Japan: Day 2 - Part 1

Day 2 in Japan started bright and early.  One of the great things about my hotel was that all the tours picked me up directly from the lobby.  So all I had to do was be in the lobby at 7:30.  Then, a bus takes everyone to the main central tourist bus station where you show them the voucher for which tour you're taking.  From there they tell you which bus terminal to go to and what bus to get on.  Then all the tour buses leave at 9 am and go their separate ways to whatever tour they're on.  It was very well organized.

The first stop on the tour was the Meiji Shinto Shrine.  Shintoism is a religion only found in Japan (I think that's what the tour guide said...) and is one of the two major religions there, the other one being Buddhism.  They believe there's nothing after death.  It was the original religion in Japan.  Then, some Emperor, way back when, liked the idea of Buddhism and life after death, so he allowed it to be taught.  The shrine was built in 1920 for Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken.  It's taught that after they died (whenever that was) that they became deities so the Japanese built this shrine for them out of respect and their spirits linger there (which made no sense to me since they don't believe in life after death...but never mind). 

The shrine was buried deep in a lot of trees, but directly in the middle of the city craziness.

 The entrance.

They told us if we wanted to we could bow once just before walking through the entrance, as it is customary for them to do so.

 These are barrels of sake near the entrance.

They're offered every year to the enshrined deities of this particular shrine.

Just before we got to the actual shrine there was a Shinto priest leading a long line of people up to the shrine.  Apparently there was a huge religious ceremony for many of the shrine's donators, of which I got to see some of (but wasn't allowed to take pictures).

 Shinto priest.

 Entrance into the actual shrine.

 Just before entering the shrine our tour guide showed us how they wash their hands and drink of the holy water before entering.  We didn't have to do it though, which was good because it was freezing.

 Just after walking through, in the courtyard, there was a Shinto priest leading a long line of men who looked to be of some authoritative position.  Not exactly sure.

 This rope between two trees with the stuff on it meant something, but I can't remember what!

This building, on the other side of the courtyard, was where the religious ceremony was going on.  We couldn't take pictures, but it was mainly singing and ringing a gong.  But lots of people in the audience. 

On one side of the courtyard they had this prayer tree.

For $5 you could write a prayer or wish down and then they would eventually write it on a wooden tablet for you and hang it up around the tree.

 

 "...your offereing..." = $5

 I didn't do it, but I went and read about three or four.

This was the first one I saw...

 So sad.

And random, that in a small Shinto shrine in Tokyo that that would be the first one I saw.

 Just as we were walking out, the whole courtyard got quiet, and we watched a long line of Shinto priests walk in from the entrance to the middle, turn left, and disappear into another building.  It was pretty cool!

The whole shrine experience was pretty neat.

After the shrine, we were on our way to the Imperial Palace...

...and this is where things get a little comical.

Out of all the sights on the tour, I was most excited about the Imperial Palace.   But wouldn't you know that I booked this tour on the exact ONE DAY EACH YEAR that the palace is closed to tours.  Why?

Because it's the actual Emperor's birthday.

December 23rd.

What are the odds!?

(I wasn't even aware that Japan still had an Emperor...oops!...I thought the palace was just an old empty tourist attraction from Emperor's of past...but no, he actually lives there with his family). 

But of course, it was open to the entire population of Japan.  It's the one day a year when it's open to the non-paying public, and they get to go wish the Emperor a happy birthday.  I guess they stand in a huge courtyard for hours and he eventually shows up on a balcony and waves.  Tours can't go in because there's no organized way to keep everyone together and in the same place.  Plus, there were a million people walking in.

But, we did get to go around the outskirts (as peasants), and walk right up as far as the first entrance!

 The water in the two pictures above are the mote that goes around the palace.  It's 5 km long.

 We parked and there were Boy Scouts of Japan handing out paper Japanese flags.

 As far as I was allowed to go.  Just to the right in the picture is the main entrance where millions of people were entering.

I love this background though.

You can see people entering and walking across the bridges.

 This is the statue of Kusunoki Masashige.

He was a famous Samarai who fought for an Emperor long ago from enemies.

Even though I wasn't able to go in the palace, it was still cool to see the grounds and all the people going in.  I just thought it was funny I booked that specific date.

We got back on the bus and went on our way.

I loved driving around the city and seeing all the streets and rivers and buildings.

- to be cont'd -