For our first morning we woke up early; noise of cars in the street, loud footsteps in the corridor, the heat, jet lag, or a mix of all that... Anyway, the whole family is also awake, and my wife and her father are already discussing the planning of the trip we'll make next week, and since it is vacation, that i have nothing to do, that I cannot really understand what I see and hear on TV, I decide to go for a walk around the block. Until now, I never had the opportunity to do so. Since I'm not allowed to go out with the jinbei (hey, it's a pajama, dude!) I have to borrow a t-shirt from 'onii-san' who hopefully is somehow from the same size as I.
Since it was still early when I went out, streets were quiet, especially on Sunday, but I could get an idea on what the surroundings look like. Once returned, my wife tells me they want to go to Kawasaki shopping mall, thus by foot, that is a nice 5.2km walk by 30°C (86°F) and 80% on streets where sometimes the pedestrian way is not really existing. So the important thing is to walk on the right side to have cars coming from front (in Japan one drives left side of the road) and put hope in the preliminary condition stated by my mother-in-law: "vehicules will avoid us first".
I like this shopping complex, there is a convenient various choice of shops and the hallways are large, thus helping to manage the flow of customers which at this point of day was growing up. For the way back we take the train, the rain has also started and by the night it is not pouring down, but hammering hard to a point it ends up raining in the house as well. My father-in-law provided us for the sleeping room with a brand new electrical fan which helps to make the heat more bearable while sleeping.
On the next morning, we are fully awake between 5-6 am (jet lag maybe) with no way to get back to sleep. It is Monday morning, and, as I sit on the window bay, I observe the first people passing by under their umbrella heading for the train station from where they'll join their working place. Waiting for breakfast, I start reading Harry Potter which I never had before, just watched the movie.
Later we took off for Asakusa, a district in Tokyo, with the express recommendation to NOT buy STUPID things. The main street (Nakamise-Dori) between Kaminarimon (gate) and Sensō-ji (temple) is indeed filled with souvenir shops for tourist of any kind, so you can find indeed a lot of craps. Around the temple grounds, several other minor temples, shrines, statues or memorials and a small Japanese garden, in the pond some big koi fishes which start begging for food as soon as they recognize human shadows or shapes. In the trees, cicadas; so loud and different in the way they 'call' compare to those on the Mediterranean coast. At fist, I thought it was coming out of speakers in order to recreate some kinds of auditive environment, but finally we spotted the insect in the trees as well as some shells. If the main alley if filled with tourist's trap shops, the extended streets are more diversified, we end up buying a second jinbei (6800¥, made in Japan) so I can alternate from the one my mother-in-law offered me. We bought also some senbei, rice crackers, that I like a lot, and we ate several little specialties that can be denominated as 'street food' such as oyaki (Japanese dumpling), fried sweet potatoes, takoyaki (grilled octopus) and korokke (deep fried dish). At the oyaki street-shop, placed in a tanuki-wise (Japanese raccoon dog) decorated street, we were kindly offered a cup of tea.
As the battery of my camera and of my cell phone ran out, I do not have picture of this excursion, and the weather was not that nice, pretty clouded.
On the way back, we stop shortly at Ueno station: just coming out, alongside the rail-tracks, we enter a very crowed and merchant street specialized in fish, sea plants and sea foods. And meanwhile, my wife remembered that we had an appointment to the masseur at 7 pm, so we go back home. Hopefully, we are enough on time to get a shower home and a change in clothes (I go there with my jinbei since I have still nothing else). Arrived there, I understand that what we're gonna get is slightly different from what I expected: not a traditional gentle massage, we are as a matter of fact at the physiotherapy, and the good practitioner will make use of acupressure as medical treatment. He examined first my body while asking me about any disorder I would address (my wife is translating in the background): as I mention my back-aches, he almost bluntly comes to my belly/stomach and point out that it was not in order and that my body posture was not correct. All this being somehow connected, he recommended me first to change my eating pattern and second to correct my walking allure. Thereafter he worked about having me reaching my feet while flexing forth, thing I cannot recall having never be able to do. Here started the real thing: spot after spot, on feet, legs, hips and arms, he pressed in a way I would not imagine it could hurt. Regularly checking after a couple of spot pressures how deep I can flex, he managed somehow to make me bow really lower! In the end, he sticks on my left foot a tiny golden ball, and let me lay on a massage water-bed while he handles my wife for the somehow same exercise (but she is not in same need as I am), very relaxing after that pain. We valuate the treatment and decide to come the next day again.
The wake-call on the next morning was made of a mongrel from noise of cars speed way too much in the street, the rising heat, mother-in-law heavily trying to wake up the brother-in-law ("onii-san, mo okiru!" x10) and, final blow, the sound of the hair dryer operated by the same brother-in-law. I understood then it was not possible to sleep any further, so I stood up, took my breakfast (the remaining sushi from yesterday evening) and installed myself again at the window bay to gaze at the street and read further Harry Potter. A bit later, we walk up to the Tsurumi station to purchase some train tickets voucher for the trip we would make in the next week. I also tried to look into a second-hand bookstore after some exemplars of Dune in Japanese but could not find any.
