Oirandochu Parade

I was informed about a "must see" parade.  So on Sunday, April 15th we went to Asakusa to see the Oirandochu parade.  It was postponed one day due to heavy rains on Saturday.  The following info about the parade was written by my guest blogger-Bill. :-)

Photo of flyer.  Check out the date-24-4-14.  24 is used because it is the 24th year of the present emperor.

Behind the Sensoji temple in Asakusa is a neighborhood where they hold an annual Festival along the main street (lined in April with cherry blossoms). Highlight is the Oiran Dochu courtesan procession. Oiran began in the early Edo period (early 1600s) Oiran were actually prostitutes, and laws were passed restricting brothels to walled districts some distance from the city center. These areas grew into large, self-contained "pleasure quarters" offering all kinds of entertainment. Many of the orian were daughters of poor families who were sold into this lifestyle as indentured servants. They succeeded based on their beauty, character, education and artistic ability, including skill in chadō (Japanese tea ceremony), ikebana and calligraphy. Much like the later geisha.
Oiran were also entertainers and clients expected them to be knowledgeable in scholarly matters. They needed to carry witty and intelligent conversation and write eloquently.
The isolation within the closed districts resulted in the orian becoming highly ritualized and increasingly removed from changing society. Their speech preserved the formal court standards rather than the then-current, common language.
Their clients would summon them with a formal invitation, and the orian would pass through the streets in a formal procession with a large group of servants (the orian dochu). The costumes worn became more and more ornate and complex.
The rise of the geisha ended the era of the orian. Geisha practiced common entertainment preferred by the people of that time and were much more accessible to the casual visitor. The last orian recorded was in 1761.

I wonder how many ankles have been broken wearing these shoes!

 

The costumes and makeup were fantastic.  This parade was a true gem!

Hama Rikyu Garden

After being entertained by the Shimbashi clock, Pat, Gary, Bill and I walked to the nearby Hama Rikyu Garden.  The garden is alongside Tokyo Bay.  There is a 300 yen fee to enter the garden.  We were able to use a free English audio guide which explains the garden and its history.

300 year old pine

Bill, Gary, and Pat

 The center of attraction was the field of rapeseed (canola) flowers that were blooming.  There are over 300,000 plants of rapeseed.

We are on a pathway through the field.  I am in the center and Pat is on the far left.

Closeup of the rapeseed flower.

We had a wonderful time with good friends, Pat and Gary.  We were so glad that they were able to share in our experience in Japan.

Shimbashi Clock

After our visit to the Tsukiji Fish Market on April 2, we walk about 20 minutes to see the Shimbashi Clock.  This is a very large outdoor cuckoo style clock that gives an almost 4 minute performance thru-out the day at 10 am, noon, 3, 6, & 8 pm.  This clock reminds us of a "Tim Burton" style (The Nightmare Before Christmas).  There are so many moving parts on this clock, it's hard to watch it all.  Go to this link and watch the video of the performance.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm0ZIjzqXlU

Tsukiji Fish Market

On April 2 we visited the Tsukiji (pronounced:  Skee gee) Fish Market with Pat and Gary.  The fish market is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world.  There is a tuna auction at 5:30 am.  This is open to the public, but with limits.  If you want to watch the auction you need to arrive quite early (too early for us) and stand in line to wait for a limited ticket.  The maximum visitors is 120.  This is a very busy area and they have restrictions on what you can bring in and no flash photography is allowed.  But, not to fret if you aren't an early riser, there is still plenty to see.  The wholesale market is closed to the public until 9 am, but the outer market is open.  The outer market is an area of vendors selling fish, produce, and many other products.  This is also a very busy area.  One of my favorite places is a pottery store.  After some browsing, we decided we should have some sushi for breakfast.  We located a place and we were not disappointed.

View of the market from the water side

Our tuna platter

Tuna bowl special using tuna purchased that morning at the auction

The chefs

Kamakura-The Great Buddha

After our visit to the shrine, we walked to the nearby Komachi-dori.  The narrow street is lined with many shops.  We enjoyed our stroll while drinking a Kamakura beer.  The street led us back to the train station where we purchased a 1-day small train pass for the Enoden line.  With this pass, we could get on/off the train as much as we would like.  After a short train ride, we were at our next destination, the Hase station.  Kotoku-in Temple, where the center of attention is Daibutsu (Great Buddha), is a 10 minute walk from the station.  After a full morning, this uphill incline walk is tiring, but well worth it.  After paying 200 yen, we entered the temple.  Oh my!  He's huge!

click on photo to read the buddha's info

The buddha is hollow and at our next visit I enter it.  Watch for the post when Gary and Gina were with us.

After our visit to the Great Buddha, we returned to the train and headed to Enoshima.  Enoshima is a small island.  We had a brief visit and lunch.  At this point in the day, we were all very tired.  (Bill and I revisited and explored the island in June when my sister, Barb, was visiting.  Look for more info on a later post).

