temples and alley ways

Yesterday Bev Curran took us to this lovely little fertility temple complex in Nagoya, for people who want children or have lost children. There was a wish tree, a snake god, a kwan yin, a phallus shrine, a giant buddha, a shrine for lost pets and a pet cemetary. Beautiful Japanese maples turning brilliant colours above. I’ll post photos when I get home.

Roy and I spent the afternoon looking for lunch in the basement of a large department store. It was amazing– all these stalls selling cakes, obento, sushi, croquettes. But nowhere to sit. We finally found an okonomiyake place with three stools wedged in against a counter. Bullet train back to Tokyo. It left us at the main station, and we had to find our way back to Shinkansen on our own. We met a nice lady who was very concerned about our welfare. She found a train station man, who took us on the underground handicapped route to the subway tracks. Lots of trucks, workers, supplies moving through that dark, labyrinthine space. Thought I’d one-hoofed my way straight into a Neil Gaiman novel.

We are back in Tokyo now. I’m sad today. A good friend has lost her father.

Prepping my talk for Meiji-Gakuin University tomorrow– conference on Canadian writing and globalization. Right up this alley cat’s alley.