Of Sakura Season

First off, some quick news. The nuclear reactor was updated to the same status as Chernobyl the other day. Apparently it qualifies as a 7 now because of a long, sustained release of radiation with significant damage. But honestly, nothing has really changed. It was a level 5 before. But really, nothing has changed within the past couple days, so don't worry.

Secondly, I have some pictures to share with you all of the sakura. This blog is about more than just earthquakes and tsunamis and nuclear reactors after all. This year the sakura have had mixed reviews. In some ways, people are so appreciative. They only last about a week or two and then they're gone. It's this fleeting beauty amongst everything else, so it's appreciated all the more, especially in light of recent events. On the other hand though, due to the continued 自粛 (jishuku) mood, people still feel guilty about appreciating anything.

Needless to say though, people are still trying to enjoy the season though. The weather is getting warmer, and the sakura (cherry blossoms) mark the start of spring. So, in order for everyone to understand how this works, I'll explain.

The sakura begin to bloom when the weather just starts getting warmer. For all purposes, it's still fairly cool in the morning and at night. But people will go alone or as couples, school groups, company groups, families, etc. to enjoy the sakura together in parks.  The cherry blossoms since they only bloom for a short time should be enjoyed to the fullest, so people make sure to spend a decent amount of time outside to properly appreciate them.

Of course, no celebration is complete without alcohol, especially here in Japan. So, we all went to 花見 (hanami), or flower-viewing to go appreciate them. You can do this just in a park, or you can go to a shrine such as this one. We were at 平野神社 (Hirano Jinjya) for this picture. There were chairs and tables, benches, and these large platforms to enjoy the cherry blossoms. I drank 甘酒 (amazake), sweet sake, while my friends drank everything from Chu-Hi's to beer to hot sake. 

Of course, sakura during the day are also beautiful. This is Ritsumeikan University's Kinugasa Campus (立命館大学衣笠キャンパス) in full bloom. We've had a pretty strong wind recently, so the petals have been billowing around. There's actually a world for the falling petals, it's called 花吹雪 (hana-fubuki), which means "blowing flowers" or "falling flowers." The petals are getting in everything too. You walk into class and you, your books, your hair, and your food are covered in them. It's kind of cool, and definitely beautiful, but it's amazing to see them falling.

I have to get back to studying. I have a kanji test before I leave for Tokyo, so I need to actually make sure I can write them. Take care everyone!

Michelle

Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社)

For months, I've been asking friends, boyfriend, everyone that I meet to go with me to Fushimi Inari Taisha  （伏見稲荷大社）. The normal answer is something the lines of, "Michelle, it's on the edge of Kyoto. It's too far. It's a full day trip. Go another day." So for months, I've given in. But finally, with a couple month break, and nothing better to do than to spend time with friends, experience Japanese culture, and work on my language skills, I finally had the time to convince both Jazmin and Kengo to go with me the famous shrine.

For those of you that aren't familiar with the name, Fushimi Inari is a shrine devoted to the god Inari, who is the god of fertility, rice, agriculture, etc. in Shinto. The shrine itself is known for being one of the biggest in Kyoto, and definitely one of the biggest, if not the biggest, shrine to Inari in Japan. It's most famous though for the fact that it has a row of red torii gates, which lead around the mountain. These are donated by companies especially for good fortune. The whole focus on Fushimi Inari began in 965 or so in the Heian period. During this time, the Emperor Murakami decided to have all official documents reported to the gods. Fushimi Inari was of course included in the list of important shrines. Inari is also tied closely with foxes because these were believed to be Inari's messenger of choice. It has been hypothesized that this is due to the fact that during the planting and harvesting seasons, foxes would move into the farms to search for more food, etc., and this eventually came to be associated with the god Inari. Whether this is true or not is still up for debate though.

So with the history lesson over, let's move to some pictures.

We decided to walk the mountain trail, which takes about 2-3 hours, because we honestly had nothing better to do. Unfortunately for Kengo, he had run earlier in the morning, so walking up thousands of steps didn't sound like the best idea to him. Luckily though, we were able to persuade him, so we headed off up to Mount Inari.

The beginning of the walking adventure. Note how there are no steps here.

Over time, it got to be more like this, which is when we realized our mistake. We had already climbed so many steps by this point that it would been pointless to turn back. In fact, I think Kengo ran it for a while, but then he realized that it was getting steeper and the steps weren't stopping, so we waited for a bit.

At the top of the mountain. Note all the small sub-shrines surrounding the main shrine.

As we were walking back, it started to get darker. We grabbed some dinner, which was a classic kitsune-udon （きつねうどん）, which is a fried tofu slice inside a bowl of udon noodles.

Overall, it was a really great day.

Michelle