YAESU

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In the Yaesu district of Tokyo in the land of the rising sun. The Tokyo Ramen Street food was a little too rich and salty for our American taste. I’m sure it’s great, lots of locals and plenty of Haole foreigners have professed the greatness of the many Ramen shops in the bowel of Tokyo Station, but our palate are just a bit different or perhaps not sophisticated enough I suppose, so we did not enjoy the food even though it filled our tummy. We got back to our hotel relatively late in the evening, around ten o'clock, which is considered late for us because we’re not night owls. After quickly getting in bed once we had settled in, brushed our teeth, and taken nice long showers, we all hopped in bed and fell asleep as soon as the lights went off. At three o’clock in the morning, I woke up. This is what happens when you travel into a time zone that’s sixteen hours ahead of your hometown; you wake up in the middle of the night. I can hear my wife and daughter moving around, so I suspected that they might be awake too. I pretended to act like I was still asleep because I wanted to keep the lights off, to keep the darkness in the room, hoping that within a few minutes I would fall back to sleep again. It didn’t work because my daughter started singing, and my wife started laughing, it was no use, so we turned on the lights and they started browsing on the internet with their phones and iPads. I made coffee, broke out my little notebook and a blue ink pen, and started writing the words that you now see right in front of your very eyes.

There was a lot to process in the first three days of our journey, but I wasn’t processing anything at the moment. I was just reacting to everything that I see around me. The bright lights of Tokyo can really put the zap in your head if you’ve never seen it before because it’s so mesmerizing. Shinjuku and Shibuya are the two most crowded cities in this huge metropolis of thirteen million people. It is both a prefecture and a city, it has features of both, although officially there are many cities within the metropolis, but for the purpose of this here little shindig that we are engaged in right here right now right this very minute, I will call it a city. We had planned out ahead of time where we wanted to go today, a Monday, June 12 in the year of our lord two thousand and twenty three. First we were going to visit the grounds of the Imperial Palace, and then head out to Asakusa to visit its main attraction, the Sensoji temple. We hadn’t known anything about this temple until a neighboring passenger on the flight from Taoyuan to Narita told us about it. So right then and there, onboard flight CI0100, my wife and I decided that we should go visit there on Monday. My daughter doesn’t get a vote because she’s too young to care. Besides, even if she did have a vote she will most likely get out voted by the two of us. It’s unfair, I know, but that’s just the way it has to be. Parents rule and that’s that, end of conversation. I didn’t spend a whole lot of time writing, maybe thirty to forty five minutes, because the act of writing, especially these days, tires me out, which is a good thing. By the time you see these words right in front of you my eyelids had already begun to flutter, and the unedited version of the text that follows were all scribbled nonsense that many people would find uninteresting, so I tried to clean it up for the pleasure of the many followers of my critically acclaimed and award winning travelogue blog. You can judge for yourself if I succeeded or not but knowing that the many of you out there who are a dedicated bunch of disciples of this here wonderful piece of American literature that’s comparable to the works of Samuel Langhorne Clemens are very astute and uncompromising, I am absolutely one hundred percent sure that it is the former, not the latter. Success!

Halfway through writing the very beginning of the words in the paragraph above my head fell down on the sofa and I was deep in sleep mode within minutes. My wife and daughter were still surfing the internet, I think, although I don’t know that for sure obviously because I was in nocturnal bliss, and quite frankly I didn’t care to ask.

At eight o’clock in the morning we went down to the second floor of the Karaksa Hotel for breakfast. I figured we should take advantage of it because we already paid for it with our hotel bill. We were told that it was a buffet breakfast of mixed western and Japanese dishes. There weren’t too many patrons when we got there, maybe because it was either too early or many folks who are staying in this here hotel are not typical breakfast eaters. There was a family of four from India, a group of four adult tourists from the Philippines, and an American family of three. The breakfast wasn’t all that exciting; German wieners, dumplings with spinach and ricotta cheese, miso soup, croissants, rolls, and a fruit and salad buffet. I typically like to have eggs and bacon for breakfast, but there were none, so I was greatly disappointed. Nonetheless, I treated myself to the German wieners, cereal with milk, and washed them all down with a hot fresh cup of coffee. My wife and daughter liked the spinach and cheese dumpling mainly because it was slathered in lots of heavy cream. After breakfast we went back to our room to freshen up, shower, and change to our touristy outfits before heading out into the wide metropolis of Tokyo. By the time we got out of the hotel building it was already ten o’clock in the morning. It’s a rainy day again. Many folks had their umbrellas out, including us with our borrowed ones from the hotel. The Yaesu district is probably not as crowded as the other districts and cities in this metropolis, but you can still see many working stiffs on parade, Japanese men and women office workers who typically wear the same outfit; white shirt, dark trousers, and loafers. Wearing a tie is an option I think although I’m not sure and quite frankly I didn’t care enough to look it up. There they are, walking to work or going somewhere important I’m sure on the sidewalk in a straight line that looks almost like a bunch of private school kids going to class.

