On a dark and stormy night, two weary travelers found themselves in the land of the Rising Sun. They didn't know the language. They had no currency. "All they needed was a photo opportunity, a shot at redemption." And an ATM would be helpful too. Luckily, they found one and traveled into the metropolis that is Tokyo.
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| Photo shamelessly taken from the Web |
We made our way to the New Sanno Hotel, which is a military recreation facility near the Roppongi District. After a good nights rest we headed out to take in a few sites. First, something old and sacred. Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the divine souls of Emperor Meiji and his consort Empress Shoken. It is surrounded by 170 acres of forest consisting of 365 different species of evergreen trees. Shinto is Japan's ancient original religion. It has no founder, no holy book, and no concept of religious conversion. It values harmony with nature and virtues such as "Magokoro (sincere heart)" and "Kami (divine spirit)" which can be found in everything such as nature, humans beings and in mythology. The entry to each shrine is defined by a Torii gate and the one at Meiji Jingu was massive. Shinto coexists with Buddhism in Japan and there are even Shinto shrines inside Buddhist temples to provide protection. Shinto is also the primary religion for the Japanese to celebrate birth and marriage. We had the opportunity to witness the marriage procession of a couple and their families to receive blessings at the shrine.
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| Torii gate of Meiji Jingu shrine |
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| Gift of sake barrels to the shrine |
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| Courtyard and Main Shrine |
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| Yet another great door |
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| I thought this crow might talk to me |
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| Traditional Shinto wedding |
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| Procession to receive marriage blessings |
Next we checked out Nakano Broadway which is famous for its many stores selling anime, manga and idol collectibles. Think of a flea market atmosphere of small shops filled with new and second hand toys, comics, super hero figures, old movie paraphernalia and more. If you need a life size metal statue of the monster from the movie
Aliens , they had it. In the surrounding streets are hundreds of small restaurants and bars, some with only a few seats.
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| Four stories of geek heaven |
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| Take me to your leader |
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| Mask anyone? |
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| A very good work shirt |
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| Alleys filled with restaurants and bars |
After we mastered the subway system (NOT), we managed to order lunch using hand gestures and made our way back home while walking on the wrong side of the sidewalks. We obviously have a little learning to do here. Next up is Disneyland and you know we are excited about that! Stay tuned.
Jaa ne, (see ya)
P&J
