shrine – The Stupid American Tourist

All Over Tokyo on a Sunday

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Dec 182011

My main plan today was to go to Harajuku to see some cool outfits, go to Ginza to see the pedestrian mall and maybe shop a little, and do other stuff as it came up. I also needed to go to Ikebukuro to get some presents at the traditional arts center there.

A shot outside of JR Shinjuku– another beautiful day! (Nothing to do about the pole, though.)

I started off in Harajuku. I headed down the main street, turned right, and headed to Kiddy Land, which had great souvenirs/toys last time.

This time, it wasn’t as exciting. For starters, they moved the store to a new location with less room in it, and a lot of the funkier stuff has been replaced by theme goods, like Hello Kitty, Peanuts, etc. That’s all stuff I can get in the US for my nephew and my godkids.

I liked the old store better. It had more “funky” stuff and a cooler vibe.

Meiji Jingu Shrine

Then I headed towards Meiji Jingu shrine, and took some photos on the way.

Streets near Kiddy Land:

The MoMA (NY) Design Store in Harajuku?

Looking back at the main street of Harajuku as I head towards the station and the shrine/park:

I only saw one bunch of people really dressed up, and they were on their way out. Too slow to get a photo.

I guess I missed it? I dunno.

I got to the shrine, and walked and walked and walked. It was difficult to take good pictures, because the lighting was bad.

Here’s the entry with the IXY, which really struggled with the conditions:

My giant 60D did a little better, but not much, to be honest:

A lantern I saw on the path:

The shrine grounds are really pretty, but lots of shade means it’s hard on photographers:

I thought this sign was interesting. The English takeaway? No smoking. But in Japanese, it also says no eating and drinking while walking:

This area was a collection of donated Japanese and French wines to dedicate the shrine with:

Sake:

Barrels of wine:

Moving on to the inner garden grounds:

See the red umbrella? That’s a wedding party:

I saw a couple of Americans in Santa suits. WHYYYY? Of course they kept getting in the way of my photos. No, I’m not showing them. They weren’t that good, anyway.

While I was snapping away, a wedding procession came through, then came back. That was pretty cool. I tried to take a video of it with my 60D, but it kept not wanting to shoot video. It was very grumpy about the whole thing. I was probably pressing the wrong button or something.

A few shots of the inner garden and the honden:

After that, a group of girls and a group of guys asked me to take their pictures. I guess they figured that I knew what I was doing.

Then I headed out.

One last shot of Harajuku, near JR Harajuku:

I went back to the room to recharge for a bit and have lunch.

Road Closed

Refreshed, I went to Ginza. Since it was Sunday, the main road was closed to traffic, and the main street turned a giant pedestrian plaza. It was like a giant outdoor shopping mall.

The buildings looked great as sun was setting.

I headed to Itoya, one of my favorite stores on the planet.

People were jammed in tight there. I shopped a bit, and as I was heading out, I stopped by the pens. I found a beauty. Pilot made a special edition pen for earthquake relief for Tohoku. There was one red one left, and I bought it. It’s a gorgeous pen, and hopefully someone will benefit from my impulse buy.

I also bought some decorative paper for my sister, who loves the stuff.

Then I headed back out, and took a few photos.

At 5 there was an announcement, “We’re going to open the road to traffic now. Move it.”

Pedestrian heaven quickly became pedestrian hell, as everyone jammed back on to the sidewalks.

One last shot of a random Ginza Christmas tree:

I made my way to the subway, then headed to the hotel to drop off my Itoya purchases, and then turned around and went to Ikebukuro.

The Best of Japan in One Place

The reason for my trip to Ikebukuro was to pick up some souvenirs at the Japan Traditional Crafts Center. Some of the best craft work in Japan is for sale there, all in one store in Ikebukuro.

Finding it was slightly tricky, but I found it. They had a really good selection. If, like me, you want to buy a good handmade calligraphy brush, they have them from all over Japan.

