You were to go to an area, pay 100 yen (about a dollar) then draw a piece of wood from a can and take the corresponding number, pull out a drawer, and get your fortune. I got the `best` fortune, and was instructed to put it in my wallet and my fortune would come true. (For family members, it said I would marry - not sure how true it really is!) All the Japanese with us got real excited when I got it, so it must have some significance to them.
Have run around today with two former FMF teachers who have helped me understand a great many things. They have been very helpful. Tomorrow we have a meeting with GLOCOM, the group that actually oversees this project, and Tuesday (your Monday) the 200 FMF teachers for the other project will join us. Hope all is well at home...thanks a lot for the replies back. Good to hear from you all. Keep looking for updates or checking out the web site. I’ll add pics as I can.
Current date;
While we were in Tokyo, in order to email back home we had to go to a local copy business and pay for Internet usage....thus the brief email! I'll go back now and fill in what notes I couldn't supply at the time. There is an upcoming email with more information on the sightseeing day.
After enjoying our complimentary breakfast and after much rest, we joined Ed Jones and Sam and Connie Shephard of JUSEC for a tour of Tokyo. This was not only to introduce us to the city, but to help us get over the jet lag and adjust to the time and temperature of Japan. There thought was if they wore us out by sightseeing then we would adjust quicker to the jet lag we were experiencing.
Homeless along River
Rickshaw in Toyko street
FMF participants in lobby of Akasaka Prince
FMF participants in Subway...my first Subway experience.
The
Imperial Gardens is a lovely place to visit.
While you cannot go to the Imperial Palace itself (built in 1888) due to
it still be occupied (unless it is the Emperor’s birthday), you can walk around
the moat area and the Higashi Garden area.
These last 3 pictures are of pre-k and first grade students on a field trip. You can tell the age of the student by the color hats they wear.
There are always security on the premises. We were not allowed to go into any of the buildings, however, we could hear the security being trained on physical training...lots of grunts and shouts. Our next stop involved the Sensoji Temple.
Sensoji Temple, also known as Asakusa Kannon, has a history dating back to 628. That is when, according to popular lore, two brothers fishing in the nearby Sumida River netted the catch of their lives – a tiny golden statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy and happiness who is empowered with the ability to release humans from all suffering. This temple was erected in her honor, and although the statue is housed there, it is never shown to the public. Still, it is one of the most popular temples in Tokyo. When the temple was burned down during a 1945 bombing raid, the present structure was rebuilt with donations by the Japanese people.
The Nakamise Dori, a pedestrian lane leading to the shrine, is lined with traditional shops and souvenir stands.
Inside the temple
You pay 100 yen to enter the temple. The Buddhist clap their hands 3 times then pray…we Christians just took the opportunity to pray. As I stated earlier, the golden statue of Kannon is kept in the temple, but not seen by the public. However, all temples do have solid gold items in them, which is never taken out, by anyone. There is a collection of huge 18th and 19th century votive paintings on wood, or ema, which was donated to the temple by leading artists of the Edo period.
Purifying outside the temple
Worshipers wave the billowing smoke over
them, a charm to heal or prevent illness, before stepping on the steps up to
the temple.
Walking up to the temple
Buildings around the temple
Nakamise
Dori has many shops with lots of traditional
gift items. The Kaminarimon gate is well known for the big red
lantern that hangs in the entrance. Kaminarimon means “The Gate to the God of
Thunder”.
Nakamise Dori shops
Inside the temple itself
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