Sensoji Temple - "Bad JuJu"

After entering Sensoji Temple, some of us (not me) decided to try their luck at having their fortune told. We all approached this wall of drawers and a few of us proceeded to try and get lucky.

After donating 100 yen you shake up a rectangular box until a chopstick size piece of wood falls out. Each of these wooden sticks has a Japanese character on it that matches one of about a hundred little drawers with matching characters. You pull open the matching drawer and retrieve a slip of paper with your fortune on it. Sounds simple enough right?

Unfortunately these fortunes didn't pull any punches and a few of our group pulled some really bad fortunes. I found out after we left Japan that if you don't like your fortune you can neutralize it by simply tying it to a nearby wooden fence within the temple. None of us knew that at the time so nobody got rid of their bad fortunes. I haven't told the guys yet because I know they'll be bummed out to hear it.

Asakusa - Sensoji Temple

We got off the boat and entered Asakusa. We would save touring the city for another time. Today our intent was to visit Sensoji Temple and do some shopping for "omiyage" at Nakamise Dori. We took a quick picture before we left the dock area with the famous black and gold Asahi Beer building in the background.

Kaminarimon Gate greets us at the entrance to Sensoji Temple. It is the main gate to Sensoji Temple and was originally built in 942, and rebuilt in 1635. Kaminarimon Gate was subsequently destroyed by fire several times over the years. The existing gate dates from 1950 when it was rebuilt after 95 years. The two deities on either side of the gate are Fujin, the god of wind, and Raijin, the god of thunder.

It's hard not to notice the humongous red lantern hanging in the entrance to the temple grounds. The kanji letters written on the lantern says "Kaminari-mon." I believe "Kaminari" means thunder and "mon" means gate in Japanese

After passing though Kaminarimon Gate you enter Nakamise Dori. Nakamise is a vibrant shopping lane that extends for about 250 meters to Sensoji Temple. There are approximately 90 shops that line both sides of the lane selling everything from handmade rice crackers to Hello Kitty key chains. (Once again, the old and the new side by side again - See my prior comments from my Hamarikyu posting) For those of you looking for Japanese souvenirs to take home, this is the place!

Nakamise was originally formed around 1685 when the 12 subsidiary temples belonging to the Senso-ji Temple that lined both sides of the street were permitted to put out souvenir stalls in front of local houses in exchange for a promise by local residents to keep the area clean. It began to be called Nakamise (“inner shopping street”) because it is located between the shops of Kannondo-mae and the Asakusa-Hirokoji path. http://www.asakusa-nakamise.jp/e-index.html

After passing through Nakamise Dori we reached Sensoji Temple. Here's a picture of all of us before we actually enter the temple. In this courtyard area there were several items of interest. The first was the huge incense burner.

Apparently the smoke from the burning incense is supposed to help purify and heal you. People use their hands to try and focus the smoke on any part of their body that they would like good health. Here you see Richard and Matt doing their best to direct the smoke toward themselves. Whenever I look at this picture I imagine that Richard is preparing to grab the sides of the incense burner with his bare forearms like David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine in the television show Kung Fu! Check out David Carradine on IMDB through this link. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001016/

Another purification ritual at most temples involve washing your hands and mouth before entering. Here you see most of us partaking in the this ritual before entering the temple.

We finally enter Sensoji Temple and make an offering. Sensoji is Tokyo's oldest and most popular temple. According to legend, in 628 two brothers fishing in the nearby Sumida River netted a tiny golden statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy and happiness. The chief of their village recognized the sanctity of the statue and enshrined it by remaking his own house into a small temple so that the villagers could worship the Kannon. The blessings of the Kannon gradually received a high reputation throughout Japan, and people near and far flocked to Asakusa to venerate the statue. I understand that the statue is still housed here but is never shown to the public. Sensoji Temple burned down during a 1945 bombing raid and the present structure was rebuilt with donations by the Japanese people.

