Otaru: Haunted Houses and Music Boxes
Working my way down the line, this is my fifth journal entry for the Japanese 197 track....I have started rather late and thus exhausted current excursions/topics, so I shall have to think back on a previous trip....I apologize if this entry makes NO SENSE as my memory isn't quite up to par at this particular moment....moving on...
About two weeks ago we had a group excursion to Otaru. From Sapporo, Otaru is about an hour north-west, a port city, on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The city was originally an Ainu habitation, the very name "Otaru" being recognised as of Ainu origin. It could possibly mean "river running through the sandy beach." A very small part of the remaining Temiya Cave contains carvings from the Zoku-Joumon Period of Ainu history, c. 400 A.D.
It took about an hour for us to reach Otaru. As we disembarked from our bus, we were taken to a canal where many tourists were taking pictures and painters were selling prints. I believe this was either a famous canal or was next to Otaru Beer, which is famous in its own right. Everyone took photos and kind of floated around for twenty minutes, upon which we were taken down the street and into a fairly large buffet. We had lunch, which consisted of Ghenghis Khan (oh ho ho ho, yes, again), and I stuffed my face with lots of little deserts. After lunch everyone was given free time so we UMassers had a special 397 class.
We started out in town and on the way to Suitengu Jinja stopped at the National Bank of Japan Otaru Museum. It was a fairly nice museum. I love old money, so it was a nice treat. On the inside you have lots of little rooms detailing the history of the treasury/mint and towards the end they have world currency and rare Japanese money.
Afterwards we walked up very steep streets to the top of Mt. Tengu, where Suitengu Jinja is located. Part of the reason why we went was to visit a memorial stone that was placed on the grounds after a visit by Ishikawa Takuboku, a famous tanka and "modern-style" or "free-style" poet. The shrine was located on the top of a marvelous hill, which gave us absolutely glorious views of the ocean and surrounding hills and town. Being a Russian port, there were quite a few ships docked and it was really beautiful from up above. Off to the side was a smaller shrine to kitsune. Having been fortunate enough to have seen one on the road when my family took me out a week before, I went and prayed. The entire area, as is much of Hokkaido, is overgrown in a way that is so beautiful and unfamilar to what I am used to in Massachusetts. The earth is left to itself in many places, fields and fields of dandelions and weeds. On mountains and in areas like Suitengu Jinja, the overpowering overgrowth is quite lovely. As we walked down a very steep and old stone path down the side of the mount, we passed a very creepy neighborhood. Apparently a few years back an old house had stood on that road. It was about to fall over so it was torn down and a new house was put up across the street from it shortly thereafter. That house is now abandoned. When we walked down it you could see all the dead mail overflowing on the dirty porch. The house itself, slightly jutting out on the cliff, was rather sinister looking. The entire area had a slightly eerie vibe. Professor Forrest told us the tale and mentioned how the area was haunted and that that house was soon to become a haunted house, I think the term is お化け屋敷, obakeshiki. Spirits/ghosts/negative energy move from house to house, wander around the area, etc. I find this all very fascinating and did not hear this firsthand, so I badgered other people and then Professor again later to hear all about it. I love the whole topic. It gets me so excited, I think I really want to pursue that topic as a possible undergraduate thesis, concepts of haunting and abandonment in Japan. Anyways, back to Otaru...
We continued to the town center where they were playing really creepy music. It was so...Stepford. Everything was so pretty and European and perfect and the music was just so cold and flawless it felt a little Stepford-ish. Actually, I take that back, more Wickerman-ish. Yes, definitely Wickerman.... We walked into the music box factory (we were going to make music boxes) and it felt like some magical theme park or something...all foresty and earthy.... We were taken upstairs where we had kits waiting for us. We all made our music boxes and then went and shopped while we were waiting for them to dry. By the end of the activity, it was already time to return.
