The ancient 500-year-old tree is what brought us to Chokoku-ji Temple in Hakuba. Hakuba is a small and warm village in the Japanese Alps in the prefecture of Nagano. Hakuba hosted events for the 1998 winter Olympics and now attracts millions of visitors per year.
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In those millions of visitors, only a handful get to visit Chokoku-ji Temple because most are there to snowboard and ski. For the lucky ones that do, the ancient trees that live there are quite a sight for any spectator.
The Giants Among Us
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When we arrived at the temple I instantly noticed the large amounts of snow trapped between the beautiful statues. As I walked around the temples main buildings, the trapped snow gave us a unique winter landscape. The doors of the temple were closed so I was only able to observe the artistic exterior design.
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I followed my nephew down the temple’s path that led to the giants among us.
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Right away you can feel the presence of the magnificent trees that live on the holy land. The youngest trees along the path seem to be only a couple hundred years old if compared to the 600-year-old tree we were there to see.
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There are two ancient trees that live at Chokoku-ji Temple. One of them is 500 years old and the other is 600 years old. When we arrived I was only expecting to see one 500-year-old tree so you can imagine my surprise as we ran across this couple.
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The experience with these ancient trees reminded me of mythical stories about couples reincarnating together as trees. Their spirits living together with love in a form that can live much longer than in human form. I enjoyed the experience in their presence so much that I made my nephew hug and both of these magnificent trees.
Landmarks of the Temple
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We walked around to the temple’s bell to check out its craftsmanship after spending long moments with our new tree friends. It had a wooden gong that was perfectly crafted to fit its artistic design.
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The bell's base was also perfectly crafted from what seemed like beautiful large pieces of wood.
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Below the front entrance of the bell was a walkway decorated with numerous statues. Each statue seems to tell a story. There were smaller ones lined up in rows and complemented the group of giant trees behind them.
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On the opposite side of the bell were bigger statues often seen along with Buddhist teachings. I spent long moments capturing images of these statues. I felt at peace honoring the spirituality of this beautiful town of 9000 people.
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The Spirit of Hakuba
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Most of the people that visit Hakuba are vibrant and full of excitement from their adventures snowboarding and skiing. The spirit of Hakuba is always a warm and friendly one so I’m grateful to get the opportunity to visit year after year. This was my first time visiting Chokoku-ji Temple and I will surely revisit my new tree friends, year after year.
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Authored & Photographed by:
@stewsak
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At one time I practiced martial arts Kung Fu, supposedly originating from Tibet, where the monastery of this school is located on Mount Wudang. I'm really curious if it really is there and if it looks like it. Maybe if I'm going to steal, I'll be able to check it out.
Kung Fu is an awesome form of martial arts, especially now that its seen mixed with MMA. Training in the mountains in the snow is an extra plus also :) Have an incredible weekend.
The beautiful times are correct, we were regularly meeting in the training room and practiced the fight not only outright, but also for clubs, swords, knife, belt with pants, spear, etc. I would come back to this but it will be harder for now and it will be even harder. Probably only at retirement :)
DAMN !!! These pics are good man!
Super happy you enjoyed them. Thanks for coming by and have a great weekend.
It is beautiful to see how tradition and modernity can coexist. Nice photos.
Super happy you enjoyed the post and thank for coming by. Have an amazing weekend.
Wow that looks like a very nice place to visit. Your photography is spectacular. I really like the picture of the stone statue - he ine that's praying under the post title "Spirit of Hakuba" and the picture of the bell. Very nice.
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The winter landscape gave the moment its peaceful setting. I was the lucky one to have been there at the right time to capture the images. I appreciate the kind words and have an amazing weekend :)
Wow wow bouddah is wonderful is this temple and would like to visit that place. :)
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I was super peaceful... I even saw a few monks briefly but didn't get to speak to them. Thanks for coming by and have a marvelous weekend.
My pleasure and looking forward to more post of this kind and have a nice weekend as well.
Those pictures are beautiful. 😦
Thanks a million!
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Great photos, I'd love to visit one day, it looks spectacular :)
The trees there were the superstars of the visit. The temple overall was peaceful. Thanks for coming through and have an outstanding weekend.
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