My second day in Tokyo began wicked early. Bright eyed and bushy tailed from the long nights sleep, I woke up at around six thirty and shortly thereafter got to talk to a lil lovely laydy (wow how bout that for some triple alliteration?) After a great start to the day, I went down to the restaurant "Hero's" in the hotel and grabbed a quick breakfast sandwich and set off on the train not too much later. We planned to hit as much of Tokyo today as possible, including a variety of temples, monuments and as many other sights as we could fit in before our feet gave out on us.
We took the subway uptown to check out the first destination my mom planned to visit, Yasukuni Jinja. This included numerous temples and a rack of memorials dedicated to various wars and warriors. There must have been a field trip before we got there because as we were walking up there were a ton of young school girls wandering around the site in uniforms. The statue of Omura Masujiro stands right after the University of Tokyo for Arts and Sciences. It is a massive statue honoring one of the great Japanese warriors who lived in the mid 1800s. Masujiro is regarded as the founder of the modern Japanese army and contributed a great deal to this sacred spot. It was one of the first Western-style sculptures in Japan. It is surrounded by magnificent cherry blossom trees, which were unfortunately not in bloom (See Pic 1), lush greenery, smaller sculptures and Torii's (See Pic 2).
Pic 1
Pic 2
Up from the Omura statue are a number of gates that lead to the main shrines as you can see in the pictures. Alongside the shrines there are memorials honoring those that were lost in the various wars, including WWII. There is also a statue of a war widow surrounded by orphans. This stands as a tribute to the many women who were burdened by incredible loneliness and hardship as their husbands died in war and they were left with the children. Nearby stands statues of a dog, a horse and even a pigeon for the animals that lost their lives serving (See Pic 3). Yasukuni Jinja is still considered to be one of Japans most important shrines today. It is a beautiful and serene place to experience but for to fully appreciate the splendor of Yasukuni you should travel in the Spring, when the Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom.
Pic 3
Next, we proceeded to the Imperial Palace which sits right adjacent to the heart of downtown Tokyo. It was fascinating to me to see the stark contrast of the old Japanese style with the modern structures of the city. We walked through the spectacular East Gardens. The bright yellow and red foliage seemed to light up the mid day skyline when set against the metal and steel buildings in the backdrop. Most of the vibrant leaves did not hold on to their branches long enough for me to enjoy the full effect, but even under my feet they provided for a gorgeous path to follow throughout the gardens.
The Imperial Palace compound is a vast tract of land that was completely fortified (See Pic 4). The Palace even had a moat that is now filled with massive carp (See Pic 5). There are numerous gates surrounding the perimeter and were constructed in traditional Japanese architectural style. It is very clear where the line is drawn distinguishing the Imperial Palace from the commercial outskirts of downtown Tokyo. This dividing line has now become a busy road running parallel to Tokyo Station (See Pic 6).
Pic 4
Pic 5
Pic 6
After we felt was sufficient enough time spent at the Palace we set off into downtown Tokyo which turned into an Asian version of NYC's Time Square. We hopped on the subway and continued on after I was done admiring the huge Lacoste store and the other eye catching attractions of any other major city.
Asakusa was next and as you can read in the captions of my photo album this was the location of the oldest and most popular Buddhist temple in Tokyo. Asakusa, also known as the half way point to Sin City, introduced Tokyo to the striptease, the brothel and Im sure a number of positions that can be found in modern day Karma Sutra books. Before the great temple that is known as Senso-Ji, there is a giant smoking cauldron that is typically surrounded by people. It is tradition to put the smoke on your face to keep you beautiful for years, put the smoke on your head to make you smart and put the smoke in your pockets to keep you rich. Knowing that I cant possibly get any better looking or become anymore of a smart ass I tried to pocket as much smoke as I could. Call me shallow but I want to have a mansion and a beach house! ;-)
The Bengtson's had worked up a crucial appetite so we set off to the shopping district nearby to find a place to eat and maybe find some sort of token to bring home (See Pic 8). Staying true to myself and my insatiable hunger I insisted that we eat ASAP! After a loop around the streets in the shopping district we settled on a hole in the wall place that said they had English menus (IT WASNT THE ONLY PLACE WITH ENGLISH! i swear) I had a dish that had sushimi, pork and shrimp tempura, rice, seaweed salad, miso soup and something else that escapes me at the moment but it was DEEELISH! Sorry I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture of how pretty it was!
Pic 8
Six hours of sight seeing and walking around the city had taken it's tole so we headed back to the New Sanno Inn (our hotel for first time readers). Before we got there we stopped at a local grocery store and bakery where we picked up some delightful little treats. Vino, hummus, crackers and cheese of course, I am my fathers son what can I say? I also snatched a little something to eat for breakfast when I wake up too.
Tomorrow Benger Sr. has to head back to Yokosuka to hear a court case or do some sort of work. Mrs. B will be accompanying him on the trip so I will be traversing the streets of Tokyo by myself! We'll see what kind of trouble G-Filthy can get into O:-D
More to come tomorrow, hope everyone is having a good break back on your side of the globe!
Much Love & Be Easy,
G
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