Another lazy morning. No practice of silence however. Breakfast was at 7:30 am as usual, it was simple. And small compared to the grand style dinner we have at night. After breakfast, we went to our rooms to pack because we are heading to Kamikatsu today. I was already packed and ready to go, so I had a bit of free time to myself. Somehow, it gave me the urge to go clothes shopping. But that's beside the point.
We met with Heido the monk we met when we first came, and he talked to us a bit more as an overview our experiences of Koyasan in the past few days. Apparently, the Women's Pilgrimage Trail is also one of his favorite spots to go, it was the place where he seemed refuge when he was training to become a monk. He even recommended some English books for us to read as part of our meditative studies.
The session ended with some Q/A and we hopped into taxis to begin our journey to our next destination. This time, I didn't lock Professor Schulz in the car. ;)
Taking the cable car down the mountain felt a little bit unnerving as the thought that we were sliding down the mountain came into my head. After 40 minutes, we transferred onto the light rail, which brought us to the next transfer point. I hadn't noticed that we travelled right past the mountains on our way here because I had my eyes closed. But every now and then, the vegetation on the side of the tracks cleared out and we got amazing views of the mountain range. I didn't realize we were so high up.
After a few train rides and transfers, we did it. We made it to the ferry which was set to leave at 4:30pm. It started to rain on the way, so I got to test out my new umbrella. It was fun, and I stayed dry. The ferry was so large it seemed like a cruise ship. Right when you step in, you are faced with a large open area, some carpeted some not, a tv area, pachinko area, and snack area. The carpet was for sleeping. And sleep we did.
I was particularly looking forward to seeing the Naruto Whirlpool, which the anime series Naruto was named after, but alas, the ferry had no intention of going in that direction.
After two hours, the ferry pulled into the dock and off we went on our journey to the lodgings. It took a total of 10 hours travel to get to Kamikatsu. We ate a late dinner met with some conversation about snakes and tea. Apparently they serve a tea that is distinct in this area imported from Yunan, China. It is low in caffeine and high in antioxidants. Everyone put it on their shopping lists of remaining things to get. Our bath and beds awaited us.
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