I finally have a more or less finished list of things that I will take with me on the Henro Pilgrimage. The following list includes what I will be wearing as well as what I will be carrying. The reason for this is that what I wear will depend on the weather, and this will change what I will carry.
My travel pack
Clothes
-underwear shorts (5 pairs)
-underwear shirts (5 pairs)
- stockings
-- regular (5 pairs)
-- 5-toed (5 pairs)
-handkerchiefs
-shirts (4 winter weight)
-pants (2 pairs - heavy and light)
-walking shoes
-gloves
--light weight
--heavy weight
-knit hat
-balaclava
-coat (autumn weight)
-Gortex rainwear (coat and pants)
Henro outfit
-white jacket
-Embroidered cloth to hang around neck
-straw hat
-walking stick
-book for temple stamps
-slips to give people who give me gifts
-Heart Sutra
Other stuff
-backpack
-plastic bags to protect stuff from rain
-ZipLock bags for small stuff
-papers (ID, health insurance, credit card, PO account card)
-cash
-glasses with case
-cell phone with charger
-drawing kit (notebook, pens, pencils)
-medical and hygiene kit (toothbrush and paste, my medicine, Vaseline, aspirin, vitamins, amino acid pills, tape (narrow and wide), anti-diarrhea pills, bandages, disinfectant, towel, facecloth)
-sewing kit (needle and thread)
-Swiss Army knife with blade and scissors
-key chain compass and thermometer
-pedometer
-map and guidebook
Feb 6, 2009
Feb 4, 2009
Getting ready slowly
Yesterday Ian and took our regular Wednesday morning walk in the park, Shinrin Koen. It was a Tuesday but I had to work today, Wednesday, so we went a day early. This is the last week of the semester at Tohoku University, and I have three days of classes to make up for all the Mondays that we missed because of holidays.
As we were walking down a hill between Kita Sendai Station and the park, I stepped on some sheer ice. My feet went out from under me and I ended up on my back. Luckily I was wearing my backpack and it protected me. Today, I have a little pain in my lower back and my leg, both on the right side, but neither enough to bother me. Losing all that weight and getting in shape has certainly paid off; a couple of years ago a fall like that might have put me in the hospital.
The paths in the park were full of ice so we only did one lap, rather than our customary two. However, I think that we got more of a physical workout than usual. After finishing, we stopped as always and had coffee and a donut at Mr Donuts. Finally we went over to Kita Sendai Station and bought our train tickets for the trip.
The top ticket is for the Shinkansen (Bullet train) between Sendai and Tokyo, the middle one is also for the Shinkansen but for Tokyo to Osaka, and the bottom one is the regular fare between Sendai and Osaka. We will leave Sendai at 6 a.m. on February 14th and arrive in Osaka at 10:26.
After I got home from our walk, my wife and I did some more preparation for the trip. First we arranged for an old grade school friend of my daughters' to meet us on the platform at the Shinkansen station in Osaka, Shin Osaka. She will show us the way to Nanba Station which is where the highway bus leaves from, apparently it is a bit complicated, especially at Nanba.
We also called the bus company and reserved two seats on the highway bus from Nanba to a stop which only a couple of hundred meters from the first temple. The bus leaves Nanba Station at noon and arrives just before 2:30.
Then we called and made a reservation at Temple #2, Gokurakuji, for the night of Feb 14. We will first go to Temple #1 and, after buying our Henro outfit, chant the Heart Sutra and do the other rituals, finally walking the 1.2 km to Gokurakuji.
We then called Temple #7, Juurakuji, to make a reservation, but it will be closed that night. The temple will be open but they are not accepting over night guests. So we called Temple #6, Anrakuji, and made a reservation there. When we stop at Anrakuji to chant the sutra, we will also checkin and leave our backpacks. Then after the rituals, we will then walk the 1.0 km to Juurakuji, and do the ceremonies there, returning to Anrakuji for the evening. On the following morning we will leave early and go directly to Temple #8, hopefully arriving just before 9 a.m.
As we were walking down a hill between Kita Sendai Station and the park, I stepped on some sheer ice. My feet went out from under me and I ended up on my back. Luckily I was wearing my backpack and it protected me. Today, I have a little pain in my lower back and my leg, both on the right side, but neither enough to bother me. Losing all that weight and getting in shape has certainly paid off; a couple of years ago a fall like that might have put me in the hospital.
The paths in the park were full of ice so we only did one lap, rather than our customary two. However, I think that we got more of a physical workout than usual. After finishing, we stopped as always and had coffee and a donut at Mr Donuts. Finally we went over to Kita Sendai Station and bought our train tickets for the trip.
