Stupa'd

This stupa sits on top of a mountain and overlooks Omura, the neighboring town on the other side of the mountain and the bay. It can be seen from almost anywhere and since it is illuminated at night, it is a constant presence. So of course, after 3 years and 4 months, I have been there. Wrong.

I tried to go there once early on in my first year here. My friend and I were driving up, but couldn't find it and ended up at a different (but very nice) park quite far away from the stupa. We couldn't even see the stupa anymore.

Since then, I've had this impression that the stupa was very difficult to access and could only be found after a laborious journey through unpaved, narrow, mountain roads.

I recently heard of a new cafe near the bottom of the stupa-mountain, so I went there with a friend. We had some time to kill so we decided the time had come to conquer the evasive stupa. "I wonder how long it will take." "I hope we don't get too lost." I was a little nervous.

Less than five minutes later we come to a hand-drawn, but very clearly written sign (with picture) for the stupa. One turn and there it stood towering over us. It was incredibly easy to find. I felt really stupa'd. (Ha, get it?)

It was pretty cool, very big and had a nice view of the wonderful Omura. I was under-dressed for the chilly weather, so we didn't stay there long, but I'll be sure to make another journey up in the spring time.