Exploring Tokyo

Another rainy day- so the “CityRama Tokyo” tour was a perfect thing to do. We got to see all the major highlights of Tokyo in the comfort of our tour bus. At the Meiji Shrine, the major Shinto shrine in the city, we got a brief introduction to Shintoism.

They designate sacred places with rice ropes and rice paper strips. They use small wooden tablets called “votive tablets” placed around a tree to send their personal prayers and wishes. Every 6 months the tablets are burned so the prayers fly through the tree.
When in the shrine, they clap twice to attract the 1000’s of gods living in the forest to answer their prayers.


Shrines are only built to house the spirit of the deceased and have no statues or iconry.

At the entrance is a large arch - outside is the profane world, inside is the holy world. Before entering the shrine, they purify themselves with water.
The Japanese only go to shrines or temples when they want to….there are no set services or times except at New Years when millions flock to the shrine, throwing coins.

Shintoism is a combination of nature worship and ancestor worship. They have over 8 million gods and goddesses. In Japan, 70% of the people claim to be Buddhists and 80% claim to be Shintoists….obviously the two co-exist quite happily. In fact, Shintoism is related to happy occasions (births, marriages) and Buddhism is related to unhappy things (funerals, burials). At birth, they go to shrines. At death, they go to temples. And today, many people are opting for Christian marriages (it’s very trendy). Born as Shintos, marry as Christians, die as Buddhists.
The Meiji Shrine was dedicated to the spirit of Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) and his empress. The Emperor reigned during Japan’s transformation from isolated nation to modern world power.
From there, we went to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace. They’ve had 128 emperors dating back to 660 BC- an unbroken line. Only 4 have lived in Tokyo; most others have lived in Kyoto or Nara. The Imperial Palace in Tokyo was actually built for the Shogun. The gardens were beautiful- even in the rain..

Our last stop was at the Asakusa Kannon Temple, the most famous Buddhist temple in Tokyo. At the entrance was a large bronze incense burner. Worshippers try to apply the smoke to cure their ailments. Inside the temple, there is a “hidden Buddha”- they only show him every 6 years

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Our tour ended in Ginza, the main shopping area in Tokyo and we headed to the Sapporo Lion’s Head Pub for lunch.. The menu was displayed in front by plastic reproductions. The food left a lot to be desired, the beer was a bit more reasonably priced and the atmosphere was great.
Then it was a walk to Tokyo Station to try to exchange our Japan Rail Pass. The exchange office wasn’t very clearly marked, but after a lot of walking, we finally found it and got our reservations for tomorrow morning.
Jet lag setting in, we found an “AM/PM” (like a 7/11) and bought some noodles, cheese and crackers, Diet Cokes and beers….Time for a quiet evening in the room.