Asuka (serious)

And so here begins one of many back-logged adventures. Believe me, I back-log them not because I feel they are boring or unnecessary, but because I need an adventure-less (or less adventurous) day in which to log them. At any rate, my field trip to Asuka, or day trip as the case may be, originally began as a history class adventure to the country surrounding Nara. 

This area is particularly rich in some of the old culture of Japan, with remains dating back to before 600 A.D. (if I remember correctly). The trip was meant to give us a sense of that history, and did so by allowing us to see things like the kofun (looks like a grassy mound) in the image on the right. These are actually ancient tombs to some of the Korean founders of the Japanese nation. Most of the tombs have now been sealed up, or in most cases, wholly removed for storage elsewhere, because of the degrading affects of the humid and hot weather here in Japan. Anyway, the types of artifacts that would have been found within the tombs are pretty typical - pieces of metal, wall-paintings, etc. Note that many of them were typical of Korean tombs of a similar era (I thought this was interesting).

It was also possible to take a look at a replica mold of the displaced tomb, for a price, of course. Entry into the museum cost around 300 yen. We were told that this could be repaid to us, but I doubt I will ever see the money again (time is money, and it would take me 300 yen of time to get my 300 yen back, I bet). 

We were free for the rest of the afternoon to wander around, which left us open to a great many picture taking opportunities. So, I hopped on my bike with a group of friends and spent the afternoon shopping for omiyage (for my host family and people back home), checking out the local food selection, and wandering the countryside with the goal of eventually reaching the neighboring train station so that we could head back home. 

All in all, Asuka is a beautiful place to visit. It is far from the city, and the area sees a lot of tourism from Japanese as well as foreign people. 

The various attractions are simply out there, marked by a little wooden sign on a residential road, like the monkey rocks, for example. This is the scenery across from the rocks (which were behind a large fence and were overall difficult to appreciate because they were so carefully preserved). 

This old man appeared to be enjoying a nice day of fishing at the base of a man-made waterfall. I didn't notice him at first. 

Rice fields abound in this quiet, rural neighborhood. Growing along the edges of those rice fields are these deep crimson flowers that seem to be representative of Japan. Beneath the glow of the slowly sinking sun, they weave back and forth gently in the breeze, seeming to sigh with the contemplative peace of the country. 

In the end, I climbed a mountain for a better view of Asuka. Indeed, like the inked images of ancient Nara, the rollings hills spread into the distance on every side, lost in a cloudy haze. Buildings clumped into cities at the base of these hills, many of which were actually kofun (tombs) overgrown until they were beyond recognition. 

The sun was beautiful on this particular day. 

Perhaps because of this there were a large number of bugs out and about, including vast numbers of Japan's giant dragonflies. I do mean giant, by the way. The first time I saw one, I initially thought it was a bird, and not a small bird, that had become trapped in our kyudou dojo. Now imagine an entire field of these things, black, blue, red, gold, orange, green...darting and zipping to and fro, snapping up insects or simply peering curiously at tourists. It was a fantastic scene, but difficult to capture with a camera. Make due with another picture of Asuka instead...

Japan's insect population is actually somewhat startling. From giant dragonflies to killer wasps, they have everything. By killer wasps I refer to the susumebachi, which for those familiar with Bleach, is actually not a myth. This frightening wasp, roughly the size of one's thumb and a golden orange with black stripes, packs a sting so powerful that the first time takes you out, and the second time takes you down. That's right - two stings and you're dead. Unlike the special ability of the captain in Bleach, however, the stings do not have to be in the same place. It seems to be susumebachi season now, which has me a bit worried - I saw two this week. 

If one of these startling and extremely poisonous insects comes near, move slowly away, or run if necessary. Never hit it, as they are known to attack in large numbers as a result. Never attack their nest either, though you would probably die so fast it wouldn't matter...Now that I've thoroughly freaked out anyone planning to come to Japan, note that killer bees exist in America as well, and yet death by killer bee is not that common. You're as likely to get hit by a susumebachi as a car, I think, especially if you ride a bike.

To return to my discussion of Asuka, I rode back to an earlier station with a group of friends, as stated. Perhaps one of the most wonderful things about the countryside is that the people there are so friendly. Although tens of tourists likely ask them for directions everyday, they nod, smile, wave, and seem perfectly happy to have encountered another young snooper near their farm. Good people of Asuka, thank you for diligently pointing us in the direction of the proper eki (station)! We rode home with a wave out the window!