Today is Foundation Day. I don't know what that means except that it is a day off from school and work. I spent most of today is a bleary eyed state recuperating from my extended day yesterday. As much as I love and appreciate the train system in Japan, it has one major flaw. It doesn't run trains past midnight.
I spent the day in Kamakura which is a small, pretty, coastal city south of Tokyo. It is famous for a large statue of Buddha, a shrine for washing money, and sweet potato ice cream. I was able to enjoy all of those highlights in addition to going for an hour long hike in the woods, antique shopping, and a delicious taco lunch.
I traveled with Leslie to Kamakura. Since Buddha was an important must-see on both of our lists we went there straight away. It's an impressive statue. It's in open air, serene, and surrounded by sculpted views. We paid twenty yen and were able to go inside the Buddha. There wasn't much to see, but it felt oddly metaphysical.
After the Buddha, we went to find the money washing shrine. Kamakura is a tourist town and there were bilingual maps and signs every two blocks. Still, we managed to take the long way round and get a little lost in the process. Instead of taking a bus, or going directly along the main road, we ended up hiking up a mountain to get to the shrine. It took an hour and the trail was deeply muddy from the previous day's snowfall, but we managed.
It was worth it. The shrine was accessible through a small tunnel in the mountain. At the end of the dark tunnel were a series of pale wood torii glowing with sunlight. We passed through incense burners and prayer candle holders to a cave with a natural spring. Hanging from the roof of the cave were thousands of paper cranes that school children had made to increase the good luck of the site. Good luck was essential to the shrine. Popular belief says that if you wash your money at the spring then it will return doubly to you. I washed various coins and bills from my wallet. Hopefully, I will soon be twice as rich.
After visiting that shrine (and with our guarantee of future wealth) we headed back into town for some shopping. I went to an antique store and bought an awesome compass. It is small, metal, and has kanji on the face. I like it a lot. We also found a place that sold sweet potato ice cream--a local specialty food. It was purple and surprisingly delicious.
After that, we boarded a train to Yokohama, the second largest city in Japan and a de-facto part of Tokyo to meet with Aaron and Clarissa. It took forever to locate them in the city-like train station. We wandered down hallways for 20 minutes, passed restaurants, jewelry stores, clothing stores, grocery stores, and were given free samples of cakes and wine before we ran into each other. We decided to get dinner at a close place since we knew we needed to be careful with the train times if we wanted to get back in time. We found a barbecue restaurant near the train station that was spectacular. We order plate after plate of raw beef and vegetables that we cooked ourselves on the grill in the middle of our table. Oishii!
Unfortunately, the leisurely meal made us take a later train. And since trains in Japan don't run past midnight we became stranded in Tatebayashi, a good thirty minute train ride from Ota. We considered our options: a hundred dollar taxi ride, an all-nighter, or an expensive hotel room. Lucky for us, JET connections came in useful, and I remembered that Leslie and I knew a fellow ALT who lived in Tatebayashi. Despite calling at midnight asking for a place to sleep for four people, she didn't hesitate and graciously let us crash at her apartment for the night.
Pictures of Kamakura are linked in the sidebar.
Showing posts with label shrine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shrine. Show all posts
Monday, February 11, 2008
Monday, November 26, 2007
Adventures in Tokyo
Since I had no family to visit or turkeys to eat, I decided to go to Tokyo to visit my friend, Margalit, for my Thanksgiving Day holiday. Friday the 23rd is a national holiday in Japan. It translates as Labour Thanksgiving Day, but apparently signifies nothing to the Japanese other than a day off from work.
Going into Tokyo by myself was the first adventure. It only took two hours, but required me to change trains four times. I brought a book to read for the trains, but didn't get through as many pages as I had hoped since I was wary about missing a stop. My first train wasn't doing me any favors either. Trains have an electronic message board telling the next stop in both Japanese and English. However, my first train's message board was broken, meaning that the conductor just called out the approaching stops in Japanese. I eventually caught onto the words he was using and could isolate the name of next station which allowed me to relax and focus on my book.
Finally arriving in Tokyo around noon, I tried to find the meeting place Margalit and I had decided on. Unfortunately, I exited the train station in a really strange and far away place. I finally found someone, and managed to ask them where Hachiko (a famous statue of a dog) was. Following their directions, I found Margalit whose blond hair made her very easy to spot.
We ran across an Indian restaurant and decided to eat lunch there. They had a special lunch deal where for 8 dollars you get two curries, a drink, and unlimited naan and rice. Updating each other on our lives in the last months, we gorged on the delicious food.
After lunch, Margalit took me to Yoyogi Park. The main walkway into the park was an avenue of street musicians. Evenly spaced, men and women, most with microphones and guitars, some with audiences, jockeyed for attention. They had stiff competition that day, since just beyond that avenue we found a large dance party in full swing.
