My Japan Adventure18829
 Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @scratchtasia Oh my word, the dreaded stairs. The number of times I went places just to find the only way to get where I was going was to take some massive, possibly multiple, flight(s) of stairs, often with no handrail. One of the dangers of sightseeing in Japan. That railway museum looks pretty cool. History of railroads is amazing, and it'd be particularly interesting in Japan. Ome is one of those areas I'm hoping to get to one of these days soon. Lots of things to see out there, but my traveling companion and I will be aiming for a Spring visit because there are a number of spots there known for stunning displays of Spring flowers.  |
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Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by WMorse Buy some yen while it's still tanked! It's dirt cheap right now. Never too soon to start planning your trip.  |
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Quote:Originally Posted by scratchtasia I am a fan of Tower Records and buy vinyl on line from them regularly. I was wondering if their store and logo says Tower Records in English or is it all in Japanese? |
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @BrianGreensnips When I've seen Tower Records in Japan, the signs were in English. Very easy to spot. I haven't been inside one for many years, though. @scratchtasia may have been in one far more recently than I have! |
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Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd Yes, their store and logo are in English. It's the same logo they used in the States. I have only been in one of their stores so far on this trip, and I was somewhat surprised there wasn't more vinyl. They are still primarily selling CDs, which have continued to have stronger sales here in Japan than elsewhere. However, I've seen a shift to more vinyl in other stores I've visited (HMV, Disk Union) compared to my last trip in 2018. Personally, I'm OK with more CDs because they're easier to lug back home. I often remove the jewel cases to lighten the load, unless they're unique in some way. And the used CD prices are often dirt cheap. I've yet to visit the massive seven-story Tower Records in Shibuya on this trip, but I'll probably get there before I head home. |
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Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd I'm not too deterred by stairs, though I wouldn't say I'm excited to see a huge flight of them. Yesterday, however, I brought my parents along, and they're in their 70s. They do well, but it's a little harder on them. I chose the Ome Railway Park as something that would be a relatively close, easy, and interesting thing for us to do together, but I did not know about the climb. There is a road that we could have followed that winds up the hill, but that didn't seem any better. I wish I could have made out more of the history contained on the signs in the museum, but all I could really understand was the years of service shown for the different train types. It was still a fun visit, and certainly worth the 100-yen admission. When I looked for other things to do around Ome, most of them seemed more appropriate to other seasons. I don't think much more walking would have been welcomed, anyway, after those stairs. |
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 I have a problem with fattening women up.
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| I don't know if Google translate works on signs but you may want to try it? I used it on a couple of Chinese characters I found and it wasn't a perfect translation but it was close. I had to find an actual Chinese person to make perfect sense of what I was trying to read. | ||
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Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @scratchtasia My thing with the stairs (aside from the bit where I'm not in good shape) is they so often have no handrail. I have some balance issues, and I like having a handy thing to grab in case I take a misstep. Those stairs are nerve-wracking in addition to being a slog to climb. I'll do it if I can get cool goshuin at the end as a reward, though! I would totally visit a railway museum for only 100 yen! That's a great price. I'd probably need some help as soon as the explanations got technical, though. That's not where my Japanese vocabulary is at its strongest. Ome has some activities in the area, but you're right, a lot of it is geared toward springtime. Displays of Spring or Summer flowers can be a huge deal in some areas. |
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Quote:Originally Posted by Bronte I think Google Translate works on signs, I think I've seen people use it. In a place like a railroad museum, I'd need it, too! I'm great with stuff that has to do with what war someone fought in, or religious iconography or folklore, but get technical and I'm lost. |
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Quote:Originally Posted by Bronte I didn't think of that at the railway park. I'd tried Google Translate on some packaging before and it didn't really work, so I kind of forgot about it. But today I tried it on some signs and it worked beautifully. Now I want to go back to the railway park! |
