Last weekend I went on a field trip that lasted from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon. I took the train from Nishinomiya, where I live, up to a castle town called Hikone, north of Kyoto on the shore of Lake Biwa. There we walked the old highway into the town and visited the castle. It was amazing to have a professor with us who could point out the oldest buildings, what they were used for, and why they were situated the way that they were. Even from 2 kilometers outside the town, all of the buildings and roads were configured to force travelers to show their weaknesses as the came closer to the actual town.
That night a group of us, along with our professor stayed in a traditional Japanese traveler's inn (called Minshuku) in the town of Sekigahara. Sekigahara is the location of the famous battle of Sekigahara which lead to the establishment of the Tokugagwa bakufu and the Edo Period. I have a photo album from my Facebook account of the trip here.
The following Tuesday, I went with a much smaller group to Hieizan, a mountain temple complex on the north side of Kyoto. Hieizan is the focal point of Tendai Buddhism in Japan. We walked up the mountain from Kyoto and took a cable car down on the other side, before taking a train back into Kyoto. Another tiring day but an interesting trip nonetheless. You can find some photos here.
