TOKYO – temples & holy smoke
Wednesday pm – I just love the street signs in Japan. Well, for that matter I love all the signs in Japan.
There is something about them that puts a smile on my face and wish we did the same with our signs back home. In saying that I am sure if we tried then the do-gooders would jump up and down and say it infringes some sort of human rights. Some signs are easy to understand and some leave me still wondering.
Japan is a clean country full of thoughtful people – no talking on phones in public places including trains and buses; no eating food on any suburban transport; the Shinkansen (bullet train) for long journeys is OK and pictured here my favourite of them all – No Smoking on the street. Smoking is banned just about everywhere except for the very few areas that you can puff away.
Moving from signs to food and drink – one of the millions of vending machines on our journey to the Temple – blue buttons are the cold drinks – red buttons are hot! Through the subway tunnels to change platforms and if you are feeling hungry there is always Pizza! Pick what you want before you order!
That is enough for the time being – there will be more little interesting highlights later on.
Back on the trail our next attraction is the Sensoji & Nakamise-dori. It is situated right on a main street and the crowds are amazing. Needless to say that my baby Canon comes in handy.
HISTORY LESSON : Sensoji is a Buddist temple located in Asakusa. In a city full of temples, Sensoji was founded in 645 making it Tokyo’s oldest Temple. Unfortunately during WWII the original buildings were destroyed and rebuilt later. It is the most popular temple in Tokyo and features the 200m long Nakamise-dori shopping street leading from the Kaminarimon Gate (Thunder Gate) to the Hozomon Gate. Beyond that is the inner area of the temple, featuring the main hall and the five storied Pagoda. Thanks RL.
Here we go – the most recognizable and gaudiest rendezvous point: is Kaminarimon Gate with the huge red chochin lantern. It seems that this is definitely the place for all and sundry to meet up. I usually head for the main attraction first up and this is no different. I will explore the shops and gates etc on the way back.
Fighting my way through the crowds, I Arrive at the end of the street where I find the Hondo (the main temple – on the left) and the 5 storey Pagoda.
I have been told that it is worth going inside but it is another ‘take your shoes off’ excursion and I am too tired for that to happen. Taking them off is not the problem, it is bending down to get them back on that is a pain. Word of warning – don’t wear lace up shoes if you plan on coming to Japan – wear shoes with velcro or slip ons!
There are some interesting artefacts at the front of the Temple – I just wish I knew what they meant!
Also at the front of the Temple is a very big urn where people burn incense and then encourage the smoke towards them and then rub the smoke over their heads and body.
Why? It is supposed to make you feel better and it is good for the soul. It is great watching everyone especially when there are lot of incense sticks placed in the urn – although you have to be careful not to catch on fire. The smoke billows out everywhere and people rush to start rubbing. Once the crowd thins out there is another one to take its place.
I will tell you that it did not make me feel better – a little bit of smoke goes a long way and all it did for me was give me a fit of the sneezes. I quickly moved away in case I offended the gods.
To the left of the temple stands the Goju no To five-storied pagoda (there are very few of them in Tokyo so it is recommended to take lots of photos!)
The pagoda, also from the 10th century is always closed to visitors because it is a graveyard and contains memorial tablets of thousands of families and individuals, so you can only see its insides if you can prove that you have family there, so to speak, and even then only during very specific times of the year.
OK – now it’s time to explore the second gate – Hozomon.
This gate has two large sandals, one either side.
You can read all about them and the temple on the link above so I will not go into detail here.
I will say however, around 800 citizens of Maruyama get together every few years and create a new pair of enormous waraji straw sandals— but don’t get too close – they weigh about 2.5 tons each! Through the gate and now I am on the other side and heading for the many, many shops on the Nakamise-dori.
Taking a deep breath- I head back into the crowds that are investigating the shops that are filled with everything from food to souvenirs.
It is one crazy place and I will be honest I did venture into one shop where it was so cramped I felt as if I had to breath in just to get past everything without knocking things over. I and the displays did survive however and I emerged with a couple of treasures to take home.
This must be another place where the younger generation like to dress in traditional kimono and have their photos taken.
Many young girls, phone in hand are posing and primping for just the right shot. Here is one young lass who even has her ‘hello kitty’ decoration on the phone.
I just love the way they are not self conscious about anything. They are always smiling and even when their are boyfriends in tow they are more than happy to take the photos.
I could stay here for hours and watch them but time is going by and we have to go back to the hotel and get our overnight bags as our big luggage has been sent on to Okayama; head for dinner and the bus to Kawaguchiko and Mt Fuji.
Tonight’s dinner is at the Shinjuku Bus Terminal, we also have to collect our Japan Rail Passes. RL herds us to a lovely place for dinner – from memory (and that’s not good) it was Sawamura Shinjuku which is in the NEWoMan Food Court. Interesting to say the least especially with our overnight bags – – our main suitcases have been forwarded to Mt Fuji.
A bit squeezy but once seated it is comfortable and we strike up a conversation – well RL does – with a very elegantly dressed couple who are so well mannered and happy to be talking with us – our Japanese is non-existant; their English is limited but there is lots of smiling and nodding.
This is my dinner – a rather large bowl of Clam Chowder and I will say it was delicious – although the amount would have fed a sumo wrestler! Of course it came with a rather large glass of Sem Sauv Blanc – feeling no pain.
After dinner we get our passes and get ready for the bus – waiting, waiting – one of our group gets caught up in one of the overnight bags and is lucky not to have broken his leg although the bag is a bit worse for the adventure. The bus journey is going to take about 2 hours so we have purchased some snacks to take with us – just in case.
On arrival we pile into the hotel Shuttle Bus and we are on our way to The Fuji View Hotel. I for one will be glad to get into a hot shower and then into bed!
My room is 316 and is a traditional Japanese style bedroom with the thin mattress on the floor- along with the chairs and everything else.
No matter – I investigate the cupboards and find some more mattresses and doonas and by the time I am finished the bed is about 40cm off the floor. Getting into bed I cannot wait for the views from the window as we are told every room has a view of Mt Fuji. Reportedly a shy mountain – meaning he hides behind the mist and clouds, we need Fuji San not to be shy and give us a full view of his majesty.
Yep, a comfortable night’s sleep was had.