This was a gray, warm, muggy day when I needed lots of help and everyone I met was wonderful to me. I just missed the bus as I got out of the subway. The next one was scheduled for 40 minutes later. I decided to walk; probably less than a kilometer. The trouble with walking is figuring out the starting point. I stopped a young couple and asked for directions, which they gave me with some difficulty, but enough information for me to start walking. I knew it would be a straight shot once I had the correct road. After I had gone about 200 meters a car stopped and the young man offered me a ride. Since the road was beginning to climb (most temples are on or near mountains) I happily accepted. Help #1.

Entry courtyard, Samboin

I paid my 500 yen admission and was told no photographs. At that point I was wondering why I had come. Then I had to go into a building, first removing my shoes. The two steps leading into the building were extremely high and, as usual, there were no railings. Help #2 arrived in the shape of one of the men who worked for the temple. After the steps I was summarily urged toward the garden and  continued to wonder why I had come.

Samboin is absolutely the most fascinating garden I have visited and they don’t allow photographs. I could cry. There seems to be only a few images on the internet. Three guards are posted to make sure you don’t take photos. I could understand if they were selling good photos, but they aren’t. I bought two postcards with lousy pictures.

Diagram of the garden

It is a pond garden with a mountain as backdrop and all of the usual elements, islands, lanterns, pine trees. It’s the details that count and there are amazing details. Two islands, covered with pine trees, and representing tortoise and crane, are the unusual part of the garden. One has a pine tree purported to be 600 years old. This is a small tree, almost a Bonsai, with a huge, thick trunk, and represents the quietness of a tortoise. The other island has a stone bridge on its left side that represents the neck of the crane.

I stood and looked, trying to memorize the scene, as long as my legs allowed. Again, no place to sit except the floor. When I finally left the same old man helped me down the stairs, after having a considerable conversation with me. Help #3 and he was cute.

I walked back to the subway; much easier going downhill and went one stop to visit two other temples. I tried to follow the map in the subway and went off in the wrong direction. My intention was to visit Zuishin-in first. I asked several people and got directions in Japanese that were meaningless. Finally asked another man who indicated he would take me there. We stopped at the first temple where we each rang the bell and prayed. I don’t know what he prayed for: I just asked to find Zuishin-in. He probably thought I was a follower because I am wearing a good luck bracelet that was put on me at the temple on Koyasan.

We finally came to a large temple with no signage, he assured me was Zuishin-in and help #4 left. The sign at the entrance indicated it would cost 400 yen. I paid and found out I was at Kaiju-ji. The lady at the window showed me a diagram of how to get to Zuishin-in and I walked into a wonderful garden at Kaiju-ji and was enormously pleased I had made this mistake.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When I finally left the garden I thanked the woman and indicated how much I enjoyed it. She gave me this hand drawn diagram of how to get to Zuishin-in. Help #6.

The only trouble with these kinds of directions is where do they really begin. Do I turn right immediately after I leave the temple of is there another right and a left first? I finally figured it out and got to Zuishin-in, which turned out not to be nearly as wonderful as Kaiju-ji. Also needed a hand getting up and down their railingless steps; not a boost this time, just a hand for balance.That was help #7 and #8.

Finally it was time to return to the subway that was a long way underground. I knew I had come up in an elevator but couldn’t remember where it was. Help #9 guided me across the street and into the elevator. And I was able to buy cooked broccoli for dinner, making it a great day.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I couldn’t resist: a trip down the Hozu River with, as the brochure says, “raging torrents and breathtaking ravines, at times dousing you with water, at others passing in calmness.” It wasn’t quite like that. There were rapids and we did get splashed occasionally, but the adjectives didn’t quite match the reality. It was fun, squeezed in with 24 Japanese who were out for a good time. I went for the great scenery that was not easy to photograph. Several women next to me spoke English so I got some translations. And they were very nice and helpful. I couldn’t get in or out of that boat without help. The hard part was sitting for two hours.

The boats took us to Arashiyama, an area filled with temples. The first one I passed, Hogonin Temple, had a lovely garden and the stillness to enjoy it, which I did.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hogonin is a sub-temple of Tenryuji, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, with a lovely, unfortunately crowded, garden. Visiting here on a previous trip I walked quickly past the pond and climbed away from the temple where there were fewer people. This time wasn’t as bad. I got to see the pond and was mostly alone when I climbed.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My hotel was already filled before I made my reservations, for the night of April 10, so I decided to go to Mt. Koya and stay in a temple overnight. I admit I did this without proper research. My primary concern had been for a western toilet; I can’t squat. I never thought about how cold it could be on top of a mountain, until earlier in the week.

Mt. Koya is a special place, one of the holiest mountains in Japan; filled with very old religious structures, temples and cedar trees. The temples are a business; the trees are what get to me. They seem to penetrate my very being. I came here in 2007 but didn’t stay overnight. This time I would make up for it.

My temple for the night

I arrived in the afternoon and checked in to my temple. At first, I couldn’t figure out how to do this. Everything seemed closed up and no one was around. Then one of the sliding panels opened. Three men were sitting on the floor at very low desks in a tiny room, lined with shelves and filled with papers and cartons of papers. As someone who lives with a perpetual mess I was delighted to see that even greater messes could be created by someone else. However, it sort of ruined my concept of Buddhism as filled with peace and order.

After getting my room and instructions about dinnertime I went for a walk in Okunoin, the cemetery with the amazing trees. This is the place on Mt. Koya that moved me the most and the only place I cared to revisit.

My room was lovely and orderly, as you can see and overlooked a garden that was probably wonderful in late spring and summer. Dinner was the special shojin ryori, Buddhist vegan cuisine, which is supposed to have five flavors, five cooking methods and five colors, a grilled dish, a deep fried dish, a pickled dish, a tofu dish and a soup dish. I don’t remember what was grilled, if anything was, the deep fried dish was vegetable tempura, there were several kinds of pickles and at least three kinds of tofu: freeze-dried tofu, regular tofu, and the best one, tofu boiled with sesame seeds. I liked that so much, I might try to do it at home.

My room was warm, in fact I had to cool it down, but every place else in the temple was cold. I read for awhile then tried to go to sleep. Unlike the other times I have slept on futons, I did not have a good night. I added another futon and that helped, but I never felt comfortable. I was up before six and went to the morning service at 6:30. I enjoyed the chanting and the periodic ringing sound that went with it. There was also a sermon or lesson given at the same time by one of the priests.

After a not so interesting breakfast I gathered my few belongings but my plan to go for another walk in Okunoin was instantly scrapped by the snow and very cold wind. I decided the best thing was to leave.