Japan - Nagoya (two)
Our first full day in Nagoya began with a walk up a hill past the soccer stadium and tennis courts of Nagoya University (virtually in Jerome and Lea's back yard) to a French bakery Blanc Pain (god I love the internet), owned and run by a Frenchman named Didier and his Japanese wife. Lea is chummy with them both and we were all treated to really fantastic and attentive service as we enjoyed our brunch on the terrace (afterwards, we chatted a bit with Didier and his wife, who are lovely folks.) Incidentally, Blanc Pain is considered the best boulangerie in Nagoya...apparently Japanese come from far and wide for Didier's bread, croissants, etc. From there, Lea took us to see the Atsuta Shrine, "known as the second-most venerable shrine in Japan". The Atsuta Shrine holds the legendary Kusanagi sword, one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan; the sword is "as important to Japan's history as Excalibur is to Britain's."
On the grounds of the Osu Kannon Temple
After brunch, we took the train to the Atsuta Shrine. Finding the station wasn't easy (I don't know if I mentioned, but Lea and Jerome essentially live in a suburb of Nagoya, which was as sprawling and foot-unfriendly as most every other suburb), but Lea was able to recruit two random university students to point us in the right direction; fortunately for us, the students were on their way to lunch at a restaurant quite near the station, so we all walked together.
I didn't take very many photos on our visit to the Atsuta shrine, and those I took, I don't really like. This one barely made the cut...and it's not even of the shrine. :(
Osu Kannon Temple
After Atsuta, we hopped the train again to the Osu Kannon Temple, where we spent the bulk of the afternoon...there's a ton of stuff to do in the area; besides the temple itself, there's a really fun, seemingly endless shopping arcade and cool cafes (photos of this stuff coming later...all of the remaining photos in this post are from the temple grounds.)
Worshippers (using the term lightly) come to the temple to offer prayers to Kannon. On the left, three guys tie folded papers (called osame fuda) containing prayers to a rope. From above the doors to the inner temple hang two ropes holding hundreds of osame fuda. To the right, three worshippers gather around a large burner to make offerings of incense (or osenko).
It is apparently common for students to offer many prayers for high marks during exam time. Hmmmm...
After Atsuta, we went to the Osu Kannon Temple (Kannon is the bodhisattva of compassion) and hung out for a while (more on this "hanging out" in another post...holy cow...fun! Nagoya! Who knew? Not I...)
On the grounds of the Osu Kannon Temple
After brunch, we took the train to the Atsuta Shrine. Finding the station wasn't easy (I don't know if I mentioned, but Lea and Jerome essentially live in a suburb of Nagoya, which was as sprawling and foot-unfriendly as most every other suburb), but Lea was able to recruit two random university students to point us in the right direction; fortunately for us, the students were on their way to lunch at a restaurant quite near the station, so we all walked together.
I didn't take very many photos on our visit to the Atsuta shrine, and those I took, I don't really like. This one barely made the cut...and it's not even of the shrine. :(
Osu Kannon Temple
After Atsuta, we hopped the train again to the Osu Kannon Temple, where we spent the bulk of the afternoon...there's a ton of stuff to do in the area; besides the temple itself, there's a really fun, seemingly endless shopping arcade and cool cafes (photos of this stuff coming later...all of the remaining photos in this post are from the temple grounds.)
Worshippers (using the term lightly) come to the temple to offer prayers to Kannon. On the left, three guys tie folded papers (called osame fuda) containing prayers to a rope. From above the doors to the inner temple hang two ropes holding hundreds of osame fuda. To the right, three worshippers gather around a large burner to make offerings of incense (or osenko).
It is apparently common for students to offer many prayers for high marks during exam time. Hmmmm...
After Atsuta, we went to the Osu Kannon Temple (Kannon is the bodhisattva of compassion) and hung out for a while (more on this "hanging out" in another post...holy cow...fun! Nagoya! Who knew? Not I...)