August 2018 – Susan Spann, Adventure, Mystery, and Mountains

The Headless Buddhas of Koboyama

Susan Spann Blog August 24, 2018Buddha, Buddhism, history, Japan, koboyama

While hiking Koboyama, I passed many shrines and temple buildings, indicators of the mountain’s history and holy status. However, the most poignant of these was not identified with a roadside sign, or even set at a noticeable place along the path. About twenty minutes past the summit of Koboyama, I came across a row of carved stone buddhas by the side of the trail. Each had been decapitated–and someone had replaced their heads with stones.

Hiking Kōbōyama (Part 2)

Susan Spann Uncategorized August 22, 2018August 19, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, Buddhism, hiking, Japan, Kobo Daishi, koboyama, Shingon

Last week’s high-temperature, high-humidity hike in Kanagawa Prefecture took me to the summits of three more peaks: Sangenyama, Gongenyama, and Kōbōyama. (For the story and photos from the first two peaks, click here.) The trail from Gongenyama’s summit down the ridge toward Kōbōyama starts off a highly civilized set of stairs with trees on either side. At the foot of the stairs, a short section of trail leads to a parking lot where people who prefer to drive to the summit, rather than hiking, can leave their vehicles for the 15-minute stair-walk to Gongenyama.

Hiking Sangenyama, Gongenyama and Kōbōyama (Part 1)

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog August 20, 2018August 19, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, climbing, gongenyama, hiking, Japan, koboyama, mountains, sangenyama

Last week I braved the 90-degree temperatures in Kanagawa Prefecture (south of Tokyo) to continue my 100 Summits journey with a “station to station” hike that included a traverse of three different mountains: Sangenyama, Gongenyama, and Kōbōyama. Since these three peaks are separate mountains, rather than a single “compound peak,” they count as three toward my 100 Summits Project goal and bring the current total to 22. (The August heat has slowed me down, largely for safety reasons but also because I’m working on finding a long-term rental apartment, which is challenging in Japan when you have a cat! But I

Taking a Cat to Japan, Part 2: Customs and Cat-ligraphy

Susan Spann Blog August 13, 2018August 9, 2018animal import, cats, Japan, taking cats to Japan, Tokyo, travel, traveling with cats

Oobie isn’t good in carriers, so I worried about her reaction to the nearly 24-hour journey from Los Angeles to our first short-term apartment in Tokyo. To my relief, she handled it like a champ.

Taking a Cat to Japan – Part 1

Susan Spann Blog August 9, 2018cats, international, Japan, move with pets, Oobie, pets, travel

Our decision to spend a year in Japan for the #100Summits Project depended, in part, on our ability to take our cat, Oobie, along on the journey. My husband and I believe that “pets are for life” and we wouldn’t have dreamed of leaving her behind. However, since Japan is a rabies-free country, entry requirements for pets are strict (see also: “draconian” – but with good reason) and it took us almost a year to ensure that Oobie could enter without undergoing extended quarantine.

Climbing Shiroyama

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog August 7, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, cicadas, hiking, Japan, mountains, Shiroyama

Yesterday I climbed Shiroyama, 562-meter peak in Yugawara, Kanagawa Prefecture–the 19th mountain of my #100Summits Project here in Japan. The mountain takes its name from the castle that once sat atop its peak. (“Shiroyama” means “Castle Mountain” in Japanese.) Although only scattered ruins and a monument on the summit remain to mark the spot today, during the 12th century Yugawara (then called Doi-go) and its castle were home to the Doi samurai clan.

A Visit to Zao Fox Village (Fukushima, Japan)

Susan Spann Blog August 3, 2018foxes, Fukushima, Japan, kitsune, village, Zao Fox Village

In between climbing mountains for the #100Summits project, I’m also visiting sites of cultural and historical significance across Japan. Yesterday, my husband and I hopped a shinkansen (bullet train) to Fukushima Prefecture–a little less than 250 kilometers–to visit one of Japan’s most unusual sanctuary/zoos: Zao Fox Village. As the name suggests, the park is a combination zoo and sanctuary for foxes (known as “kitsune” in Japan). Among Japan’s most honored creatures, kitsune are considered messengers of Inari Okami, one of the most important deities in the Shintō pantheon.