The grounds of the Imperial Palace is situated on the other side of the Tokyo Station from the Yaesu district, just a few steps out of the Marunouchi district and located in Chiyoda City. The cities in Tokyo are also called wards, whatever that means in that context. I know what a ward is, a special area meant for a specific institution, like a psychiatric ward of a hospital. So I suppose a ward is a special area with their own mayors and such if it really is equivalent to what we call a city in other parts of the world. Whatever the heck it is, it doesn't really matter to me because it does not affect our current state of affairs. Whether we are in a city ward or a psychiatric ward means not one iota to us, we just wanted to get to the grounds of the Imperial Palace and have a look-see. But the rain does affect our current state, and walking through the bowels of Tokyo Station to get to the other side and then hopping over to an area separated by a couple of moats which was meant to keep the intruders out of the grounds of the Emperor’s castle in the old days, because that’s what a moat is for, did not sound too appealing at the moment, so we decided to take a taxi or better yet, get an Uber ride to the grounds of the Imperial Palace.

Uber in Japan is operated differently than what we’re used to in the United States. Over yonder in the US, the vehicles are privately owned. In Japan I have no idea if an Uber ride is a private vehicle, which was what I expected, because the vehicle that picked us up was a taxi. In the overall scheme of things it doesn’t really matter if it’s a taxi or a privately owned vehicle. We just want convenience, which is exactly what we got. The taxi driver spoke some English although with Uber that shouldn’t really matter because the app tells the driver where we want to go. The problem is that the Imperial Palace is a huge compound, so the taxi driver asked where exactly we wanted to go. It’s not like going to the airport in Frisco where you can put in the app which airline and what terminal we need to go to. There are many entrances and gates to the grounds of the Imperial Palace, but we had no clue. My wife asked where most tourists usually go. The driver thought about it for a moment but didn’t respond, he just started driving around the block, turned left on a sign that said Nihombashi, then made another left turn again before dropping us off in a wide expanse of greenery and pebbled grounds that leads to a bridge over a moat that had a castle on the other end. There were groups of tourists with guides walking around the compound. This is just a tiny slice of the compound I suppose, but the taxi driver said that the Emperor lives in that castle over yonder on the other side of that bridge. Of course we couldn’t go over that bridge and into the castle because the guards would have chopped our heads off for intruding. Perhaps not, but the point is that it is off limits to commoners like you and me.

There wasn’t really anything on the grounds that we found interesting, at least not on this side. The immaculately maintained green grass looks perfect, and in the background of this wide expanse are tall buildings that probably headquarters the biggest companies of Japan, I think, although again, I’m not sure, I’m just guessing that they are headquarters for the conglomerates. There was a light drizzle but it was constant, so most people had their umbrellas out. Fifteen minutes after we arrived for our look-see the uniformed guards of the compounds told us to clear out of the pebbled grounds. We didn’t understand why but we overheard one of the tour guides tell her group in English that the Emperor is going to do a drive by on his way out to whatever event he needed to go to. This means that his entourage will be driving ahead and behind him, and that’s why we had to clear out the area to clear their path from the castle, down the bridge, and into a wide area of pebbles on his way out to town, wherever he’s going. That’s about the most exciting part of that look-see. We got a glimpse of the Emperor and his wife in a Mercedes limousine, and they actually waved to us common folks.

Our next destination is Asakasa and the Sensoji temple. In order to get there we took the Yamanote line from the Tokyo Station and hopped off at the Kanda Station one stop down the line, made a transfer there and got on what’s called the Keihin-Tohoku line all the way to Asakusa Station. The Keihin-Tohoku line is not part of Japan Railways East, so we couldn’t use our JR pass. Not a huge problem because it didn’t cost that much. We exited out of the Asakusa train station on the side where you’ll see a large Don Quixote chain store that seems to be everywhere in Japan. They probably sell everything under the sun judging from the casual browsing that we took at one of the stores in the Yaechika underground mall, but this Don Quixote is an enormous multistory department store. We didn’t bother going in to browse again because there was no point, we knew what we were going to see. Just a bunch of knick knacks, clothing, appliances maybe, and such. The path to the Sensoji temple from this side starts at a gateway arch which the Japanese call a torii, which consist of a red colored post on each side and a red cross beam underneath a sliding green tiled roof on top, with a snakehead looking statues on each side of the green roof. Right next to the torii is a multistory Uniqlo department store.Past the torii is a tiled path, about as narrow as an alley, that’s lined with more shops, Izakayas, Yakinikus, Lawsons and FamilyMarts up the yin-yang. There are cross-paths and alleys along the way filled with tourists and shopkeepers before ending up at another torii where the main shrine is located, and here is where the crowd thickens. There are tons of people everywhere, and I can’t stress tons of people enough. Onlookers, worshippers, tourists of every variety and vendors up the wazzu are what you’ll see as you enter the Sensoji compound.

