On Tuesday I rewarded myself with a belated UK bank holiday and went into Tokyo for some more sightseeing, without Jonny as he had to work. I only did a half day, which tends to be as much as my back can cope with. I visited Senso-ji and had a brief look at the Imperial Palace grounds.
Senso-ji is a temple which is best approached through a gate (pictured) and then up along a long corridor of stores selling just about anything that could be remotely classed as a souvenir or tourist fodder. You then pass what looks like a wishing well with incense that is apparently the 'breath of the gods' before passing the trinket / prayer paraphernalia stalls and then up the steps into the temple itself. There's not all that much to see in here as I think the statue of the deity is too sacred to be seen by the public. I then had a little wander through a little garden next to it, with petite ornamental bridges spanning a pond full of Koi Carp with very green foliage interspersed with small shrines.
It's an odd atmosphere for somewhere that is supposedly a temple, but (I'm told) the Japanese are not particularly religious so temples seem to be more to do with upholding and respecting traditions than any belief in a God that we might be able to identify with in the UK. This perhaps should be my cup of tea - although I don't classify myself as religious, I do enjoy visiting churches / cathedrals / mosques / temples. This is perhaps largely to appreciate the architecture but also experience how their design can create a place that feels extremely still and spiritual. The Taj Mahal is a perfect example of a complex in the middle of a dirty noisy city that as soon as you enter makes you feel like you're in a different world. Senso-ji felt like it was struggling to escape from the horrible mass of tourist stalls on the route up to it. I was reminded of the Bible story where Jesus went into the temple in Jerusalem and overturned the tables of everyone buying and selling in the temple.
As I was hungry I decided to leave the tables be. I looked around trying to find somewhere to eat for quite a while and in the end settled on a ramen place on a street parallel to the main corridor. The menu promised noodle soup with a 'lot of fish with pork and chiken and pork', which would have sent warning signals to someone less hungry than I was. The dish arrived and I ate the large amount of noodles and the three fatty pork slices, but couldn't face finishing the soup or eat too many of whatever the other things were, fish? dried fish? potent mushroom? (certainly not chicken)
After my lunch failure I headed in the direction of the Imperial Palace, but after reading the guidebook realised that the garden closed at 4pm so I hadn't enough time to see that. So I walked up to what is one of the most famous views in Japan and took a few photos in really bad light for photography. It seemed quite a long walk to get to this point and would really only be worth it if you could actually go to the garden... The Imperial Palace is a large green area in the middle of the city, where I entered (Ginzo ish direction) is mainly large corporate skyscrapers with expensive shops and restaurants on the ground floor (called first floor here), so not much else to see. I think a bit further up are the government buildings and art galleries. I headed back to Yokohama on the jam packed commuter trains, luckily managing to get a seat in the ladies only carriage. (30 minutes standing on a train would be enough for me to have to lie down for the next 48 hours, but thankfully have not yet had to flash my scars to get a seat).
Senso-ji is a temple which is best approached through a gate (pictured) and then up along a long corridor of stores selling just about anything that could be remotely classed as a souvenir or tourist fodder. You then pass what looks like a wishing well with incense that is apparently the 'breath of the gods' before passing the trinket / prayer paraphernalia stalls and then up the steps into the temple itself. There's not all that much to see in here as I think the statue of the deity is too sacred to be seen by the public. I then had a little wander through a little garden next to it, with petite ornamental bridges spanning a pond full of Koi Carp with very green foliage interspersed with small shrines.
It's an odd atmosphere for somewhere that is supposedly a temple, but (I'm told) the Japanese are not particularly religious so temples seem to be more to do with upholding and respecting traditions than any belief in a God that we might be able to identify with in the UK. This perhaps should be my cup of tea - although I don't classify myself as religious, I do enjoy visiting churches / cathedrals / mosques / temples. This is perhaps largely to appreciate the architecture but also experience how their design can create a place that feels extremely still and spiritual. The Taj Mahal is a perfect example of a complex in the middle of a dirty noisy city that as soon as you enter makes you feel like you're in a different world. Senso-ji felt like it was struggling to escape from the horrible mass of tourist stalls on the route up to it. I was reminded of the Bible story where Jesus went into the temple in Jerusalem and overturned the tables of everyone buying and selling in the temple.
As I was hungry I decided to leave the tables be. I looked around trying to find somewhere to eat for quite a while and in the end settled on a ramen place on a street parallel to the main corridor. The menu promised noodle soup with a 'lot of fish with pork and chiken and pork', which would have sent warning signals to someone less hungry than I was. The dish arrived and I ate the large amount of noodles and the three fatty pork slices, but couldn't face finishing the soup or eat too many of whatever the other things were, fish? dried fish? potent mushroom? (certainly not chicken)
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| The gate, looking toward Senso-ji |
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| Past the gate, walking through the crowded stalls |
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| Imperial Palace view |
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