Why am I definitely not in Tokyo anymore? Because I'm in Kyoto!!!
I took the highest-speed shinkansen (bullet train) available yesterday from Tokyo Station to get here. If you're ever in Tokyo, take a ride on the bullet train. I'll give you three good reasons. First, you get to take a 200-300 kph ride. Second, you go through some very lovely countryside, a nice sight after spending several months in the city. As it's autumn right now, the trees are also turning all sorts of awesome colors, making it an extra special trip. Finally, you can see Mt. Fuji out the window. Unfortunately, I was riding on the wrong side of the train, so I had to be a bother and take photographs through people. However, I can tell you this: it really IS as cool as everyone says it is. I hope global warming doesn't hurt its snow cap.
That same day, I managed to fit in a trip quick to Ginkaku-ji. This temple was originally supposed to be covered in silver, but, alas, the best laid plans and whatnot. It was also supposed to be NOT undergoing renovation when my respectable self visited, but that memo fell through. Nonetheless, there was a little garden, some fine Fall foliage, and a Zen garden to look at. There was also a cone of sand which (if I'm not mistaken) is supposed to be a way for deities to come down to earth.
I spent the night at a place called "Budget Inn," in one of their dormitory rooms. Eh. Fortunately, they only had space for one night, so I got to switch lodgings for tonight. I much prefer where I am now: The Palace Side Hotel. It is quite literally beside the Imperial Palace park. Because they had no singles, I have a twin all to myself. There's a cafe inside the hotel that serves relatively fancy fair, as well as Thai massage. Don't get me wrong - this isn't a Hyatt or anything. It's still quite nice, though.
Today I managed to get in three sites. First up was Chion-in (which, if I'm not mistaken, is the main temple of Jodo Buddhism). This is a complex of Buddhist temples up on a hill. There was plenty of notable stuff to look at and absorb. Right off the bat, you're wowed by a massive gate. (There's some interesting history associated with this gate: its creator and his wife committed suicide because he exceeded the budget for making it.) The "wow" is quickly extracted from you, however, by the steep ascent you have to make up the stone steps. It's worth it, though, as there are numerous temples to look at. I got lucky and, when I went into one of the larger buildings, found myself watching and listening to some sort of ceremony; chanting and some instrumentation were involved.
In the rafters of this same building was an umbrella with two alternate histories to it. The first involves (if I remember correctly) the building's architect leaving it there. The second involves a fox leaving it there. I like the second one, personally.
Not too far from the temple is the brilliantly colorful Yasaka Shrine. Here I saw another Shinto wedding ceremony taking place. Just outside the shrine I bought ￥8400 in old currency. I don't know if the stuff's legit, as the vendor was beside other vendors on one of the approaches to the shrine, but if it is, it's awesome. This is just the kind of souvenir that's awesome. In any case, I got two Edo-era coins, a war-era bill, and another coin.
Next up was the Imperial Palace. Once again, I got lucky, for today I did not have to take one of the two daily tours. Instead, I got to go in and tour freely, in both senses of the word.
Let me tell you, this was a very nice place to live. The buildings, naturally, had awesome architecture, as did the gates. Inside the buildings were fabulous screens; outside there was some lovely landscaping, including a massive garden. It's good to be the king. I also got to see an ox-pulled carriage there; it was quite brilliant.
My final cool stop for the day was at a place called Sanjusangen-do. That's actually not it's real name (which, for the record, is Rengeo-in) - it is called this because of the 33 spaces between the pillars of the hall. It is the largest wooden building in Japan, and what it houses is incredible. Inside, you'll find a six-foot high (I think) statue of the Goddess Kannon; she's accompanied by 10 rows of 1000 smaller statues of, well, herself. One tenth of these are the original statues, which were carved in 1249; the rest were lost in a fire. (Courtesy Wikipedia.) And that's not even everything. There are also statues of 28 other gods. These are quite impressive. The coolest one was the one with a dragon wrapped around him. Completely badass. The detail on these statues was incredible. The muscular ones even had bulging veins.
I got three souvenirs here: a piece of calligraphy (the character for "road"), a bow and an arrow which is supposed to guard against evil; and a fortune. (The fortune read "good," which wasn't the highest, but was still...good. Maybe it's because I walked outside with my socks on to put my stuff in a coin locker, then went in the temple without taking them off...)
Now, don't get me wrong, today was by no means a smooth adventure. My attempt at visiting one temple was cut short by its being used for a lighting-up event (which was open to the public, but I couldn't just stay for it; besides, I was in the "daytime photography" mindset. Also, there was the shop I couldn't find. In any case, it was still a good day. Tomorrow's gonna be good, too.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
WHOOSH!
That's what this blog's gonna be like, since I haven't posted in a while. I'm also going to separate
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the different things I've done with that irritating line
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thing. So, first things first.
