Daiyuzan Saijo-ji - Yuhinotaki - Kaisei Hydrangea Festival

11th June 2015

I'm back in Starbucks this afternoon to email my family, upload photos, and update the blog. Free wifi is a wonderful thing. Anyway, today was my day off so I was taken on a trip around the area by my boss, Steve. Although it wasn't sunny, I had a really good day out and will definitely go back to some of the places we went to today.

Daiyuzan Saijo-ji 大雄山最乗寺

Daiyuzan Saijo-ji is a Buddhist temple in Minami-ashigara famous for the giant geta, and is located in a mountain-side cedar grove. You can access it by train + bus, but today we went by car. The first thing that hit me was how big the trees are! It's a very different environment from the one I've been in recently, and it's incredibly relaxing. There are lots of streams, pools and waterfalls in the temple grounds, which makes for an almost ethereal atmosphere.

The temple is pretty big (at least compared to the ones I've been to before), and we were lucky enough to see a group of firemen performing a chant as they walked through the temple on their way to be blessed.

Steve taught me how to correctly pay my respects (which earned an approving nod from an elderly gentleman), and I bought a charm to bring my luck on my travels for 400円. It certainly won't do any harm!

I really love temples and shrines, and I think this one is my favourite. I must admit that I felt much better and calmer by the time we left.

Yuhinotaki 優緋の滝

Our next stop was Yuhinotaki waterfall, which wasn't too far from Daiyuzan Saiso-ji. It's a short walk from the carpark to the waterfall itself, and feels very secluded thanks to the trees. Apparently, it's popular with photographers although none were there today.

Steve demonstrated that you can in fact get behind the waterfall, though it's nearly impossible to get back out without getting wet.

Kaisei Hydrangea Festival 開成町あじさい祭り

Our final stop today was the Kaisei Hydrangea Festival (Kaisei-machi Ajisai Matsuri). Hydrangeas are one of my favourite flowers, so I really enjoyed seeing such a wide range of colours and so many flowerheads (the hydrangeas at home are somewhat sickly...). The flowers grow along the tracks between rice paddies and along the roads, and even though today wasn't the main festival day there were lots of people going to view the flowers. One lady said I was cute as I walked past (one of the few phrases I have come to recognise with confidence). I also saw an older Japanese gentleman with a glorious handlebar moustache.

There are lots of stalls set up, although I didn't buy anything. If I wasn't working, I'd go for the main event and watch the drumming. At the very least, I'll try and go for a wander around next week when the crowds and stalls have gone, and enjoy the flowers again. Hopefully I can get there on a clearer day so that I can see Fuji as well. 

This evening, I'm going for drinks with my co-workers (we're British + 1 bonus Australian, and drinking is what we do) at a bar near the station. It should be good fun, so I'll make sure to eat something before I go. Tomorrow, I'm off to Shibuya to see Hito and Kaori again, as well as spending more money on lovely vintage clothes and assorted antiques that I probably don't need. What I do need is a watch and a light for my bicycle.