My family and I were invited by our dear friend (who happens to be a Zen Temple Abbott), to join them on the north coast of Honshu, for a special and rare Zen Buddhist ceremony.
Little did we know there’d be school visits, Japanese BBQs and Bears!
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Arriving into Kyoto late in the evening, we opted for a taxi to get us to our guesthouse.
With the taxi driver unable to find our discreet back-alley accommodation, my high-school Japanese language skills and Google Maps managed to get us there!
If I had to do it again, I think I’d opt for Uber, as that way the address is communicated and loaded, and pricing is fixed.
Our humble little guesthouse was clean and perfectly fitted out with full Japanese-style Western toilet, with all the buttons and bottom-washing bidet (See above Culture Hints 101), and a glorious deep-set bath. Only 10 minutes walk from Kyoto Station (Southside) it was super convenient for train travel. I eye-balled another property near Kyoto Station that I often sell and was super happy to see it looks great, is in a fabulous location, with a convenience store next door.
I could have spent so much time exploring the clean and delightful streets of Kyoto, with houses fronted by flowers and bonsais (we even saw a bonsai lantana!), and the temples, gardens and rivers of this stunning historical city, alas, there was no time on this trip.
Exploring the back streets of Kyoto Station South
Note – previously I have visited Kyoto during Sakura (Cherry-blossom) season, and it is stunning!!! Highly recommend. Delicate blossoms blooming and floating down the river, under a backdrop of beautiful geisha in traditional dress, shimmying along the roads, and welcoming people into tea ceremonies. Definitely a bucket-list experience!
Morning walk to rummage the aisles of the fascinating Lawsons (7/11) for snacks and goodies, and a casual morning cafe breakfast on the south-street side of Kyoto Station, before heading on the train north to Omi-Imazu.
Just your average Departo (department store), with everything, everywhere – all at once!
In true kind, generous, polite Japanese fashion, I had an elderly gentleman observe my dumbfounded expression trying to find the best way to open my o-nigiri (rice ball snacks), and help me, with easy to decipher gestures and a warm and friendly smile.
The train ride north from Kyoto to Omi-Imazu is a 50 minute journey. On our left – towering pine forests forming the backdrop to the unravelling urban spread of the city, and the beautiful Lake Biwa to our right. The rural landscape unfolds in the form of traditional houses, and rice fields (all still lovingly and laboriously tended by hand!)
Super cute Udon/Soba restaurant/kiosk on the train platform in Kyoto. Great prices, standing room only.
Awaiting our train… from Kyoto to Omi-Imazu (Fukui)
From Omi-Imazu, we were driven, thanks to our new wonderful friend Naito-san, through lush pine forests, beyond the township of Obama, to the magnificent sightseeing drive known as the Angel Line. This incredibly scenic journey took us up and over the bay of Obama, where we could see all of Obama to our south, and looking west and north over the Japan Sea, towards Korea and China. A stunning day, and not another person in sight. Truly bliss.
One of many wild monkeys that live on the mountain
We even saw a wild monkey on the drive down the mountain!
Hint – don’t try and do this drive in winter, it’s closed between January and March.
Looking to the north west, towards Korea and China
Obama (otherwise known as “Nara by the Sea”) is a traditional (Mackerel) fishing city, located in Fukui prefecture, with a population of about 30,000. It has a population density of about 240 people per km (compared to about 559 per km in Kyoto or a staggering 6,158 people per km in Tokyo!)
To understand the allure of Obama, we’re first going to have to take a look at the town’s legacy across the ages. Since the early mists of time, this seaside hamlet has played an important role as a port of trade with mainland Asia. In ancient tombs all throughout the surrounding regions, archeologists have uncovered artefacts and other relics from China and Japan’s other Asian neighbours.
Due to its commercial connections with China and the rest of Asia, Obama was an important conduit through which Buddhism flowed into Japan. As a result, Obama grew to be something of a temple town in its early years and even today, there’s a staggering number of influential establishments for a rural city of its size. In fact, Obama is home to so many Buddhist enclaves that it is often referred to by the nickname “Nara by the Sea” due to their peculiarly high number.