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There's a complex in a very glitzy, lit-up part of Tokyo called Sunshine City. Contrary to what one might think, it is not the haunt of millions of brain-thirsty zombies, but a wonderful place to spend some time. I went there later in the day, so I didn't have much time there.
There's a lot one can do there. The most important reason to go is to take the super fast elevators to the 60th floor of the big skyscraper in the complex, where one gets a view of Tokyo at the same level as the uppermost deck of the Tokyo Tower. There are not as many tall buildings in the immediate vicinity of Sunshine 60 as Tokyo Tower, but one can see clusters of skyscrapers from the windows.
Also present at Sunshine City is a good aquarium. Unlike most aquariums, it is housed on the 9th floor (and above) of a building, and part of it is open air (even at that height). There was plenty of cool stuff there, but, then again, I'm easily impressed sometimes. Nonetheless, I will list what I saw: a troop of tiny monkeys (housed, curiously enough, in the same enclosure as some otters), penguins, a small moa, a ring-tailed lemur, several armadillos, Fennec foxes, a skunk, eels, Japanese spider crabs, more otters (different species, I think), and a darling seal that would sometimes follow the motions of your hand with its face. The lemur, armadillos, foxes, skunk, and some other animals were in an area you could walk through. A weird feature was a pair of tanks housing those algae-eating fish into which one could stick one's hands. The result was bizarre, as the little guys proceeded to (I presume) feed on your dead skin cells. Tingly.
Sunshine city also features an extensive shopping mall, both above and below ground (at which I got a stuffed, grinning Totoro), along with a number of restaurants. There's a museum, too, but I didn't get to go to that. Also present is an arcade and a gyoza place. It could easily be a full day's excursion in and of itself.
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This weeked was the ICU festival. Apparently schools in Japan hold their own festivals; this makes some sense when one considers all the festivals that are held in general in Japan. I played harpsichord (poorly) for the Early Music Society as I accompanied a singer on some John Dowland pieces and an ensemble on a Corelli piece. (Random side note: ask me to say "Corelli" in Japanese sometime. Their pronunciation of it is interesting, but I think I know why.) - I also slept through part of a lecture on the Model UN which I was supposed to help with in a minor capacity (don't judge me) and helped the English class section from which my airport escort comes from sell "Banana Choco." What's Banana Choco, you ask? It's a banana dipped in chocolate. Surprise! I acted ridiculous as I pitched the product to passersby, but they sold out before the festival ended Sunday (although it was after my one and only shift).
I also got to browse the food at the festival and see some performances. There was good stuff to eat, ranging from churros to yakitori. I saw a koto (it's a Japanese zither) concert, a dance performance, and some drumming action involving LAMBS, the Latin American group I'm in. (They wouldn't let me perform with them at the festival - I'm too much of a noob, and there were no costumes. :( )
Word is that other schools have bigger festivals. It's really not fair to compare them to ICU's, though, since ICU's student body is about 2000.
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Today was a national holiday, "Bunka-no hi." This translates as "Culture Day," and one wonders if a country like America could actually have something like this. I mean, think about it...what would we celebrate - the stuff sung about in the Team America theme song?
Anyway, I and a bunch of guys from the dorm took a trip to Kamakura, which is only an hour outside of Tokyo. Even so, this is only the second time I've traveled outside the city (not counting my travel into it from Narita airport). The trip was definitely good.
We first went to Engaku-ji, a temple dedicated to the Kamakura government's power and those who died fighting the Mongols. We missed out on seeing 700-year-old bell, but we did get to see a beautiful temple and part of a Shinto wedding ceremony, complete with music. (These weddings keep following me.) Don't worry, there are lovely pictures which I swear to post. Sometime.
Next, we went to see the Daibutsu, a 37-foot tall Buddha dating back to 1292. He is awesome. Interestingly, you're allowed to go inside the Buddha and take a look at his insides, which, naturally, don't exist. There's an explanation provided of how he was made, which states that he was made by piecing together separately-cast sections.j
Our last stop was Hase-dara, an incredible temple which I would call an incredible bargain for the 300 Yen you pay to access it. Here I saw a gold-covered, 30-foot wooden statue of Kannon (see previous posts) and a golden/gold-plate/something Buddha, neither of which I could photograph. I also couldn't photograph the incredibly awesome cave we got to go into, where statues were carved into the rock. There was a bell there, too, and I saw this one. I don't know its age, but I got to photograph it, along with hundreds of stone Jizo statues (a Buddhist bodhisattva who protects children) and a great view of Sagami Bay. As I said, there was a lot to see, and it was well worth 300 Yen.
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Whoo! Long post, eh? Sorry in advance for any typos. I'm hoping to do some more Tokyo exploring this weekend, and I promise to write about it as soon as I've experienced it. Meantime, I've got a bunch of work to do...
-----------------------
the different things I've done with that irritating line
-----------------------
thing. So, first things first.
