teamEggers

Jizo, the Baby-Lovin Buddhas.

The Turtle Inn suggested we take a walk up the river, to a path lined with stone Buddhas. I never tire of these things – it was really pretty.

They weren’t exactly Buddhas, as I’m sure the woman at the front desk knew, but easier to explain that way. These particular statues looked a lot like the Bodhisattva “Kasa Jizo”, and some internet research afterward told me I was right!

In some areas, Jizo’s referenced as a transient spirit – like a gondolier in the river of the afterworld, shuttling the souls of children to the the next realm. You’ll often see these statues in shrines dedicated to unborn children – the aborted, miscarried, and early to death. Communities of women will knit red bibs and hats for them at the new year, and allow them to fade and wear as the year goes on. Those little white specs are snow. It was cold.

For the same reasons that Jizo is believed to guide the spirits of children, it’s also thought to be a guide to travelers! Where do you think the money that’s collected at these public statues goes?

While there’s lots of takes on this story, the basic idea’s the same:

The story of Kasa Jizo is about a grandfather and grandmother. It is New Year’s Eve. A weaver, the grandfather goes to town to sell his hats to earn money to buy food for the holiday. But as he sits by the roadside, no one buys his hats. Finally he gives up and heads for home. It is snowing. Seeing six stone jizo, hatless and cold, he gives each a hat. When he returns home and explains, the grandmother says, You have done a good thing. We’ll just have ochazuke (rice soup) tonight. At dawn they hear sounds. The jizo have come to return the favor. New Year’s gifts are piled up by their door.

This is moss. I adore moss. It’s the ideal ground-cover.

…and this is jon and I, bundled up against the snow, wishing for some warmer weather. I don’t look very happy, eh? Can I go back to springtime now?

I’m such a bundle of joy. Next time you see jon, pat him on the head for being such a saint and dealing with grumpy michelle.

Stay tuned. Later today we’ll meet back up with Will & Dana and check out all the templey goodness that Nikko has to offer!

Nikko by Night

Let’s pretend we were in Nikko yesterday and not last week, shall we?

After leaving the shrines that afternoon, jon and I realized that neither of us printed out a map to our hotel. We’re so responsible. Luckily we had a pretty good idea of where it was, and it was early yet so wandering around wasn’t an issue. Though… it was cold and the next day would be even colder.

The Turtle Inn in Nikko was a great place for a traveler to stay. The people at the front desk spoke English, and were were helpful for what to do around the area. It was affordable and the rooms, while sparse, were all you really needed.

In the interest of honesty, I’ve stayed on much more comfortable tatami mats. Really not a deal breaker though – the room was large and there was a little onsen in the building. Jon appreciated the TV, as it let us tune into the sumo tournament. I was excited to snuggle up next to the heater. You could see the river from our window – I bet it would be beautiful in summer.

We found a really neat little steakhouse for dinner, which served up some local specialties:

Yuba. Yuba is well known in both Nikko & Kyoto. It’s tofu skin. It sounds weird, but it’s really good. And I love it.

Tempura’d Maitake, or Hen of the Woods Mushrooms. Normally you would dip tempura into a really light broth, but here they gave me a puree of more maitake. It almost tasted like cream of mushroom soup. I’m not going to lie, I basically licked the bowl. Doesn’t this look like a hedgehog?

Jon got trout, and you could tell the quality of place we were at just by the presentation. The trout was tender and flaky, paired with lemon and a compound butter.

Did I mention it was good?

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The highlight of my trip tends to coincide with what we get to eat. I’m sorry if you don’t love my food pictures as much as I do – Let me know what you’d like to see more of and I’ll shift the balance for you!

So what’s next? Breakfast, of course. I was disappointed that the hotel breakfast was “Western Style” because I kind of love the traditional miso-and-fish-breakfast that you sometimes get. I shouldn’t have worried. The Turtle Inn didn’t steer us wrong.

Turtle nicknacks adorned their dining room. Kitchy, but cute.

One thing that the traditional Japanese breakfasts lacks is that sweet nectar of the gods. I actually packed a water bottle full of iced coffee, just in case, but it turned out that I didn’t need to. I don’t want to underestimate how excited this made me.

Breakfast was simple: fresh fruit, hard boiled egg, and a few pieces of buttered toast. Oj and have I mentioned the coffee?

Tune in Next Time: Jon and I take a walk down a path of stone Buddhas. It’s pretty and there’s a history lesson.