Japan

Did I Mention That It's Cold?

OG

09 Mar 2014 • 3 min read

Throw a coin, pull the bell, clap your hands and say a prayer.

A few days ago we woke up to an unexpected display outside our windows (well, we had to stick our noses out to see it since all of our windows are opaque): it was snowing. Did not see that one coming… But it's already really cold anyway so a little snow doesn't hurt. In fact it makes the cold more bearable somehow. Mind you, the snow didn't stick but it looked very pretty falling down anyway.

When the clouds opened up in the afternoon we quickly packed our things and loaded Small Paw into her super stroller to make our way to the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine since the grounds of the shrine are filled with plum trees which are in bloom right now.

Once we figured out how the bus system works (you get on at the back of the bus and pay at the front when you leave; within the city limits each ride is ¥220 per adult) and squeezed ourselves and Small Paw onto a little side bench (like cars and trucks, busses here are very narrow compared to western ones), we managed to arrive just in time at the shrine: it was snowing again.

There were lots of school kids at the temple, buying offerings and praying. Apparently it's a very popular temple to come to during exams and pray for good grades.

The battery in my camera didn't like the cold so all the pictures are taken with the iPhone which isn't good enough to pick up nuances like snow falling but in a couple of pictures it did come out.

The snow added some serious movie magic to the setting, it felt like they should be filming the romantic finale of a soap opera or something. There were even some girls in Geisha costumes to complete the picture.

Dressing up as geishas and going to temples to take pictures seems to the popular thing to do for high school girls and young women. Apparently the costumes, hair and makeup take up to 3 hours.

The crazy thing was, not 10 minutes later the sun came out again and we had blue skies once more. (Still freezing cold though, dammit!)

But the blossoms really were very pretty.

They came in white, pink and fuchsia. Not sure if that means they are different types of plums or each tree just picks a color and runs with it.

Small Paw is the only one nice and toasty warm at all times.

Luckily the vending machines here, which are found on literally every corner, include hot drinks like coffee and milky sweet tea so you can always warm up, wherever you are. Wonderful invention.