Day 8: Christmas Day

Wednesday, December 25, 2007

Before leaving for Hiroshima I took one last stroll around the streets of Kyoto through the shopping district in an attempt to do something traditionally Christmas-y, buy some gifts. Since I don’t have all that much to write regarding our events of the day, I will get into some of the trends and things that I have noticed since I arrived in Japan. Anyone that has some sort of cold or illness wears a mask covering their nose and mouth. It’s so common this time of the year that it’s no longer uncommon to see about one out of every ten people is wearing a mask. I guess its part of their “considerate” nature to not spread their germs or whatever. Almost everyone, and I’m talking like one out of every two people smoke cigarettes here. God forbid you catch a cold from someone, but cancer well that’s ok. Maybe their Surgeon General didn’t pass on the memo since the population is still booming here.

The one thing that has really troubled me, along with the language, is the lack of eye contact. Not only will passing strangers keep their heads down, but cashiers or anyone you attempt to speak to will not look you in the eye for more than a split second. This is tough for me cause I am so used to trying to initiate eye contact with everyone stateside and keeping it almost for the entire duration of whatever encounter it may be. Apparently the only reason you would look into another person of the same sex’s eyes is if you were trying to initiate a challenge of some sort. But when traveling to the 23 different countries that I have been to, I’ve tried not to get hung up on little cultural differences like that. This trip has truly been the most foreign I have ever felt.

Moving on, literally, we hopped on the bullet train called the JR (Japan Railway) and traveled southwest to Hiroshima. For all of you who have been living on the moon the past fifty years or have never taken an American history class, we (the U.S.) dropped the first Atomic bomb on August 6th 1945 at exactly 8:15 am. It will be interesting to see especially since we were the aggressors on that dark day in history. On the other end of the spectrum, I have been to Pearl Harbor and seen many people of Asian descent there as well. It’s funny that I’ve been to visit the place where WWII began for America and where it ended. Both visits were over Christmas breaks. Of course my dad and I have been shooting off our cynical jokes about how this ancient city looks relatively new and how we are going to go on a jog through the peace park yelling “Torah Torah Torah What!?” In all seriousness though, it will be a fascinating experience going to such a historical part of the world and having our countrymen be the ones responsible for the complete and utter devastation of an area and to see it from a different perspective. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to see both ends of the historical spectrum that im sure only a handful of people have witnessed.

On the train ride to Hiroshima we traveled along the coastline where little towns and villages sat at the base of high, sharply pointed mountains. Before too long we finally arrived in Hiroshima. With only a few hours of daylight left we went to check out the Memorial Peace Park. The Atom Bomb was detonated about 600 meters above the area. I got to see most of the park including what was left of the original structure of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. It had gone through very minimal preservation, as it was to remain as a reminder to the world of what weapons of mass destruction can do and also serve as a symbol of global peace.

Running out of daylight we decided to grab a bite to eat in the underground mall that was on the way back to the hotel. The Japanese have a lot of their shopping centers and retail space below ground and around the subway stations. They resemble American malls in just about everyway except there isn’t more than one floor and of course, they are underground.

Eating Christmas dinner at a Japanese restaurant wasn’t exactly traditional in any means but at least I was full after. We went to a place that served these pancake like things that were noodle, cabbage or onion based and we thrown on a huge skillet and cooked kind of like a pancake. We ordered three, which was more than enough, and they each had a variety of fixings inside including shrimp, squid, veggies, egg and some other stuff that turned out to be very good to my mother’s surprise!

Hope Santa was good to all of you and enjoyed the holiday!

-GB

Day 3: Yasukuni, Asakusa, Imperial Palace & More

Thursday, December 20, 2007


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

Japan- December 19th, 2007

Well, not too much to report on the first full day following a 14 hour plane ride. We took the subway up to Tokyo and grabbed our room in the beautiful New Sanno Hotel. Taking the subway was interesting because of the way Japanese people go about their daily activities. The unique thing about this country is the fact that they are a very polite people and are also extremely trustworthy. My parents told me that if i were to leave my wallet on the seat of the on the train, that I would be able to go back to that very spot hours later and it would still be there. It was very strange seeing very young children traveling on the subway all by themselves, but that is just the nature of the Japanese. The mix of people on the subway ranged from the elderly to business professionals all the down to the youth. The younger demographic on the train was glued to their individual cell phones. It was crazy to see that almost no one was talking to each other when they boarded the train in groups. They stuck to texting on their cell phones, no conversations literally.

Although I was one of the few faces that stood out, for the obvious reasons that I was white and taller than most of the crowd, not once did I catch anyone staring at me. Not even eye contact usually, which was weird cause you would think just the opposite. I saw a few other people that were of European descent and every time we locked eyes and gave the classic "head nod." It's weird being able to identify with a minority in a country but kind of cool nonetheless. Another characteristic that is integrated in the Japanese culture is efficiency. From the leaders of the country all the way down to the maids that clean my dad's apartment, the Japanese pride themselves on being efficient. This is evident even in the architectural landscape of the country. Riding along the tracks for about an hour and a half altogether, I could not help but notice that there was not a clearing as far as the eye could see. Large apartment complexes were stacked next to one another and even conquered the mountainous terrain that normally limit the development of urban areas. Streets wound their way through the various cities we passed through with only a few feet separating the towering buildings and the traffic. Making use of every bit of space the country has to offer is a priority throughout the nation as they have run out of room to expand horizontally and are reduced to expanding towards the heavens.

We traveled to the US embassy (Benger had to renew the passport) where we passed through a security checkpoint, in order to enter. While I was waiting I got to check email and facebook of course, thanks for the love people! After that was taken care of, we strolled around a little bit. There was a sweet store that was called "Japanese Sword" and it had all kinds of Samurai armor, weapons and art on display. Red and black of course were the most popular colors for the armor but they also had some that were accented by gold which were beautiful. I should have taken some pictures but we were on the move so I will see if I can make it back there, or go somewhere that has cooler shit.

Ma B was getting tired because it was almost four... just kidding she hadn't slept well the night before and neither had Benger Sr. so we headed back to the room to chill and unwind. I hit the gym which was amazing. It was all glass windows and was above the pool and looked out to the streets so the view was fantastic. It had a greaet stereo system, which was nice cause I forgot the ipod but of course only played the corniest American music possible.After zoning out there for almost two hours, I desperately needed the break from the ol rents, we indulged in some vino and cheese before dinner and caught up on some Sportscenter. We then headed down to the restaurant next to the lobby called the "Emporium." Flashes of Mac desktops computers and neon lights immediately flooded my brain as I almost rain away in panic before I remembered "Oh yeah, I graduated and never have to be there again!" So I stayed to grab some dinner. Of course my parents would bring me to a place that servers burgers and had an Italian buffet special, come on... I had the duck, which was pretty good and washed it down with a Sapparo (an authentic Japanese beer that tasted like a stale Coors).

Done with dinner we headed back up to the room and it is now eight o'clock. I am typing with both of my tavelmates passed out in their bed. They promised tomorrow to be more eventful as we will travel to a number of different locations. So with the night just beginning, I guess I am reduced to my sofabed, a movie and thoughts of home, not the States, but you guys...

Love from the far east,
GB-son