April 9, 2014
April 9, 2014
I woke up this morning with the room spinning. I had a bout of vertigo a couple months ago. What a terrible time for it to recur! This time it makes me nauseous. I skip breakfast. Aimee goes without me and says the Western-style meal was great. I can’t even think about food.
We are on the move again. We check out, send our luggage ahead and board the long train back south. I am glad it is a long ride, as I have to run for the bathroom several times. Since the nausea is persisting I am guessing this is more than vertigo. I must have eaten something a westerner shouldn’t have. Aimee blames the raw firefly squid.
In Osaka station we take the subway to the main southern train station. There we stroll the covered pedestrian shopping streets. The area is high-intensity modern. Surprisingly in the middle of it is a little cultural oasis called Hozen-ji Temple. For lunch we eat at McDonald’s. Aimee has a burger while I sip a Coke and eat an ice cream cone. That is the most my stomach can tolerate.
We spend the day making our way to Koyasan. To get there we take a local train south from Osaka. Koyasan, now a World Heritage Site, is a revered Buddhist enclave. In ancient times, pilgrims traveling there would climb a trail to this mountaintop oasis. Since I am under the weather, we take the modern way, a funicular train up a very steep grade. At the hilltop station, we catch a bus to one of the many Buddhist monasteries offering shelter to travelers.
A monk showed us to our room. We are invited for dinner at six. Since most Buddhist monks are vegetarian, there is no raw fish at this meal. At least that is what Aimee told me. I tried a little miso soup and had to immediately run for the exit, and not because I mind a vegetarian meal occasionally.
Temporarily feeling a little better, or needing some fresh air, we walk the mile trail to the 9th century shrine and mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, a monk famous for bringing Chinese Buddhism to Japan. The pathway is illuminated with stone lanterns. Lining the path are thousands of graves, Japan’s largest cemetery. Everybody wanted to be buried in this sacred spot, next to Kobo Daishi, including Emperors and Shoguns. The dim light, moss-covering, and towering cedar trees make this an especially spooky journey. I forgot my stomach hurts.
I woke up this morning with the room spinning. I had a bout of vertigo a couple months ago. What a terrible time for it to recur! This time it makes me nauseous. I skip breakfast. Aimee goes without me and says the Western-style meal was great. I can’t even think about food.
We are on the move again. We check out, send our luggage ahead and board the long train back south. I am glad it is a long ride, as I have to run for the bathroom several times. Since the nausea is persisting I am guessing this is more than vertigo. I must have eaten something a westerner shouldn’t have. Aimee blames the raw firefly squid.
We spend the day making our way to Koyasan. To get there we take a local train south from Osaka. Koyasan, now a World Heritage Site, is a revered Buddhist enclave. In ancient times, pilgrims traveling there would climb a trail to this mountaintop oasis. Since I am under the weather, we take the modern way, a funicular train up a very steep grade. At the hilltop station, we catch a bus to one of the many Buddhist monasteries offering shelter to travelers.
posted by Mike and Aimee at 9:40 AM
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