Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo Nucifera) ハス（蓮）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I posted photos of lotus flowers when writing about Saidaiji temple and Hasedera temple, but today's focus is the flower, especially the receptacle and the black and green things in the receptacle, i.e., lotus fruits! The fruits are edible, like nuts, and they go well with beer according to a lotus farmer, but they're not known much in Japan. Lotus flowers are pretty, their roots are delicious and the fruits are funnily cute! I love lotuses!   

Lotus receptacles　ハスの花托

Saidaiji Temple and Lotus Flowers 西大寺と蓮の花

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is Saidaiji temple and lotus flowers there. The lotus season was almost over, but the temple still had beautiful white and pink flowers despite its sad history.

Saidaiji temple was founded in the eighth century by Empress Shotoku, a daughter of Emperor Shotoku, who founded Todaiji temple. Saidaiji temple, which means a great temple in the west in Japanese, and Todaiji, which means a great temple in the east, were once considered kind of twins and between the two temples stood the Imperial Palace of Heijo (i.e., the then capital) from 710 to 784. But after that, Saidaiji temple started to decline, underwent a series of natural disasters, and ultimately lost its power and influence. Actually, most Japanese must have heard of or been to Todaiji but not Saidaiji. 

As this history suggests, its premises are far smaller than Todaiji's and there were almost none in the temple when I was there. The twin temples made me think about people and their lives 1,300 years ago.  

Saidaiji temple　西大寺

Hasedera Temple and Sacred Lotus Flowers 長谷寺と蓮の花

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is Hasedera temple. The temple is in a mountainous area in the Nara prefecture, so to reach the main hall, you need to climb up 399 stairs (1st and 2nd photos), but it's worthwhile. Stunning views are waiting for you (5th photo)! 

The temple is known for various flowers. The lotus season was almost over but it still had several white and pink lotus flowers (Nelumbo nucifera), which made me forget about the heat for a while.

399 stairs from below　階段の下から

399 stairs from above　階段の上から

A lotus flower and stairs in the back　蓮の花と階段

Stay Positive😉 - Lotus, Turtle, Carp in Shinobazu Pond, and Betendo Temple 不忍池辯天堂の蓮、亀、そして鯉

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is a lotus flower which caught my eye first in the Shinobazu no ike pond near the Ueno park. I didn't expect to see such a beautiful flower, so it gave me a lovely surprise!

The pink stood out ピンクが清冽

Lotus leaves in Shinobazu no ike pond 不忍池

The Shinobazu no ike pond has not only lotus flowers but also many other family members (?), including turtles🐢 doing sumo and too friendly carp🐟 !!

You ready to fight? はっけよい！

Too friendly!! 人慣れしすぎ！

Basking in the sun 亀も日向ぼっこ

It was a beautiful day, but "chozuya," a place to wash the mouths and hands of visitors to purify themselves before entering the shrine was closed due to Covid-19. 

Chozuya was closed 手水舎は使えませんでした

Shinobazu no ike pond Bentendo temple 不忍池辯天堂

Everyone hopes everything goes back to normal soon!!
 コロナ、早く収束しますように！

Covid-19 cases in Japan have been increasing day by day, exceeding 350, being expected to reach 400 or even 800 in a week or so. I've been working from home without going out for non-essential reasons for the last five months, and it's been really tough for me to just stay home. That made me think hard about how I can enjoy weekends without being infected, and I decided to leave home early to come back before the place gets crowded.  

The strategy went well. I enjoyed the Ueno Park and surrounding areas, including such beautiful pond and temple and was able to come back home around 10:30 a.m. 

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上野の不忍池辯天堂です。早朝行ってきました。蓮の花、相撲の試合中の亀🐢、気持ち悪いぐらい人慣れしている鯉🐟、そして青い空、とてもきれいでした。

その後、おうちでお昼寝（朝寝？）しました。朝活なんて全く興味がなかったのですが、コロナになってまさかの朝活。人と会うことはできませんが、知恵を絞ってできる範囲で楽しみたいと思っています🙂

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