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No trains today--we just took a stroll around the neighborhood. First we tried to go to a tiny soba noodle restaurant, but we were turned away for unclear reasons (perhaps he was sold out). Then Google found us another place for lunch down the street called Ichifuku, just a little family restaurant serving ramen and rice. It ended up being very good and very hospitable despite the language barrier. In fact, I will probably return to try another dish, but this was my lunch today: From there we walked on to Ishikawa Brewery, which started in 1863 and opened at its present site in 1881. Guided tours have been suspended since the beginning of COVID, so we were only able to walk around the grounds by ourselves. They have several old buildings and some equipment on display, as well as some interesting and large zelkova trees that are hundreds of years old. The brewery produces sake and beer. Two restaurants are also on site, but we had just eaten, so we didn't stop there.  Adjacent to the brewery is a small shrine called Minamiinari Shrine, which has red torii gates and the largest zelkova tree in Fussa (and yes, it is impressively large).   From there, our destination was Kumagawa Shrine, but first we bumped into a very small shrine called Inarisha. I think it had something to do with foxes. At least the guardian statues out front appeared to be foxes, as did little figures inside the shrine. I could be wrong.  Farther along the way to Kumagawa Shrine, there was a sudden clearing and a pretty nice view of the city, with the mountains in the background.  Shortly thereafter, we reached Kumagawa Shrine. It is said to have been built in the Heian Period, probably before the year 1000. The shrine has a long pathway lined with lanterns, and there are statues of the "seven lucky gods."     Our path back to our apartment took us along a cute little park called Seseragi Yuuhodou Park that has a clear stream running through it, along with a small waterfall.  It was a nice day out, just getting a little chilly toward the end. Rain is expected tonight. |
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| @scratchtasia Sounds like an amazing day! The shrines with the foxes are Inari shrines. Inari is the Shinto god of rice and prosperity, and his messengers are foxes and fox images are the guardians at his shrines. He uses foxes because they catch the rats and mice that threaten the rice crop. |
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Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd Thanks for explaining that and confirming that those were indeed foxes. I haven't seen any mice or rats, so maybe they're on to something. My plan to go to Yokohama today has been foiled by rainy weather, so I've postponed that trip until tomorrow, which looks clear. So now I have nothing planned for today and I'll probably spend most of the day inside catching up on what I can. My fears have come true: I received notice of a CBCS shipment to arrive at my home in a couple of days, despite asking not to have anything shipped while I'm away. So I've already spent some time trying to deal with that--it will now be delivered to a FedEx location, but I don't know if I can get them to allow someone else (who doesn't share my address) to pick it up, or to hold it for longer than 5 days. When I was finally able to speak to a service representative instead of a bot, he wasn't that helpful. Sigh. |
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by scratchtasia You can get FedEx to put a vacation hold on your parcels, too, and I think they'll do that for two weeks, after which you have 5 days to pick up your parcel. That worked for me. I got them to hold the parcel at a local FedEx Store while I was gone. |
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Quote:Originally Posted by scratchtasia Sorry about having to punt your Yokohama plans! I had a day that I had planned to spend in Osaka that I ditched due to rain. That's why I wound up all the way out in Iwakuni - so far afield that it wasn't raining there. |
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Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd I looked at that, too, but a vacation hold of two weeks plus five days still doesn't get me quite far enough. I have another 23 days in Japan. It would buy me some time, but I seriously think my best option at this point might be to get my ex-wife to pretend she still lives at my address and pick it up for me. |
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Quote:Originally Posted by scratchtasia Whatever gets the job done!  |
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 The Fifth Golden Girl
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| @Byrdibyrd Thanks once again for bringing us on your wonderful trip. I hope it was/is everything and even more that you had hoped for! This is the kind of thread that makes a forum worth reading! THANKS! |
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Quote:Originally Posted by sborock It was my pleasure！ I enjoyed myself so much, and having forum friends along for the trip made it that much better. I'll be considering doing something similar for my next trip in 2023. I may be visiting a b**by temple on that trip, so stay tuned.  |
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I have a problem with fattening women up.
