Bunsui to Mt. Yahiko

Yesterday Reiko and I made plans to visit Mt. Yahiko, site of a quaint little village and the largest (Shinto) shrine in Niigata prefecture.

When I got to Bunsui I was welcomed in by Yuuko and Yamata-san for ocha while waiting for Reiko to arrive. This town is so closely knit. As I've watched people come and go from Yuuko's shop, or from other shops, customers and visitors alike are welcomed inside, urged inside, to sit and have tea. And it's not just for show, it's not just manners on display ... this is how they live. You welcome me, I welcome you.

Of course I'm not so naive as to believe there aren't squabbles or differences, but there are some things that just can't be faked. There's a lot of happiness here. They're doing something right.

Yesterday I gave a little gift to Yuuko, and when I did, she brought out the gift I had given her last year along with the wrapping. She didn't have to look for it, and of course a year has passed and she had no idea if she was ever to see me again.

Today while we had tea with her friends, she brought out a scrap of paper from last year on which I had written some things about Ryokan and North Carolina. I have to tell you I was really touched.

A little later Reiko drove up and we chatted more. I found out that one of the women in the store cleans and repairs Butsudan, Buddhist altars. So I took a photo of the altar in Yuuko's shop, which sits in a little tatami room (each tatami mat is 90 cm x 180 cm, and hers is an 8-mat room ... typical, she said).

Before heading to Yahiko we stopped by the woman's shop and saw her working, and had some coffee. These little interactions seem so typical and expected. Of course different altars are priced differently, but a typical one can sell for about $25,000.

Although clouds covered the peak of Yahiko Mountain it was a pleasant day to see the shrine ... so cool and breezy in the mountains. The large "jugs" with kanji characters on them are jugs of sake, Reiko said.

We took a lift to the top of Yahiko though the view was obscured by clouds. Back at the shrine we saw a museum that had a small sculpture of Ryokan-san, as well as a painting I liked that I (as usual) inadequately photographed, titled "Izumozaki" by Ryoichi Sasaoka ... wish I could get a print. (An aside: Izumozaki is nearby and is where Ryokan was born).

It's late in Nagaoka ... bedtime. Thanks for reading along.