Houli 后里

Houli ("Kori" as it's called in Japanese) 后里 is a small town directly north of Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原. For the most part an unremarkable, ordinary Taiwanese town, Houli has one unique characteristic - it is probably the saxophone capital of the world! At one time, 1/3 of the world's saxes were made in Houli. In recent years, competition from China has intensified, but Houli is still a major player in the world saxophone market. And this despite the fact that the saxophone plays almost no part in the Taiwanese popular music scene. Obviously, almost all of those saxes are for export.

But it wasn't saxophones that brought the family out to Houli on this hot, humid Sunday. Nor was it the horse ranch that the town is also noted for, at least among the people of T'aichung (Taijhong) County 台中県. No, our destination was an old sugar mill. During the Japanese colonial period (and up through the 1960's), sugar was a major industry in central and southern Taiwan. Sugar is no longer a mainstay of the Taiwanese economy, though Taisugar 台糖 remains a large state-run corporation.

I wish I could say the Houli sugar mill is worth a visit, but I can't. Tourism in Taiwan is often an ugly affair - attracting ugly people to an ugly atmosphere filled with ugly commercialization - and the sugar mill was no exception. Had it been up to me, I would've turned the mill into a museum explaining the history and importance of the sugar industry in Taiwan. But I guess there's more money to be made in tacky souvenir shops and ice cream stores. Yes, ice cream - most people visit the Houli sugar mill to eat ice cream. It seems this particular mill used to manufacture its own ice cream for its employees, and the confection soon developed a reputation for its freshness and taste. All I can say is, judging by the vanilla cup I had this afternoon, it was fairly ordinary-tasting. And there was no chocolate! What an outrage!

An old railroad car and engine, shunted off to a corner of the grounds. The Taiwan Sugar Railways once carried both sugar and passengers. The station sign reads "Wufen" 五分.

An endless procession of tour buses disgorged passengers the entire time we were there. Amber, meanwhile, didn't like the tacky kiddie rides. That's my girl!

The most interesting part of the old sugar mill was the mill itself. Located in the rear of the complex, only a handful of the visitors bothered to walk through the structure. For some strange reason, terracotta warriors were placed around the floor...

...but the view looking up from the bottom of the smokestack was pretty cool.

For a lot of Taiwanese, snacking is the main reason for going out somewhere.

After the sugar mill, we took a short drive past the horse ranch and a military base, and past some pineapple plantations to an attractive Buddhist temple called "P'ilu Ch'anssu (Pilu Chansih)" 毘廬禪寺. Taiwanese Buddhist temples in general are much more restrained in their architecture compared to Taoist ones, and the Pilu Zen temple in particular has a pleasing design dating from the Japanese period.

It's too bad the Japanese took their architects with them when they left Taiwan in 1945. The grounds of the temple contain a nice shaded stroll that goes up for a distance of 350 meters (1150 feet) before heading back down to the main hall (though I worked up quite a sweat in the July humidity). If you find yourself in Houli, skip the sugar mill (and the horse ranch too, for that matter - it's also overrated) and seek out the Pilu Temple.

In the news ニュース

Several articles related to Taiwan have appeared in the English-language Japanese media over the past couple of days. On Friday, the Japan Times had an editorial on the 10-year anniversary of Hong Kong's handover by the British to China, "Hong Kong, 10 years later". In the last paragraph, it states:

"If the Chinese leadership is disappointed by its failure to win the hearts of Hong Kong residents, even more troubling is the inability to sway thinking on Taiwan. Hong Kong was designed to be a role model for the so-called renegade province and convince it to return to the motherland. Despite its many successes, "one country, two systems" has not worked, if Taiwanese sentiment is any measure."

Unlike many Western media outlets, the JT more often than not gets it right when it comes to Taiwan. Hong Kong has failed as a model designed to win over the Taiwanese public. Why on earth would the people here willingly give up their sovereignty and hard-won democratic system, and let the authoritarian...oops, I mean "benevolent" government in Beijing decide how much freedom they should be permitted to have?

Today, the Japan Times has a lead article headlined "Taiwan seen losing military edge to China". Japan's Defense Ministry 防衛省 is warning in a report that:

"The military balance between China and Taiwan is shifting in Beijing's favor and the qualitative superiority of Taipei's fighting force may soon be lost..."

Clearly, the Japanese government sees a strong Taiwan as an important component of its security policy. The report also notes concern over the annual double-digit growth in Chinese defense spending (19 years and counting), as well as China's efforts to extend the reach of its air and naval forces into the Pacific (North Korea is also a worry for Japan's policy planners). It's reassuring to note that the Japanese leadership is apparently under no illusions about the potential threat from China.