Kamakura-Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine

On April 1st we had our first visit to beautiful Kamakura.  We have since been back 2 more times and I will post later about those visits.  Pat, Gary, Bill, and myself along with Bill's co-worker, Takako headed out early for our 1 hour train ride to Kamakura (south and west of Tokyo).  Kamakura was founded in 1192 and was the capital of Japan until 1333.  The area was badly damaged by the Kanto Earthquake of 1923, but was spared during World War II.  There are many temples and shrines in the Kamakura area.  On this visit, we limited it to the most popular.  A short 10 minute walk from the train station led us to Kamakura's most famous shrine, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.  We reached the shrine via a long approach with multiple torii gates.  This approach is lined with cherry trees which unfortunately were not blooming yet.  As we approached the shrine, we were excited to see a Japanese couple were having wedding pictures taken.

 

 Before entering a shrine area, you should cleanse yourself.  Pat, Gary and Takako are at the purification font called Temizuya.  The ritual order for cleansing is listed below.

1.Go to Temizuya before worshiping at a shrine.
2.Take the ladle in the right hand,scoop water and pour over the left hand.
3.Transfer the ladle to the left hand and cleanse the right.
4.Transfer the ladle once more to the right hand,and pour water into the cupped left hand:Use this water to rinse the mouth.
5.Wash the left hand once more.
6.Return the ladle to its original position.

There are many stairs that lead to the shrine.

While at the shrine, I decided one more time to try my luck on a fortune.  I have tried twice before and got the most horrific fortunes-plague, fire, illness, etc.  I knew I couldn't get any worse.  I fork over my 100 yen and this time...yea!  Good fortune.  This will be my last purchase of a fortune in Japan.

As we were walking around the shrine, we heard music.  We discovered a "mini concert" with the musicians playing...a leaf! It was quite an interesting sound.  I asked what kind of leaf it was, but it was lost in translation.

Japanese lady playing music using only a leaf.

Here's a couple of additional photos by a pond at the shrine.  The white ribbons are just the names of donors.

Note the doves in the tree

One final photo at the shrine area.  Love the trunk of this cedar tree!

Next stop:  The Great Buddha

Yebisu Beer Museum

Joan, Bill, Gary, and Pat

Ebisu-looks like a jolly man who would enjoy a "cold one"!

It was a cold, rainy, and windy day on March 31 when we visited the Yebisu Beer Museum in Ebisu.  The kind of day that you see piles of turned inside out umbrellas stacked in a heap in a corner of a building.  They've all gone to umbrella heaven.

Yebisu beer was named after a Japanese God.  Ebisu (note:  the spelling with or without a "y" seems to be interchangeable) is the God of fishers or merchants and represents fairness in business and candor.  Ebisu is one of the 7 Gods of Fortune.  Yebisu beer originated in 1890 using German brewing methods. Yebisu beer is now owned by the Sapporo Brewing Company.  We enjoyed the free museum and learning more about the history of beer in Japan.  There is a tour (500 Yen fee) available. Included in the Japanese language only tour is a tasting of 2 Yebisu beers.  After the museum, we went to the tasting area and for 400 Yen enjoyed a cold Yebisu beer.

A side note:  Many train station stops on the JR Line (Japan Rail) play a catchy tune when the doors of the train open.  Ebisu train station has an especially good "stuck in your mind all day" tune.

Click to hear music file

If this link does not work, copy and paste the following link into your browser

 http://www.japan-railways.com/SOUND/EBISU.MID

Have a listen and hum it all day!

Mori Tower

Tokyo Tower taken from the observation deck of the Mori Building

View from the Mori Building.  Bill has marked our apartment location.  Note the new Sky Tree in the background on the right.

After our morning in Akihabara, we went to the Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills.  The Mori Tower is a 54 story skyscraper.  On the 52nd floor there is an observation area that you pay to get an incredible view of the city.  For 1500 yen, you get to walk the enclosed observation glassed area and visit the art museum one floor up.  For an additional 300 yen, you can walk up 2 narrow flights of stairs to the 54th floor roof and have an outside view.  We did both and the view is fantastic!

Kiyomasa Well & Akihabara

On March 29, we visited the Meiji Jingu Garden by the Meiji Shrine.  Pat and Gary dipped their hands into the Kiyomasa Well for good luck.  Refer back to post labeled Foundation Day, part 3 for more information regarding the well.

The following day we went to an area in Tokyo called Akihabara.  This area is known for several things-maid cafes, anime and manga, and electronics.  I will just touch briefly on the maid cafes first.  The waitresses dress in French maid costumes and act as servants and treat customers as "masters".  No, we did not visit one, but I do believe Gary took some photos of the maids on the streets. :-)

Love the buildings in the background

Manga and anime are Japanese "comics" and their animation.  The drawings are very stylized and very distinct with hard features.  Note:  these "comics" also come X-rated!

Change in schedule

I'm sorry that I haven't posted a blog in quite some time.  I mentioned our friends from Grand Rapids, Gary and Gina, came for a visit.  Soon after they left, my sister, Barb, from Ohio came.  Barb and I flew back to the US on June 13th.  Back at home I spent 7 lovely and fast weeks.  Bill flew home for a short 2 week visit.  We both flew back to Tokyo on Aug. 3rd.

Now for the news.  As many of you already know, Bill's assignment will be over sooner than we thought.  We will be leaving Tokyo at the end of September.  We have so much we still want to do.  We are very happy that our adult children, David and Katie, will still be able to visit us for 10 days in mid September.

I have many blogs that need to be posted in the next few weeks before David and Katie visit.  Some of the locations that we visited, we did with multiple guests.  I might combine those into one posting even thought the events took place at different times.

Thanks for being patient with me.