-----------------------
There's a complex in a very glitzy, lit-up part of Tokyo called Sunshine City. Contrary to what one might think, it is not the haunt of millions of brain-thirsty zombies, but a wonderful place to spend some time. I went there later in the day, so I didn't have much time there.
There's a lot one can do there. The most important reason to go is to take the super fast elevators to the 60th floor of the big skyscraper in the complex, where one gets a view of Tokyo at the same level as the uppermost deck of the Tokyo Tower. There are not as many tall buildings in the immediate vicinity of Sunshine 60 as Tokyo Tower, but one can see clusters of skyscrapers from the windows.
Also present at Sunshine City is a good aquarium. Unlike most aquariums, it is housed on the 9th floor (and above) of a building, and part of it is open air (even at that height). There was plenty of cool stuff there, but, then again, I'm easily impressed sometimes. Nonetheless, I will list what I saw: a troop of tiny monkeys (housed, curiously enough, in the same enclosure as some otters), penguins, a small moa, a ring-tailed lemur, several armadillos, Fennec foxes, a skunk, eels, Japanese spider crabs, more otters (different species, I think), and a darling seal that would sometimes follow the motions of your hand with its face. The lemur, armadillos, foxes, skunk, and some other animals were in an area you could walk through. A weird feature was a pair of tanks housing those algae-eating fish into which one could stick one's hands. The result was bizarre, as the little guys proceeded to (I presume) feed on your dead skin cells. Tingly.
Sunshine city also features an extensive shopping mall, both above and below ground (at which I got a stuffed, grinning Totoro), along with a number of restaurants. There's a museum, too, but I didn't get to go to that. Also present is an arcade and a gyoza place. It could easily be a full day's excursion in and of itself.
-----------------------
This weeked was the ICU festival. Apparently schools in Japan hold their own festivals; this makes some sense when one considers all the festivals that are held in general in Japan. I played harpsichord (poorly) for the Early Music Society as I accompanied a singer on some John Dowland pieces and an ensemble on a Corelli piece. (Random side note: ask me to say "Corelli" in Japanese sometime. Their pronunciation of it is interesting, but I think I know why.) - I also slept through part of a lecture on the Model UN which I was supposed to help with in a minor capacity (don't judge me) and helped the English class section from which my airport escort comes from sell "Banana Choco." What's Banana Choco, you ask? It's a banana dipped in chocolate. Surprise! I acted ridiculous as I pitched the product to passersby, but they sold out before the festival ended Sunday (although it was after my one and only shift).
I also got to browse the food at the festival and see some performances. There was good stuff to eat, ranging from churros to yakitori. I saw a koto (it's a Japanese zither) concert, a dance performance, and some drumming action involving LAMBS, the Latin American group I'm in. (They wouldn't let me perform with them at the festival - I'm too much of a noob, and there were no costumes. :( )
Word is that other schools have bigger festivals. It's really not fair to compare them to ICU's, though, since ICU's student body is about 2000.
-----------------------
Today was a national holiday, "Bunka-no hi." This translates as "Culture Day," and one wonders if a country like America could actually have something like this. I mean, think about it...what would we celebrate - the stuff sung about in the Team America theme song?
Anyway, I and a bunch of guys from the dorm took a trip to Kamakura, which is only an hour outside of Tokyo. Even so, this is only the second time I've traveled outside the city (not counting my travel into it from Narita airport). The trip was definitely good.
We first went to Engaku-ji, a temple dedicated to the Kamakura government's power and those who died fighting the Mongols. We missed out on seeing 700-year-old bell, but we did get to see a beautiful temple and part of a Shinto wedding ceremony, complete with music. (These weddings keep following me.) Don't worry, there are lovely pictures which I swear to post. Sometime.
Next, we went to see the Daibutsu, a 37-foot tall Buddha dating back to 1292. He is awesome. Interestingly, you're allowed to go inside the Buddha and take a look at his insides, which, naturally, don't exist. There's an explanation provided of how he was made, which states that he was made by piecing together separately-cast sections.j
Our last stop was Hase-dara, an incredible temple which I would call an incredible bargain for the 300 Yen you pay to access it. Here I saw a gold-covered, 30-foot wooden statue of Kannon (see previous posts) and a golden/gold-plate/something Buddha, neither of which I could photograph. I also couldn't photograph the incredibly awesome cave we got to go into, where statues were carved into the rock. There was a bell there, too, and I saw this one. I don't know its age, but I got to photograph it, along with hundreds of stone Jizo statues (a Buddhist bodhisattva who protects children) and a great view of Sagami Bay. As I said, there was a lot to see, and it was well worth 300 Yen.
-----------------------
Whoo! Long post, eh? Sorry in advance for any typos. I'm hoping to do some more Tokyo exploring this weekend, and I promise to write about it as soon as I've experienced it. Meantime, I've got a bunch of work to do...
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