And Here We Go…

The travel adventures of Kathy & Jim

Japan, a Land of Wonder

We often talk about our bucket list items, and all of them are focused on experiences. We’re really not into material things, other than our phones; however, travel and hiking are the theme of our retired life bucket list along with grand parenting now. Japan has always been a bucket list destination for us both. The culture, the gastronomy, the history and the spirituality of this country are several reasons for our wish to visit this land. When the opportunity came up for us to plan a trip here, we jumped at it.

We began our trip by flying into Tokyo. This city is roughly the size of California in population, but in terms of size, Japan is about 94% the size of our state. Therefore, Tokyo should feel like it’s wall to wall people, but it doesn’t. Our first full day in the city, we walked approximately 15 miles, and there were only two spots that felt crowded – Senso-ji Temple and Shibuya Crossing. Both of these locations are highly populated with tourists, and if you come to Tokyo for a visit, you need to experience it all.

Kaminarimon Gate is located at the entrance of where the temple is located. Senso-Ji is a Buddhist temple.
Nakamise-Dori is a shopping area in between the gate and the temple. We were there on a Sunday afternoon, and it was PACKED!
Senso-Ji Temple. When you enter the temple, the shrine is right in front of you, and that is where you can say a prayer plus make an offering. Praying is done by purifying at a water fountain, bowing, placing your hands in prayer 🙏🏼, and being silent. This is the ritual at a Buddhist temple.
Shibuya Crossing. It is said that the number of people crossing this intersection is between 250,000 to 500,000 daily with as many as 3,000 crossing during each green light (2 minutes long).

Even though the above touristy spots are filled with people, there are other spots in Tokyo that are quieter, more spacious and lovely to explore. Two other places we visited this day were the perimeter of the park where the Imperial Palace is located and the Meiji-Jingu Shrine. Unfortunately, the season for entry to the Imperial Palace does not begin until April 14th, the day we depart for Hiroshima; therefore, we couldn’t go into the grounds or take a tour of the palace. However, the area where the Meiji-Jingu Shrine is located was open and proved to be a tranquil spot in the middle of this metropolitan city.

Beautiful statue outside the park grounds.
View of the moat that encircles the palace grounds.
Statues just outside the entrance to the park.
View of the Imperial Palace from outside the park grounds. The original palace was completed in 1888 as commissioned by Emperor Meiji. During WW II, the palace was destroyed, but completion of the rebuilding happened in 1968.
One of the entrances into the park area where Meiji-Jingu is located. A feeling of tranquility took over me as we walked down this path.
Entrance to where the shrine is located.
The shrine. Prayer at the shrine follows the traditional Shinto method which is two bows, two claps, your silent prayer, and ending with one bow. An offering is made before beginning as well as a purification by a fountain.

Our second day in Tokyo, we got out of the city via a Mt. Fuji excursion I booked for us. I had read that weather in the area where the mountain is can be fickle, and we may not be able to see the whole mountain. I was hoping we would get lucky, and we did! Even though it was cloudy, we were able to see Mt. Fuji completely, and we were thrilled. Here are a few pictures of this majestic spot.

Our view at lunch.
The cherry blossoms near the mountain were in full bloom and so spectacular to be surrounded by them.

We are now on a Shinkansen (AKA bullet train) to Hiroshima. Our time in Tokyo was short, but we got to see a lot more than we expected. Next time, we’ll have to spend more time in this amazing city.

flojim86

One response to “Japan, a Land of Wonder”

  1. gat2jdt2 Avatar
    gat2jdt2

    Phew!!! I’m exhausted just reading about your day! Enjoy!

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