The downside is that you won’t forge a relationship with the people who made it, like I did in Anjo and in Toyohashi. You also won’t get a discount for being nice and speaking Japanese. This is Tokyo, not Aichi Prefecture.

But you can find all kinds of stuff here. I found some nice brushes, one for my calligraphy teacher back home, one for a classmate of mine, one for me, and a nice print for my girlfriend back home.

On the way to the station, I found another Krispy Kreme.

Of course I bought a few doughnuts! I need the carbs… for energy! I still have way too many Krispy Kreme coupons. Every time I use one, they give me two back. I will never be able to get rid of them, and have fallen squarely into their trap!

I headed back to the hotel again to drop off my souvenirs, and decided to go to Roppongi for dinner.

Christmas in Roppongi

I went to Roppongi Hills, because the food there is good. There was also a Christmas tree-like decoration in front:

I found a good sounding teppanyaki place, until I checked their menu. The prices were way too high for my budget.

So I went to the noodle shop across the hall, called Masudaya, and got great chicken soba for a third of the price.

I still kind of suck at slurping my noodles like a local, but who cares? It’s delicious!

I wanted to go to Cold Stone, because I was craving something cold and sweet after all those hot noodles, but it was closed by 9. Boo.

On the way back to the station, I stopped by Aoyama Book Center for a book for my brother in law. I may have found something there, but I’ll have to double-check with my sis to make sure it’s in his strike zone.

I saw this neat Roppongi sign made out of lights. Kind of looks like the signs on Bourbon Street in New Orleans:

One last gratuitous photo of a subway poster while waiting for a train, full of things you shouldn’t do on the platform:

After all of that, I headed back to Shinjuku and passed out.

Nagano: Zenkoji and Togakushi: Part Two: Togakushi and Notes

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Nov 052007

Togakushi. Tooi.

After some false starts, I finally got communications with the travel and tourism office people to work. I decided to head to Togakushi. It’s a close-ish town with mountains, trees, not many people, and a famous cedar-lined path that leads to a famous local shrine. I know I’m burned out on shrines, but this one is at least out of the way and scenic. I’m game. Maybe I won’t have to fight more groups for photos.

A one-hour-plus bus ride later, I’m at Togakushi Chuu, which is the shrine in the middle of the town. It has a massive set of stairs you have to climb to enter the shrine. After wheezing up the stairs, I made it to the shrine itself. It was nice. Nothing too fancy.

Photos:

From the window of my bus:

Togakushi Chuu Shrine:

This is actually Togakushi Houkou:

The stairs to Togakushi Chuu (foreshadowing!):

The honden at Togakushi Chuu:

Something I should mention first– Nagano claims to be an international city, but I hadn’t seen one English-language sign at any of the temples I’ve been at so far. Not even one telling me to stay off of something, or take off my shoes. Fortunately, I know enough Japanese to find my way, but I don’t know enough to know much about what I’m seeing, which is a little frustrating.

But I like pretty things, so I can deal with it.

Off to the main shrine. The sign points to the trail, and says it’s 1.4 Km away. Better get hiking!

I started heading down this path to Togakushi Oku Shrine:

I think this sign means it’s 1.4 Km to the shrine:

Okay, now it’s in English. 1.3 Km to the entrance. Well, that can’t be too far from the shrine, right? (It’s also 18.3 Km to Zenkoji, if I feel like a nice long stroll!)

It’s a beautiful hike nonetheless:

1.1 Km…:

Still beautiful:

This map gives you a bit of an idea of where I am, where I’ve been, and where I’m headed. In a way.

I need to point something else out here first. The buses to Togakushi run every hour or so. The last bus leaves at 8-something p.m., but the bus I need to ride back leaves at 5:10 p.m. That’s because the sun sets around that time, and I don’t want to wander in the Japanese countryside in the dark without a flashlight.

