Shosha's Peace   By Grace Williams (ALT on the JET Programme), Summer 2006 update

When my Osaka-based friend, Sauna, invited me to join her on a weeklong tour of western Japan, little did I know that I'd be in for such a memorable adventure. Not having explored Hyogo prefecture myself, it was quite a treat touring with an ‘outsider'. Undoubtedly, one of the most unforgettable places was our journey to Engyoji Temple, on Mount Shosha.

Taking the number 8 bus- across from Himeji Castle-to its terminus virtually landed us on the doorstep of the Mt. Shosha ropeway. Greeted by warm hostesses, we embarked on a pleasant cable car ride across lush mountains and breathtaking scenery. Exiting the cable car, we prudently (and perceptively?) each fortified ourselves with a bamboo walking stick, available from a basket full of them. What followed next was truly an awesome trek, along refreshingly peaceful trails.

It is said, that Mt. Shosha offers purification of body and spirit. Many were those we met on their way down from their own meanderings up the mountain path. Whether it was the surprise of seeing the two darkly-hued foreigners on the trail, or just an impulsive inclination of goodwill, nary a one failed to smile and offer a spirited "ganbarre!".

The trek offered a pleasant solace; a peace that mere words seem so inadequate to convey. The surroundings were so beautifully subdued, that one could not help but be totally enamoured by Mt. Shosha. Temples there were and priests in training we saw, but for me, the journey was a thousand times more than these.

One cannot help but leave from Shosha, with a feeling of accomplishment and a resolution to return. As the townsfolk in the immediate environs of the bus station were quick to point out, this was where Tom Cruise was filmed in ‘The Last Samurai'. With that bit of information duly noted, the return journey to Himeji, was one filled with a satisfaction of knowing that I had just been to one of the most wonderful places in Hyogo!