Tag buddhism

Japan Day 2: My First Subway Experience

Max Beaulieu 2 Comments

One of the things I really wanted to do in Tokyo was see the Legendary Tsukiji fish market and eat Sushi for breakfast. I’d been told to really get a sense of the place you had to go early in the morning but as luck would have it, I was quite indisposed the day after my trip to the Meiji. So I awoke around 8 AM and headed to the train station.

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Oh yes~ I forgot to mention. I make notebooks, and I’d made one for the Japan trip, ( Thinking about it I want to make another) and I found the a traditionally dyed, paperback book cover that fit perfectly. It is from this notebook that I am pulling back quite a few of my notes. IMG_0364 worried that I wouldn’t be able to find my way, around especially since google maps would have used data. Luckily, I was able to mosquito off enough free  WiFi to find my way around.

IMG_0366Excuse the poor quality, this was my first tentative shot of a subway station.

IMG_0368My jetlagged brain seemed to be intent on missing rush hour. (not that I minded). So about 90% of the subway cars I rode in were mostly empty, quiet, and clean.

IMG_0371The streets near the fish market were empty, and silent save the pass of the occasional car whizzing by or the caw of a crow.

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Canned coffee is the greatest Japanese trend that needs to catch on in the states. It is the boss.
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Early morning streets are beautiful in their own way. IMG_0377

Vending machines in Japan are the coolest. I made it a habit to photograph them as I found them. By the way, Japanese sodas are way less sweet, and consequently less caloric. (but only a little).IMG_0374

A play house with casks of Sake outside. Not sure why, but heck it (like most of the country) was a visual feast.IMG_0381More quiet streets. By the time I came back, these walkways would be filled with vendors.

I don’t want to overload anyone so I think I will continue on my quest for Sushi Breakfast tomorrow!

Japan Day 1.75: Shibuya Crossing

Max Beaulieu 2 Comments

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Like most big cities, Tokyo has power lines everywhere.

IMG_0314As I headed to the Meiji shrine, I ran into this store. The Japanese have an interesting relationship with sex, taking it both seriously and comically at once.

IMG_0312Out of respect for the Shrine, I didn’t take any photos inside but here is one right before you go in. It’s a quiet place and is one of the few places that had more than one security guard. I read up on the customs, paid my respects, and as I left I got a thumbs up from one of the security guards, and I have to say it made my day.

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Behold the statue at Shibuya crossing commemorating the Doge that waited every day for his owner. I was quite moved by the whole thing as you can see.

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Shibuya Crossing was starting to fill up and so I ducked into a store to try and avoid the crowds. IMG_0325To my surprise, this was a discreet little store that sold adult entertainment materials. I can say with some certainty that if you were into ______ fetish they probably had ______ Fetish. Most Adult stores have 18+ labels on them, a fact I would learn after I’d wandered into more than a few. 
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Right behind my hotel were a string of bars and diners that held 2-5 people. Closed during the day some of them had near 90degree stairways, and thin doors. Come nightfall the whole place would be packed, a quiet din wafting with the smell of food.
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One of my favorite things about Japan is the use of bicycles. They are everywhere and stored everywhere in little kiosks, and tunnels. IMG_0316This is the only photo I snuck in the Tokyu Hands store. Something you might notice in most of my photos is that very few of them are inside or of people. This is mostly because it is considered impolite, or is in fact forbidden to take photos in most stores, and of people you don’t know.

Japan Day 1.5: Basement Birru Seizoki and Resting Places

Max Beaulieu 3 Comments

As was my custom with this trip, I had to make small expenditures, and so after I returned to my hotel I set out again with the intention of touring the local area before I set my sights on the greater Tokyo area. It still baffles me how sprawling the greater Tokyo area is, and it seems to be an interesting combination of Los Angeles’s sheer magnitude of buildings, and New York’s compact skyline.

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If you find yourself in Shibuya it is a lovely place to stay, and I would highly recommend it.

Curiosity caught me as I rode in the elevator, and on a whim I pressed the basement button. What I found was a collection of vending machines which seemed normal enough, save this one.

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If you look carefully you will see that this particular machine dispenses booze. I smiled and wondered what kind of fuss I could create if I tried to import this idea to the States.

(Side note: It’s very rare to find food vending machines in Japan. I found only one that sold actual food, and what it sold was 99% snacks. Anyone have any idea why this is?)

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While walking I found another larger temple, and so I began to explore. This one was different, and I would later learn that though they appear similar most shrines in Japan are either Shinto or Buddist though very few tourists can make the distinction. Without really meaning to, I wandered into the temples backyard…I found myself in a small Graveyard, for the first but not the last time in Japan.

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As a child Graveyards bothered me; my concept of death was tied to video game characters and spooky stories. As a young adult, I found the yard to be utterly serene.  I am told that Japanese graveyards are communal in nature, several generations all interred together.

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(the Japanese most often practice the Buddist funeral rites of cremation. I ponder how Japan’s lack of space contributed to this style of graveyard.) There is something so peaceful in the idea of resting with your ancestors, something that makes death seem a little more tolerable. 

IMG_0287 IMG_0288Having missed the morning rush, I visited the famous Shibuya Crossing briefly. I’d cursed sleeping through rush hour, but still I enjoyed the experience of people watching.

With some disdain, I felt my body screaming for rest so I returned to my hotel, determined to rest, and then to visit, what many to consider one of the most important shrines in all of Nihon, The Meiji Shrine.