There isn’t another bus until 6:00 p.m., and we’re at altitude. (About 4,500 ft or so?) I set out from the first shrine at 3:00 p.m., and I knew it was going to be close to make it back by 5. So I had to move quickly.

The 1.4 Km hike was very pretty and very strenuous. Lots of uphill climbs, lots of uneven terrain, but lots of gorgeous mountains. Also lots of power lines getting in the way of my pictures. That’s one irritating thing about Japan– power lines and poles everywhere. They seem to just jump into my pictures as if taunting me.

So after 20-30 minutes of hiking, I made it to the entrance to the main shrine. Yay! Finally! (Well, I see the souvenir shop!)

It’s really pretty.

Really pretty!

Then I see the sign.

“Main shrine -> 1900 Meters”

Ah, crap.

I’m already sore, and now I find out I’m not even halfway there. And I still have to go back at some point! I’m not even 1/4 done with walking for the day!

Ah well. Let’s get moving!

Gorgeous Cedar Trees

The path to the mountain shrine is stunning. It’s lined with trees and is straight as an arrow. Lots of views. Also, along both sides of the path are little gutters, or streams, with water flowing down making a lovely gurgling noise. Very nice.

The nicest part? The sparse number of people. It feels like you’re more alone than ever, and it’s good. Nobody is crowding you, elbowing you, out-camping you for things… it’s just a walk down a tree-lined lane in fall. Everyone there feels that same vibe, too, and they actually nod and smile at you as you walk by. They don’t just bulldoze by you like you’re another obstacle.

Starting down the straight-as-an-arrow path:

The Outer Gate to the Inner Shrine, guarded by komainu:

Then I reached the highlight of the day so far– a 500 meter long path with a straight row of giant cedar trees lining each side. It’s another travel magic moment. As I said in my Nara post, this is why I love to travel.

The cedar rows. Stunning:

Of course, it’s all uphill, the road is a little rough, and it’s tiring. It’s 48F (maybe), and I’m just wearing my long-sleeve T-shirt because I’m sweating up a storm. I have the voice of the Survivorman guy in my head, reminding me that if I sweat too much in cold weather, it could be dangerous, so I’ve already peeled off my jacket until I’m down to just the T-shirt, and I’m still all sweaty. Also, everything is cotton. I’m learning on this trip that cotton is evil. It does a really good job of trapping sweat and holding it against you.

It’s work, man.

But oh my God, it’s worth it. It’s gorgeous here.

Then the main path runs out:

And then there are stairs. Lots of stone stairs that are uneven. Be careful!

We start climbing stairs:

Looking back down the stairs:

Now that I’m past the cedar rows and forest, I can start to see the mountains:

Made it to the shrine!

I finally made it to the shrine a little after 4 p.m. For once, I did the whole purification ritual you’re supposed to do when you enter a shrine.

The water was freezing.

Purify Yourself!

So how does the basic purification ritual work? Simple. There’s a pool of water with dippers in it. You grab the dipper with your right hand, pour water over your left, then switch to the dipper to your left hand to wash your right, then switch again to fill your left hand with water so you can rinse out your mouth. Don’t spit the water back into the basin. Then fill the dipper again and let the water run down the handle to rinse off all of your cooties. Put the dipper back where you found it. If you don’t know what you’re doing, ask someone.

When you’re done, you shake your hands dry like everyone else who doesn’t have a towel. (Or just carry a towel or handkerchief with you, like most people do here.)

I probably could have used some extra purification after all of that sweating. Nevermind, I’m thinking of a shower.

The shrine I’ve been killing myself to get to is a lovely little shrine. It’s small, but the views are what make it impressive. The mountains were just gorgeous.

The views:

And while small, the shrine has its own charm:

The Honden:

One of the other buildings at the shrine:

Some nice ladies offered to take my picture in front of the honden. I gladly accepted their offer.

