Today we slept in until 5:00 am! Upstairs at 7:00,and everyone was up except Brynne. She soon came down for breakfast of pancakes and bananas.
All the Cs (except for Jenny who was studying for final exams) came with us for a morning of exploring in Tokyo. It was a sunny day!
We left the Embassy Compound by the northeast gate.
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| View of the US Embassy Compound from the C's |
Took the Chiyoda Line subway from Akasaka to Meiji-jingu-mae. Crossed a pedestrian overpass to the entrance of Meiji-jingu, where we met the Campbells’ friends Peggy and Rod K. Small world: Kent knew Peggy as a little girl when they were both stationed in Japan (see sidebar).
Sidebar:
Peggy is Kent’s friend Ken Tashima’s youngest sister. Kent, Ken and friends golfed together here in Japan during high school. Kent and Ken have remained in touch after all these years.
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| Peggy, Tamiko, Kent, Kristin, Rod Brynne, Katie, Herb |
The huge torii at the entrance to Meiji-jingu was made from 1700-year old cypress tress from Mount Ari in Taiwan. The crosspieces were 56’ long.
A wide graveled avenue took us through a heavily wooded area of over 100,000 flowering shrubs and trees, many donated by private citizens, from various provinces of Japan.
We bought tickets for the Inner Garden at Y500 each. When the ticket taker asked about Brynne, Kent answered with her age: 12. But apparently they were asking her grade, because when corrected by Peggy, we received some change back on Brynne’s ticket!
The Inner Garden contained the Iris Garden which was just starting peak bloom season. It was planted like a wide river of iris, in all the various shades of purple and white.
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| River of Iris |
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| Iris |
More fascinating were the crowds of Japanese tourists, many with large cameras, large lenses, and tripods, all set up to take photos of the flowers.
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| Japanese tourists |
A uniformed guard came to clear the path for a group of well-dressed and beribboned adults. There were several tour groups with the leaders waving colored flags; all were Japanese. We inched along the narrow paths, and passed a lily pond with koi.
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| Water lilies |
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| Koi |
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| Painter |
At the far end of the garden was a freshwater spring; the water was used for tea ceremonies at the teahouse up on the hillside overlooking the gardens.
We left the garden, and walked through another cypress torii to Meiji-jingu itself.
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| Cypress torii detail |
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| Kent, Brynne, Katie, and Herb cleansing hands |
First we cleansed our hands at the requisite fountain with ladles. Then we passed through the gate in the wall around a vast courtyard.
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| Meiji-jingu main shrine |
There were several shops along the sides of the courtyard, selling shrine souvenirs, ema (prayer boards), and lucky charms. Roofs, eaves, lanterns, doors, etc. were decorated with the imperial crest, a stylized chrysanthemum flower.
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| Shrine doors |
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| Taiko drum with imperial crest |
Temple workers in white robes were sweeping the shrine floors and verandas.
We saw at least three weddings in progress. One group was heading towards a reception hall. One group was gathering for a group photo. And another was processing across the courtyard, possibly to the ceremony itself. The brides were wearing white kimonos while the rest of the party wore traditional black.
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| Japanese wedding - preparing for a photo |
We left the shrine on another path, passing through a third cypress torii.
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| Nino torii |
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| Sake offerings |
A group of souvenir shops also offered free samples, so we had tastes of tea and candies.
Back at the entrance to Meiji-jingu, the Goth girls were starting to gather.
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| Goth hangout at Meiji-bashi/Bridge |
The Cs had told us about these girls who dress in mostly black with black make-up. There were other weird outfits, including baby dolls. The extreme was girls with fake blood dripping out of their mouths and holding bloody dolls. But these girls were preadolescent, and seemed silly rather than darkly gothic.
We headed to the upscale shopping street of Omotesando-dori, a boulevard lined with gingko trees. Also lined with houses of fashion like Mori Hanae and Ralph Lauren. We passed Kiddyland, one of Tokyo’s largest toy stores, and the Oriental Bazaar, a store popular with foreign visitors for Japanese, Korean, and Asian souvenirs at reasonable prices, including scroll paintings, screens, art reprints, kimonos and yukatas, antiques, ceramics, lacquerware, pearls, dolls, fabric products, etc.
We had lunch at a sushi shop where you sit at a counter around the sushi chefs. As they prepared items, they put them on color-coded plates on a conveyor belt traveling around the counter. Waitresses brought drinks, water for everyone, and any special requests. You chose your own sushi items by grabbing the appropriate plates from the conveyor belt. Plates could also hold cooked egg dishes, sweets, and mini yogurt drink bottles.
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| Kristin and Brynne with sushi on a conveyor belt |
When you were finished eating, the waitresses would add up the number of plates of each color for your bill.
We said goodbye to Peggy and Rod, took a quick look in the Oriental Bazaar, and then said goodbye to the Campbells. We took the subway back to Aunt Kyoko’s. This time Yuriko was there alone. She had had her hair cut short. Very becoming!
Meiji-jingu
Meiji-jingu is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the spirits of Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) and his Empress Shoken (1850-1914). They are actually buried in Kyoto. The shrine was established by resolution of the Imperial Diet a year after the Emperor’s death to commemorate his role in ending isolation and setting the country towards modernization.
The shrine was built by 100,000 volunteers. The buildings are made of Japanese cypress with curving green copper roofs symbolizing the eternal sweep of time. An annual festival is held here on the Emperor’s birthday (May 3rd) which is a national holiday.
On Thursdays, couples present their newborns at the shrine.
Sukiyaki
We did not take naps this afternoon!
When Aunt Kyoko came home from the travel agency, she prepared dinner. Tonight we had sukiyaki. A special hot plate with boiling broth was placed in the middle of the dining room table. Shaved beef was dropped in the broth to cook along with a variety of vegetables: daikon, cabbage, rice noodles, large mushrooms, and tiny enoki mushrooms. You took what you wanted to eat with rice. There were also side dishes of salted cucumber slices, and the tsukudani baitfish and calamari. Brynne and Kimie had the mini-mini ice cream cones for dessert.
After baths, we watched some Japanese television: game shows. Japanese game shows typically have a celebrity panel who have to answer questions. The panel often had one gaijin (a foreigner) celebrity. The winning celebrity draws the name of a viewer who sent in a postcard. That viewer wins the prizes which often include jewelry and a trip to somewhere in Japan.
The theme of the questions was usually educational. For instance, about bonsai, or the geography of Mount Fiji.
Sidebar:
Television commercials seem to use very few words, and those may be English words. There is heavy use of special effects, and silly characters.
We were in bed by 9:00 pm.
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