Trains and Temples

so yesterday i left the Fuji area for nagoya, japan's 4th largest city and onetime capital. i fell asleep hard on the train, and when i woke up, my watch was turned to alarm mode, and showed a time that was 2 houirs after i was supposed to disembark (btw - japanese trains and subways run with perfect efficiency. you could set your watch to them. so i use times to figure out stations, because sometimes station names are written in japanese, so i can't read them. but i will know, e.g., that 15 minutes from kanayama i get to sakae). so i rushed to grab my bags and ran off the train, when i saw signs stating that we were still headed to nagoya. i found a friendly train attendant who calmed me down and said we were not in nagoya yet. then i figured outmy watch problem. embaressed, i went back to my seat. i did not go back to sleep. in europe, i slept through train stops at least three times - don't want to do it where i don't speak the native tongue.

finally, i get to nagoya and find my capsule hotel. unfortunately, i can't use the saunas and baths because i have tattoos - the desk agent saw my Storm peeking out from my tshirt. apparently, in japan, tattoos are associated with the yakuza (mob) and forwned upon. i was just happy he still let me check in! the capsules are way cool - basically rows of sarcophoguses (sarcophogi?), stacked 3 high, about 2X1X1 meters, with A/C, a tv, clock and bed. i took a nap and was very comfortable. i was worried about my claustrophobia, but i was fine. capsules are awesome!

after a nap and a visit to the next door internet cafe, where i briefly chatted with joel, i went to visit a few temples in town. unfortauntely, the Atsuta temple (housing a very sacred sword) was being renovated, so i couldn't go in. however, the park in which it sits was very beautiful, and i enjoyed the walk.

then to Osu Kannon, a zen temple for Kannon, the boddhisatva of infinite compassion. the temple is beautiful - red and white painted wood, and the altars were lined with gold and fine linens. i paid my respects, lit a candle, and sat back and watched others come and do the same. such a great experience to see a foreign religion in action; one, like i said before, that is free of the baggage of western faiths.

as a side note, i feel so good to be in a foreign land unable to speak the language. it is very humbling to my world view. why should a nation that is barely 250 years old demand of the world that it heed its ways? europe, south america and japan have all shown me how others do things better. past history aside (wars, conquests, atrocities), these countries and cultures have so much to offer and enrich, that the bullheaded worldview of america barely notices. my amero-centric worldview is constantly challanged here, and its great. i notice with greater clarity how all my statements that something "should" be a certain way are laden with inherent biases and viewpoints based on my own life and home and culture. i enjoy sitting back, putting all that aside, and attempting to see the world through someone else's eyes; eyes very different from my own (not just physically, silly, though that's true as well - japanese eyes are beautiful).

near the Osu Kannon are streets and streets of flea markets. i perused them, looking for toys, kimonos, tshirts with awkward english (the translations to english are hysterical) and other randoms. i didn't see anything that i really wanted, so i ate some street food and went back to the hotel to wash up.

at this point i was feeling pretty bad - the cold and sleeplessness from fuji caught up to me. i was sore all over, my head hurt like mad, glands were swollen - i knew i needed to rest rather than hit the gay bars. so, after a dinner of hot ramen soup, i popped a sleeping pill and an asprin, and had one amazing sleep. the sun rises here at 430am, so being in a capsule, as opposed to a room with a window, the rising sun didn't get to wake me up! yay capsules!