I spent a few minutes at the shrine, checked my watch, and started to get nervous. I had to go 3.3 Km in rough mountainous country to get to my bus stop by 5:10 p.m. It was ~4:15 p.m. already. I was pretty sure I could make it, but I had to hustle.

Race to the Bus!

To top it off, I was already sore, and getting more sore by the minute.

Down the mountain I went. It was rough going down. I learned a trick from the older ladies– skip the stairs, and go on the terrain on the side– you move faster.

Heading back through the cedars. Still amazing!:

Racing to the exit!

I was burning shoe leather pretty well, so I stopped next to the entrance 1.9 Km from the shrine to buy some postcards and a Sprite (which I had to carry home with me– not a recycling bin in sight), then resumed my forced march to the bus stop.

1.4 Km to go.

Everything hurts.

Toga-kurushii?

I decided to rename Togakushi as Togakurushii while I’m speed-hiking, because kurushii means “excruciatingly painful” in Japanese. It fits. I chuckled to myself, but I kept moving. Suddenly, I found myself going uphill. Huh? I didn’t remember this bit being downhill on the way.

Keep moving, I told myself. Finally, I made it back to the bus stop with 5 minutes to spare. Lucky!

I had time to eat the chocolate croissant I didn’t have time to eat this afternoon for dessert.

The bus came on time and I had another bumpy bus ride home, this time in the dark. The main reason I wanted to catch that bus was because after 4:30 p.m., the sun sets here, and you don’t want to go fumbling around the woods in the dark. That’s a really bad idea.

Another thing I noticed– in rural Japan, stuff closes even sooner. Stores were closed at 5 p.m. sharp here. Some even closed at 4:30 p.m.

Other stuff:

Japanese road construction: when I first saw these long ropes of red lights, I thought something festive was happening. Nope. It’s how they mark off dangerous areas. They use ropes of dirt cheap energy-saving LEDs. Smart. And festive!

Also, they’ve replaced the stop/slow sign guy with a robot of sorts. 2 stands are put up, each with a light, one on each end of the work zone. One light will show a blue arrow to the traffic that can go through, while the other end shows a red light with a countdown timer. Neat. (But it puts the Stop/Slow sign guys out of a job.)

I’ve been seeing more and more countdown timers on crosswalks. It’s sort of an inverted pyramid with red bars. One red bar disappears every 5-10 seconds, then you get to go.

Oh, and crosswalk music. Dammit, I can’t get one of the little songs out of my head. Do-do-do do doo do-do-do do-do-do-do-do. I was even humming it to myself while hiking today. Mom informs me that the song is “When a Body Sees a Body Comin’ Through the Rye…” I still can’t get it out of my head.

Speaking of weird music. At 5 p.m. in Togakushi, I heard mysterious organ music, with no discernible source. It was some sort of church music, too, which is really odd for rural Japan, but I suppose there’s a perfectly good Japanese Reason for it.

EDIT: I found out the reason for the music: it has to do with synchronizing government time, so that everyone knows that it’s 5 p.m. It has something to do with disaster planning and preparedness. It also serves as a “gentle reminder” to the kids out playing that, “Now would be a really good time to go home.” Gotta love NHK.

Oh, and my theory of why is there so much weird and random English? Simple. Nobody over here cares if it’s grammatically correct, because it’s not aimed at us foreigners. It’s aimed at the locals, and they don’t think spelling “Lodge” as “Rodge” is that bad. (I did see a Rodge today.)

I have a new theory of why people avoid me. It’s because they think, “Ah, crap. A foreigner. I bet he’s going to start babbling to me in English any second now, and the only English I remember from High School is ‘Hello. Where is John? Are you John? No, I am Peggy.'”

At least that’s what I figure. Can you remember any of your compulsory high school foreign language? I know if I saw a desperate Frenchman asking for help, part of me would want to just keep walking and feign ignorance, too.

The only French I remember is “Ou est la toilette?” and “Je m’appelle Richard,” so I totally understand.

