TINKER DAY!

I was going to Tinker day it up last Saturday, but things came up, so instead I went yesterday. Now, yesterday was in Novembr, whereas Tinker Day is always in October, but yesterday was National Culture Day here in Japan, which meant school was canceled in the middle of the week, versus a Saturday, when there is no class (for me at least). For those of you who don't know what Tinker Day is, it's a tradition from my home university. Here's a quick run-down of the Tinker Day essentials:

-Eating Krispy Kreme Donuts
-Wearing crazy costumes (tutus encouraged)
-Climbing a mountain (preferably a steep one without much of a strict trail, necessitating rock climbing skills)
-Eating fried chicken and Tinker (chocolate) cake at the top
-Running down the mountain, ping-ponging off of the trees to keep from falling
-Singing, dancing, and skits are highly encouraged (especially Disney songs and "I love you Hollins")

For my version of Tinker Day, I had to change some things, but the general spirit of the day was maintained. I left the house at 8:30, a bit of a late start, and headed towards the train station. I got off at Hirakata-shi station and found the nearby Mister Donut shop without too much trouble. Mister Donut has an interesting history-they started out in the US, but were much more accepted in Japan, and have died out in the States, though some sources said they have been converted into Dunkin' Donuts. I thought they'd be a good Japanese substitute for Krispy Kremes. I had a chocolate icing one and one that was labeled as "huney dipped". They were both good, and the huney dripped one didn't really taste like huney, but was close to a Krispy Kreme flavor. Item number one was crossed off.

Next, I went back to Hirakata-shi station and caught a train into Kyoto. My goal was Mount Kurama, to the north of the city. I got off of the Keihan line at Demachiyanagi and switched to the Eizan line, the last stop of which lands you near the entrance of the Kurama shrine and the hiking trail over the mountain. I got off the train about 11 o'clock and started climbing. I got a a couple to take a picture of me in my outfit near the beginning of the upward slope. The cool thing about that, is that they then asked me where I was from, and I answered without thinking about how to phrase the answer! And it came out right! That alone would have made my day, but it was icing on the cake of the wonderful day! My usual Tinker Day outfit is a mis-match of layered clothing in bright, contrasting colors. I toned it down a bit for this year though, and did what I'm calling a study in purple. (My favorite color, don't ya know?) I wore a wrap-around skirt of yellow, purple, green, and pink, purple leggings, purple socks (not the same color as the leggings), purple shirt, and my purple and pink tennis shoes. Crazy outfit: check.

The mountain was really interesting. The way up was VERY different from Tinker Mountain. It was a wide, mostly stone path, with some dirt and gravel sections, and there were tiny shrines and statues every so often. About half way up there was a much larger shrine, near it was small restaurant set up. I borrowed one of their chairs and sat down and ate my 'Tinker cake' which was actually a small chocolate cake I got from a conbini. It was a bit squased from being in my bag, but still yummy! After the large shrine, the path got my narrow, and mostly consiste of stone steps. The top of the mountain appeared suddenly, and was quite different from what I'd seen so far. It was a cedar grove, and the roots of the trees jutted up and created an intricate web across the 'floor'. It was beautiful and peaceful and awe-inspiring. Standing in the middle of it, I realized that it was the exact top, every step away from the grove was a step down. The rest of the mountain might have been full of man-made shrines, statues, and paths, but here, at the highest point, everything had been left natural, and it was beautiful. Way to go Japan.

The way down the other side of the mountain was an interesting experience, as on Tinker Mountain, we climb up and down the same side. It was cool to see both sides of the mountain. The way down was also more rougher, more natural than the way up. The steps were not of stone, but of dirt and pieces of wood. There was a handrail however. The path was still pretty wide, compared to Tinker's and the trees lining the side were not bouncy younger ones for me to ping-pong off of as I half fell down the mountain, they were tall, old, sturdy ones I would have crashed face first into and stuck there! So, after a while, I very much appreciated that handrail! I got down around 12:30, and made my way back to the school (where a cultural festival was in full swing) by 2 or so.

So, let's recap: donuts-check, outfit-check, mountain climbing-check, chocolate cake-check, almost falling down the mountain-check, singing/dancing/skits-I sang in my head quite a bit, but couldn't get up the courage to belt out "I'll make a man out of you" in the middle of a crowd of Japanese hikers. I sang that song, and the "I love you Hollins" song multiple times in my head, as per tradition. The only thing I didn't get in was fried chicken. But FATE prevailed! Last night, Okaasan made fried chicken pieces as part of dinner! Which just proves that yesterday was perfect for a Japanese Tinker Day! It was a beautiful day and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and cursed my aching legs last night and this mornging--Tinker Day tradtions indeed!