For a long while, Obama’s role was that of a provider to the ancient capital of Kyoto (then called Heian-kyo). The now small hamlet sat on the starting point of what would eventually come to be called the Saba Kaido which quite literally means “the Mackerel Highway.” As the moniker suggests, this road functioned as a way to ferry both fresh seafood as well as other commodities like salt down from Obama to the inner city of Kyoto. Moreover, this key conduit also helps to channel things like high culture that would otherwise never find their way out to a remote place like Obama.
As the years rolled by, Obama went on to become a bustling castle town. Though it would change hands a number of times over the decades of Japan’s Warring States period (1467–1615), stewardship of Obama ultimately ended up in the hands of the Sakai clan, a family that was closely related to the Tokugawa shogunate. Throughout the nearly three centuries of peace that the Tokugawas ushered in, Obama largely continued its role as a port town and an important source of seafood for Kyoto and the surrounding regions.
These days, Obama is, at least at first glance, little more than a countryside collective that is bigger than a village but not really what one would envision when they hear the word “city” (though that is what it officially is). Alas, looks are almost always deceiving and there’s a heck of a lot to do in Obama if you know where to look and dig a little bit below the surface.
Check out Fukui Tourism for some more information, or great itinerary suggestions.
No mention of Obama would be complete without addressing the elephant in the room — that the coastal town shares a name with a former US president. What’s more, the city’s leadership also tried to make extensive use of the coincidence to put this part of Fukui Prefecture on the radars of international travellers. While these efforts ultimately didn’t bring the promised legions of tourists that the townspeople hoped it would, it did at least create some mild awareness that yes, there is a place called Obama in Japan.
Have you ever looked at traditional Japanese houses and longed to take a peek inside?
Not your typical home-stay – Our home in Daichi-ji Temple.
Rural Japan bliss
We were fortunate enough to be welcomed into the homes of three families on this visit. Each home a mix of modern & traditional. There was generally a high-functioning area of the house, with kitchen, dining table (high or short, depending on preference of the family), and rest and play areas. There is also typically a more traditional area, with shoji screen walls (rice paper), tatami mat floors, and a shrine to ancestors, with photos of deceased family (we even saw a cat photo on one shrine) – a space for remembrance, prayer and reflection.
The house exterior of our new friend – Naito san
Dinner time inside Naito san’s house
The homes we visited all had beautiful Japanese gardens, with moss-covered rocks, carefully sculptured (bonsai-style) trees, blooming masses of flowers (it’s Spring!). All carefully organised, tended and super aesthetically pleasing, invoking a sense of calm and relaxation.
The meals we ate consisted of the most delicious home-cooked, traditional Japanese food and home-made Plum Wine. At one home, we all sat around and made mochi together (Japanese rice cake).
At another home, they put on a huge BBQ spread for us, with three hibachi style BBQs kept busy with assorted very finely sliced meats, as well as grilled vegetables, rice balls, yakisoba noodles and a fun, interactive “swimming noodle” experience where half-pipes are lined up to form what looks like a kid’s play area. Noodles are then fed into the top of the pipe-line, and people gather along the pipe to catch noodles with their chopsticks (o-hashi) and pop them into a bowl of the most delicious broth!
A little bit weird, and so much fun! Between BBQs, swimming noodles, nursing the newborn baby, and kids on the Karaoke microphones, this event had all the energy and relaxed fun of a traditional Aussie BBQ, and was a great way to communicate, interact and make new friends.
Swimming Noodles at Hota-san’s house!
Informal dinner inside the Temple at Daichi ji
Learning how to make mochi with Fujimoto-sans
BBQ – Japanese style
Learning how to make Mochi
At two of the homes we visited (as part of spreading our host-family responsibilities) we were afforded a traditional Japanese bath (Jap. Ofuro).
This involves entering the bath house area, sitting on a little stool, with a detachable shower head, and cleaning products and meticulously washing one’s body and hair. Then, after you are completed clean and rinsed, you may enter the bath – a single communal body of water that is replenished just once a day. The bath is deep, and the water is hot! Temperature gauges keep it at about 40-41 degrees, and there is a lid for the bath, for when not in use. Hopping out of the bath, one is typically pink from being mildly cooked, and thoroughly and utterly relaxed and rejuvenated.
