Getting Lost

My weekend got off to a great start, what with the laptop breaking and all. I'm still trying to fix it; next on my agenda is contacting Acer.

I was planning to go to Ise on Saturday but had to bring the unit in for the school tech people to look at. The guy I talked to tried a few things and told me he couldn't do anything for me. I asked if I could have another unit put on the wifi and he said yes... but only if the old unit is taken off. So, unless I can get Tiny Laptop to work, I don't get to use the wifi on campus any more.

You bet I'm going to be contesting this.

Anyway. I bummed around in the computer lab on campus for a bit, responding to important sign-up-for-classes emails and whatnot. I was resigned to checking out the 3-4 local shrines I've seen from my daily bus, so I headed out. By about the time I got to the main gates, I decided I was going to go to Ise anyhow.

So I bought my 320 yen ticket to Yodoyabashi station and boarded my limited express train. This was about when I sent out the email with the subject "Screw It," if you received one. 20-30 minutes later, I arrived and looked for a directory sign to find the Osaka Loop Line, as detailed in my travel notes.

Almost immediately, an older Japanese man asked where I was trying to go. He spoke some English and understood where I was headed but didn't seem to know the best way to get there. Maybe a minute later, a young attendant came running up to us. I don't know if she was watching things going on in the station via security cameras or what, but she seemed worried that the guy was talking to me. They talked and eventually I made my way to the ticket machines and got myself a 200 yen subway ticket to Osaka-Namba station.

Once there, I found the limited express ticket counter and got myself a Kintetsu ticket to Iseshi station, 3030 yen. I read some of Ulysses and watched the world go by for the next two hours.

Iseshi is in the middle of nowhere. I thought I'd use the restroom before I left, but all three bathrooms I found in or near the station were squat toilets only and I didn't want to deal with that. It's an experience I'm sure I'll have at some point, but that point isn't when the squat toilets are little more than a hole in the ground with no toilet paper.

I followed my instincts and exited the opposite side of the station. There were several maps to direct people where they needed to go and I couldn't really make sense of them, so I followed a group of girls on the off chance they were headed to the shrine. The city itself was rather empty. There were a bunch of interesting-looking shops that I didn't go into.

The girls were headed to the shrine and it didn't take more than 5 minutes to arrive. I headed for the purification fountain, did my business and headed in through the torii. There were several smaller shrines over a turtle-shaped rock bridge and I went to those first... which was when my camera decided its batteries were empty. I took a few photos with my phone, but the whole business of taking pictures was distracting.

I forgot to mention that this weekend was under typhoon warning. I was a bit worried that I would get caught in the rain when I left, but I suppose Amaterasu was looking out for her own, because it was sunny in Ise.



Geku is through that torii.



I should probably also mention some facts about Ise. It's one of the oldest shrines (or shrine locations) in Japan and is dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu-o-mikami. Well, the inner shrine, Naiku, is. The outer shrine, Geku, which is the one I went to, is dedicated to Toyouke-no-o-mikami, a diety of agriculture and industry. The shrines are rebuilt every 20 years. The next rebuilding will be in 2013.

Anyway, they don't let you take pictures of the main shrines anyhow; there's guards and Shinto priests to make sure you don't. Also, the closest you can get to the shrines is 100-200 meters. Pretty secure.

I bought myself an omamori and headed back to the station. I stopped in one of the shops on the way and bought cakes for my family. I misunderstood the man selling the Kintetsu tickets and ended up with a non-express ticket back to Osaka-Namba, which was okay because it was 1750 yen (if I'd gotten another 3030 ticket, I wouldn't have had enough to get all the way home).

The non-express ride took 2.5 hours and didn't go all the way to Namba, but it was only one stop off and the same ticket covered it. I found the ticket counter for the subway back to Yodoyabashi and then to the Keihan line back to Hirakatashi. The same attendant that rushed up when the man was trying to help me was on duty at the gates to the Keihan trains.  She asked if I'd made it to Ise and was generally concerned for me.  It was neat.  At Hirakata I missed the last bus by just a few minutes, but Okaasan and Otousan came to pick me up in their new car.

Sunday, I worked on my rough draft for a composition test I have Tuesday and we went to Maki's house for dinner. She has an apartment on the top floor and it's really big! Also, I have no idea how they got their TV up those stairs; the thing had to be 60+ inches.