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Bronte private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd And the influx of requests for souvenirs from the booby temple start now. Starting with me. Lol |
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Quote:Originally Posted by Bronte The probability is high that I'll be going there, too! It's a pilgrimage temple - a major one, too, not just a Lucky 7 - and it's been a chokepoint for a while for my friend and I because it's such a huge drag to get to! There are worse (trust me, I've been to worse  ), but this is pretty bad. She and I may have finally cracked it, though, and we're committed to going. We will NOT, however, be buying the ema (votive tablets) with enormous b**bies on them in the hopes of getting bigger crowds in the balcony. I am very tempted by the goshuin-cho with b**bies all over the back. It's only fair, since I had Ding-Dong. |
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| @Byrdibyrd I too want to say thanks for taking us along on your adventures. I'll never go to Japan so thanks for being my proxy It was very interesting and enjoyable... did someone say somthing about boobs??? |
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Quote:Originally Posted by OGJackster I enjoyed having forum friends along for my trip so much that I may do it again next year. As for one place on the itinerary for next year, it's only fair that if we have ding-dong shrines that we should also have b**by temples. I may get another goshuin-cho there that I won't be able to show on the forum. |
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| We're only a few days away from the 2023, and it'll be the Year of the Rabbit, which is my birth sign. Since we'll be changing over pretty soon, I thought I'd give a little info on the Asian zodiac and its Buddhist guardians. The first zodiac animal is the rat. The Years of the Rat have fallen on these years (extrapolate more by adding or subtracting 12): 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 The guardian for people born in the Year of the Rat is Thousand-Armed Kannon. Kannon is the goddess of mercy and compassion, and in her thousand-armed incarnation she is capable of offering salvation to many supplicants. Most icons of Thousand-Armed Kannon have 42 arms due to the extreme difficulty in creating an icon that actually has the full complement of arms. There are a few, though, and I have seen two of them: one at Fujii-dera in Osaka prefecture and one at Tôshôdai-ji Temple in Nara. They are stunning to see and I remember thinking how like an enormous porcupine she looked. Icons of Thousand-Armed Kannon are everywhere. She is not a tough one to find. The second animal is the ox. The Years of the Ox have fallen on these years: 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021 The third animal is the tiger. Years of the Tiger have fallen on these years: 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022 The guardian for people born in the Years of the Ox or the Years of the Tiger is Kokûzô. He is one of the gods of wisdom who assists in removing obstacles and assisting people in recognising and correcting their failings. He is usually seen standing or seated on a lotus blossom, holding another lotus blossom topped with a jewel in one hand. Icons of Kokûzô are harder to find than Thousand-Armed Kannon, but not too difficult. There's an enormous one in the Hall of the Great Buddha at Tôdai-ji in Nara, and a grouping of 5 different incarnations of Kokûzô at Tô-ji Temple's Kanchi-in sub-temple in Kyôto. Next is the rabbit. Years of the Rabbit have fallen on these years: 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023. The guardian for people born in the Year of the Rabbit is Monju. He is another one of the gods of wisdom in addition to being the voice and enforcer of Buddhist Law. He is often depicted holding a sword in his right hand and riding a lion. Monju is a little bit more difficult to find, as far as icons go. That being said, there is a very prestigious icon of Monju at Konkaikômyô-ji Temple in Kyôto, and other excellent examples at Abe Monju-in and Hannya-ji Temples in Nara prefecture. The fifth animal is the dragon. The Years of the Dragon have fallen on the following years: 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024. The next animal is the snake. Years of the Snake have fallen on the following years: 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025. The guardian for people born in the Years of the Dragon and Years of the Snake is Fugen. He is the god of virtue, diligence, worthiness, and universal good. He is often depicted with his hands clasped in prayer and riding an elephant. His icons are the second most difficult to find (we'll get to the worst in a bit). Even so, there is a beautiful one at Gansen-ji Temple in