Total kilometers walked today… uh… 1.4+1.4+1.9+1.9+1.4+.5… that’s 8, right? I’m too tired to do the math.

Tomorrow is travel to Sendai, and not much else. I’m not going to be up for much more than that.

Hiroshima/Miyajima Part Two, Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima

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Oct 312007

Ferry to Miyajima

After a one-hour rest break, I left for Miyajima, one of the three most beautiful sights in Japan, according to something someone famous said in the 17th century. Miyajima, the Heavenly Bridge near Kyoto, and Matsushima were the three most beautiful sights in Japan. To this day, they’re all “must see” places.

So far, he’s absolutely right. Miyajima is definitely a must-see if you’re going to Hiroshima. It’s also a good place to get all of the death and destruction of the past out of your brain, too.

JR runs a ferry a block away from the Miyajimaguchi station. Follow the crowds of people running. They’re probably all running to catch the ferry. The ferry is pretty cheap– 340 yen for a round trip. The JR pass might cover it, but I didn’t want to waste time finding out, because I didn’t want to miss it. They collect the tickets on the Miyajima side. If you want to go round trip, don’t lose your tickets.

So the first thing you’ll see is the big O-torii. (I’m not calling it an O-torii gate, because that’s sort of like saying “Hot water heater.” O-torii means “Gate” in Japanese anyway.) It’s a stunning sight with the Itsukushima Shrine right behind it. If you’re going to Miyajima, bring the best camera you have. I was made painfully aware of the limitations of the camera I brought with me here. I guess that’s where I sacrificed to save weight.

Anyway, some photos as I approached Miyajima:

Closeup of the big red o-torii:

Getting close to town:

Itsukushima Shrine

I got off of the ferry and headed to Itsukushima Shrine. On the way, you’ll pass another one of those huge rows of souvenir shops that litter every famous site in Japan. If you want cheap stuff, this is the place to get it. If you want nice stuff, look elsewhere. I prefer to get the little cheap cell phone straps that come randomly out of the 200 yen machines. So far I have the Geisha from Kyoto, the deer from Nara, and the red O-torii from Miyajima.

Another thing about Miyajima is that they have more sacred deer here, and that means more sacred deer poop. Watch your step.

I saw a deer tearing up the men’s room, going after the trash to try to find a snack, I guess. Didn’t get a photo, though. Dang.

On to the shire itself. It’s everything I expected it to be. Gorgeous. I took plenty of pictures, and enjoyed the scenery. Have a look.

Entering the shrine, komainu guard the entrance:

As I turned the corner, there was a good spot to get a zoomed in shot of the big red o-torii (it’s actually a good distance away):

Entering the shrine:

The walkways around the shrine buildings:

I like this shot:

Looking back towards the land, you can see a pagoda towering above:

More photos of the buildings:

Main Shrine area:

More o-torii:

This bridge is a national treasure. Forgot the name:

This is one of my favorite shots:

This one’s not bad, either. Cranes in the frame:

In part three, I head up to the Miyajima Ropeway, and get some good photos from the top of the mountain on the island.

It’s Made of Gooold!

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Oct 202007

I just got back to Okazaki from Kyoto, and today was great.

Sun! Beautiful sun!

I dumped my luggage in a locker at the station, and talked to the very helpful ladies on the 9th floor of Kyoto Station in the tourist office: by all means, go there.

Try to get to Kyoto well before 6 p.m. and use that office. They’ll tell you how to get around, they’ll give you maps and all kinds of useful information. They’ll even hook you up with a cheap hotel, if you need one. It would have saved me so much headache if I had gone there first on Thursday night, but it was closed.

The best thing they taught me was how to ride the buses in Kyoto. Generally, it’s cheaper to get an all-day ticket if you’re going to ride more than one bus. The fare covers the route, not the distance traveled, so the fares are all the same.

