In Tokyo, we stayed in ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, near Ueno Park. On our way there from the train, we stopped for while to listen to a saxaphone player, and passed a line of vermillion torii. I wanted to explore, but we were dragging our suitcases so it was not a good time. for that excursion.
The next day, we set out again for the park, which is as full of cats as Nara is full of deer.
Despite signs advising folks not to feed them, everyone does, so they are very tame. They don't even bother to wake up when you walk right next to them.
Our first stop was Toshugo, a gilded shrine dedicated to Ieysu Tokagowa, the first Shogun.
With hardly anyone else there, we had plenty of time to look at everything and take lots of pictures. Outside, of course.
There is a rack for pilgrims to hang votive plaques that they buy from the gift shop. We had seen these at every holy place, but somehow hadn't taken many pictures of them. Each place puts its own images on the front, and the pilgrims write on the back.
The top of a small torii inside the grounds was lined with pebbles left by pilgrims. Another pilgrim custom is to put stickers on the posts and ceiling of shrine gates.
The path to the shrine is lined with stone lanterns that reminded us of Chris Burden's
Urban Light installation of city lamp posts we had seen in LA. And, of course, the requisite fountain.
Off to the side there is a memorial to those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The eternal flame was lit from fires taken from burning houses in each city shortly after the bombing. Those who built this memorial and tend the flame keep it as a testament and an intention for peace.
Leaving the shrine, we passed a small amusement park on our way to the Ueno Zoo.
Inside the zoo, I was most taken by the cranes, and by the Sala Thai, a gift from Thailand celebrating cooperation between the two countries. It is a mystery to me why that is in the zoo, but it's right there next to the elephants.
When we left the zoo, we headed for Bentendo, a shrine dedicated to Benten, patroness of the arts. Alas, it was closed by the time we got there.
In Tokyo, we stayed in ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, near Ueno Park. On our way there from the train, we stopped for while to listen to a saxaphone player, and passed a line of vermillion torii. I wanted to explore, but we were dragging our suitcases so it was not a good time. for that excursion.
The next day, we set out again for the park, which is as full of cats as Nara is full of deer.
Despite signs advising folks not to feed them, everyone does, so they are very tame. They don't even bother to wake up when you walk right next to them.
Our first stop was Toshugo, a gilded shrine dedicated to Ieysu Tokagowa, the first Shogun.
With hardly anyone else there, we had plenty of time to look at everything and take lots of pictures. Outside, of course.
There is a rack for pilgrims to hang votive plaques that they buy from the gift shop. We had seen these at every holy place, but somehow hadn't taken many pictures of them. Each place puts its own images on the front, and the pilgrims write on the back.
The top of a small torii inside the grounds was lined with pebbles left by pilgrims. Another pilgrim custom is to put stickers on the posts and ceiling of shrine gates.
The path to the shrine is lined with stone lanterns that reminded us of Chris Burden's Urban Light installation of city lamp posts we had seen in LA. And, of course, the requisite fountain.
Off to the side there is a memorial to those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The eternal flame was lit from fires taken from burning houses in each city shortly after the bombing. Those who built this memorial and tend the flame keep it as a testament and an intention for peace.
Leaving the shrine, we passed a small amusement park on our way to the Ueno Zoo.
Inside the zoo, I was most taken by the cranes, and by the Sala Thai, a gift from Thailand celebrating cooperation between the two countries. It is a mystery to me why that is in the zoo, but it's right there next to the elephants.
When we left the zoo, we headed for Bentendo, a shrine dedicated to Benten, patroness of the arts. Alas, it was closed by the time we got there.
