When people ask me what I like best about Japan, I often can't answer right away and I need to think for a while. Many foreigners have come to Japan for very specific reasons, but in my case I somehow found my way over here. For me, it wasn't manga, anime, or any other perculiar strange interest in other Japanese cultural assets. Of course it was no coincidence that I ended up in Japan, I did my share of helping fate a little bit.
My first time in Japan was a long stopover on the way back home from another trip, and suddenly and somehow my interest for the island kingdom in the far east was awakened. It was probably the overall package of exoticism, modernity, and history and culture unknown to me that I wanted to get to the bottom of, and that made me want to return to Japan again for a longer time.
And now, all of a sudden, there are enough reasons to stay here a bit longer. Starting with the food, which I should probably put into another post of its own, and ending with the genuine beauty of the whole country. Long-stretched coastlines, high mountains and endless forests, and in addition the many plains full of rice fields, which depending on the season exude a completely different charm. And finally, the many temples and shrines that can be found throughout all corners of the country.
In the temples and shrines, I am particularly attracted by that special atmosphere, this fine mystical aura that lies over these facilities. Even though I wouldn't necessarily call myself a dreamer, during my visits to temples and shrines I always manage to send my thoughts and my heart on a great journey. And from there, it captures a little bit of this so special and wonderful mood and brings it back to me. That's why I always try to visit and explore temples or shrines that are still unknown to me.
In Japan, Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines often go hand in hand and complement each other in the everyday life of the Japanese people. When the own children are 3, 5 or 7 years old, the whole family goes to the shrine, but on the other hand, the temple is responsible for funerals and mourning ceremonies. In our prefecture, you can find a small shrine after every third corner, but temples seem to be less common in this part of Japan than in the rest of the country.
So I was even more excited when a friend invited me to join her to go to Jikoji ζ ε ε―Ί, a temple that is located quite far out in the woods. Why not, a little trip is always nice and it was not that far.
The road took us out of our small town and then towards the mountains. Here in the countryside it's always so wonderfully green and especially in spring the nature looks really fresh. And often you have the country roads to yourself, the traffic that you know from the crowded and noisy big cities is far away here and hard to imagine.
Even we had a specific destination in mind, I still love to sometimes just drive around and let myself drift a little. I then look thoroughly to the left and right and soak up everything I get to see there. Such rides usually show a very undisguised and clear picture of Japan, not necessarily spectacular, but for me so important and defining. It is exactly this mood that I love about this country and in this life.
And in Japan you quickly get into that mood when driving through the countryside, because even for me there are still so many new viees and impressions that I rarely get bored.
Such everyday scenes as here in this picture can be so soothing and comforting and reassure me that I'm in the right place over here. Even though I am actually a city boy, I have long since succumbed to the charms of the countryside and nature.
Even cultivated areas, like these rice fields can look charming. Depending on the season, they always look completely different, and especially in spring and summer they are most charming and always invite me to dream.
Since Japan consists mostly of mountains and hills, all available land in the plains must be used for rice cultivation. In the plains the rice fields usually line up to the horizon and as soon as the rice is planted, the many fields turn into a huge green waving sea.
After we got to the mountains, the scenery changed and where there were fields a moment ago, there was now dense forest.
The large mountains in the middle of the country give rise to countless small and large rivers that make their long way to the sea. In the lowlands these rivers are sometimes forced into firmer courses, but here in the mountains they can often still be as wild and pristine as they have been for ages.
Here in the mountains, many of the rivers are often dammed, on the one hand to control the water masses and on the other hand to generate energy. The hunger for electricity in Japan is huge, but in terms of producing energy, the country is largely dependent on fossil fuels. The many hydroelectric power plants therefore make an important contribution to the energy supply, which in the future will also be one of the greatest challenges in Japan.
Even though the many dams are a great intrusion into nature, you often have a great view from there. The dense and in the heart of the country mostly still untouched forests show me then again that we do not control nature yet, but that there is still a wonderful green paradise to find and discover, which must be protected and preserved.
But now I have drifted off a little, as we actually wanted to go to the Jikoji temple. So we move our thoughts back in the right direction and head back to the road....
Our drive ended on a sandy parking lot in the forest, and there it seemed that we couldn't really go any further by car. That's why we continued to walk the rest of the way. After about 20 minutes of easy uphill we arrived, Jikoji is simply said in the middle of the forest.
A very peaceful and lovely temple, which fortunately didn't have any visitors that day, so we had the place, the time and the atmosphere all to ourselves. Surrounded by mighty cedar trees, time really seems to run a little slower here, probably you can even stop it.
Inside the buildings it was quite pleasantly cool and shady and after a quick chat with a temple inhabitant we had time for a little meditation to get a little bit calmer and free our minds.Something that I unfortunately do much too seldom, but especially in this atmosphere there, such a little spiritual time out has a completely different value from which you can benefit later as well.
The silence of this place was interrupted only by the sounds of the wind and the forest, a little bit of magic can be felt the first time you enter the temple and this feeling is pleasant and soothing throughout your stay and you will not want to take off this little coat later on.
The whole complex has something sublime about it and you will feel confident that you are in the right place at that moment. Even if you only walk through here for quickly, you will have gathered enough strength and energy to get through the rest of the day with self-confidence and concentration. Not all temples have such an effect, but Mother Nature contributes a lot to this effect.
Unfortunately, I have only made it to Jikoji once so far, although I always have it in the back of my mind. But there are just too many plans and just not enough time to realize everything that is buzzing around in my head.
When I look at these pictures now, I can feel something of the Jikoj magic again and I would love to go there again immediately. It's already dark outside and night is falling, so for now I will leave it to sending my thoughts on a short journey. Let's see what they will bring me home from there this time.
Have a great day everyone and please check back again, because I'll be back soon with more pictures and impressions from the land of the rising sun.
γΎγγ matane
[//]:# (!pinmapple 37.639316 lat 139.190049 long A little trip to Jikoji ζ
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