Kyoto

I have not posted in quite a while, I`m sorry about that. There has been lots of Japanese language exams, speech contests group projects etc at JIAM lately so I haven`t had much free time. Last week however, we did go on a study tour to Kyoto, and visited many famous sites. As you probably know Kyoto is another former Imperial capital of Japan. In fact is was capital form about 794 right up until 1868 when power was transfered to Edo (Tokyo). Whilst there was visited Kiyomizu-dera (pure water temple), an 8th century temple, with a waterfall near by that is said to cotain pure water with healing properties. We also visited Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion Temple) which is a pavilion entirely covered in pure gold leaf. It is a pretty amazing site, as you can tell from the photo to the left. Originally it was build as a villa for the Yoshimitsu Shogun, however years later his son became a Buddhist monk and converted it into a temple. The picture below is from the large beautiful garden which surrounds the temple.

Next we visited Nijo-jo the famous residence of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was built relatively close to the imperial palace as a show of power by the shogunate, as historically there was tension between the imperial court and the shogunate as to who would actually control the Japanese government. It was at this sight that the administrative power was eventually handed back to the Emperor, culminating in the Meji restoration. The castle is also the site of the famous `nightingale floor` mentioned in Australian author Lian Hearn`s novel Crossing the Nightingale Floor. Under the floor boards, metal struts are installed, so that as you tread over them they make a noise, alerting body guards to the presence of any would be assassins. Photography is prohibited in the inside of the castle, but the photo below shows the elaborate gate at the castles entrance.

Nara, Japan`s First Capital.

Yesterday was Saturday so during my break from studies I took a trip to Nara, the first official capital of Japan, and home to no less that 8 UNESCO world heritage sites. To put is simply, It was amazing.The highlight by far was visiting Todai Ji, and ancient Buddhist temple which has history dating back to 728 AD. The building above is the Daibutsu Den, the largest standing Wooden building in the world. Amazingly, it is only 2/3rds the size of the original building, destroyed centuries ago. It houses the massive Daibutusu Statue, a staggering 14.98 meter tall statue of the Dainichi Daibutsu (great cosmic Buddha). It is impossible to explain the massiveness of the hall and the statue until you have been inside and seen it for yourself. The photo below has people in frame, at the bottom right, which gives some idea of proportion.

Another very impressive site was the two Nio guards at the main entrance gate to the temple. The are 8m tall wooden statues of almost daemon like protector / guardians, found at the entrance to many Japanese Buddhist temples. These two at Todai ji are said to be some of the most impressive Nio you can find, some of the finest examples of wooden sculptures in the world. Unfortunately, the protective wire that surrounds the statues ruined my photos, but a good one can be found here: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Nio_guardians_by_Unkei_in_Nara.jpg It is definitely worth checking out.

A huge number of Deer can be found all around large parts of Nara, the Shinto belief is that they are messengers from the gods, so they have been granted special protection. Today they remain in huge numbers, very close to the main city, which is quite amazing. I grabbed a shot of this family having a rest on a piles of leaves in the park.

JIAM

So we traveled by shinkansen for about 3 hours from Tokyo to the Japan International Academy of Municipalities (JIAM). The trips we great, and along the way we got an excellent, almost totally clear (which is very rare I`m told) view of Fuji San, which was great.

JIAM is located in the small town of Krasaki, which is part of Otsu. It is only a short walk from BiwaKo, Japans biggest lake, which provides much of the drinking water for Kyoto and Osaka.

Years ago black bass were released into the lake, and now are a major pest. there is a lot of recreational fishing in the lake, but the local don`t like the taste of the bass at all. Strangely similar to North Queensland where we have Tilapia, a major pest in our fresh water systems, which is widely eaten through out Southeast Asia and Africa, but the though of eating one would be quite repulsive to most Queensland's. Otsu is just over the hills from Kyoto, and not too from from Osaka and Nara also.

Whilst at JIAM I am studying Japanese language, so that I may have a basic conversational level to build upon when I move on to Saitama to undertake my traineeship. The classes provided are excelentand the facilities and life at JIAM, whilst very structured and scheduled, are great also. Getting to learn a bit about Japanese language and culture, and getting to know the other trainees here has been an excellent opportunity. While my language skills are progressing slowly, and we are still very much at a basic level, I will stay at for aprox. another month yet, so there is plenty of time for improvement. 日本語　とても　むずかしです。（Japanese is very difficult!!)

Also, I ducked into Osaka the other day and went to the 8 story camera store near the station there and picked up a camera, so I now have some of my own photos to show you. the one below is of the hills from my dorm window at JIAM

Well Not Quite Saitama Yet.

I finally arrived in Japan on may 20th after much anticipation and preparation. The first few days were spent in Tokyo going through the program orientation and being shown a few sites around Tokyo by Clair staff. This included a visit to the Nation Diet (paralemt house) which was very interesting. In spite of it`s sheer size and vast skyscraper clad sky line which was to be expected, I was very surprised with Tokyo. It was incredibly beautiful, not to say that I did not expect it to be as such, but for different reasons. The weather is very mild at the moment and the city is extremely green, with avenues of ginko (and other) trees lining the streets. From my short three day visit, mostly around the Akaska area, the city appears to be very green! I also visited Ginza, which was an awe inspiring experience. If you get a chance to go, make sure it is at night, all the gargantuan buildings totally lit up are like a much cleaner, more beautiful scene from `Bladerunner`, if that makes any scene to you. Unfortunately at that point I did not have a camera on me yet, but I gnabed a public domain image of the web which gives you a little bit of an idea. After my three days in Tokyo it was into the shinkansen and onto JIAM................