Bukkokuji Temple

This temple has a special place in my heart.

Shunko-san, a monk whom I met in Kochi, spoke highly of Harada Tangen Roshi and the quality of the Zen practice at the temple, so I went along with him. I stayed there a few days before and one day during Sesshin.

 If only I were focused enough to participate in all 7 days of Sesshin! Still, I remember the sweetness of the silence and the monks who dedicate their lives to practice.

Tangen Roshi was luminescent. He said that it is important for each one of us to know who we really are. He said this with such a smile, it made me cry.

What I saw while I was at Bukkokuji showed me what it is to be a monk. It still inspires me today.

Please see my webalbum for more photos

Sogenji Temple / 曹源寺

In September, I had a chance to visit and stay at Sogenji Temple in Okayama for two nights. The abbot of the temple is Shodo Harada RoshiThey have international students from all over the world.  The atmosphere was somewhat familiar to me, because I started my Zen practice in US. Still, it was my first time to sit formally in a Japanese Zen temple, and I was quite nervous.
The experience showed me that whole-hearted practice is the same everywhere. It seems to me that there was a good balance of joy and formality.

The highlight of the visit was having an informal conversation over tea with Harada Roshi. I had so many questions to ask, and he was there to offer his reflections. Not only the conversation itself, but also just to sit with him was a quite experience. He had such an intense presence.
I want to thank Steve T for making such a wonderful connection, and Daichi-san for her open-mindedness.

Please check out my web album for more photos

osaka castle 大阪城

I went to the Osaka Castle in September.

Its most impressive part was the stone wall around its moat.

It is quite old; they say its construction was finished in the 17th

century. It is built perfectly and it is beautiful to look at: bigger

stones on the outside, smaller stones on the inside.

Its construction started in the 16th century; but the castle we see

now is not that original structure.

The park is famous for Sakura (cherry blossom) and plum trees.

Many birds travel through. It is an ideal place for bird-watching.

築城は１５８３年豊臣秀吉によるものですが、お城そのものは建て直されていて、お堀は１７世紀初めのものがまだ残っているということでした。よく見ると、石の積み方など、かなりすごい。あと、大手門は見応えがありました。大阪城公園の桜と梅は見事だとか。また、渡り鳥などかなりの種類の鳥も見られるようで、鳥見ファンの集まる場所でもあるらしいです。

tenshukaku - the top of castle is clouded with visitors 
天守閣の金の鯱（しゃちほこ）私は大阪城だけかと思ってましたがそうでもないみたい。

The castle looks small among modern buildings. 
今はすっかりビルに囲まれてしまい小さく見える

kurokawa Dahlia Garden 黒川ダリア園

In Kurokawa Dahlia Garden you can find 350 different kinds of Dahlia
from mid-September to early November. The garden is located in
beautiful, good old countryside.

It was truly stunning to see so many gorgeous flowers in so many
different shades; there are about 1300 plants, they say. I had great
fun taking photographs with a macro lens.







黒川ダリア園では、毎年９月中旬から１１月初めまで、約３５０種類、１３００株の色とりどりに咲き誇るダリアを見ることができる。”日本の里100選”にも選ばれたという美しい山村に映える色は本当にきれいでした。さっそく、今はまってるマクロレンズで接写！













In this area you will also find a school that is closed because of　depopulation. The building is used as a community center now.


近くには、廃校になった”黒川小学校”。今は公民館として使われているようですが、小学校のとき、夏のキャンプで泊まったのはこの校舎だったのでは？　と、古い思い出が蘇ってきました。 

Sept / Oct is a season for rice reaping.  She was using a handheld sickle.

稲刈りのシーズン到来。鎌を使い手で収穫されていました。


for more photos of flowers and the school, please visit my web album

黒川ダリア園の写真をもっと見たい方はウェッブアルバムをご覧ください。

Unique about Japan

I am back in Japan; I noticed a few things which I thought were
unique about the country.