Once more, and especially from a near-end of trip standing point, I was impressed by the architecture and design of the city. The melding of European and Japanese styles. The town was historically a port, so it makes sense (as with Hakodate), but even still, the whole topic fascinates me. It was a very beautiful town and I had a wonderful day.
About two weeks ago we had a group excursion to Otaru. From Sapporo, Otaru is about an hour north-west, a port city, on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The city was originally an Ainu habitation, the very name "Otaru" being recognised as of Ainu origin. It could possibly mean "river running through the sandy beach." A very small part of the remaining Temiya Cave contains carvings from the Zoku-Joumon Period of Ainu history, c. 400 A.D.
It took about an hour for us to reach Otaru. As we disembarked from our bus, we were taken to a canal where many tourists were taking pictures and painters were selling prints. I believe this was either a famous canal or was next to Otaru Beer, which is famous in its own right. Everyone took photos and kind of floated around for twenty minutes, upon which we were taken down the street and into a fairly large buffet. We had lunch, which consisted of Ghenghis Khan (oh ho ho ho, yes, again), and I stuffed my face with lots of little deserts. After lunch everyone was given free time so we UMassers had a special 397 class.
We started out in town and on the way to Suitengu Jinja stopped at the National Bank of Japan Otaru Museum. It was a fairly nice museum. I love old money, so it was a nice treat. On the inside you have lots of little rooms detailing the history of the treasury/mint and towards the end they have world currency and rare Japanese money.
Afterwards we walked up very steep streets to the top of Mt. Tengu, where Suitengu Jinja is located. Part of the reason why we went was to visit a memorial stone that was placed on the grounds after a visit by Ishikawa Takuboku, a famous tanka and "modern-style" or "free-style" poet. The shrine was located on the top of a marvelous hill, which gave us absolutely glorious views of the ocean and surrounding hills and town. Being a Russian port, there were quite a few ships docked and it was really beautiful from up above. Off to the side was a smaller shrine to kitsune. Having been fortunate enough to have seen one on the road when my family took me out a week before, I went and prayed. The entire area, as is much of Hokkaido, is overgrown in a way that is so beautiful and unfamilar to what I am used to in Massachusetts. The earth is left to itself in many places, fields and fields of dandelions and weeds. On mountains and in areas like Suitengu Jinja, the overpowering overgrowth is quite lovely. As we walked down a very steep and old stone path down the side of the mount, we passed a very creepy neighborhood. Apparently a few years back an old house had stood on that road. It was about to fall over so it was torn down and a new house was put up across the street from it shortly thereafter. That house is now abandoned. When we walked down it you could see all the dead mail overflowing on the dirty porch. The house itself, slightly jutting out on the cliff, was rather sinister looking. The entire area had a slightly eerie vibe. Professor Forrest told us the tale and mentioned how the area was haunted and that that house was soon to become a haunted house, I think the term is お化け屋敷, obakeshiki. Spirits/ghosts/negative energy move from house to house, wander around the area, etc. I find this all very fascinating and did not hear this firsthand, so I badgered other people and then Professor again later to hear all about it. I love the whole topic. It gets me so excited, I think I really want to pursue that topic as a possible undergraduate thesis, concepts of haunting and abandonment in Japan. Anyways, back to Otaru...
We continued to the town center where they were playing really creepy music. It was so...Stepford. Everything was so pretty and European and perfect and the music was just so cold and flawless it felt a little Stepford-ish. Actually, I take that back, more Wickerman-ish. Yes, definitely Wickerman.... We walked into the music box factory (we were going to make music boxes) and it felt like some magical theme park or something...all foresty and earthy.... We were taken upstairs where we had kits waiting for us. We all made our music boxes and then went and shopped while we were waiting for them to dry. By the end of the activity, it was already time to return.
Once more, and especially from a near-end of trip standing point, I was impressed by the architecture and design of the city. The melding of European and Japanese styles. The town was historically a port, so it makes sense (as with Hakodate), but even still, the whole topic fascinates me. It was a very beautiful town and I had a wonderful day.