Earlier this month JNTO invited Team GB diving sensation and Olympian Tom Daley on an adventure around Japan's beautiful Tohoku region to see, do and taste all that it has to offer! Tohoku bore the brunt of the devastating 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and has been at the centre of recovery and revitalisation efforts in the run up to Rugby World Cup 2019 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Day three began in the comfort of the Bandai Lakeside Guesthouse, but it wasn't before long that Tom and the team were on their way to Dewa Sanzan, an area of immense spiritual signifance in northern Yamagata Prefecture. The three mountains of Dewa Sanzan - Haguro-san, Gas-san, and Yudono-san - are the subject of worship by 'yamabushi', practitioners of an ascetic mountain religion known as Shugendo; of the Dewa Sanzan, one mountain signifies birth, another death, and the other rebirth. Shugendo dates back as far as the 7th century and is a somewhat mixture of Japan's two major religions, Buddhism and Shinto. In the past yamabushi were known to be healers, clerics and fearsome warriors who worshipped the mountains and led a life of meditation, austerity and self-enforced isolation.
It was however Tom's lucky day: today Tom would receive one-to-one spiritual Shugendo training from a yamabushi guide! First thing's first though, you have to look the part! Yamabushi are typically dressed in simple clothing, namely a white robe and headscarf. It was important however that Tom not forget his walking stick: he was going to need it for his pilgrimage to the famous five-storied Gojunoto pagoda located atop Haguro-san in an act that symbolised death. According to Shugendo, after death then comes the afterlife. The act of crossing over the afterlife is symbolised by 'takigyo' waterfall mediation - that's right folks, voluntarily standing beneath a raging, ice-cold waterfall in a single, rather skimpy loincloth. Now whilst five minutes of this would pose a serious challenge to most, water baby Tom found it thoroughly enjoyable, even "therapeutic" - could this be the next health craze? Finally came the act of rebirth, symbolised by leaping over a blazing fire back at Haguro-san. Tom passed with flying colours and with that, he had reached physical and spiritual enlightenment. Sound like your sort of holiday activity? Wondertrunk & Co. are able to arrange for you to undergo yamabushi training, too!
After retreating deep into the mountains of Dewa Sanzan for the day, it was now time to return to modern city life in Sendai, the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture. After such a busy day out in the elements, where you would head first? Maybe you'd make a beeline for a 'kaitenzushi' (conveyor belt sushi) restaurant like Tom did; kaitenzushi restaurants have an almost endless variety of delicious fish and other quirky dishes to try, often only £1-1.50 per plate! Quick, cheap and tasty, kaitenzushi is a great option after a crazy day out in Japan!
Tom flew to Japan with Japan Airlines (JAL) and explored the Tohoku region with the help of InsideJapan Tours.
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