First, the number of vending machines! They are everywhere! In the
streets, at the stations, stops, in the park, in the middle of
nowhere! You can buy almost anything from them: juice, tea, snacks,
cigarettes, even beer!

Second, bathrooms, and I mean clean bathrooms! Very unlike New York,
there are many public bathrooms in the city. Their cleanliness is
impressive, too. Many of them have a "washlet", an electric toilet
seat with water spray feature for washing. Yay!

Third, the overwhelming number of bicycles! Even more in the city!
There are parking lots for bicycles near many public places. I saw a
device for your bike to attach an umbrella so you can ride your bike
in the shade. I saw special bike-baskets to carry small children.
Some young mothers ride with two children, both in baskets, one in
the front, one in the back!

Yesterday, I saw a group of young mothers riding their bicycles with
their kids tucked into bike-baskets. I wish  I had taken a photograph
of them. To be honest, it looked quite dangerous!

Joy of Flying

I always loved flying.

It is a good reminder that behind the clouds, there is always blue

skies (or whole universes), that somewhere the Sun is still shining.

I used to feel such a relief by "detaching myself" from the daily

grind. But this time, I felt a little sad leaving the place I had

lived, and felt nervous about going to "the unknown". I felt as if I

was being peeled off from the surface of the Earth...

Well, after all, the life has completely different things to offer if

I were still attached to something I am leaving behind.

It is a lesson about being in the present moment, when it comes and

contains you, and letting gracefully go as it passes. A lesson about

welcoming whatever comes with smile and gratitude.

So, ultimately it is good to drop by completely new places more frequently.

久しぶりに空を旅した。飛ぶのは好きだったはずなのに、今回の旅行は、住み慣れた愛着のある土地を離れるという気持ちが大きくて、自分でも戸惑った。複雑な気持ちをかかえたまま機上の人となったが、飛んでみると、とてもすがすがしい。　”雲の上はいつも青空がひろがっている”と初めて聞いた時は、目から鱗が落ちたのを憶えているが、全くそのとおりである。
結局、前にすすんでみることで、視界は全く違う物になり、自分が想像した以上のことを人生はいつも用意してくれていると思う。来るものこばまず、去るものは追わず。現在目の前にあるものに感謝する。初心に戻らされた旅となりました。

for the love of donkey!

I made a wonderful friend around our love of donkey!

Cynthia is an artist who creates intricate sculptures.

Now, how did I meet her?

Well... I forgot how to log into my blogging account for "The Curious

Donkey" and had to search a bit, and... What do I know? I stumbled on

Cynthias blog, a blog entitled "A Donkey Diary "! 

I was impressed with her love for the donkeys! Turns out she was

living not too far from my friend whom I was about to visit.

So, I had the chance to meet Cynthia at her donkeyland on that

beautiful island.

 人の出会いというのはわからないもので、最近、ロバを通じて素晴らしい友人ができた。
Cynthiaは、カナダのバンクーバー島に住むアーティストで、家で三頭のロバを飼っている。そして彼らとの生活について"A Donkey Diary "というブログを書いている。７月にバンクーバー島に住む友人を訪ねるついでに彼女のdonkeylandにお邪魔してきました。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

There, the donkeys Siog, Deenah and Dorica live, their lives touched

by Cynthia's great love and care. I fell in love with them at once.

This was the first time I was meeting donkeys up close. They not only

were very nice to me, they also tried to impress me with their

tricks. (Cynthia does clicker training, a training based on positive

reinforcement.) They were very intelligent beings.

Siog, Deenah とDoricaはとっても人懐っこくてかわいい！

それだけでなく、跳んだりはねたり、はりきって憶えたての芸当を披露してくれました。

All this proved that they were, indeed, very curious , also!

I was right!

Please visit Cynthia's blog and my web album to see more photographs

of those lovely companions!

ロバはかしこい動物だろうな〜思ってましたが、そのとおりでした。そして！好奇心旺盛。（curious)