The Sumida River

Hamarikyu was a perfect way to start the day. After touring the park is was time to leave for Asakusa, and once again Dean had a surprise for us. Instead of heading for the train station he led us toward the far end of the park where a boat ride awaited us. Hamarikyu's unique location allows for boats to dock there and we were now fortunate enough to be able to board one that would take us to Asakusa via the Sumida river. Here's a picture of us leaving Hamarikyu in the background.

The boat was big and airy, with very few people joining us for the ride. The first thing we noticed when we boarded was how low the ceiling was. The boat was a double decker model with glass ceilings, and pretty much everyone sat on the upper deck for the view. Matt, the tallest guy in our group had to literally walk around in a crouched position to fit, and his head still grazed the roof.

Since there weren't a lot of people on board we could sit where ever we wanted. Our group spread out on both sides of the boat and started our tour of the Sumida river.

According to Dean there are 12 unique bridges on the Sumida river. This one caught my eye as we passed under it. I did some research and found out that this is the Chuo-ohashi Bridge, a modern suspension bridge that really stood out amongst the other bridges we saw. As we passed under these bridges it became startling clear why the ceiling on the boat was so low. These bridges are so close to the water that our boat barely fit each time we passed under one. Luckily no one loss their head, and before you knew it we had arrived at our destination, Asaskusa.

Hamarikyu - We Begin our 3rd Day in Japan

Day 3 - Our original plan was to take the Toei Subway Mita line to Otemachi Station and tour Asakusa. However, Dean had a surprise prepared for us instead. We walked a little less than a mile from our hotel to Hamarikyu Gardens which is a beautiful park located at the mouth of the Sumida river.

Touring the garden was a nice change of pace from our prior days activities. The garden seemed to have a calming effect on all of us as we wandered leisurely amongst the beautiful greenery. My friend Kurt exclaimed that he could spend all day there, relaxing and taking in the beauty of the garden.

The history of Hamarikyu Gardens go back to the 17th century when it was originally a mansion and hunting ground for the Tokugawa Shogunate. It later became a detached palace of the Emperor after the Meiji Restoration. In 1945 the ownership of the garden was passed on to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and has been open to the public ever since. I am told that the word "rikyu" in Hamarikyu means "detached palace" and is of Meiji origin.

The above picture really captured the essence of what Tokyo often felt like as we traveled the city. The new and the old, side by side. When you were in the park facing a certain direction, all you saw was this picturesque Japanese garden that looked ancient and unchanged. Look behind you and you were surrounded by the towering skyscrapers of Tokyo. Respect for the old while moving forward with the new. When you think of Japan do you imagine a city of neon signs, commuter trains and black suited business men or do you think of a place of ancient shrines, centuries old traditions and women who still wear Kimono around the city?

Another group picture before we leave the park. I didn't see a weight restriction posted for the bridge, but this picture sure makes you wonder if they should have one.

Big Echo - So Endth the Second Day!

After all that sake, yakitori and beer, you would think it would be time to call it a day, especially when you consider that we had all been up since 4:00 in the morning. But we were on a roll, and as soon as someone mentioned karaoke it was off to Big Echo to sing the night away.

Realizing that karaoke began in Japan, Big Echo should not have been a surprise to me. Still, it was a bit of a shock to see a 10-story karaoke building in the middle of downtown Shiba. Even in Hawaii where karaoke places are very prevalent, there is nothing even close to Big Echo. We checked in, got a room and proceeded to get our "song" on!

I wasn't sure what to expect, but thankfully there were quite a few American songs with English subtitling. Pitchers of beer helped to break the ice and before you knew it there was a backlog of songs waiting to be sung.

Dean and his Mom even joined in the fun and sang a duet together. Now that I think about it, I believe it was Mrs. Sakata's idea to sing karaoke in the first place. It was a terrific finish to a wonderful evening. So endth the second day! (01.24.2007 - I have been since corrected by Mrs. Sakata that it was Miles who suggested Karaoke.)