It's funny how quickly you become accustomed to unusual things. Japan is such an alien place in so many ways, but it does not take long to slot in and start seeing everything as normal. Occasionally though, I'm still struck by a sudden wave of 'hold on, what's happening here?', as I was when we left the Park Hyatt the other night. The streets of Shinjuku, admittedly one of the very liveliest parts of the city, were bustling with noise and activity. It was midnight on a Tuesday in March, but it could have been midday on a Saturday, both in terms of the crowds and the illumination, thanks to the curious fondness of the Japanese for neon lights. While London is the city that never sleeps only in the sense that it has insomnia, Tokyo genuinely is up and alert through the night. Perhaps that's why everyone's always flat out on the subway.
Japan is just very, very busy all the time. Haneda in Tokyo manages to be the fourth busiest airport in the world despite the fact that it serves almost exclusively domestic routes; jumbo jets depart for Osaka, Sapporo, Nagoya, and other Japanese cities every twenty or so minutes, packed full of people - where do they all come from?
The trains are often rather overcrowded too, but they still run like clockwork. Yesterday we went down the coast to Kamakura which, as I'm sure you don't need me to remind you, was the de facto capital of Japan for around 100 years during the 13th and 14th centuries. So, naturally, we were spoiled for choice in terms of interesting things to see. It was also unbelievably warm, around 20C, and brilliantly sunny, which always makes for a cracking day out.
One temple, Tokei-ji, is known affectionately as the 'Divorce Temple', since it was, until comparatively recently,
the only place in the land where women could escape abusive husbands; if they could elude their spouses long enough to make it inside the temple walls, they were granted sanctuary, and, after three years, were officially granted a divorce. Apparently, local people would go out of their way to direct to the temple any woman they saw running, assuming they were being pursued by their husbands; they might of course have just been late for an appointment or something, but better safe than sorry I guess. This was the only escape channel for suffering women until female divorce was legalised in the late 19th century. It sounds like a long time to have to spend in a temple, but the gardens were so peaceful and quiet that it really wouldn't be a bad place to pass three years, and presumably many women chose to remain behind and become nuns even after their divorce had been finalised.
Kamakura is also the home of the Daibutsu, a colossal, 13m-high bronze statue of a meditative Buddha. Although not quite as large as the one in Nara, since this one sits outside, framed only by wooded hills and blue sky, it's probably even more impressive. You can look at pictures of it, read about the dimensions of it, hell, I've even seen it before, but the first glimpse of it through the trees is still pretty breathtaking. It was originally built with a roof over its head, but that burned down. Over the centuries, new shelters have been built, and have one by one been destroyed by fire, wind, and earthquake, but the Buddha himself has remained undisturbed, so they gave up building shelters. I like that.
We're beginning to approach the end of our time in Japan, and I'm aware that Scarlett hasn't yet written anything, so I'll do my best to galvanise her into action. Wish me luck.
- Adam
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