After a much needed night's rest, we headed downstairs for a complimentary breakfast buffet included with our room. The hotel restaurant was designed in warm hues and natural lighting. Everything seemed intentional for the purpose of creating a relaxing, healing and regenerating effect. Even the hallways of the hotel were filled with the sound of softly chirping birds through the speaker system.
The buffet had an array of healthy options from green salad, fish and fresh fruit to breads and freshly blended super smoothies made of vegetable and fruit mixtures. It took some getting used to seeing fish and vegetables on a breakfast menu but I realized how much better the Japanese diet really was. It was filling, lower calorie items that were fresh and full of taste and color. Even the egg yolks were different - brightly colored orange instead of our typical yellow.
As luck would have it, a typhoon named Vong Fong was headed straight for Tokyo and was supposed to make landfall later that day. Before the weather got worse, we decided to take a walk outdoors and stroll the gardens behind the hotel. Of course, the hotel provided umbrellas for their guests. Customer service really was intuitive.
Then we took a stroll outside the vicinity of our hotel while keeping a watchful eye on the weather. These vending machines were all over Tokyo and sold all kinds of things from cigarettes, juices, coffee, water and energy drinks.
We passed a pachinko parlor, similar to a Western casino. The parlors were alive with colors and looked so tidy with machines and seats all in orderly rows. Pachinko machines looked like pinball machines, only the machines stood upright, had no "flippers" and instead used a large number of small balls. These silver balls zoomed up into the machine then fell through a maze of lights and pins, eventually falling to the bottom. Balls were constantly moving, bouncing...the idea was to accumulate as many balls as possible through bonus levels and luck. Gambling for cash is illegal in Japan, so winners took the balls they won and turned them in for tokens or prizes, which could be exchanged for cash at a place nominally separate from the parlor.
Sandwiched between modern buildings in the middle of a city block was the Takayama Shinto Shrine, built at the end of the 15th century. There used to be approximately two hundred steps leading to this shrine. However, as a result of an expansion of an adjacent national road and subsequent earthquake, the shrine lost some of its grounds. Parishioners then rebuilt it. It looked strange nestled amongst concrete and glass high-rises This was to be one of many examples along our journeys where we saw the past living in harmony with the future.
The next morning greeted us with a gorgeous blue sky, sunshine and cool, crisp air. It was a great day for photos so we walked around our hotel grounds and gardens and grabbed some pictures.
Then we set out by rail and on foot to see the sights and soak up more of Tokyo.
Like I said before, living space came at a premium. This was a parking garage where cars were driven into a revolving conveyor belt. The car was then stacked into cubicles that sat on top of each other. When the car was needed by the owner, it was plucked from its cubicle then lowered to ground floor. Pretty neat.
Akihabara was the electronics mecca. This was also a great place for Otaku sightings. Otaku are people who are obsessed with a hobby to the extent that it becomes a major part of their identity. A person can be otaku about practically any hobby or interest: trains, military, dolls, etc. Otakus usually come out on the weekends and mingle in groups with the same interests so we didn't catch any that day, since it was a Tuesday.
Yodobashi-Akiba was a mega, 9 floor super center on steroids. I didn't know where to begin. Every floor was brimming full of merchandise and each level of the building sold something different such as one floor was dedicated to beauty aids, one floor was nothing but toys, etc. The selections were huge! I have personally never seen such a wide array of electronics, toys and suitcases in my life. Yes, suitcases. Every color, size and shape imaginable. Let's put it this way - I didn't need luggage but I wanted to buy some so badly thinking I'll never see something like this again. It was sensory overload.
The toys! Shelves, rows and more rows from near ceiling to floor of wood toys, paper (origami) toys, plastic toys, accessories to toys, accessories to accessories...
The artwork in the ads for the electronic toys were gorgeous. Japan is an "anime" (abbreviation pronunciation in Japanese for "animation") culture. It is an art form with characteristic large emotional or realistically sized eyes, among other things. The overwhelming love of "anime" and "manga" (comics) breeds related events, theme parks, museums, shopping and places of interest.
Time for "real" food. That was the best Teppanyaki fried rice I have ever had.
I was mesmerized by the packaging of products along the street kiosks. It was all so colorful and the writing was so bold. It felt like every word should have been read with an exclamation point after it.
The Sengakuji Temple is located in the Takanawa neighborhood of Minatoku not far from our hotel. Thanks to GPS, Rick and I found this hidden gem between an empty lot that was being turned into condos and a short stack apartment building. It is famous for the graveyard where the "47 Ronin (also known as Akoroshi, the "master less samurai from Ako") are buried. Every year on December 14th, a festival is held at Sengakuji commemorating the "47-Ronin" event.
In March, 1701, lord Asano Takuminokami of Ako (below) attacked lord Kira Hozukenosukeso at Edo castle. Asano lost patience after being repeatedly provoked and treated arrogantly by Kira. Unfortunately, Asano failed to kill Kira in the attack. So on that same day, Asano was sentenced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), while Kira was not punished at all, despite the custom of punishing both wrong doers at the time. In addition, the whole Asano family was removed from power, leaving Asano's samurai (who protected the family) without jobs and a strong will to avenge their unfairly punished master.
Over a year and a half, the samurai prepared their revenge. On December 14, 1702, the group of "47 Ronin" under the new leadership of Oishi Kuranosuke finally succeeded to avenge their master by killing lord Kira in his mansion. The "47 Ronin" were then sentenced to commit seppuku.
The story remains popular until this day and is retold in plays, books, movies and local celebrations. Loyalty, endurance and willpower remain highly respected characteristics in Japan.
The area where the graves of the "47 Ronin" were located was closed that day so this was as close as we could get to it...a picture of a picture.
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