Japan Day 8: "There were many ways down Mt Fuji but only one way up"

        7 April, 2018 (Saturday)

        We woke up early and got ready for the prayer session which was at 6.20 in the morning. It was a punctual start. It was some quiet time for reflection and meditation. I have not had much of that in this trip and was grateful. I could not concentrate my mind though, similar to when I was at the Onsen in Nagano, where also I could not focus. I seem to have more gentle thoughts when I am walking or when I am naturally resting rather than when forced into a quiet situation. After the prayer session, we gathered in the dining room for breakfast. The breakfast was not very filling and not as good as last night’s dinner. Plus, there was no one around to explain to us this time what each dish was. It felt like the service level had dropped down a notch. 

        After breakfast, Kanu, GK, Kunal and Khushboo decided to head back to Tokyo while the rest of us decided to do the Okunoin cemetery walk during daytime. This was a rewarding experience and was definitely worth it. 

        “According to the superstition of the Shingon Buddhist school, there are no dead in Okunoin, but only waiting spirits. As the story is told, one day Kukai (774-835), better known in Japan under the name of Kobo Daishi, the founder of the religious community of Mount Koya, came out of meditation upon the arrival of Miroku, the Buddha of the future. So all the souls in transit resting in the graves or of whom the hair or ashes had been placed by their loved ones in front of the Kukai Mausoleum, also rose up. Pending the advent of this apocalyptic prophecy, the number of graves in Okunoin continues to increase and already counts more than two hundred thousand and is the largest cemetery in the archipelago.” 
(https://www.japan-experience.com/city-koyasan/okunoin)

        Unlike yesterday, we completed the full walk today. There were a few surprises along the way and it was interesting to read some descriptions and look at the varied tombstones. We checked out the Miroku stone, the Torodo Hall (hall of lamps) as well as Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum (Gobyo), the site of his eternal meditation.
        

        A wooden cabin houses the Miroku stone. It is believed that the stone feels lighter to good people and heavier to bad people, and that it can provide a connection to the Miroku Bodhisattva. In other words, the stone when lifted weighs the sins of the person. Through small gaps in the walls, it is possible to access the stone and it is customary to try to lift it with one hand to place high up on a shelf. To me the stone felt quite heavy. I was not sure if that meant I needed to work on my ethical compass or upper-body core! 

        

        The Torodo Hall was the most captivating part of the cemetery for me. Inside the hall are more than 10,000 lanterns, which were donated by worshippers and are kept eternally lit. It was a grand sight, glittering in a golden hue and will probably be an image from this trip that I carry with me for a long time. According to legend (and I am beginning to notice that there are a fair few of them in Japan, many as apocryphal as tales from the Ramayana), the lights have been burning unabated for over nine hundred years! 

        Although this is the main tourist spot in Koyasan, even during the day it was not too crowded and quite peaceful. The weather was a bit nippy but not unbearable, so we were comfortable. It was also Anshuman’s birthday today. That is the 3rd birthday in our group of 11 within a few days. (Anshul was on 1st April, mine on 2nd April.) While having food the other day, GK had asked me what are the odds of that and tried to equate it with getting three of a kind in poker but immediately realised that the comparison would not work, and it was too complex to resolve over dinner. 

        

        After the cemetery walk, we headed back to Tokyo. Even though we did not have reserved seats, we could find good window seats on the left side of the compartment on the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka. This allowed us some fantastic views of Mt Fuji (Japan’s highest mountain) from the train on our way. We took some pictures on the phone and they were splendid. I would later read this statement about Mt Fuji in the book ‘Shoe Dog’ by Nike founder Phil Knight. “There were many ways down Mount Fuji, according to my guidebook, but only one way up. Life lesson in that, I thought.” 

        Mishti and I collected our bags at New Otani hotel and checked in. We freshened up and then later in the evening set out for Shibuya. Having spoken to Arun I had found out about Hachiko and was keen to get a picture of its statue outside Shibuya station. Hachikō was an Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, for whom he continued to wait for over nine years following his death. Hachikō is known in Japanese as chūken Hachikō "faithful dog Hachikō", hachi meaning "eight" and kō meaning "affection." During his lifetime, the dog was held up in Japanese culture as an example of loyalty and fidelity. Well after his death, he continues to be remembered in worldwide popular culture, with statues, movies, books, and appearances in various media. 

        We crossed the road at the famous Shibuya intersection for one more time. It was quite a sight a night, with legions of people stepping on the zebra crossings in different directions as the pedestrian lights turned green. The best example of organised chaos. There was a wedding couple that was trying to get ahead and get pictures at the crossing just as the light turned green and before the rest of the crowd marched on. This was quite a sight. Not to be left behind, Shilpy and Shalini (who were not with us at that time) did some Bollywood dancing of their own and got some videos. 

        We had an Indian dinner at Priya restaurant in Ebisu, which had been pre-booked. The food was good and we relished every bit of it. After dinner, we decided to head to a bar and check out the night life of Tokyo. Khushboo was leading the charge. Ebisu was meant to be a happening place but the walk through the streets failed to dazzle us. It was very quiet and there was hardly anyone. A far cry from Shinjuku. 

        We made a lot of jokes throughout our laboured walk (I even suggested that maybe we should try to find a bar in the direction of the airport), but Khushboo refused to give up. She was exemplifying the spirit of ganbaru. Ganbaru in Japanese means to commit oneself fully to a task and to bring that task to an end. The continuing effort to overcome obstacles (even if not successful) is an important concept in Japan, as expressed in their proverb “nana korobi, ya oki.” [Seven falls, eight getting up.] While ganbaru is an active process, if the worst happens, then Zen Buddhism teaches the concept of gaman, a passive process which refers to enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity. 

        For us, with Khushboo’s lead, it was ganbaru all the way leaving no need for gaman. We finally reached Buri bar. This is a small bar with only standing space and it was packed with people, mostly westerners. The music was at the right volume and I actually liked the place. I had the Sicilian orange Japanese sake which was refreshing. But the others were feeling tired and as there was no seating space we decided to take cabs back to the hotel. After that it was time to say "fair winds and following seas" (or, as we actually did, "bye bye"). Kabir and Shalini had left a bit earlier while Kunal, Kanu, GK, Anshuman and Shilpy will leave at 4 am for their 7.20 am flight in the morning. Japan has been a remarkable experience for all of us, and in spite of the super-detailed planning and research well in advance of the trip, we have had surprises every step of the way. Mostly pleasant ones, giving us many memories to cherish from this trip. 

        Mishti says "arigato gosaimaas" (thank you very much) in a very cute way, mimicking the Japanese style. Like the voice-over for a cartoon character, say from South Park. So, after we got to the hotel, I got her to say it and recorded it on my phone.