The Daily Yomiuri also has an article in today's issue about the defense report, "Chinese forces' modernization worries govt / Report fears buildup goes beyond Taiwan". According to the DY:

"The white paper says that China's military modernization is aimed at dealing with the Taiwan issue, but its modernization appears to go beyond this."

In a separate editorial, "Govt should increase security talks with China", the Yomiuri's editors write that the government is concerned:

"...over the military expansion in terms of national defense and a potential conflict between China and Taiwan, as well as safety in international waters."

The writers also wonder how many intermediate-range missiles are targeting Japan. Good question.

As the Defense Report demonstrates, the security of Taiwan is also vital to the security of Japan. I imagine there is going to be growing military co-operation between Japan and Taiwan in response to the Chinese buildup, unless the Kuomintang (Guomindang) 国民党 comes to power next year. It would be interesting to read what reports might be circulating in Japanese government circles about that possibility.

And while I'm on the topic of Japan, here's a photo of the sign outside a 回転寿司, a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant. It's the Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原 branch of a chain called Sushi Express.

楽しみください ("Tanoshimi kudasai") = "Please enjoy". As sushi goes in Taiwan, the offerings at Sushi Express aren't too bad. In fact, it's a lot better than what you might find at some more expensive/upscale sushi restaurants in Taiwan.

The Politics of Parks 公園の政治

There's a new strip of park in Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原, located along the north section of Yuanhuan Road 圓環北路, the loop road that goes around the central part of the city. At one time, the area was used to house people who had lost their homes in the Chi-chi (Ji-ji) Earthquake 集集大地震 of Sept. 21, 1999. The temporary housing has long since been removed, and the finishing touches are being put on a park area that features wading pools for children. We went with Amber in the late afternoon to check out the new green spot in town.

公園はまだ建築工事中だ。

There were a lot of kids enjoying the water, but it didn't seem clean enough for us to let Amber take a dip. Perhaps we were just being overprotective, but the last thing I want is for Amber to come home with is some sort of waterborne illness. While Amber was interested in what the other kids were doing, she seemed content with walking around and exploring the new park, so we were spared having to disappoint a small child.

入ることができるプール

In recent years, there appears to have been some kind of boom in park construction in Taiwan. New parks pop up with regularity, even in smaller cities such as Fengyuan. These are often due to the efforts of local politicians, who then proudly boast of their achievements in the next election campaign (with the use of loud sound trucks). The problem (and there's always a problem) is that, while money is certainly spent on constructing the parks, it seems little is budgeted afterward for maintenance. The result is that the condition of many of these nice new parks soon starts to deteriorate, and it doesn't take long before today's new oasis of green is tomorrow's weedy, trash-strewn eyesore, where you have to watch where you step due to the broken pavement and dog droppings.

Perhaps I'm being too cynical. Who knows, once this latest addition to Fengyuan's park scene is finished, the wading pools will be kept in great condition, and kids (including mine) will be able to splash around in clean water during those lazy days of summer. Forgive me if I don't hold my breath, however...

デリートしてしまいました

I'm not sure why I did it, but I've gone and deleted some of the photos I've put on this blog over the past year. Most of the pictures were of scenes I found interesting while going for walks in the Chung-cheng (Jhong-jheng) Park 中正公園 area of Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原. What this now means is that on a lot of my postings about Chung-cheng Park, there are references to pictures that are no longer there. I guess that's what happens when you go about doing something you haven't a clue about in the first place.

Speaking of Chung-cheng Park, I went for a walk there this afternoon. Public schools are on summer vacation now, and the private cram schools and kindergartens have adjusted their schedules accordingly. Classes start earlier in the morning, and generally finish earlier in the afternoon. The cram school where I teach sets aside Wednesdays for field trips for the kids, so my services are not required, and thus I'm free. Seeing as Amber takes a nap right after lunch, why not take advantage of the opportunity and get some exercise?

Many people might blanch at the idea of walking in the hills and mountains in the middle of the afternoon on a hot summer day. For me, there's no better time. The sweat generated walking up and down the paths makes me feel like I'm eliminating toxins from the body, and doing something about getting rid of some of the excess flab I've accumulated since marriage. But the main reason I enjoy going out at this time is the solitude. Only a fool would venture out in this heat, and there aren't too many fools in the Fengyuan area. The peace and quiet of an early afternoon hike, especially in comparison to the noise generated by the numbers of early morning walkers and the collateral damage that follows in their wake (vendors and karaoke), more than compensates for the buckets of sweat that is produced. Besides, the BO of a sweaty hiker means I'm less likely to be bothered by someone when I stop for an iced latte on the way home after walking.