It seemed to be an AIDS charity event with djs and craft and food stalls. We entered the crowd for a few minutes of dancing. The dj soon shifted into slower beats, and we left the scene.
We continued through more the of park, which despite being chilly was pleasantly filled with people.
Near the park is the Meiji Shrine. Meiji Shrine is one of the most famous shrines in Tokyo. It is dedicated to the souls of Emperor Meiji and his wife. At the front is a torii.
Farther inside is the shrine. There were lots of tourists, young children in kimonos, and perhaps due to the season: displays of vegetables. I even spied a traditional wedding setting up. The bride was wearing an elaborate and gorgeous white kimono. Her hair was stylized in shellacked rolls around her head. I would have loved to been able to watch her wedding. If I ever get invited to a Japanese wedding it would be such a highlight.
We left the shrine (taking time to browse the gift shop), and headed to Akihabara--a crowded shopping mecca known for its unique culture and girls who like to dress in highly stylized costumes. I bought some gloves for my cold hands, and caught sight of some girls wearing outlandish costumes. However, overall my experience in the crowded street wasn't pleasant. It was hard to move, it was so crowded.
By this time it was dark, so we took to the subway and went to Margalit's apartment, which is off a street labeled Happy Street. Her boyfriend came home a few minutes later and we headed out to find dinner. They took me to a small okonomiyaki restaurant. Okonomiyaki is a regional food that is similar to a pancake. You order a bowl of ingredients (I chose squid) which arrive raw at your table. A griddle in the middle of the table is heated and the contents of the bowl are dumped on it. Using spatulas you shape it into a pancake shape. When it is fully cooked, you take a small, flat spoon and scoop up portions. It is homey, warm, and delicious. I have to say it made for an excellent meal for my Japanese Thanksgiving.
Going into Tokyo by myself was the first adventure. It only took two hours, but required me to change trains four times. I brought a book to read for the trains, but didn't get through as many pages as I had hoped since I was wary about missing a stop. My first train wasn't doing me any favors either. Trains have an electronic message board telling the next stop in both Japanese and English. However, my first train's message board was broken, meaning that the conductor just called out the approaching stops in Japanese. I eventually caught onto the words he was using and could isolate the name of next station which allowed me to relax and focus on my book.
Finally arriving in Tokyo around noon, I tried to find the meeting place Margalit and I had decided on. Unfortunately, I exited the train station in a really strange and far away place. I finally found someone, and managed to ask them where Hachiko (a famous statue of a dog) was. Following their directions, I found Margalit whose blond hair made her very easy to spot.
We ran across an Indian restaurant and decided to eat lunch there. They had a special lunch deal where for 8 dollars you get two curries, a drink, and unlimited naan and rice. Updating each other on our lives in the last months, we gorged on the delicious food.
After lunch, Margalit took me to Yoyogi Park. The main walkway into the park was an avenue of street musicians. Evenly spaced, men and women, most with microphones and guitars, some with audiences, jockeyed for attention. They had stiff competition that day, since just beyond that avenue we found a large dance party in full swing.
It seemed to be an AIDS charity event with djs and craft and food stalls. We entered the crowd for a few minutes of dancing. The dj soon shifted into slower beats, and we left the scene.
We continued through more the of park, which despite being chilly was pleasantly filled with people.
Near the park is the Meiji Shrine. Meiji Shrine is one of the most famous shrines in Tokyo. It is dedicated to the souls of Emperor Meiji and his wife. At the front is a torii.
Farther inside is the shrine. There were lots of tourists, young children in kimonos, and perhaps due to the season: displays of vegetables. I even spied a traditional wedding setting up. The bride was wearing an elaborate and gorgeous white kimono. Her hair was stylized in shellacked rolls around her head. I would have loved to been able to watch her wedding. If I ever get invited to a Japanese wedding it would be such a highlight.
We left the shrine (taking time to browse the gift shop), and headed to Akihabara--a crowded shopping mecca known for its unique culture and girls who like to dress in highly stylized costumes. I bought some gloves for my cold hands, and caught sight of some girls wearing outlandish costumes. However, overall my experience in the crowded street wasn't pleasant. It was hard to move, it was so crowded.
By this time it was dark, so we took to the subway and went to Margalit's apartment, which is off a street labeled Happy Street. Her boyfriend came home a few minutes later and we headed out to find dinner. They took me to a small okonomiyaki restaurant. Okonomiyaki is a regional food that is similar to a pancake. You order a bowl of ingredients (I chose squid) which arrive raw at your table. A griddle in the middle of the table is heated and the contents of the bowl are dumped on it. Using spatulas you shape it into a pancake shape. When it is fully cooked, you take a small, flat spoon and scoop up portions. It is homey, warm, and delicious. I have to say it made for an excellent meal for my Japanese Thanksgiving.
