Bullet Trains, Nasu, and Death

 

Sorry, it's been a few days since I updated this blog. We have been busy organizing our new house and we took a short trip to Nasu, a beautiful area about 2.5 hours north of Tokyo. 

The modern looking train is the Shinkansen Bullet train, the train we took from Tokyo to Nasu. We made the 106 mile trip in an hour! Some of these bullet trains can actually do up to 200 miles per hour! How I wish we could match this kind of versatility in the US!

The cool looking modern building is the Nasushiobara Station, the Bullet train station in Nasu. Once again, the Japanese have a way of designing very attractive buildings!

The temple pictured is just a five minute walk from the Nasu train station. Beauty and proximity!

The house amongst the trees is a resort house in Nasu that we are thinking about buying. Lots of trees and lots of solitude! Another plus is that the house is about 1.5 miles from Nasunogahara Park, an amazing park with 12 tennis courts, four pools, lots of trails, and plenty of other amenities! 

 Now let's talk about death. I believe that the first picture is the cremation facility at the Tama Cemetery.  The Japanese tradition is to cremate the body and then to bury the ashes at the family site. 

For an excellent introduction to how the Japanese approach death, please check out this web site: https://voyapon.com/japanese-cemeteries-traditions/

Another good resource: https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1059282/Tama-Cemetery

"Tama Cemetery, opened 01 April 1923, is the largest among the eight Tokyo cemeteries, and covers 1,280,237 square metres. Redwoods and trees are representative of the Musashino region. Spring cherry blossoms, and autumn foliage accompany the gravesites of many famous historical figures. Appropriate for sightseeing or just walking, this was the first cemetery in Japan to imitate the forest cemeteries of other countries, particularly Germany."

 I can attest to the "forest cemetery" reference as I have been blown away by the landscape beauty of that cemetery! It is very close to our house, so I have been using it for cycling and for running. What a treat!