Three Monkeys

13Sep08

I went up to Nikkō (日光) today. It’s a town around 2 hours on the train from Tokyo, up in the mountains of central Honshū. It’s one of those places with an embarrassment of riches. If unlike me, you stay overnight, or head up there really early, you can get a combination ticket for about three or four different shrine complexes. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and when you visit, you can see why.

The train up there was a bit confusing, since it doesn’t actually go all the way to Nikkō. It comes near and then heads on off up to a nearby onsen (hot spring) town, but there’s this little dedicated two-car train that meets the main train a few kilometres away and takes the Nikkō-bound passengers on to their destination. On the way back, it heads down the way to meet up with the main train going back to Tokyo. A bit confusing when absolutely nothing is in English, but I chatted to the guy beside me on the train and he explained everything to me. This is Takahashi-san:

He was really interested in hearing all about Ireland, though he already had loads of knowledge about the country: Guinness, Tullamore Dew, Sinéad O’Connor, U2, the Chieftains – that last one really impressed me! Anyway, we had great craic for the two hours we were sitting together and it’s thanks to him that I ended up at the right destination! Arigatō gozaimasu, Takahashi-san!

In behind where the picture was taken, there’s a travel information office, and over to the right there are a bunch of ticket vending machines. I went to the information office to speak to a human, and the guy at the counter was very helpful in explaining my options for getting back to Tokyo – I didn’t want to leave it too late, since that wouldn’t be polite where my host family is concerned. He didn’t just explain though, he came out from behind his counter and accompanied me to the ticket machine, where he walked me through getting a ticket. Maybe I’m being unfair, but I could never imagine that happening anywhere in Europe, from our own fine country all the way to the Urals!

Anyway, I headed on up to check out the Tōshō-gū shrine, about a 20-minute walk up the main street of Nikkō. That street ends at a modern bridge, which they presumably built to avoid ruining this masterpiece, the Shinkyō (神橋) or God Bridge:

Just my luck though, just aftr I’d taken that picture and walked up the very steep path just out of picture to the right, the heavens opened. I hoped it would be just a shower. I walked around the shrine, optimistically taking pictures like this one, a carving of the three wise monkeys. The origin of the saying “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” is much older than this carving, but apparently it was this carving that really brought it to prominence worldwide:

I was soaked through to the skin by the time I took the next picture. I left behind a sunny and warm Tokyo and it stayed that way all day. I should have had the good sense to bring an umbrella, but I left it behind having seen the weather forecast. Idiot!

I handed over 500 yen for a bright-blue umbrella. Why they couldn’t have sold me a nice black one I’ll never understand. I’m not going to use a bright-blue umbrella in Waterford. Even a see-through one would at least have some novelty value, being very common over here, but not so common at home in Ireland. The rain spoiled any chance I had of taking many more good pictures, so while I have tons from the day, they have that rushed quality that comes from trying to hold an umbrella and keep the camera from getting wet. I liked this one though:

No, I’ve no idea what it is. I’d like to say that the Tokugawa Shōgun used to sit out here and drink tea, but that would be a lie. The rain was just annoying me so much at this point that I decided to say goodbye to the shrine and head off back down the hill to the town and do some souvenir shopping. And that was great fun. The people in the shops were so friendly and helpful, it was unbelievable. To top it off, a woman in the station (just a passenger, not any sort of official) saw me looking for the platform for my train and insisted on looking at my ticket and guiding me to the platform. The Japanese can really be amazing people sometimes.

I had an uneventful journey back to Tokyo after that, and because I was all cultured out, I finished off reading Ross O’Carroll-Kelly. The next book in the series is waiting for me back in Waterford, so I’ll have to wait a week before I can read any of the main man’s wisdom again. Though having said that, I could re-read the book I have. Not such a bad idea, given how funny it was! But no, I’m reading David McWilliams at the moment (the Generation Game). A last-minute impulse purchase at Dublin Airport, but a good one.

I had dinner with Kōji when I got home, and we discussed how Japanese society is changing. Young people don’t have the same values as their parents, and there’s a pension crisis. So, not much different from Europe? Maybe, but the young-versus-old gap is Japan is huge. I sometimes find old people, dressed very conservatively, staring at me like I’m from another planet. Young people however come across as very liberated here. Fashion seems to know no bounds, and while not many people speak English, there’s the occasional surprise when someone speaks back to you in a perfect American accent.

Maybe the young are just living it large now, before they finish university and become salarymen and OL’s (office ladies), but I don’t know. They still speak of “joining” a company like it’s a commitment for life. However, Japan certainly seems to be changing, from what little I’ve been able to pick up in my two weeks here.

MF

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