2 November 2019
Surprise Buddha
Tokyo to Takasaki with a quick visit to Byakue Dai-Kannon
Now I am in Takasaki, about an hour out of Tokyo by bullet train.
Now I have escaped the millions of tourists in Tokyo, so that I can be the only tourist and feel very very important.
Now I have run away from the Rugby World Cup grand final which is on today, although it is actually on in Yokohama, a small suburb of about 10 million people near Tokyo.
Getting to Takasaki was easy enough, although my first choice of Shinkansen was fully booked, so I had to wait another 30 minutes. I knew this because I actually booked yesterday. The grueling 1 hour journey was over before I knew it, and I was too early to check in to my luxurious hotel. From the window of my train I saw a giant Buddha statue on a hill on the horizon, so why not just walk over to that and back? Thats what I did.
Two things of note, on the train a small child was given a box of ping pong balls to play with. That went about as well as expected, every 8.3 seconds a ping pong ball bounced down the aisle of the train, followed by a small child running down to find it, which was repeated about 223 times.
Later in the day on my way back from the Buddha park, while crossing the mighty river, an old lady on a bike stopped, and yelled at me, while pointing at my shorts. She did not like my legs at all. The tirade lasted at least 30 seconds, then she nearly fell off her bike trying to ride off in a hurry.
Here is the inside of the Shinkansen. It was full!
Takasaki as seen from the station level 2. It is quite a big commercial centre due to all the train lines that meet here.
Hmm, whats this, a path up a hill? I will follow and find out.
Half way up, the usual kind of shrine, with kids dressing up as Japanese Marvel super heroes.
Further up the hill I found a number of abandoned cars while trying to find a view. This was the best one.
Eventually I found the statue I had seen from the train.
Buddha plus red bridge. Peak Japan right here. You cannot see the view of the city unless you pay the fee to climb up inside the Buddhas brain area.
Around the back is a botanic gardens that is under construction. To get to it you have to cross this big red wooden bridge. I was still trying to find a view of the city.
View of area that is not the city as you can see, just boring non colorful trees.
Finally after retreating I found a view of Takasaki, from a car park. I can see my hotel.
This is where I was crossing the river and was verbally assaulted by an old witch who cast a spell on me. Those mountains in the distance, I know what they are, but I dont have enough time to get to those. Too many mountains!
My predictable APA hotel actually joins onto the station via the elevated skywalk.
The room is minuscule, despite being a double. Its all fine except the power points are directly behind where you need to open your laptop. I have had to slide it across and sit a bit sideways. Poor design. No feng shui. Also the room is 9/15th's occupied by a television.