Stayed at Saba Daichi temple housing
Mileage in book: unk
Mileage actually walked: 8.2
It was a beautiful day to walk along the ocean. The trail took us right along the prettiest beaches. Laura saw a monkey, I heard it. Nothing of note except a beautiful views on a sunny day.
Temple 23 has a red temple at the top of the complex and we were able to climb up and get some photographs of the town. Next, a train to Saba Daishi and the fire ceremony.
I felt like we were in a Monastery. The rooms were lovely, but there was a sparseness. For starters, only the men's bath was available. This means that men and women took turns because there were only five of us. The toilet complex was unisex, which made me slightly uncomfortable because to get to a private toilet, you are walking past men urinating in urinals. Laura asked for a towel for her bath and was told this is not a hotel. So she told them she had gotten towels at other temples and they gave her one. The dinner was served on the traditional low tables and the head monk said a prayer before our meal. He was stern. Our meal, though delicious, was sparser than usual, I'm not sure why. Temple meals are vegetarian-ish -- unclear about the rules -- but this seemed less than usual.
Our best friend Gilles had recommended the lodging due to the fire ceremony held at the temple daily. As an aside, Gilles is a Frenchman we met on the road who is fluent in English and Japanese and lives in Tokyo. He is a hedge fund manager though certainly has no resemblance to anything on Wall Street. He has long, stringy red hair and has lived in Japan for 30 years. He is taking the pilgrimage very seriously and seems to walk faster than we can hitchhike.
The fire ceremony is a Shingon Buddhist (esoteric) practice that is apparently done rarely. It's purpose is purification and removal of negative energy and it takes place every morning at 6:00 am. We were told to be in the lobby at 5:40 am and by gum we were. As we followed the monk into the inner sanctum, we lost him! No flies on a his monk, he waits for no one. The passageway was lined with thousands of statues of what we understood to represent monks who had died. Given that the temple is 1200 years old, you can appreciate how many there were. On the other side were statues of deities. We appeared to be moving in a clockwise spiral and eventually reached the inner sanctum...a round room with a oculus in the ceiling. He sat in the center altar and we sat on little chairs. The head monk wore flowing white robes, several layers thick. He began the ceremony by adjusting his robes...smart when you're working with fire. He had many pots of herbs and potions. He placed a small amount on each of our hands. Some potions went on the fire area and woof, fire! Behind the fire was a flame-encircled deity -- real Indiana Jones stuff. There were many incantations and then he threw sticks in the fire while reciting names or wishes. The smoke rose up through the oculus -- a giant range hood. At the end, we each had a long metal rod with chains attached shaken at our head.
Image from brochure-- the monk's altar for fire ceremony
Afterwards we walked counterclockwise out of the sanctum to our temple breakfast. We were late and missed part of the chanting...I don't believe the monk was amused.
We were kicked out onto the streets at 7:00 am! The life of a Henro is hard.
Our next stop was the train station where I immediately got us onto the train going the wrong way. Fortunately the same train went back the other way so we were on time. At our transfer point the conductor had to beg us to get on the train. I kept saying where we were going and he repeated it with a come hither gesture. I was confused because the train pulled into the station going the opposite direction, but then reversed course.
After this was walking in the cold rain. Although I have proper rain gear and warm clothes, it was freezing. We arrived at our hostel way too early at 11:00 am. Luckily, we were the only ones there, although the place has no heat and a moldy wall in the livingroom. Typical of an early day, we set out to get provisions and plans for the next day. Three items on the list: where to get the bus, when to get the bus, and what to eat. Our first thought was the library, but on the way was a Drs office so we went in to see if anyone spoke English. The receptionist ran and got the Dr who told us to come back later-- his daughter spoke English.
The library was closed, so why not try the post office! There was much scurrying and gesticulating and we got information about the bus stop and time....although we found out later that both were wrong. Oh! Now the library's open. No English, no heat, no real Internet but the librarian phoned a friend who drove across town to help us in English. We took advantage and asked if she could make a reservation for the next night.
Now groceries and back to the Doctor's office where we were invited into his home and greeted by his wife, granddaughter Corcuro and his daughter Sauri. They served us coffee and treats and we had a shikoku citrus tasting. It turns out that Sauri, a cardiologist, lives near Inokashira-Koen park near Naoko's dad. Corcuro, seven, did the koi dance for us and gave us a bamboo statue of Kobo Daishi.
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