The top ticket is for the Shinkansen (Bullet train) between Sendai and Tokyo, the middle one is also for the Shinkansen but for Tokyo to Osaka, and the bottom one is the regular fare between Sendai and Osaka. We will leave Sendai at 6 a.m. on February 14th and arrive in Osaka at 10:26.After I got home from our walk, my wife and I did some more preparation for the trip. First we arranged for an old grade school friend of my daughters' to meet us on the platform at the Shinkansen station in Osaka, Shin Osaka. She will show us the way to Nanba Station which is where the highway bus leaves from, apparently it is a bit complicated, especially at Nanba.
We also called the bus company and reserved two seats on the highway bus from Nanba to a stop which only a couple of hundred meters from the first temple. The bus leaves Nanba Station at noon and arrives just before 2:30.
Then we called and made a reservation at Temple #2, Gokurakuji, for the night of Feb 14. We will first go to Temple #1 and, after buying our Henro outfit, chant the Heart Sutra and do the other rituals, finally walking the 1.2 km to Gokurakuji.
We then called Temple #7, Juurakuji, to make a reservation, but it will be closed that night. The temple will be open but they are not accepting over night guests. So we called Temple #6, Anrakuji, and made a reservation there. When we stop at Anrakuji to chant the sutra, we will also checkin and leave our backpacks. Then after the rituals, we will then walk the 1.0 km to Juurakuji, and do the ceremonies there, returning to Anrakuji for the evening. On the following morning we will leave early and go directly to Temple #8, hopefully arriving just before 9 a.m.
Feb 2, 2009
Fibbing again
Today in class, my students spent a long time working in small groups, so I had nothing to do but walking around observing them. While I was doing this, I composed the following fib based on walking into Sendai center through the snow on Saturday.
Cold
Day.
Snowy.
Walking home.
All an empty white,
Stilling the motion in my mind.
Cold
Day.
Snowy.
Walking home.
All an empty white,
Stilling the motion in my mind.
Feb 1, 2009
Earthquake again
I was rudely awakened just before seven this morning by a medium sized earthquake. It was, however, small enough that my wife slept right through it. It was either a 2 or a 3 on the Japanese scale. The center was out in the ocean between here and Tokyo.
The picture in my last post, which, by the way, I sent on my way into Sendai, was of a small shrine about half way between my apartment and downtown Sendai. It is located in the approximate location of an old execution and torture ground and is dedicated to all the people who suffered and died there. The people that live in the area say that there are ghosts wandering around at night, but I have never seen one.
In the morning I had gone to art class where I drew the following picture. As usual the photo does blurs the fine lines so it does not look quite the same as the original. This reproduction is much rougher.
After the class, 12 of us whet to an Italian restaurant for a New Year party. We stayed about two and a half hours, and I got to know some of the other students a lot better than from just our time in the classroom.
After the party broke up, I walked to Sendai in the snow and took the picture of the shrine in the snow at about the midway point. A little while after I took the picture, a car swerved to avoid a truck that was making a turn. The car came almost up onto the sidewalk. The result was that it sent up a huge wave of water, snow, and ice that went over my head, soaking me completely.
I felt like I had been in the shower with my clothes on. I walked, dripping, into town and went to a bookstore that has a large collection of English books, bought something to read, and went to Starbucks for coffee and heat. When everything had dried by my shoes, I walked over to the Irish Pub, Ha'penny. Eventually six of my friends showed up. I drank wine and talked with them until about 9 when I decided that, because my wet feet were very cold, I would go home. It was still snowing so I took the subway home. On arrival, I discovered that my wife had baked a carrot cake so I ate a piece and had a cup of coffee before going happily to bed.
The picture in my last post, which, by the way, I sent on my way into Sendai, was of a small shrine about half way between my apartment and downtown Sendai. It is located in the approximate location of an old execution and torture ground and is dedicated to all the people who suffered and died there. The people that live in the area say that there are ghosts wandering around at night, but I have never seen one.
In the morning I had gone to art class where I drew the following picture. As usual the photo does blurs the fine lines so it does not look quite the same as the original. This reproduction is much rougher.
After the class, 12 of us whet to an Italian restaurant for a New Year party. We stayed about two and a half hours, and I got to know some of the other students a lot better than from just our time in the classroom.
After the party broke up, I walked to Sendai in the snow and took the picture of the shrine in the snow at about the midway point. A little while after I took the picture, a car swerved to avoid a truck that was making a turn. The car came almost up onto the sidewalk. The result was that it sent up a huge wave of water, snow, and ice that went over my head, soaking me completely.
I felt like I had been in the shower with my clothes on. I walked, dripping, into town and went to a bookstore that has a large collection of English books, bought something to read, and went to Starbucks for coffee and heat. When everything had dried by my shoes, I walked over to the Irish Pub, Ha'penny. Eventually six of my friends showed up. I drank wine and talked with them until about 9 when I decided that, because my wet feet were very cold, I would go home. It was still snowing so I took the subway home. On arrival, I discovered that my wife had baked a carrot cake so I ate a piece and had a cup of coffee before going happily to bed.
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