We pick-up my mother's wife and aim for Yokohama where we look after a present to offer to the future bride's family during the upcoming meeting-lunch, as the information was given that the family-in-law already purchased one. Without precise idea, we start an errand among the commercial towers. Soon my wife and myself are approached by one of the sales representative of a glasswares display who fondly tells us about the symbol used as a pattern on the glasses: the dragonfly (tomba), as representation of the Japanese people because of the irreducible will of the insect to go on. I propose to offer some nice fans as it can be as decorative as useful by the current heat, but finally handkerchiefs or else will be bought. Afterwards, we went to a Starbucks Coffee to get a short rest of the long errand.
The next appointment to the acupressure practitioner is at 6 pm, and this evening there is more people in the practice. I spend a long time in the water-bed and then I'm placed under electrodes sticked to by right leg, stomach, and liver. The acupressure exercises continue with more focus on upper back part (the elbow pressure on the lower part of the shoulder blade was quite uncomfortable), and interestingly the doctor points out that I have no wrinkles on the front side of the ankle, which is a sign that I would not use it enough and by this lose some flexibility and being not able to flex completely and reach my feet. After showing my some exercises to practice home and some other advise on my allure, we take our leave; it is already 9 pm, I still do not reach my feet but the practitioner really put effort in what he done for me.
On Wednesday, the sky get finally blue. My wife is meeting today one her friend at Sakuragicho, so I choose to part and go on my side to Shibuya-ku to the Meiji shrine and the Katana Museum. I managed somehow to find my way up to Harajuku station, the employee at the station indicated me the line to talk and station to change as well as the charge to buy the ticket: in the train system, one is supposed to purchase the ticket before passing the gates where ticket is validated and the price is function of the destination; usually a synthetic map of the network provide the fares according to the current location and the desired destination, but at Tsurumi station this map is in kanji only... In the train, I start reading "Soulless"in order to as Japanese do; usually, Japanese have 3 ways to occupy themselves in transportation: reading book, using their mobile device, and sleeping. Arrived at destination, I enter the park passing under the huge first wooden torii, the pathway is large going through a thick humid wood and I observe how an employee is busy raking up with a very long broom with ample and gracious movements. On the way up to the shrine, one pass between a singular thing: traditionally, racks of barrels of sake are placed at the entrance of the shrines, and here, with those, on the opposite side of the pathway, are also placed racks of barrels of French wine!! Also, one pass under the tallest wooden torii in myôjin style with its 12m high. Finally I reach the sanctuary where the 122nd Tennô is being enshrined, that is, after his death in 1912 the emperor Meiji, as several other illustrious character of history and with respect to shinto practices and beliefs, was turned into a kami, that is a deity, an essence or a spiritual being. I follow the instructions and go the the temizuya to proceed to the cleansing before entering the precinct of the shrine. The architecture of the building offers no remarkable fanciness, back-wood colored and very simple for a shrine dedicated to who was certainly the most enlightened and visionary of all 124 Mikado.
Infrequent enough to be noticed, a Japanese guy, Ryo, engaged spontaneously a discussion with me, in English. Obviously he was looking for an opportunity to speak in English, as he explained me, he was back from a 4 weeks stay in the US (Boston) for some English classes. Student at college for informatics and software development he somehow wanted to "help foreigners to get along in Japan the same way he was helped as he was in the US". Very noble indeed, and thanks to him I was able to witness some kyudo practicing. At the rear of the park, there is an hallway for archery training, Ryo talked with the guy at the entry to know if there was a possibility to observe the practice, which was normally not possible but he made such description of the why and how of my presence here that the guy just told us to turn around the corner and go sit quietly while look at. It was worth it. This is one of these sport where the ceremonial and the gesture matter certainly as much if not sometimes more than the performance (hitting the target) itself. Indeed, the whole practice we observed was silent; a dozen of ladies divided in two groups were practicing without a word, waiting seated on the floor, raising up, almost gliding while walking soundlessly on the wooden terrace and taking position in a synchronized way according to well integrated pattern ; the only sounds were those from the strings slapping the wood of bow after the archer released the arrow and those from the arrows hitting the target.
After parting from Ryo, I try to motivate myself to go the Katana Museum, but it is hot, I'm seating and feet start to hurt (I'm walking with my geta) so I decided to go back home. At Tsurumi, I choose to make a detour and go up to the Sōji temple, a Zen Buddhist monastery. But besides a large avenue to go uphills and the large gate, there is not much to see as the building are made of modern material. I just go a bit further under the tree coverage to the trees to a big bell and a small inari shrine (dedicated to the fox spirit, there a re lot of them). Up there i see a huge cicada (what an horrible insect), I'm being blood-sucked on the feet by thirsty mosquitoes, and a big crow is drinking in the temizuya in front of the last temple, so I turn away and go back home with really hitching legs.
