Reconsidering Fashion Choices on Kewaizaka Kiridoshi Pass

Just beyond Jufukuji is Eishoji temple, a nunnery established by Okaji no Kata after her lover's death. Her lover was a Tokugawa shogun who nicknamed her Okatsu, Lady of Victory, because he never lost a battle when she was present on the battlefield.

"You can visit Eishoji another day," Hisayo declared as she shooed us away from the gate, "Now it is time to go for a hike." When I recreate this adventure in June, Eishoji can fill in for the Swany's fabric store segment!

The rest of the group was turning left into a residential neighborhood when Weather Girl spotted a cute little door leading into a charming private garden.



"This isn't a very steep incline. I like peeking into people's gardens as I lope along."



Hiroko said it is important to increase one's salt intake when hiking. She passed around what we swear she called "salt tablets" but sure tasted like Kraft caramels to us. When our taste buds started doing a joyous polka, Hiroko dug the package out of her purse so we could take pictures that will help us identify the "salt tablets" the next time we're wandering around a convenience store. Don't you just love digital cameras?



What happened to the pavement? I feel like a billy goat scampering from one slippery rock to the next. (Scampering is probably not the word my companions would use to describe my uphill battle but it's how I choose to record this for posterity.)



Huff, puff, gasp, wheeze. "You all keep going! I'm just going to pause for a minute to take a picture. My friends and relatives back in the States have been begging for an aerial view of a typical Japanese middle-class neighborhood."



Oh, look. Hiroko waited for me at the foot of the concrete cliff. We should have brought a rope and some of those piton thingys.



We crest the hill and find ourselves in an open space as flat as a mesa. The first thing we notice are the camellias.



Then we turn and spot an enormous statue. We walk across a green plastic grid to explore the statue. The green plastic grid protects against erosion. The statue is a Benzen (priest). (I wonder which religion came up with the pointy hat concept first. This is something to pursue with Dr. T as it will give me an opportunity to rattle on about Saturday Night Live in general and Coneheads in particular.)



Let's take a picture so we can all remember the day Kathy climbed Kewaizaka Kiridoshi Pass in the baggy pants she bought at the quilt show! "What's wrong with these pants? The enormous pockets make them perfect for hiking. I just shoved my windbreaker in the left pocket and my water bottle fits in the right pocket with room to spare. Would you like me to carry the rest of the salt tablets for you, Hiroko?"



"No thanks, Kathy-san, but I would like you to show us what you learned at the tea ceremony you attended last week. Why don't you pretend your water bottle is a tea cup? Ha, ha. Please do it again for Kayoko. Ha, ha."

Next: Money Laundering Japanese Style