Saga of Saga-ken

Apologies for the title, but I couldn't resist the pun. Last week, I went to Saga prefecture with my friends Hiroki and Kiyoka. Hiroki is the monk who cuts my hair, and Kiyoka is his wife. They invited me down to Saga for a temple ceremony. I had to wake up at some miserable hour to catch the 7:11 train to Asa. As it happened, I was excited about the trip to the point of waking up at five and finding myself with nothing to do and too much coffee in my brain.
Arriving in Asa we piled into their Daihatsu and rolled off down to Kyushu, stopping for breakfast at a truck stop. I took pictures to document that there are indeed truck stops in Japan, with mini-semis. After a two hour drive we found ourselves in Saga, checked in at the temple and after a short while split up. Hiroki would go to the temple to pray for an hour while Kiyoka would walk around the grounds with me to ensure that I wasn't bored to death.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Kiyoka may be trying to convert me: "I hope that you will get caught up with the statue of the Buddha."; "Are your grandparents well? No sickness?"; "Have you ever experienced any miracles?" But she is such a sweet person, and accepting of anyone, that I pay it no mind. We look at the pagada ("one of Buddha's bones is in the spire"), the statue of the founder of this branch of Buddhism, and head up to the topmost mountain in the temple complex. On the top of the mountain (read: hill) Kiyoka finds something that surprises both of us. Where we stand is the former home of the oldest known castle in Japan; the marker says it was built around 660, smack in the middle of the Nara period. No mention of the date of its destruction however.
Soon after this, the ceremony finishes and we mosey down the hill to meet Hiroki and listen to some ceremony ending Shamisen music. She and I arrive in the main plaza to hear the melodic strains of Dick Dale. An entrancing concert. After leaving the temple, we head to a shrine nearby with some wonderful Edo period prints on the walls as well as a Noh stage of the same age.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the day occurs on our return to Ube. Hiroki takes us to the shop of his mechanic where he his having a custom muffler made for his ATV. In conversation with mechanic's mother we are able to see some of the family treasures. Edo-period ceramic ash trays in the original box of the some 150-year-old tobacco company, pictures of her grandfather, the samurai, with his sword, rice ration tickets from the sixties! and perhaps most amazing of all, an actual samurai hat, worn by her grandfather. I was allowed to wear this hat, and had my picture taken next to its owner's granddaughter.
A wonderful day. I have not been so happy in a long while. I may also add that I spoke perhaps three sentences of English all day.