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As part of an International Cultural Exchange program, we were invited into the local Kuchinata Elementary School, with its 72 students. We set up various activity stations in the large school auditorium, as three groups of well-manned, organised, excited, enthusiastic children joyfully took part in 45 minute time slots of fun!
Myself and my two teenage daughters did hair braiding (and some tiny ponytails for the boys who did not want to miss out!). Typically Japanese children are not encouraged to “stand out”, so the restrained joy and delight in some of the children’s eyes when they get to exhibit some self-expression was truely heart warming. We shared photo books that we had created, and practiced exchanging greetings and chatting with our new friends, about their school, friends, studies and hobbies.
My husband James hosted Art – Australian animal drawing, and our other travelling companions and friends facilitated tai chi, yoga and a slack line.
The day was hugely enjoyable. At the end of each group of children, they collectively gathered to give thanks and shake hands. We later received posters of thanks, prepared by the students. Overall, a very wholesome experience and a highlight of the whole trip!
As part of our trip to Japan, we were invited to participate in some Buddhist ceremonies. These were deeply personal, intimate, moving and humbling. One ceremony was a memorial for our late family friend, and Zen Master – Daido Hogen Yamahata (1935-2024). Part of Hogen-san’s life work was about brining Zen to the West (and Australia in particular), and sharing in this cross-cultural spiritual exchange was a dedication to Him and honouring His legacy.
A short stroll up the street from the Daichi-ji Temple where we stayed, was an intriguing and inviting path up the mountain. As my family and I were cautiously ascending the path, one evening, a very elderly woman neighbour (seemingly about 200 years old!) was yelling at us in incoherent Japanese. After some time of trying to ignore her, we descended back to the road, and managed to calm her down. We learned later that she had phoned the Temple, concerned about us foreigners, as we were heading up the mountain, into the woods – where bears lived!
The entrance to the path up the mountain…
The following day, we were escorted on a walk up the same path, to a beautiful old temple in the woods, next to a very old shinto shrine. Along the walk, our friend and Abbott blew a conch shell, as is customary, to alert bears to our presence, so that they can stay away… please!
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Apart from wild bears in the woods, there are also deer around, on the mountain, and on occasion, hanging out on the street, out front of the Temple.
Storks and frogs, and snakes and raccoons. It is a treat to be in such a rural, nature-haven in Japan, where silence is the strongest sound, and cars and people are scarcely seen or heard.
Ever wondered how the Samurai lived?
On our drive back from Obama to the train station in Omi-Imazu, we stopped at a Samurai Village (Kumagawa-Juku) (literally Bear River Accommodation).
This post town of Kumagawa-juku was established in 1589, as a place for travellers to rest between Kyoto and the Wakasa region of southern Fukui. Visitors today can explore its traditional townscape, lined with buildings that date back to the Edo period (1603–1868), and that now serve as pottery shops, cafés, and overnight accommodations. A local history museum offers displays of old documents and diaries, from the founding of the post town through the end of the Edo period.
For centuries, Wakasa was an imperial food province, and provided the imperial court in Kyoto with fresh, high-quality seafood. Over time, Kumagawa-juku prospered and became a place where cultures mixed, as merchants passed through and stayed in this post town.
Nowadays, you can stay in one of the many lodgings here from about $130AUD per night!
The train journey back to Kansai Airport, via Kyoto was surreal, trying to process the incredible experiences we’d just had, whilst trying to still remain present in the moment, and open to everything still before us.
And thus this epic adventure comes to an end. It is the beginning of a whole new world. A whole new way of seeing and experiencing the world. From a time and place of “stability, hierarchy, harmony”, with the blessings and peace in my heart and mind.
To my amazing travelling companions, thank you for sharing.
To my Beloved Japan,
You continue to engage and inspire me. Uplift and encourage me to be a better version of myself.
At first, as a 15 year old school-girl, with her life-views flipped upside down, to teaching English as a 20-21 year old independent emerging young woman, to visiting Master Hogen-sans temple, Chogen-ji, with my husband and two children under 5, to now, this experience with my husband, and almost adult children, into the depths of rural Japan, adopted by a community that is now family.
I always have, and always will, love you. Thank you for continuing to teach me how to live a life well.
I shall continue to live now, touched by the time I walked in your shoes.
Tamara-san