Kinkakuji

I took a crowded bus to Kinkakuji, which was incredible (it’s also called the Golden Pavilion, if you’re scoring at home), then I walked to Ryoanji to see the impressive Zen rock gardens there.

Kinkakuji is a gorgeous temple. First, the golden pavilion itself is stunning:

Asking people to take your picture is kind of risky. Not that they’ll steal your camera, but that they won’t be able to figure out how to get you in focus:

Not that I was looking all that dapper, anyway.

The crowd waiting to take pictures:

This one came out really nice:

Here’s where I would put the rocking chairs and wave back at the crowds:

And here’s a shot of the back:

I figured out what everyone does with their 1 and 5 yen coins. They throw them here:

And here is where you pray:

At Kinkakuji, I bought some souvenirs, then spied a Haagen-Dazs vending machine, and purchased an almond-vanilla bar.

Refreshing.

I finally sucked up my courage and got an omikuji (it’s a fortune they sell at shrines.)– I drew a shoukichi— which means I’ll have a little luck. That’s fine for me. Friday I would have pulled a daikyou— big bad luck. No thanks.

The Road to Ryoan-ji

Ryoan-ji is pretty close to Kinkakuji. It’s about a 15 minute walk away, and definitely worth it.

I started by going down this road:

I saw these flowers by a utility pole. I guess they do roadside memorials in Japan as well.

I passed a place that had a lot of those stone (or maybe concrete?) statues that I’ve seen a lot:

Lots of moss on the walls. It was really pretty:

I thought this garage door was cool.

Ryoan-ji

Ryoan-ji is gorgeous in a different way from Kinkakuji. It’s a wonderful contrast between the two temples. Kinkakuji is hectic and crowded, while Ryoan-ji feels more tranquil.

There’s a large pond, or a small lake on the temple grounds, and it’s very nice to look at.

There’s a small island on the lake, and a small shrine on the island:

Here is the place where you wash your hands and mouth to purify yourself:

As you enter the main building where the rock garden is, you have to take off your shoes. Then as you enter, there are two really stunning pieces of calligraphy:

And then you come to the famous Zen rock garden:

Wide shot:

Some closeups:

Of course it’s crowded. It’s pretty famous:

I went around the back of the main building, looked at some of the other scenery. I really liked this water feature:

Here’s a shot of the rooms around the rock garden. There were a lot of really pretty screens on the walls:

On the way out, you walk around a lot of the grounds again, about a 15 minute walk. I thought this Japanese maple tree was especially pretty:

Persimmons and ducks on the way out:

Back to the Station (More Kyoto Station Photos!)

Back at Kyoto Station, I took some more photos. The Kyoto Tower, reflected on the side of the station:

One of the main facades of the station:

Inside the station, things are hectic on a Sunday!

Going up to the roof.

Roof detail. I love detail shots.

Here’s a panorama I took of the roof area.

Look! Another band! I’m a old band nerd, so I’m always happy to see kids learning to perform music:

While I was at the station, I made some hotel reservations with the help of the Welcome Inn people at the tourist office on the 9th floor. I got a room for 6,300 yen a night for the 26th, 27th, and 28th. That’s a weekend in October. Amazing. I couldn’t find anything available on my own.

October is leaf-viewing season, so it gets booked up here pretty fast.

Next weekend, I’m going back to visit all the places I couldn’t get to, like Gion, Arashiyama, Eiga Mura (it’s the cinema village they use to shoot samurai dramas… I want to see it if time permits), plus I want to look at some handicraft stuff.

After that I’ll go to Nara, Hiroshima, Beppu, Osaka,Â and then we’ll see.

I’m up to over 1,050 photos so far.

And I have learned a ton about traveling.

Rick Steves was right. You are always carrying too much crap.

You can always find one thing to get rid of.

Two bags is one bag too many. Three bags is insanity.

Digital anything is great.

Now I’m going to take a shower, go to ZigZag, then do some laundry.