Tsukiji & The Giant Sandals
This morning we all work up early and met in the hotel lobby to start our trek to Tsukiji, the largest fish market in the world. I visited this place the first time I came to Japan and it was absolutely awe inspiring. Enormous and filled with stands showing off some of the largest fish I have ever seen.
But when we arrived there were only a handful of people wandering around like us. And all the restaurants were closed. We had arrived on a day that Tsukiji was closed. The fact that others who actually lived in Tokyo were also there made it somewhat clear that this is not a purely tourist mistake.
We boarded another subway train and Misato took us to the temple at Asakusa, with the gigantic sandals. The narrow streets leading to the temple are lined with old-style stands selling everything from the crackers that Tokyo is well known for, trinkets for tourists and incense for the temple.
As we stepped up to the main temple there was a deep drum beat and we could look inside and see a ceremony taking place. This sight brought my wife to tears because it reminded her of a close aunt who recently passed away.
Buddhism believes that a family should not grieve too long over the death of a loved one. There is a 30 years journey of the soul after death to the final resting place. Each year, for 30 years, the family gathers and prays for the loved one to help them on their journey.
But if the soul senses grief and sadness they will want to return and provide solace to the loved ones left behind, thus making their own journey more difficult.
We left the temple, ate a small breakfast then Misato went to a wholesale bead market that is well known in Tokyo. She is into making her own jewelry and was intent on visiting this building (there were 6 floors of beads).
Ross and I waited outside and chatted with each other, watching the people walk by. Once my wife was done with her shopping we stopped at a JTB office we had seen earlier. It was just a block away so this would give us a chance to make arrangements for Ross' trip up north to Sapporo the next day. Luckily for him Misato handled everything, except the payment of course.
My wife is naturally quite organized and, driven by a propensity to worry, tries to make sure the smallest of details is dealt with. She would actually make a good travel or real estate agent.
Ross walked away with airline tickets to and from Sapporo and should have a memorable and fun time there. I am looking forward to seeing the pictures he takes and hearing his stories of his adventure!
But when we arrived there were only a handful of people wandering around like us. And all the restaurants were closed. We had arrived on a day that Tsukiji was closed. The fact that others who actually lived in Tokyo were also there made it somewhat clear that this is not a purely tourist mistake.
We boarded another subway train and Misato took us to the temple at Asakusa, with the gigantic sandals. The narrow streets leading to the temple are lined with old-style stands selling everything from the crackers that Tokyo is well known for, trinkets for tourists and incense for the temple.
As we stepped up to the main temple there was a deep drum beat and we could look inside and see a ceremony taking place. This sight brought my wife to tears because it reminded her of a close aunt who recently passed away.
Buddhism believes that a family should not grieve too long over the death of a loved one. There is a 30 years journey of the soul after death to the final resting place. Each year, for 30 years, the family gathers and prays for the loved one to help them on their journey.
But if the soul senses grief and sadness they will want to return and provide solace to the loved ones left behind, thus making their own journey more difficult.
We left the temple, ate a small breakfast then Misato went to a wholesale bead market that is well known in Tokyo. She is into making her own jewelry and was intent on visiting this building (there were 6 floors of beads).
Ross and I waited outside and chatted with each other, watching the people walk by. Once my wife was done with her shopping we stopped at a JTB office we had seen earlier. It was just a block away so this would give us a chance to make arrangements for Ross' trip up north to Sapporo the next day. Luckily for him Misato handled everything, except the payment of course.
My wife is naturally quite organized and, driven by a propensity to worry, tries to make sure the smallest of details is dealt with. She would actually make a good travel or real estate agent.
Ross walked away with airline tickets to and from Sapporo and should have a memorable and fun time there. I am looking forward to seeing the pictures he takes and hearing his stories of his adventure!
posted by Aaron at 8:30 AM
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