2018年5月25日金曜日 - 
Hugh: Fushimi Inari Taisha – Kyoto.
Have you
ever been to Fushimi Inari Shrine? I have so let me tell you a story about the
first time I went.
Every
fairytale begins with, “Once
Upon a Time” so...
“Once
upon a time, there was a man called Hugh who was a novice in Japan. I say a novice because this was his first time in Japan, his
first time in Kyoto and he had only been there for 5 days.
Anyway, back to the story… “his first time in
Kyoto, he decided to go to Fushimi Inari Shrine. He arrived a little late in
the day, around 4pm but was allowed entry, by the shrine staff. It was out of this world and he had never seen anything, quite like
it.
There was
a path of endless red gates which led all the way up the
mountain. In his mind, these were gates leading up to heaven.” I digress... “...after following the gates up whilst
drinking a can of Energy drink (when taking a break) every 500 meters or so, he
started to lose track of time and hardly noticed that darkness, was setting in.
Soon
after, the shrine lanterns switched on and he discovered that he was well and
truly, lost!! He was resigned
to the fact
that he'd be unable to find his way out (he still had a few cans of Energy drink in
his bag) so after finding a bench, he decided to hunker down, for the night.
A few
cans of Energy drink later and perhaps a few hours later, it was now dark and he
heard a noise. 'What was that? Is that someone, calling out?' He found himself
thinking. Is that someone shouting, 'hello, hello?'
Yes, it
was and a few moments later, a security guard came and led an embarrassed man,
out of Fushimi Inari Shrine, two hours after it closed.
So, all's well, that ends, well.”
Join me
soon for, “Fushimi Inari, the return.”
Word
Bank:
Novice ：A beginner：初心者
Once upon a
time：A
phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events：昔々あるところに
Endless ：Being or seeming to be, without an end：果てしなく続く
Digress：To stray temporarily, from a topic：話がそれる
Out of this
world ：Unbelievably amazing：この世のものとは思えないほど素晴らしい
Resigned to ：To make oneself accept a situation：仕方なく～する
Hunker down ：Take shelter ： しゃがみ込む
Setting in ： Beginning or coming：
All's well that ends well ：Everything has turned out well even though, the
outcome was uncertain. ：終わりよければ総てよし