To be quite honest with y’all, I don’t know what the difference is between a shrine and a temple. They’re all the same to me. And just to expand on my ignorance a little more, I had assumed that the tall square multi-story structure that seems to punch its spires straight out and up into the sky as if waiting to embrace a spark like a lightning rod was the Sensoji temple. It is not. This I knew after the fact. It's a pagoda that’s part of the Sensoji temple. At the center of this whole temple compound is a large structure, the largest perhaps in this whole deal, that’s impressively designed and adorned such that it is truly worthy of being called a temple. And impressive it is! Pictures speak a thousand words so I wouldn’t even bother to describe its overall features. It’s the details that impresses the most. Oriental to the max! I mean when people think of the orient back in the old days this here structure of the main praying hall where everyone comes to do their ritual provides a perfect visual accompaniment of the old time stories told by the early travelers of the orient. I was thinking if we could just get rid of all these tourists it would be even much, much better. Probably zero chance of that happening, but you can always fantasize. Imagine a smiley emoji at the end of that sentence. I hope y’all are rolling on the floor.

Many people say comedy is good therapy. I disagree. Well, disagree is probably a strong word. It's just that I think writing is better. So to clarify, comedy and writing are both good therapy, but in my humble opinion, I think writing is a much, much better therapy. So now that we’ve wasted all that time arguing about a point that no one cares about I suggest that we should talk about why writing is good therapy. Because it makes you feel good, that’s why. Just like anything in life, if it makes you feel good, then it’s good therapy. So now I write with humbleness at the center of the Sensoji shrine, awed by the many worshippers and tourists from within Japan, from Asia in general, and folks from the other parts of the eastern and western world who are all gathered up to pay homage to the shrine and its respective god. It pains me to say that I’m ignorant of all this stuff, but I am, so I must confess. I just very humbly hope that the gods don’t cast a spell on my writing skills. Or perhaps it already has. More emoji after that sentence. More rolling on the floor.

The smell of burning incense has always been soothing to me. Every opportunity I get to visit a Buddhist temple I never decline for the simple fact that I find these oriental structures not only exotic but nostalgic as well of its past, and the smell of burning incense adds a fragrance that elevates both its exoticism and its nostalgia. So it was with great delight that in front of the temple is a place where people burn incense en masse. Many people would gather around this burning circle, some in traditional kimono outfits, and absorb the smoke and the aromatic smell of the incense. The Sensoji temple is supposed to be one of the most famous and most photographed temples in all of Tokyo. Judging by the amount of people here and the beauty of this whole site even in front of these gazillion tourists, I wholeheartedly one hundred percent agree. Yes sir. As I looked back at the temple in the middle of this wide entrance to the temple that’s filled with vendors up the yin-yang. In the grounds that leads to the palace of wisdom that is Sensoji is an array of souvenir shops and other items meant to capitalize on the popularity of Sensoji. It’s sort of like the idea of the Christmas holidays, but not the idea of Christmas as a reminder for all Christians of the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord who was sent down to God's green earth to save every living soul that humanity. And if you’re tired of the souvenir shops, then turn right and you’ll find an array of Izakayas, Yakinikus, and Sushi restaurants to choose from if you’re hungry. We were indeed hungry, it being past 1pm local time already, so we picked a little eatery on one of the side alleys near the Sensoji compound and ordered some good grub before moving on to our next task of the day. Skewers of beef, lamb, chicken and vegetables were washed down with a big stein of Suntory Premium Malts on draft. There is nothing better than relaxing and enjoying some good yakitori with a fresh draft of cervezas in one of these laid back little outfits in the back alleys of Tokyo.

The light drizzle that’s been constant throughout the day has left the black tar pavement and tiled pathways in the alley shimmering from the wetness and the lights that’s reflected off the thin layer of water on the streets. At around three o’clock in the afternoon we were walking back to Asakusa Station to get home, a throng of visitors were headed for the temple, going in the opposite direction of where we were headed to. An event of some sort was to commence in the next few minutes, but as we looked back at the temple from the so-called Nakamise Dori, just a few steps away from the grand entrance, we realized that we had been hanging around this temple compound for three straight solid hours. That’s more hours than we need, considering that my wife and I aren’t temple enthusiasts to begin with. So we figured that whatever event it could be, we probably aren’t missing out on anything, however marvelous that event might even be could not possibly surpass the feeling of comfort, relaxation, and satisfaction once we were back at our hotel all dried up from the rain and enjoying a nice cup of tea and some cookies to go along with it. So we hopped on the train and got home and did exactly that.

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Photos

UBER
Taking an Uber to the Imperial Palace Grounds.

Emperor of Japan
Emperor waves to us common folks.

Torii
This one is not as grand as the main entrance.

Sensoji Compound
Path that leads to the temple.

Sensoji Temple.
This is the main attraction.