November 17, 2024

 The beautiful autumn foliage and the beautiful sunny day made Mt Takao very crowded. We started at 9:30am but had to wait for the cable car for 20 minutes. Today’s guests are two Singaporean guys and a Myanmar lady with two Japanese guys as observers who are interested in TENGU activities and considering to join the club. From TENGU, Nori and Masa joined as guides.

Masa started the tour with the explanation of the “Fudo-in” temple near the entrance of Mt. Takao, in which the famous Kobo-Daishi is enshrined. Masa explained, in front of the statue of Kobo-Daishi, that the Buddhist rosary he is holding in his left hand has 108 beads. The figure 108 has a special meaning in Buddhism and it will be explained later when it appears in another place.

Artwork depicting the four seasons and traditional Japanese events displayed on a tree stump at the roadside of the Trail no.1 past the Octopus cedar tree. The contrast between the red of Hozuki（ ground cherry） and the green leaves is very beautiful. Thank you very much for the local artist for his (her?) creation.

Now, after climbing the 108 steps of Otoko-Zaka, meaning men’s slope, we have come to the Kunuke-mon, literally the Gate of Getting Out of Sufferings. One of the guests asked me, “Are there really 108 steps?”. The answer is “exactly!” The number 108 is frequently referred to in Buddhism as the variety of worldly sins or desires people have, and going through this gate can mitigate the feeling of suffering from afflictions related to these 108 sins or desires.

 

At the Joyful Garden

With clear blue sky in the background, stands the stupa in which the ashes of Buddha are enshrined 

At the Joyful Garden

 Nori-san seems to be enjoying the conversation! Perhaps the lady guest was taking the talk about Buddhism more seriously because she is from Myanmar.

 Though the autumn tint is not yet at its peak, it is beautiful nevertheless.

At Shitenno-mon, “the Gate of Four Heavenly king”

 

In front of the main hall of Yakuo-in temple

With incense smoke, she was purifying her body and mind. We wish her prayers will be heard!

At Gongen-do

Autumn leaves are really beautiful.

At Gongen-do

Telling the story about the figure in the mural. He is a Chinese legendary hermit, 

who lost his body while his spirit was traveling to the other world.

 If you want to hear the story, join our tour!

At the top

 It was as congested as expected in this season with maybe more than a few hundreds of visitors.

Lunch at the summit

Miraculously, there was one vacant table available for our lunch, so we could enjoy lunch and conversation, feeling relaxed and free.                 The Singaporean guests told us about the eye-popping high cost of owning a car in Singapore. Saying they need a certificate to buy a car, they showed us the calculator on their cell phones. If I am not mistaken, it exceeded 10 million yen! Unbelievable! In addition, a car itself is as expensive as the certificate!

Luckily we could see the glimpse of Mt. Fuji when we were leaving, which had been totally hidden in the cloud when we had arrived there.

We climbed down via trail no.4 and took the photo on the way at the popular suspension bridge.

At the chair-lift station

Look at this huge and long queue for the chair-lift!  It took about 50minutes before we could ride on the lift.  But Masa and all others took advantage of this waiting time to have a chat over drinks and snacks they bought there.

  

A healthy young lady has a healthy appetite, enjoying skewered sausage.

the tour ended with smiles

 After a 12 minute chair-lift ride, we safely arrived at Kiyotaki station. Though the tour took longer than we had planned because of the chair-lift waiting, all of us were happy and smiling. The guests and the observers were really nice, kind and cheerful. We thank you very much for your cooperation that made the tour really enjoyable for all of us. To the guests, Enjoy your stay in Japan !!!

 

Written by Masa