wandering zenkoji temple at daybreak

^{central structure of the temple complex}

welcome to the main building of zenkoji in the city of nagano, japan.

The history of Zenkoji temple started in 642, when Yoshimitsu Honda enshrined a Buddhist Image at the present site.
...
The image has been believed to lead all the people to the Buddhist Pure Land regardless of their status, gender or creed. It has been earnestly worshipped by many people from those in power at the time to the common people. The main image was completely hidden from the people in 654, and since then no one has ever been allowed to see it.

^source

so how did i end up here from tokyo?

well, here is the story.

one fine ~~day~~ night on the second weekend of february, my friends and i decided to go on a journey: a journey of all journeys. let us call it the great three-day-because-it-was-a-holiday-journey. perfect! technically it was planned months before. (i just exaggerated it much to seem like it was done on a whim). people my age would now prepare journeys before getting into one (i would limit spontaneous ones to a day trip).

^{the overnight bus with a fellow passenger doing some stretching on the side}
so, we hopped on a bus at night. slept on the bus for a few hours; i tend to sleep less on overnight bus rides for i enjoy getting down on all the bus stops and see what the service area has to offer to trip goers like me. after a few more stretches and a little bit of snores (hopeful that it wasn't that loud), we finally arrived at the beautiful city of nagano before daybreak.

^{an early view of a road with the snowy peaks up a head}

in my eyes, nagano is like a stopover city before going on hikes to the mountains. yes, mountains surround the city. natural onsen (hot spring) towns are also just within the vicinity. nagano is the major city you last step foot on before embarking on a more natural and laidback journey to the countryside or to the mountains.

^{some view of old houses covering the rising sun out of sight}

like the others, we are also here just for a short stop. too early for the next ride, we headed to a temple for some zen.

^{rising sun hitting the facade of this japanese theater}

walking on empty streets before sunrise is very refreshing. i don't always get to experience this serene feeling often. although a city, the air seems to be a bit fresher and a lot colder. oh! it must have also snowed in here the same time it snowed heavy in tokyo.

^{temple gate with guardian statues on each side}

it was quite a long walk, enough to wake your sleeping muscles and mind. this temple gate officially marks the entrance of the temple complex. notice those two statues on each side of the gate, those are called nio and are said to be guardians of buddhism. they are commonly seen on temple entrance gates all around japan.

^{closed shops on cobbled streets inside the complex}

there were a couple of people already there as well, the early birds shall i say. with the inner courtyard entrance right in front of us and the mountains at its back, we traversed these age old stone streets for the final stretch. how many historical figures must have traversed these same stones we are on?

^{stone lantern in front of the rising big ball of fire}

the place is very peaceful. your troubled heart will find a bit of peace in this place. this must also be gorgeous at night when all these stone lanterns are lit.

^{entrance to the inner courtyard}

just look at that massive wooden structure. the main temple just peeking through the gates. to preserve something of this scale must be extra difficult.

^{ema or wooden wish tablets}

like other temples, this also gives out paper fortune forecasts and has ema for your wishes for the year. with the amount of these tablets hanged, hope most of them came true. if you work for them, i'm sure they will eventually.

^{looking out from the inside}

the main temple monk made some early rounds when we got there. people bowed down before him and asked for some blessings. you can see a glimpse of his back in the picture above, the one under the orange (or is that red?!?) parasol.

^{on the way back out, roof was covered in snow}