For the next day, the plan is to leave for our first tour, going to Nikko for 2 days.
On the next morning, we are fully awake between 5-6 am (jet lag maybe) with no way to get back to sleep. It is Monday morning, and, as I sit on the window bay, I observe the first people passing by under their umbrella heading for the train station from where they'll join their working place. Waiting for breakfast, I start reading Harry Potter which I never had before, just watched the movie.
 |
| kaminarimon |
As the battery of my camera and of my cell phone ran out, I do not have picture of this excursion, and the weather was not that nice, pretty clouded.
The wake-call on the next morning was made of a mongrel from noise of cars speed way too much in the street, the rising heat, mother-in-law heavily trying to wake up the brother-in-law ("onii-san, mo okiru!" x10) and, final blow, the sound of the hair dryer operated by the same brother-in-law. I understood then it was not possible to sleep any further, so I stood up, took my breakfast (the remaining sushi from yesterday evening) and installed myself again at the window bay to gaze at the street and read further Harry Potter. A bit later, we walk up to the Tsurumi station to purchase some train tickets voucher for the trip we would make in the next week. I also tried to look into a second-hand bookstore after some exemplars of Dune in Japanese but could not find any.
We pick-up my mother's wife and aim for Yokohama where we look after a present to offer to the future bride's family during the upcoming meeting-lunch, as the information was given that the family-in-law already purchased one. Without precise idea, we start an errand among the commercial towers. Soon my wife and myself are approached by one of the sales representative of a glasswares display who fondly tells us about the symbol used as a pattern on the glasses: the dragonfly (tomba), as representation of the Japanese people because of the irreducible will of the insect to go on. I propose to offer some nice fans as it can be as decorative as useful by the current heat, but finally handkerchiefs or else will be bought. Afterwards, we went to a Starbucks Coffee to get a short rest of the long errand.
The next appointment to the acupressure practitioner is at 6 pm, and this evening there is more people in the practice. I spend a long time in the water-bed and then I'm placed under electrodes sticked to by right leg, stomach, and liver. The acupressure exercises continue with more focus on upper back part (the elbow pressure on the lower part of the shoulder blade was quite uncomfortable), and interestingly the doctor points out that I have no wrinkles on the front side of the ankle, which is a sign that I would not use it enough and by this lose some flexibility and being not able to flex completely and reach my feet. After showing my some exercises to practice home and some other advise on my allure, we take our leave; it is already 9 pm, I still do not reach my feet but the practitioner really put effort in what he done for me.
 |
| ticket vending machine; above, the synthetic network map |
On Wednesday, the sky get finally blue. My wife is meeting today one her friend at Sakuragicho, so I choose to part and go on my side to Shibuya-ku to the Meiji shrine and the Katana Museum. I managed somehow to find my way up to Harajuku station, the employee at the station indicated me the line to talk and station to change as well as the charge to buy the ticket: in the train system, one is supposed to purchase the ticket before passing the gates where ticket is validated and the price is function of the destination; usually a synthetic map of the network provide the fares according to the current location and the desired destination, but at Tsurumi station this map is in kanji only... In the train, I start reading "Soulless"in order to as Japanese do; usually, Japanese have 3 ways to occupy themselves in transportation: reading book, using their mobile device, and sleeping. Arrived at destination, I enter the park passing under the huge first wooden torii, the pathway is large going through a thick humid wood and I observe how an employee is busy raking up with a very long broom with ample and gracious movements. On the way up to the shrine, one pass between a singular thing: traditionally, racks of barrels of sake are placed at the entrance of the shrines, and here, with those, on the opposite side of the pathway, are also placed racks of barrels of French wine!! Also, one pass under the tallest wooden torii in myôjin style with its 12m high. Finally I reach the sanctuary where the 122nd Tennô is being enshrined, that is, after his death in 1912 the emperor Meiji, as several other illustrious character of history and with respect to shinto practices and beliefs, was turned into a kami, that is a deity, an essence or a spiritual being. I follow the instructions and go the the temizuya to proceed to the cleansing before entering the precinct of the shrine. The architecture of the building offers no remarkable fanciness, back-wood colored and very simple for a shrine dedicated to who was certainly the most enlightened and visionary of all 124 Mikado.  |
| kyudo practicing |
For the next day, the plan is to leave for our first tour, going to Nikko for 2 days.
koi fish meaning behind those beautiful koi fish tattoos General Symbolism · Good fortune · Success · Prosperity · Longevity · Courage · Ambition · Perseverance
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