Wednesday October 17, 2007: Sightseeing in Tokyo

I could barely sleep last night. I ended up going to bed at 2 am and woke up naturally at 4 am. (Tokyo is about 13 hours ahead of Connecticut.) Deciding not to try falling back asleep, I got up, checked the Internet (frustrating since I accidentally hit the wrong key and couldn’t figure out how to stop typing in Japanese characters), and had breakfast.

After attending the morning orientation, we all went off for a day of sightseeing in Tokyo. Our first stop was the Diet (equivlaent to our Congress)—a relatively brief trip. What I found most interesting was the group of elementary school students standing in line outside the Diet building as we entered. This massive group of 200 American teachers/foreigners (with their very noticeable nametags which had the Japanese translation of our name and our home state) caught their attention. As I walked by, I noticed a small group of kids pointing and giggling at me. It dawned on me that they may have been confused by me being part of this American group since I looked Japanese.

After the quick tour, we had a tempura meal in Asakusa near the famous Sensoji Temple (also the oldest temple in Tokyo). We sat on tatami mats and the seating position was incredibly uncomfortable…my foot fell asleep. We all ate quickly to take advantage of the hour we had free to roam the area. There is one main street with stalls selling various items—exotic flavored ice cream (sweet potato, green tea, taro, etc.), sweets (many of them filled with red beans like the moon cakes we had in class on the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival), lucky cat statues, etc. We made our way down this very crowded street to Sensoji Temple (marked as a must-see in my Tokyo guidebook). I paid 100 yen for my fortune…which warned that a trip was a bad idea at this time. According to tradition, I left my bad fortune at the temple tying it to the wooden rack to negate the ill fortune it brought. And I bought a temple book at the shop to have it signed by the calligrapher. I then walked by Asakusa Shrine, located right next to Sensoji Temple, and I saw wooden plaques with wishes written on them from all over the world. (You'll see these when we talk about Shinto.) These are bought at the temple, you write your wish, and leave it behind for it to come true.

As I wandered, I saw many Japanese people paying their respects at the temple, purifying themselves with water first (washing their hands and rinsing their mouths), receiving an incense blessing, and making their offerings to the temple and its gods. What irony—to see a temple (which we associate with calmness and solitude) in the middle of one of the busiest areas in Asakusa. The masses of people congregated in the area and the presence of numerous souvenir shops seem to take away from the holiness and sacredness of the site.

I also came across my first Japanese style toilet in Asakusa...saw many of these when I visited China.

We really didn’t have enough time to look around and had to make it back to the hotel for the afternoon lecture on Kyogen theater (comedies). I had never heard of it and despite my sleepiness, I thought it was really cool. The speaker was an American (he has had a lot of difficulty being accepted into the Kyogen community as a foreigner). He and his fellow actor performed a short play, “The Inherited Cramp,” in English and it was hilarious. For anyone who is experiencing Kyogen for the first time (like me), it is easy to want to laugh as soon as they begin speaking their lines. It’s hard to describe in words…but they speak in an exaggerated, elongated, slowed manner heavily emphasizing certain syllables…their physical movements are minimal but deliberate and carefully planned. I ordered the DVD copy to show you guys. After a quick but much needed nap, we attended the Welcome Reception. Many food stations were set up so you could enjoy sushi, beef, sake, etc. It was nice way to end the night…on a full stomach.