Nihon-ji.

Today is the day we get to see the biggest Buddha in Japan!

Nihon-ji= Buddha in Japanese

We have been walking for a while. After we got off the ferry (I wrote about it in the last post), we trekked through this tiny town to find the trolley. The trolley car is not available. It is too windy and it is one of the gondola type cars so we would get blown all over the mountain. At least, that's what Mama tells me.

So, we walk back around the town and find the hiking entrance. Since the ferry, we have already been walking for 30 minutes. How far up is this Buddha anyway? Asking locals along the way, we are met with furrowed brows. "Buddha?" Mama asks and points in the direction we are going. "Nihon-ji?" the locals reply. They nod and point to keep going. The fourth person we ask speaks some English. He still says, "Nihon-ji?" and we still haven't figured out that it means Buddha. Somehow, we arrive at the starting point. 

"Down. Out, please. Stairs!" I am pointing. I know where to go. I can probably get there faster than these so called adults. Let me down, I'll show you. Daddy Bear ignores me and starts up the path. "Stairs," I pout and wiggle.

Wow. These stairs are steep. I changed my mind. Do not let me out. I will watch you struggle. Mama is leading the way hoping to document this stair situation before she gets too tired. Toria seems to be unaffected thus far and this is a picture of the stairs we were dealing with. I keep quiet and stay with Daddy Bear. I don't ask to get out for a long time.

The flip side is that this hike is so beautiful. Mama Roo says it makes the burning in her legs worth it. Little does she know, we are not even half way up. "Trees. Stairs. I see rocks." We can see where the ferry dropped us off an hour ago. Wow. "Up high. I up high," I tell Daddy.

Mama Roo decides to take a turn with me on her back. She says she wants to put in her time before we go back down. Daddy Bear will carry me down. "Toria, Toria!" I want to make sure she doesn't go anywhere. I like her. She makes bird noises for me.

"Climbing. I climb. Out. I climb." I decide Mama is not going fast enough. She says I need to stay in. We have seen many children on this trail, but the ones who are walking it themselves appear to be a year or so older than I am. I listen and keep looking for birds.

We see a break in the trees. Are we here? Up this little stairway.....

I see Buddha. There he is on this map. Lots of little Buddha cemeteries. Toria says Buddhas don't die, so they are not cemeteries. Mama and I keep calling them cemeteries. We trace the route to Buddha. Off we go!

Past the big statue, we walk through caves and down more stairs. Mama should know the name of it, but she doesn't. She is so focused on the big Buddha. Also, there are far more stairs than she expected. "It will be worth it," she keeps saying more for herself than anyone else. Toria doesn't seem to mind the stairs yet. Daddy Bear is carrying me again. We duck our heads over and over.

Past all the cemeteries. Past the cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms! Cherry blossoms fell off everywhere else we have been so far. We are excited to see them here! Mama Roo's goal was to see cherry blossoms in Japan. Check. Keep walking.

I get out the map. "Buddha. Here Buddha. I walking. Down. Out."

We arrive at the biggest Buddha in Japan!!! Daddy Bear finally let me out of the backpack. I walk with Toria. "Toria, Toria. Hand. I walking. I fast. Go fast."

It smells like something is burning here. Not something stinky. I see smoke. "Hold it. I see it. Down."  People are quiet. I hear some kids. They are quiet too. "Hair. Buddha. Hair on top. Buddha big. Big Buddha. Hair on head." This is a temple, so people are mulling around to different stations of worship. You can buy offerings, incense, and an array of other souvenirs. Western advertising is not left out of this important Japanese monument, though. If you are tired, you can sit on the Coke-a-Cola bench. 

We take some photos in front of the big guy. "Pictures. Smile. Cheese. I down. All done." I wiggle for the last few frames. Mama finally decides we are done. Good.

This is all pretty interesting. Mama, Daddy, and Toria are looking around taking it all in. "Rocks." I smile at pick some up. I forget about the Buddha. "Rocks, please. I hold it. Here. A stick. Here you go. More."  

 Ok. Time to go. It's getting dark. Up some stairs to go down some more stairs.

We make our way to a look out point. You can see the other side of Japan from here!

"What do you see, Kami Lou?" Daddy Bear asks. "Rocks. I have rocks. Hold it. Hold rocks. Watch. Here you go. More rocks." I give Daddy rocks then jump off some big ones. Daddy, Mama, and Toria are marveling at the view. I don't get what the big deal is. I like rocks.

We have to go down now. The last ferry is coming soon. "Down mountain. Ready. Ready to go." Daddy carries me. It is steep. "Careful. Slow. Go down."

We find a bathroom with a "regular" toilet. Mama seems excited. We find a facet to get more water. "Thirsty. I thirsty. Wa-wa, please. More." We have been out ALL day! Toria looks around for more views. She finds some. Look, that's the rock we were on.

Down the last stairs. I am tired. I fall asleep on Daddy Bear's back. Aahhhh.

Goodbye big big Buddha.