Views of Mt Fuji

Leaving in a non-mountainous region, I'm fascinated by both volcanoes and mountains. Hiking Diamondhead (dormant volcano) in Hawaii was a definte high point to that trip (no pun intended) :)) Awesome friend's apartment had a great view of Mt. Fuji. I thought the travelogs were exaggerating when they touted that Mt Fuji dominated the skyline, was totally huge, and a intense part of Japanese art. Not at all. These are the two best shots of Mt. Fuji - one in the morning, and one at sunset. The tall thin tower might be a cell tower.




I also bought a souvenir with a painted Fuji on it... so I fell for the tourist kitsch! :)

Buddhist Shrine, Nighttime

Next to where I stayed in Japan was a beautiful, amazing, large Buddhist temple. These pictures were taken, obviously, at night.


A few statues in shrines around Tokyo have the red bib around them. Both animal and human status might be wearing the bib. Known as a devotion bib, someone has asked that spirit, represented by the statue to watch out for a child or infant.



I couldn't get a picture of the oddly tailless cats that were all over the temple courtyard. Well, I did, but all that showed were a pair of gleaming eyes.
However, at the gate to the shrine are these two enormous Buddhas - someone old me they are guardian Buddhas, meant to protect the shrine.



Forboding, aren't they?

Meiji Jingu

Right in the heart of the Harajuku section of Tokyo is the Meiji Jingu Shrine. Honoring the Emporer Meiji and his wife, it was destroyed in WWII, and then rebuilt in 1958.

The entrance, just off the bridge where the Harajuku kids hang out, is framed by a giant torii. Looking like a flattened arch, these torii are found at the entrances to Shinto shrines.



The gravel walkway leads the visitor past some beautiful nature scenery, an enormous line-up of sake barrels that were an offering to the temple. The 5-minute walk is soothing (unless one is wearing heels), serene and thick with tourists.






Just before the entrance to the shrine lies a washing-up station. One is required to wash hands, using the dippers, and then enter the shrine courtyard.



Shinto is a animistic religion, and as such honors a lot of nature and spirits. On the right side of the main courtyard, a massive tree grows tall against the sky. Shinto believers place a rope around the tree with lightning bolts to signify its holiness. People can write prayer boards, and paper prayers, place them around the tree, and then the priests will burn the prayers to release them to the spirits.







The giant drum is a taiko drum that emits a pleasant boom when hit. One prays at the shrine by throwing a coin (preferably with a hole in it) into a box with slots on the top, clap hands three times, bow, and pray. Coins constantly clink into the box, mixing in with intermittent clapping, and the occassional boom of the drum.



Two weddings were performed while we were visiting. The priests lead the wedding procession, followed by two temple maidens, and then the bride and groom under the red umbrella held by another priest. The rest of the attendants follow the bride and groom in the two-by-two formation. Some of the guest are in kimino, some are not. The kimonos were stunningly beautiful!!







Meiji Jingu was the first of many Shinto shrines I was able to visit, and one of the grandest.

Tokyo Skyline

The second thing on the agenda set for me by my hosts was Sunday brunch at the Park Hyatt Hotel. If you have seen Lost in Translation, you know the hotel. (For those who, like me, hadn't seen the movie - here's a quick summation. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannson (sp?)are travelers who are in Japan for different reasons and staying at the Park Hyatt Hotel. Meeting during a night at the hotel bar, they strike up an unlikely friendship, and go out on the town together.) The hotel bar was the same one in which we had brunch.

As the tallest building in Tokyo, the views from the 50-odd floor were phenomenal. At that height, one realizes how few really tall skyscrapers the city has. One reason is its location in an earthquake zone. Any tall buildings are located over bedrock, and have been engineered to withstand any major tremors. Luckily for me, no tremors shook Toyko. (My hosts insisted on a crash course in earthquake safety on my arrival, however. :) )








The tall building standing off by itself is Tokyo's version of the Empire State Building.

In the middle of the picture, is the baseball stadium. (Didn't get to see a baseball game -it's out of season.)

harajuku girls... and guys

The third thing we did in Tokyo was to see the Harajuku girls and guys that congregate on a bridge in Harajuku. Harajuku is a section of Tokyo that has a big Shinto shrine, lots of shopping, and the location of Cirque du Soliel. We saw the Cirque performance on Wednesday - it was the Dralion version... tres cool!! (And we sat next to the director/choreographer of the show, and of course, didn't know it until we saw the DVD interview of her as we were leaving the venue.)

Yes, I realize the first and second things have yet to be posted, but to be honest, the first thing I did was sleep. Not very exciting yet necessary once one crosses the international date line. The second thing we did was head to brunch at a ritzy hotel, but that needs its very own post.

Here are the Harajuku denizens.... they dress outrageously (by Japanese standards) and spend all weekend making a spectacle of themselves for the tourists and the curious to gawk at. (yes, I gawked, and took these pictures, so you can also gawk.)

A Visit to Japan

After some time of wavering about visiting Japan, I decided to visit the land of the Rising Sun. My friend Y. promised to show me around Tokyo (and act as translator). So, off I went to explore the Eastern Hemisphere! It was a great trip - and I enjoyed it very much.

Two major surprises on the trip:
1. far more English than I expected in Tokyo - many signs were in both characters (kanji) and Roman alphabet, so I was able to read a bit, but not really understand it.
2. the cleanliness of the city - all the unformed workers wore gloves, no rubbish on the streets, and no graffiti!! No black chewing gum spots either! If there is a word to describe Japan, it is fastidious.


Now that I've returned, I'm completely frelled with jet lag and the time differential.