Northern Japan is Pretty

Hey all, (The post was saved, but i`m not reediting it...)



I`m in Morioka now, as north as I`m going to get this trip, and for some reason, it`s always snowing. I`m not complaining, though, cause if you know me, you know I like snow. However, it`s also really cold. Not really a problem, but not totally what I was expecting. I`m only 5 days into the trip (6? I`m not really sure), but I know how I`m going to pack differently next time.



Northern Japan is Unrelentlessly Beautiful. Maybe its the idea that when it`s not your normal surroundings, everything is framed differently anyways, or maybe it`s the snow, but everywhere I look, it`s some sort of breathtaking view. Let`s start with Nikko. It was my first taste of Japan outside of Tokyo, so I didn`t know what to expect. (side note: shinkansen are the craziest mode of transportation ever. They go really really fast. And they`re so smooth on the inside, I didn`t even know I was moving the first time) Halfway through the train ride, it starts dumping snow. Really dumping. By the time I got to Nikko, it was blanketing the ground, and the little village looked really nice and postcard-like.

Having no place to stay, and nothing being in English (Except my useless Lonely Planet map), I asked an old lady if there were any hotels around (with my almost useless phrasebook, which has a million ways to ask how to fix your car, but 3 phrases on introducing yourself to the locals), and she immediately found a young girl to help me (she spoke English). However, the help I got after telling her I wanted to be near the temple put me at the temple site with no hotel in sight. So I went to the temple complex with my heavy backpack.

Stunning. Like what you see in pictures and movies and books, but even more so. Pictures don`t do it justice. Imagine a snow covered Japanese temple, and then imagine it surrounded by snow covered mountains, smelling like incense, and sounding like a mountain stream. Then do a line of cocaine.

Here, 3 days later, I`ve seen a whole lot of temples, but they`re all in different settings. The Buddhists and Shintoists really know how to create tranquility and harmony with nature, even in the middle of a city. Which leads me to my next off-topic topic. What fascinates me the most (lots of pictures to prove it) is the juxtaposition of culture in Japan. I visited a historic temple yesterday (in Aizu), and right next to it I found a Love Hotel (look it up). There are tons of temples and shrines right next to department stores and bars. It`s downright amazing.

Anyways, while at the temple complex, I saw a group of white people hiking up some stairway, so I decided to follow them (in hindsight, not a good move with the backpack). I said hi, and in some bizzare twist of providence, they were part of the Tufts Bezeelbubs (a capella group), and one of them had eaten at Uni that spring.

``Was there a big Asian guy behind the bar?``
``Yeah!``
``Was there anyone with him?``
``Yes, some American guy``

Go figure, right? That same guy is graduating in spring and moving to LA to do acting.

We chatted for a bit and went our seperate ways, I tried to find a place to stay for the night. The problem with the guidebook is that it gives you the phrase, but doesn`t tell you what a response will sound like. So if you ask where there is a hotel, and you get a 30 second long answer in Japanese, all you can do is give a blank stare.

Finally, an old lady stops me on the street. `

`Youth Hosteruu?``
``Hai!``
*she points above her, at a sign on a lamppost.*
--International youth hostel this way--

So I head next to the river, behind these houses, down an alley, down some stairs, to a door (labeled, thank God), and walk in. Homey doesn`t begin to describe this place. It was cheap, and warm, and I stayed the night, and met no australians (But I did meet a korean and a japanese guy, but the korean didn`t understand when I told him I had a Korean roomate. He got `bulgogi` though).

I`m going to cut it off here, they might kick me off. If not, I`ll talk about day 2 in Nikko next.