The recent heavy rains have had a couple of good side effects:
Normally dry streams are full of water, which cascade down small waterfalls

and the air is so clean that the view stretches all the way out to the ocean, a rare sight in this part of central Taiwan

Taipei Times タイペイタイムズ

There are two main English-language newspapers in Taiwan, the China Post and the Taipei Times. By far, the better of the two is the Taipei Times, at least in terms of its political viewpoint. The China Post is too pro-Kuomintang (Guomindang) 国民党 and too anti-Japanese for my liking, though I do read it sometimes because it has better coverage of Major League baseball games, and a decent travel section on Thursdays. The China Post also suffers from poor translation work at times.

Occasionally, however, the Taipei Times also slips up. In an article last weekend on the Suao Cold Springs 蘇澳観光冷泉, it was written that the springs were discovered by a Japanese soldier. The problem was the name given in the story was the Chinese reading of the characters in the soldier's name 竹中信景. One of my (many) pet peeves about life in Taiwan is the fact that many people here either don't know or can't be bothered to learn the real names of Japanese and Korean people, and instead seem content with using the Mandarin readings of the characters. In a fit of pique, I fired off a letter to the editor complaining about this matter as it related to the Suao article.

To my surprise, 24 hours later I received a very polite email from an editor with the Taipei Times, assuring me that it was an editorial oversight. Furthermore, I looked up the article on-line this evening, and noticed that a correction has been made with regards to the soldier's Japanese name.

Yet another example why the Taipei Times is the best English-language newspaper in Taiwan.

Trip to Japan: Day 8 ６月２４日日曜日

The last day of my visit to Japan was a short one. Up at 6, out of the hotel by 6:30, breakfast at McDonald's, then by subway and train to the airport, arriving by 8:40, giving me plenty of time to check-in for my 11:15 flight to T'aipei (Taibei) 台北. I was back in Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原 by the middle of the afternoon.

Compared to the multitudes thronging the Shinsaibashi 心斎橋 area in Osaka 大阪 just a few hours earlier, the streets were deserted at 6:30 on a Sunday morning.

My Cathay Pacific flight getting ready for takeoff at Kansai International Airport 関西国際空港.

And that was my week in Japan. I'm already eager to plan the next visit. Why? In comparison to Taiwan, Japan is (take your pick) cleaner, safer, has a longer and more interesting history, is more efficient and better organized, has a more varied topography and climate, is more beautiful to look at, is less corrupt, has a greater variety of food on offer and a generally healthier cuisine, has a fantastic public transportation system and, in general, is far more cosmopolitan in its outlook. Most of all, the people in Japan are lot more civil. Not only to foreigners (and I've met a lot of great people in Taiwan), but to each other as well.

One thing that has changed over the years in Japan is the reaction generated by the presence of a foreigner 外人 in its midst. Had I visited somewhere like Yoshino 吉野 or Dorogawa 洞川 back in 1989 (the year of my first visit to Tokyo 東京), the local kids would probably have been in hysterics and I might have received a lot of stares from the adults. These days, thanks in part to the JET program (which places a native English speaker in every public school) and a greater number of Western visitors exploring the regions outside of the main tourist spots, I hardly rated a second glance from the locals in any of the places I went. Taiwan still has a long, long way to go in this regard.

But while I may love Japan, I love my family even more, and so Taiwan will remain my home for the foreseeable future. And despite visiting a number of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples on this recently-completed trip, I never once asked the 神 for a single thing, not one favor. Rather, I am just thankful, very much so, for having a wonderful wife, a beautiful daughter and a second chance at life after the self-created cock-ups of a few years ago.

So to Japan I say また来年。

Trip to Japan: Day 7 ６月２３日土曜日

I hadn’t planned on staying in Kyoto 京都 during this trip. I’d originally wanted to base myself in Nara 奈良, and use the city to make a number of day trips in the Kinki 近畿 region. But the hotel where I wanted to stay was fully-booked during this period, and so I found myself once again at the Palace Side Hotel ザ・パレスサイドホテル, where Pamela and I had stayed when we visited Kyoto in the fall of 2003. The Palace Side is a great hotel – nice rooms with cheap rates (plus they give discounts for long-term stays), and a convenient location in the center of Kyoto. It was kind of ironic, however, that in a city famous for its Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, the view from my window was of an Anglican church 聖公会.

One of the things I’d wanted to do on that visit back in Nov. 2003 was to hike between Kurama 鞍馬 and Kibune 貴船. At that time, a combination of bad weather and my wife’s aversion to anything remotely strenuous meant we didn’t go. This time, I decided to slot the hike into my itinerary. And despite the heavy rain that fell at times on Friday, the weather on this Saturday, as I woke up at 6, was clear and sunny. Once again, the 神 had looked upon me with favor on those days I decided to take long walks.

The logistics were pretty simple: I caught a bus from Imadegawa-Marutamachi 今出川丸太町 to Demachiyanagi Station 出町柳駅, from which I got on a Kurama-bound train on the Eizan Line 叡山電鉄. It didn’t take long before the train left the urban scenery of Kyoto behind, and 30 minutes later we reached the terminus at Kurama. A short walk from the station is the gate to Kurama-dera 鞍馬寺.

