Nihon - Day 12

Day 12 - Doll Burning Ceremony

I headed out on a cold and windy day and took the subway to Ueno Park. The stop was not far away from the park at all.

Walking around the massive park, I took many photos and found Kiyomizu Kannon-do admist all the temples and shrines that call the park home. The monks were busy in preperation for the ceremony to be conducted later that day, but it was still early so i headed to the Ueno Park Zoo.

The zoo entrance has a machine to purchase your ticket from. Awsome! Just put your money in Y1000 and press the button relating to the ticket you want to purchase. Then the lady at the gate stamps your ticket as you enter. EASY!
As soon as you enter the zoo there is displays holding maps of the zoo in many different languages. I grabbed an english one.
The giant pandas weren't available but I did see some gorgeous little red pandas instead. Some of the cages seemed a little disproportioned.

I wandered out of the zoo and back to the park. I had a quick look at a brilliant water feature before I realised the time and headed back to Kiyomizu Kannon-do.

I got there shortley after the ceremony had started and the monks were sitting around the table chanting and blessing the dolls. Two other men prepared the vessel the dolls would be burnt in. After about 20 minutes or so the monks then got up and led a procession to a table in front of the vessel. The monk in the middle lit some incense and prayed to the goddess Senju Kannon (of mercy). the dolls were placed in the vessel and a rag on a stick was douced in kerosine and placed inside with the dolls. The rag was then lit and the flames soon grew. The other monks lit incense and offered their own prays then moved off from the table. As the flames ingulfed the dolls more people came to the table and gave the two men their dolls to be placed in the flames, then grabbed a pinch of the incense and lifted in to their forheads before placing it in the already burning incense lit by the monks. They then moved out of the area to let more people in.

It was actually a moving ceremony and I hope those people offering their dolls for fertility get waht they are praying for.

For dinner I was going to try Yakatori but decided to buy something at the Family mart and sit in my room instead. All that smoke made me very tired. I bought a lovely pasta chicken and chilli dish that the man heated for me and two beers, only cost me Y602. Sweet!

Nihon - Day 3

Harajuku (part 1)

Today it is raining!
the weather report says it should be all day and gives a typhoon warning for Okinowa.

I decided to scope out Harajuku today, see what its like before heading there on sunday for people watching. Despite the fact that this is my first time on the train system on my own, transfering between two different train company lines, it turns out its not that difficult!

I had a little issue finding the english button on the JR ticket machine, but some random (very helpful) buisness man stopped and helped me out. He even wrote my stop down in english and asked the man at the gate what number stop I was to catch the train at. Super helpful!

People are so quiet on the train, and i noticed the no phones sign. People back home would probably just ignore this. The trains are also so clean, as are the train stations. If fact while I waited for my train a cleaner scrapped up something that was stuck to the floor, then wipped the area clean again, Amazing!

Harajuku was great!
Although I was a little dissappointed Kiddy Land has now closed, I was relieved to find out from the girl at the information booth that it would have a reopening tomorrow! Even managed to score an invite to the opening...... not that i will be going, could you imagine all those kids!

I had a look in the 100 Yen shop and the tamagochi shop, where you can connect your tamaggochi to a machine and ....... well i don't know what it does exactley, but I hear this is simular to the pokemon shop too.
I saw the louise vitton, channel, issey myaki, and other big name shops. Had a good look in this gorgeous gothic lolita shop called Kithards. There was so much stuff I could have filled my wardrobe with had money been no object.

Stumbelled across Togo-Jinja, which has a beautiful moat around a ornate pagoda, like something in the final scenes of a romanitc japanese movie. I was a little lost at this point but found my way back to a place i knew, past a gorgeous chocolate shop that was painted like dripping chocolate.

I bought a few things here. I got myself a cool purple skull mug (plastic), a headband with a cool mini-hat and skull detail on it. Some miniture things, A laughing puimkin man (its halloween time in Harajuku!), a little cat thing from a gumball machine, lollilies for the kiddies back home and some things for my sister.

I don't think however that I will ever walk again! My feet are covered in blisters from these new bloody shoes, that I thought i had broken in but obviously not. If I could have done the day over I would have worn the same shoes i had been wearing the last few days again.
New shoes = Bad Idea!

The train trip back is even easier as I now know where I am going. I did miss my connecting train but in next to no time another one came, so no loss there, no wonder there are no seats in the subway, you would have to get up pretty much as soon as you had sat down.

I stocked up on food at family mart on the way back to the hotel, not intending to leave my room again today.

So now I sit in my room watching kids shows eating dinner, and drinking a beer from the vending machine in the hall, wondering what i will do tomorrow (if anything with all these blisters)

Nihon - Day Two

Day Two - the meeting

Today I started the say on the internet and I had a message from The Melbournite. He and The other Melbournite would meet me at the hotel after they checked out at 11pm

Excellent!

I went for a short walk around the neighbourhood, not really very far just down the street and around the corner. I walked past the police station, 2 post offices at least 4 convienence stores and goodness knows how many vending machines. (FYI smokes are cheap here)
You may get lost in Tokyo but you will never go thirsty!

11.30 I was waiting in the reception area from The Melbournites when it struck me that this was rather an odd way of meeting people who are friends of a friend (in a different country).

Around 11.45am they walked through the reception door, they were not hard to spot and I seriouskly doubt i was either (look for the westerners!). They seem pretty cool. We ditched their bags in my room and headed out.

We walked around the area and ended up walking through the Zojoji Temple, behind my hotel and saw the thousands of Jizo statues (Children of the temple statues).

We walked for a long time and talked and it was good to have some people around. They showed me how to work the subway and all about the adjustment machine (new best friend). Where you can buy the lowest ticket and just put it in the adjustment machine at the other end to pay the correct money. This is PRICELESS knowledge!

We then grabbed something to eat at the Family Mart and headed back to Shiba Park, opposite the Zojoji Temple, to eat and chat some more.

We then headed back to the coffee shop at my hotel for a quick drink. i got to use some of my basic japanese and ordered a "nihon-cha" Japanese tea or green tea.

We then went back to my room where they got changed and sorted their bags and then had to go to the airport.

I spent the rest of the night in my room watching japanese TV, very interesting, and had a fairly early night.

The weather channel warns of a Typhoon in Okinowa so it should rain the better part of the week.
I had planned to check out the Tokyo Tower tomorrow but maybe instead i will head to harajuku on the subway.