Have been in Kyoto for the past three days. Most of these days were filled with temple visits during the day and at night. We went to around seven temples in these couple of days.
It was good that we got a volunteer tour guide on the first day, who showed us around several temples and explained the meaning of the differnet symbolisms used in the temples. These themes carry across to all other temples. It was interesting to learn about their fear of fire, and the significance of water in its effect on creating zen gardens and the like. The influence of China also plays a role in these temples, especially in some of the paintings on the walls inside the temple.
Seeing so many people visit these temples, buying charms and praying to the statute again makes me realise how spiritually hungry we all are. We all strive for something greater than ourselves to help us, and sometimes when we are at crossroads, we don't know who to turn to. Spening a few hundred yen on a charm gives them a sense of hope and asssurance that they may be blessed by higher beings. We, as Christians, should tell them the real hope we have found so that they too can experience the real joy and peace from this real hope.
The day trip to Hiroshima today was a major highlight of the trip so far. Walking through the memorial park and visiting the museum and looking at the effect of bombs and the things left behind made me so sad and brought a few tears to my eyes. How can human beings treat each other like this? After understanding the political factors in play for US to drop the bomb on Japan, I really feel sorry for the innocent civilians affected by this. While we can all advocate for world peace, we also realise that true peace will never come in this life, as long as selfish humans are in power. All we can long for and hope for is the true peace from the kingdom of God.
We tried some interesting foods in these few days (after my encounter with raw crab on the first night), including raw horse (which tasted quite nice, but the thought of eating horses made the experience more painful than necessary), tofu kaiseki (what a way to eat tofu but only eating the skin off a pot of boiling liquidify tofu), Hiroshima oysters (large, succulent and delicious, made using a variety of ways), Hiroshima yaki speciality (it was yummy, but I can't describe what it is) and onokomiyaki (so much better than the ones in Sydney). The food in Japan is so good that I am afraid that I will be a fat boy when I return.
Our night times were spent wandering around. We spend some time in the clubs and cafes areas, as well as the red light district. We also went to the small street and saw a few geishas walking around. Unfortuately we couldn't take any photos with them.
The weather in Japan has been so weird. In these three days, we experienced rain, sun, cold and heat. It is like four seasons in one day. I would be able to wear t-shirts during the day, but had to wear a large jacket at night. Global warming is getting out of control. Hopefully we can all play a part to reduce its effects.
Looking forward to going to Tokyo tomorrow, and hopefully will have internet access then.
1 comment:
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the Notebook, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://notebooks-brasil.blogspot.com. A hug.
Post a Comment