having to shuffle past dozens of other observers.  In a sense this almost made Nikko feel lonely, which may be an intrinsic feeling to the place no matter how many people were there.  Whichever is the case, it made for an unusual, yet somehow appropriate place to spend Halloween.  

There were no people in traditional Halloween costumes, but there were many figures around warding off evil.  Pictured above are the monkeys we all learned about in grade school that heard no, nor spoke any, or even saw any evil.  

Aya pointed out and explained many of the intricate details of the temples and shrines, and the meanings behind the patterns carved into their walls as well as what guardian statues represented what.  Her knowledge and explanations greatly enriched my experience of Nikko, that otherwise would have been just all ignant, but pleasant, observing.  

If you can, go to Nikko on a week day and spend some quiet moments with it.  I was glad I had such a chance.

NIKKO JAPAN FALL 2008 PHOTO GALLERY:

NIKKO JAPAN FALL 2008 VIDEO:

SOURCES FOR PHOTO DESCRIPTIONS:

• Nikko Tourist Association
• Japan-Guide.com

What you see in the above photo is a mysterious rock out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  It is the symbol of Chigasaki.  I have no idea how it was formed or what it really is.  Despite skimboarding this place for the past six summers, I never investigated its meaning.  And I do not want to know.  I always imagined it as a great shark’s dorsal fin.  The rock is very mysterious, for as you walk further from it, the stone actually appears closer to you.  Such is the scene of my first ever skimboarding in Japan back in June of 2003, and my final session in October 2008.

I am leaving Japan early next year, after what will be nearly 6 years of living here.  Being a very nostalgic person, I will have many emotional farewells to my favorite places in Japan (even though Tokyo has driven me crazy in the end).  None though I feel will be as emotional as the good-bye I had to make to Chigasaki Beach.  

Skimboarding at Chigasaki was the first tradition I established upon moving to Japan.  Like other beaches I’ve skimmed regularly, I discovered Chigasaki, thus my great affection for it, despite the beach in reality being little more than a large ash tray with diminishing waves the past few years.  Yet there is nothing in Japan I love more than Chigasaki.  It was my consistent escape from May to the end of October ever year I lived here.  It was my own.  I took very few people there, for few were worthy.  On Saturday evenings when there was no one, there was Chigasaki.  

I took the exact same stuff to Chigasaki each and every time.  In the above photo you’ll see my trusty backpack (from Korea) with my skimboard’s protective sock lumped in front of it.  To the right are my also trusty water and Aquarius bottles.  All of this sits on my very trusty tatami straw mat.  And of course on the far right lie my skimboard and surf shorts.  Each item is as beloved to me as any person.  

My favorite food to eat after skimboarding was kim (Korean dried seaweed) and genmae (Japanese organic brown rice).  After a usual 90-minute skimboarding session I would lean back on my backpack and stare out at that mysterious rock off Chigasaki’s shores, eating my seaweed and rice.  Then a Meiji Black chocolate bar.  

There are so many customs involved with going to Chigasaki, from taking note of every one of my favorite houses along the street to the beach, to watching people play tennis, to wondering why the owner of a small, but nice RV never took it out.  I even listened to almost exactly the same music from my apartment to Shinjuku Station to the beach every time, with little variation, as has long been my skimboarding custom even back in Florida.

How was my 8th and final skimboarding session of 2008 and my last ever session in Japan?  Modest and appropriate and what one would expect of a late October session on a gray but not depressing Saturday afternoon.  

I say farewell to thee, Chigasaki.

FINAL JAPAN SKIMBOARDING SESSION PHOTO GALLERY:

FINAL JAPAN SKIMBOARDING SESSION HD VIDEO:

This haikyo trip to a Russian Village tucked away up in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, was my first ever overnight stay in a haikyo (urban exploring), and also my first ever time to stay overnight in a hotel–without paying!  Me, UK Mike, the Can, and Scott took an X-trail up to Niigata (piloted by yours truly).  It was Scott’s first ever haikyo experience.  I think this haikyo trip, though, produced a number of firsts for all of us, like getting busted by the 5-O, cooking with an open flame in a hotel room, riding mammoths, and spending quality time in a church on a Saturday night.

First, on the drive up we had nothing but open road on the highway.  I was of course on the horse doing 87 mph (140 km/hr) most of the way, and not really passing anyone.  Well, some sneaky undercover 5-O stowed its roof light and chose us (coincidence?) out of the many other people speeding past him to slowly, slowly, slowly pull over.  Really, we had to follow him for like a mile and a half before he finally told us to pull-over.  Well, this wasn’t the first time I had been pulled over for speeding, although the first time in Japan, and I had never gotten a ticket yet.  I know how to handle the 5-O in the U.S. and it seems those skills also apply to the j-5-O as we got off with just a condescending warning!  Nice.  

After that slow-down and a bit of a challege finding the Russian Village itself (thanks to the gas station ojisan who helped us), we finally made it to the haikyo safely under the cover of night.  We did a pretty thorough exploration of the whole theme park, which was covered in spider webs suspending their large owners.  UK Mike’s specialty is leading the way through such obstacles, and we appreciate that as I don’t think any of the rest of us wanted to go headlong into that.

After the midnight exploring we retired to our own hotel room!  It was in nearly immaculate condition considering it had been closed for the past 6 years.  The park itself was only open for about 6 months before closing down!  A huge waste of money.  There were all kinds of valuable things still lying around, like TVs, copy machines, a grand piano, dishes, and furniture of all sorts.

We woke up the next morning and the Can and I had a hot breakfast.  The park, as one would expect, looked totally different in daylight.  I will let the HD video and photo gallery below speak for what the Russian Village looked like.  (thanks to Scott for filming in the X-trail, it is all about video content some say)

HD VIDEO OF THE RUSSIAN VILLAGE THEME PARK IN NIIGATA, JAPAN:

PHOTO GALLERY OF THE RUSSIAN VILLAGE THEME PARK IN NIIGATA, JAPAN:

Another haikyo I’ve been on:

• Volcano Museum, amusement park, and schoolhouse in Gunma, Japan

Other posts about the Niigata Russian Village Haikyo:

• UK Mike’s report
• Scott’s report
• The Can’s report