Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Our official Tokyo pre-cruise began today. After breakfast, we headed to the designated muster area on the lobby floor. There, we serendipitously found members of our group among the crowds gathering to set off for various tours. Our group of 100 was divided into four smaller groups and each group assigned its own bus. As we were driven to our first stop, Hiro, our animated Japanese guide, described our destination and some of the landmarks we were passing. Hiro handed out “guidance devices” so she could communicate with the group via radio after exiting the bus.
Our first stop was the Tsukiji Outer Market. The bus drivers tightly squoze their vehicles into a corner parking lot and Hiro led the group across the street and along one edge of the market area providing insider descriptions to us via our guidance devices. She raised a stick with a small fuzzy stuffed animal (species unidentifiable) hanging from its end above her head and we followed like ducklings trailing their mother duck. Hiro is young agile and energetic; our group is not. It did not take long for Hiro’s flock to slow down and become absorbed into the crowd. So, Jane and I set out on our own as Hiro’s enthusiastic voice diminished to silence in the ear pods of our guidance devices. The market covers many blocks and consists of both indoor and outdoor venders selling a myriad of food and food-related products, many unidentifiable by Americans. It was interesting (and aromatic) wandering through the market and attempting to identify various eyes, tentacles, and other creature parts on sale. At one shop, Jane tempted me with a free sample, but I declined. You know, I was still full from breakfast. We visited another Shinto shrine across from one corner of the market. Eventually, we wound our way back to the bus and boarded just at the designated time.
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| One of Many Streets of the Tsukiji Outer Market |
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| Inside a Market Shop |
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| Miscellaneous Ice Cream Toppings |
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| Lionesses at the Shinto Shrine adjacent to the Market |
Next, we were bused to the Port of Tokyo and after a brief wait, all four groups boarded a tour boat. We had bench seating and as we cruised down the Sumida River, we watched tall buildings, occasionally with patches of flowering cherry trees, pass by. As we chatted with our fellow cruisers, we discovered that the Shinto God of River Tour Boats had ordained that the male of three of the couples seating together be nobly named John. A fourth couple (from North Carolina) should have been a John but he was doing penance and sent his son as a substitute. The son had a lesser name, Bryan, I believe. One highlight of the skyline was the Asahi Breweries Headquarters building designed to resemble a mug of beer topped with a foamy head. In front of it, a shorter building featuring a golden flame sculpture on top, served as the Asahi beer tasting hall. It was too far to swim.
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| Ready to Board |
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| Cruising the Sumida River |
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| Asahi Breweries Headquarters and Tokyo Skytree |
After our tour boat docked upriver, we donned our guidance devices and assumed the mother-duck-with-ducklings formation. Hiro led us through the Asakusa shopping and eating area. In order to avoid the crowded main street, Nakamise, she led us along a parallel smaller street. Still, the progress was slow as Hiro’s ducklings were easily distracted. We learned that it was improper to eat along Nakamise Street, even while walking, so many tourists were doing this along our back street.
Our flock eventually emerged from the commercial district to encounter Thunder Gate, the huge outer gate to the Sensoji Temple grounds. This Buddhist Temple is one of Japan’s most beautiful and popular. The grounds include the colorful main temple hall, a five-floor pagoda, and other structures.
The Sensoji temple was built for the Buddhist bodhisattva Kannon, the goddess of mercy. According to legend, two brothers fished a statue of Kannon from the Sumida River, and despite throwing it back into the river, it always returned to them. Obviously, this was a hint to contruct a temple in Kannon’s honor. Consequently, this temple was completed in 645 a.d. and is one of Tokyo’s oldest.
Hiro led us to a secluded corner near the pagoda where there was a metal statue of a seated miracle-working man. If you have an ailing body part, say an injured left nostril from chopstick shenanigans, you must touch the statue’s left nostril, say three Hail Buddhas, and then touch your left nostril. After a donation, you’re good to go. The poor statue’s knees were especially shiny and worn. Hiro then led us past an incense-burning structure where tourists were fanning the smoke toward various body parts to help heal them. She said it was common to see students treating their scalp in order to improve their brains. We observed many more women wearing traditional kimonos here than other areas of Tokyo, often posing in front of the temple or flowering cherry trees. It was heartening to see Japanese women still embracing this iconic tradition.
Adjacent to the Buddhist Sensoji Temple stands the Shinto Asakusa Shrine. Hiro told us that in a survey, 80% of Japanese practiced Shintoism while 80% practiced Buddhism. So, many Japanese select the religion that will give them the best deal for their current circumstances. Hiro said that generally happy occasions like births and weddings were allocated to Shintoism while more somber occasions like funerals were reserved for Buddhism.
Hiro set her flock free for about 1.5 hours for shopping and dining. After further exploring the temple area, including visiting the main hall interior, we walked back through the district and found a tempura restaurant, Sansada, that we had spotted on the in-bound leg. Jane ordered vegetable and I ordered shrimp tempura. We enjoyed it at a window table in the small upstairs dining area. Subsequently, I learned that this is Japan’s oldest tempura restaurant and famous for using sesame seed oil to add a characteristic flavor. Because it took awhile to get served, we hustled back to the meeting spot near the Shinto shrine. From there Hiro guided us back to through the commercial area to the bus.
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| Five-story Pagoda representing Earth, Wind, Water, Fire and Void |
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| The Buddhist Sensoji Temple |
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| Entrance to the Shinto Asaksusa Shrine |
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| Tempura Anticipation |
Our next bus stop was the Imperial Palace. Actually, a view of the Imperial Palace from the imperial grounds and gardens because the palace is only open to the public twice a year. On the drive over, Hiro, educated us on the imperial lineage crisis. Although there have been Empresses in the past, in these modern times women cannot become Empresses even though polls show that half the population would support this. Assuming that today’s Japan still only has two sexes, you can interpret the poll results yourself. Anyway the current Emperor Naruhito has no son so that his younger brother and son are the only heirs left in the lineage. The country is praying that there is no imperial earthquake.
Hiro, explained that today, as in Shogunate times, the Emperor is largely a state figurehead. He signs about 1,000 documents a year, attends ceremonies, and hands out awards. No wonder women are unqualified. The Diet generates the Emperor’s signing documents. The Diet is Japan’s legislative body and Hiro assured us that it has nothing to do with losing weight.
After disembarking from the bus, those of us still capable of walking headed toward the palace with a detour at a statue of a samurai horseman with his head facing the palace. The path ran adjacent to a sparse stand of black pines, The slow-growing trees were gnarly and crooked resembling oversized bonsai. As a former forest geneticist, I would have quickly culled these misfits from the gene pool during the first round of selection. Wood and paper companies seek fast-growing straight trees. However, now that I’m retired, slowing down, and becoming decrepit and hunch-backed, I’m beginning to appreciated the beauty that the Japanese cherish in these trees.
As the path got closer to the palace we crossed the moat with hand stack stone walls and were availed a view to the entrance that always has a standing guard beside it. We were also treated to a peak at the Emperor’s palace perched on a nearby hill. Jane and I took a different route back to the bus which included walking across a section of fine gravel to become purified.
After the bus ride back to the hotel, Jane and I were tired and had lost our appetites. We went back to same resturant as last night with Sissy and had beer with a cheese plate before retiring.
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| Guarded Entrance to the Emperor’s Palace |
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| A Peek at the Emperor’s Palace |
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| Bonsai Forest with Granite Sitting Stools |