The Hotness & the Hurtness

Sept. 8

Our last day in Nara consisted of a day trip to Hōryūji and its sub-temple Chūguji out in the Yamato plain. I donned my new floppy hat (best 600 yen purchase ever!) once more to beat the scorching heat and mentally prepared myself for the tiring adventure ahead. An hour long bus ride through sleepy suburbs and rice fields and we alighted from the bus and walked to the south gate through a tree-lined path that quite reminded me of CSU’s oval for some reason.

Packs of anxious school kids were already appearing from every feasible nook and cranny, and we snaked through the burgeoning uniformed crowds (and a delightfully friendly group of Korean tourists!) toward the western part of the complex, where the yumedono (octagonal “dream hall”) and former convent lie.

As we walked a narrow corridor most of us were singled out by an eager Korean tourist for conversation. I was the target of an adorable elderly man who must have been half my size. I mistakenly started speaking to him in Japanese, and he gave a hearty chuckle and tried his best at broken English. I just smiled and giggled back (I’m smiling as I write this now thinking of the encounter).

Several twists and turns through white walled paths and we came to Chūguji. I have read so much about this old convent in the writings of a scholar I really look up to, Lori Meeks, and I was just so happy to reach it myself! I had no idea its main hall was a majestic building set up high with a pillared porch and shallow moat full of leisurely turtles soaking up the warm midday sun. Inside was a very rare embroidered mandala full of Daoist imagery and a trio of statues. I did not want to leave…ever.


The afternoon was spent in the air conditioned (yes!) museum onsite, and we saw even more incredibly famous and fantastic statues and paintings (many of Empress Kōmyō’s mini stupas from the eighth century too!). A quick stop at a textile dealer’s shop to peruse ancient (and very expensive) fabrics and we ran to catch the 3:15 bus back. We just made it, thankfully.


Being our last night in Nara, Master at Kinasa had arranged for our whole group (18 people) to crowd his small restaurant and have a farewell party. Cynthea and I turned the walk over into a mini shopping spree, loading up on great socks, tights, and Muji attire. We arrived with just enough time to enjoy a cold beer and the quiet emptiness of Kinasa as master and his assistant Tomomi prepare our last supper.

As expected, a great night filled with the best food ever, the best sake (Master had bought two bottles of very high end sake from Niigata [northern Japan]) ever, black sugar plum wine, perfectly ripe grapes and pears…and specially ordered sweets. Master even gave us all gifts! Some of the students and I thought it would be a good idea to hit up the adjacent bar for a nightcap (we’d been eyeing “Back the Face” shot bar since night one), and learned the hard way that one whiskey drink in a bar like that requires that one pays an entrance fee and unordered snacks. Somehow Master sensed our troubles from across the way, and came through the door right as we were served the bill and saved us. THANK YOU!! I should have known this extra excursion was a bad decision, but unfortunately my luck only worsened, thanks to an unplanned dive into a three foot deep rain gutter on the way home. I need to stop hurting myself, eh?