Kyôto prefecture (good luck with that - Gansen-ji is very much out in the hinterlands) and another on a tapestry in the Tôkyô National Museum. The seventh animal is the horse. Years of the Horse have fallen on the following years: 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026. The guardian for people born in the Year of the Horse is Seishi. Seishi is one of the deities who guides the spirits of the departed into paradise. His icons are rare, but some will show him wearing a crown that contains a vase of water to symbolise his wisdom and purity. Now this is a hard one to find. I am usually reduced to looking up a type of Buddhist pilgrimage called a '13 Buddha,' because the 9th stop is dedicated to Seishi, and that's pretty much the only way I've been able to reliably find him. This means I can safely say there's a Seishi at Jôkômyô-ji Temple in Kamakura in Kanagawa prefecture and another at Ninna-ji Temple in Kyôto. The next animal is the sheep. Years of the Sheep have fallen on the years: 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027. The ninth animal is the monkey. Years of the Monkey have fallen on the years: 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028. The guardian for people born in the Years of the Sheep or Years of the Monkey is Dainichi. Dainichi represents the centre of the universe and is the all-encompassing life force. He occupies the central position on two of the most important mandalas: the Diamond World Mandala and the Womb World Mandala. Dainichi is key to Esoteric Buddhism, so any temple of the Shingon or Tendai Esoteric sects will have an icon of Dainichi, and often as the principal icon. He can frequently be identified by the gesture he makes with his hands called the 'Six Elements Mudra' in which he grasps the index finger of his left hand with the five fingers of his right hand. Note that not all icons of Dainichi are making this gesture (nor is he the only one who ever makes the gesture, but it's so rare to see anyone else doing it that you can pretty much count on it being Dainichi when you see it). There is a famous Dainichi at Chûson-ji Temple in Iwate prefecture, and one at Tô-ji Temple in Kyôto. The tenth animal is the rooster. The Years of the Rooster have fallen on: 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029. The guardian for people born in the Year of the Rooster is Fudô. He is one of the wrathful deities with fierce facial features and depicted as standing in a sheet of flames holding a sword in one hand and a rope in the other. The rope is used to ensnare those who have strayed from the path to enlightenment and drag them back to it by force, if necessary. Fudô is another one of those icons like Thousand-Armed Kannon - he's everywhere. If you were born in the Year of the Rooster, get ready to stop and pay your respects A Whole Lot. The eleventh animal is the dog. The Years of the Dog have fallen on: 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030. The last animal is the boar. The Years of the Boar have fallen on: 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031. The Guardian for people born in the Years of the Dog or Years of the Boar is Amida. Amida presides over the Western Paradise and offers enlightenment to all who believe in him regardless of their position or experiences in life. He is the central deity for Pure Land sects of Buddhism, so virtually all Jôdo temples of all Pure Land sects will have an Amida, usually as the principal icon. He is usually seated but sometimes standing on a lotus and draped in simple robes. He is another icon that is not at all difficult to find. The Great Buddha of Kamakura (the iconic huge bronze statue that sits outdoors) is an icon of Amida. There is another, very famous Amida at Byôdô-in Temple's Phoenix Hall in the city of Uji in Kyôto prefecture. Amida is another one of those deities with multiple incarnations, and there used to be many sets of nine Amidas depicting all of them. Nowadays there are only TWO such sets remaining. One is at Jôruri-ji Temple in Kyôto prefecture (another out-in-the-hinterlands place) and the other at Jôshin-ji Temple in Tôkyô. |
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The Fifth Golden Girl
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sborock private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Byrdibyrd I am a rabbit |
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Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by sborock A fellow rabbit! Next year will belong to us, then. And here's our guy, Monju:  |
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| IM A COCK !! 1969... |
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 I live in RI and Rhode Islanders eat chili with beans.
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1960 |
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