After getting up early at 7am (why do I never get to sleep in on my vacations when that's all I want to do on my days off?), we had a traditional Japanese breakfast prepared by the hostel owners. This included miso soup, a fried egg, apples, yogurt, and the ever-present no-meal-is-complete-without-it rice. It was yummy.
Daryn and I left the hostel (planning to meet up with Sarah later at the Kamakura train station) to do some more exploring. The first thing we did was visit the temple that was right next to our hostel. We had been told that there was a nearby temple that had a big statue of a golden Buddha, and we thought it might be this one.
But, no, we were wrong. I think this was a shrine instead of a temple (and yes, there is a difference, in that shrines are Shinto-based, while temples are Buddhist-based). Still, it was nice and quiet, and I'm sure Daryn got some really good pictures of it - she's good at that.
We had planned on going back to the Zeniarai Benten shrine (the money-washing shrine), but instead, we walked down to the beach (I didn't realize how much I missed seeing the water!). There was some serious wind blowing down on that beach, but that just made it all the more nostalgic for me.
Walking back up the street toward the train station, we were side-tracked by another temple, Hasedera. This is where we found the golden Buddha (which we were not supposed to take pics of), and it turned out to be a beautiful and very large temple built up on levels on a hill. It has what I believe would be a beautiful garden come spring. As it was, it was still quite lovely. There's something striking about a garden in winter, the stark branches, the barren ground. I've always liked winter settings.
We spent a good hour at Hasedera, exploring the garden and the little claustrophobic grotto that houses numerous statues of the Buddhist deity Kannon (also known as Benzaiten, a goddess of wealth and beauty). It was very peaceful and pleasant. By the time we finished, it was time to meet Sarah at the station and head to Tokyo, so we ended up not going to the Zeniarai shrine again. All for the best; otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to see Hasedera.
We met up with Sarah and headed to Tokyo. By this time, the weather had started to change. The morning had been clear and sunny; the afternoon faded into clouds and cooler temperatures. Rain threatened when we arrived at our stop in Tokyo. Managing the trains and subways wasn't too difficult; the important thing is to know where you want to go. Benni-sensei and several of my students commented that even Japanese people find the JR lines and subways confusing, even with practice. At least the trains are well-marked - the streets are nearly impossible to manage, mostly because there are very VERY few street signs and numbers. I think I could understand the trains well enough with time, but I highly doubt I'll ever figure out Japanese streets.
In Tokyo, we stayed at a backpackers' hotel, which was reasonable and comfortable. We even had our own private rooms. We checked in and headed back out to explore a bit. Tokyo was the first place I've eaten American-style fast-food. We had a late lunch at McDonalds (mmm, I've missed french fries) and then headed over to Harajuku.
It started to rain on the subway ride over, but while it was a cold rain, it wasn't a terrible downpour. While Harajuku had its amusing points, I must admit that I didn't think it had all that much to see, but that's because I'm not terribly interested in fashion or the youth culture, which is what Harajuku is famous for. Sunday afternoons are the best days to see the young people at Harajuku, who've formed their own cliques around the area. There are the Lolitas (and the gothic Lolitas), the punks, the rockabillies. We walked down Takeshita-dori (which is like a freaked-out version of St. George Street) and Omote-sando (which is often called the Tokyo Champs-Elysees because of the high-end shops). Even so, I'd like to go back some time to see Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Jingu shrine, which is considered Tokyo's grandest.
I did like Tokyo. As far as metropolises go, it's a fair sort. I'd never want to live there, but I'd certainly want to visit again. There's far too much that I still want to see.
We had dinner at an izakaya, which is by far my favorite way to have dinner. And then I pretty much slept through the karaoke. I really wish I'd been able to keep myself alert for it, but I was dead tired by that point and just could do it. As soon as we got back to the hotel, I went to bed and fell straight to sleep.
The next morning, we checked out and headed back out into the city. We had breakfast at McDonalds (mmm, the cinnamelts were quite yummy) and made our way over to Nakano, which was the entire reason for us coming to Tokyo in the first place. Sarah wanted to go to Nakano Broadway, which is mostly famous for catering to the otaku culture. Otaku are - on the most fundamental level - super-fans, mostly of anime and manga. There are literally dozens of manga shops, and almost every store seems to have something anime-related in it. I found a used cd store and bought four Asian Kung-Fu Generation cds for half-price. I was happy.
We ate lunch at Wendy's (more french fries) and then went back to Harajuku. At this point, I decided to take my leave because I really couldn't handle anymore shopping. So, I said goodbye to Daryn and Sarah and rode back to the main Tokyo terminal. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep on the shinkansen, because the ride seemed much shorter than on Sunday. I was back in Isesaki by 7pm, and after heading out to get something for dinner, I settled in at home to recover.
In closing, it was an awesome trip! I'm very glad I went, and I'm especially glad that i got see Daryn and Sarah. I already miss hanging out with them. Hopefully, we'll be able to plan another trip in the not-too-distant future. I'm also excited about exploring even more of Japan now that I've had this little taste of it.
Until the next adventure!
For more pictures:http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=8572&id=1515469097
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=8644&id=1515469097
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