There is a cable car that takes you up to the temple, but this was a hike, so I started to walk. After about 5 minutes, I came to Yuki-jinja 由岐神社, a small Shinto shrine with some large sugi trees 杉 (Japanese cedar) on its grounds. What better spot than to enjoy the can of Skal スコール that I had bought from a vending machine between the station and the gate to the temple!

Not everything was aesthetically-pleasing. Take this statue, for example. Entitled “Inochi” 命 (“Life”), it represents the three aspects of the god Sonten, the chief deity in Kurama-kyo Buddhism 鞍馬教. It looks like something you might find on a school playground. Fortunately, the scenery behind this hideous-looking thing was much easier on the eyes.

The trail soon led to the honden 本殿 of Kurama-dera. The views from here to the mountain ranges to the east were very good.

From Kurama-dera, I continued uphill to the top of the ridge, where I found the Yoshitsune Sekurabe-
ishi 義経背比べ石.

  

Minamoto no Yoshitsune 源義経 is one of the more famous figures in Japanese history, and as a young man he used this stone to measure his height to see if he was big enough to go off and fight.

The trail continued on, past a couple of attractive sub-temples, Sojo-ga-dani Fudo-do 僧正ガ谷不動堂 and Okuno-in Mao-den 奥ノ院魔王殿…

…before coming to the bottom at the small village of Kibune. On the way, there was this fuji tree 藤, the branches of which had become incredibly twisted over time.

Once on the road in Kibune, I paid a visit to Kibune-jinja 貴船神社, which turned out to be something of a letdown. The walk up the lantern-lined steps was nice, but the shrine building itself was a recent construction. There was a lot of activity going on at the shrine. One thing which I couldn’t quite figure out involved putting a sheet of paper into a trough of water. Apparently something happened to the paper once it came in contact with the water, but I couldn’t get close enough to see what was happening.

UPDATE: Thanks to an email from Mariko, I now understand what was going on. It's a form of fortunetelling called "Mizu'uranai" 水占い, which translates as "water witching". When you place the fortune slip おみくじ into the water, words that tell your fortune will appear. No wonder everyone was so excited. Thanks Mariko!

I wandered around Kibune village for a little bit, enjoying the scenery by the Kibune-gawa 貴船川.

Many of the inns and restaurants had constructed dining platforms over the river for diners to enjoy a nice meal in the summertime while escaping from the oppressive heat.

I would’ve liked to have done so myself, but the cheapest lunch course I saw was for ￥3500 ($28 or NT930). Perhaps if I’d been with Pamela, we would’ve splurged, but as a solo traveler this time around, I decided to get something cheaper for lunch back in the city.

It was a long walk to Kibune Station, but fortunately it was all downhill. I caught the train back to Demachiyanagi, and still feeling 元気 from the morning hike, I opted to walk back to the hotel rather than take the bus. Along the way, I stopped off a small diner and gorged myself on a large plate of Hamburg steak ハンバーグ and pork cutlet ポークカツ, and washed it down with a draft beer 生ビール. Then, with time on my hands to kill, I walked through the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park 京都御所. The Sento Gosho Palace 仙洞御所 was closed, but the imposing gates were an impressive site.

The park itself occupies a huge slab of real estate in central Kyoto. I walked all the way to its southern end, where there was a typical Japanese-style pond filled with hungry carp.

Eventually, it was time to leave Kyoto. Picking up my bags from the Palace Side Hotel, I took a bus to Keihan-Sanjo Station 京阪三条駅, and then rode the Keihan Line to Yodobashi Station 淀橋駅 in Osaka 大阪. The Keihan Line passes through the less scenic southern part of Kyoto, but it’s one the cheapest routes from there to Osaka. Upon arriving at Yodobashi, I transferred to the Midosuji subway 御堂筋線, and once again found myself in Shinsaibashi 心斎橋, though this time at a different hotel.

And once again, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Mariko and Sachiko. They had done some sightseeing in Kyoto while I was hiking in the mountains, and now were joining me for the evening in Osaka. Osaka is a blue-collar city (at least in comparison with Kyoto), and so for dinner we went out to an izakaya 居酒屋, a Japanese-style pub that offers great food and plenty of beer, and all at reasonable prices. I really wish there were places like that to eat and drink in Taiwan.

After dinner, Mariko and Sachiko returned to the hotel, and I wandered the streets of Minami ミナミ, mingling with the crowds out for a night on the town in Shinsaibashi and Namba 難波. If nothing else, this part of Osaka must be one of the best places in the world for people-watching. But seeing as I had an early flight to Taiwan the next day, people-watching was the extent of my entertainment for the evening.

NEXT: Back to Taiwan