My Japan Adventure18829
 Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
A nice young man went by with cart and I bought a 'mix sandwich' from him. I get one piece each of ham & cheese, potato salad, pork cutlet, and veggie salad. Cost about US $4.50. |
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| Post 51 • IP flag post | ||
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Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Today was a kind of "let's run around in Tōkyō" day. I started at Zōjō-ji Temple, the temple where some of the Tokugawa Shōguns are interred and where they worshipped when they were in power. It's a very nice temple close to Tōkyō Tower. One of my favourites in the city. Here's the main hall with Tōkyō Tower in the background. After Zōjō-ji, I went to Hōshu-in Temple. My photos are not impressive, but I didn't go because I was looking for a lovely temple. I went because they have gorgeous pilgrimage stamps ('goshuin'). Goshuin are what you can get when you visit a shrine or temple (and even a few castles). You go there, pay your respects/pray, and then you find a priest or monk or nun or whoever is authorised to make the goshuin, and ask for one. The goshuin will go in a special type of book called a 'goshuin-chō.' A goshuin is an official record of your visit to the shrine/temple. They started being A Thing back in the Edo Period (17th ~ mid-19th centuries) when everyone had to carry documentation of who they are and where they were going and for what purpose. Shrines/temples gave goshuin to pilgrims so they would be able to document their visits to the various places of worship should the authorities ask. This is a goshuin from Zōjō-ji Temple:  This kind of goshuin is called a 'go-eika.' A go-eika is a short poem that is used by pilgrims about a place of worship or particular icon. Sometimes you can get a goshuin with the go-eika written on it. In this case, it's the go-eika for the icon of Amida at Zōjō-ji Temple. It's a lovely goshuin with some beautiful calligraphy, but compare it to this one from Hōshu-in:  This is a 'seasonal special' for winter. I requested it for the temple's principal icon (temples can have more than one icon - most do, sometimes a lot more - but the main one is the principal icon), which was also Amida, just like Zōjō-ji. This one is a 'mihiraki' ("open to see" ) goshuin. A mihiraki is a goshuin so big that it takes up two pages in a goshuin-chō, so you need to open it up wide to see it properly. This mihiraki goshuin has been written in a special jumbo goshuin-chō designed for them. Both of these are very elaborate. Many goshuin are much simpler than these.If y'all are interested, I can post a few more, including some of the less fancy ones. Anyway, my next stop was Konchi-in, a very small and relatively non-descript temple directly across the street from Tōkyō Tower (it's a temple on a particular pilgrimage that I want to complete someday), and then I went to Akasaka Hikawa-jinja Shrine. It's a very pleasant shrine, and I was lucky enough to be there when they had their parade floats on display.   I didn't stay here long because a beautiful Shintō wedding was taking place and I didn't want to disturb them. Next I headed for Tōgō-jinja Shrine, and it was on the way there that I encountered a certain restroom that I may have posted earlier today.  That was about as much as I could take for my first full day on the ground, so after that I headed for Shinagawa Station where I'd stashed my stuff in a locker prior to my visit to Zōjō-ji, and then I made a bullet train reservation and now I'm at my new hotel in Osaka. I'll see about posting a photo of it tomorrow so you can see my US $37/night room, but for right now, my dead phone is re-charging. I think I will join my phone, because I could use some re-charging myself.  |
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| Post 52 • IP flag post | ||
 -Our Odin-Rest in Peace |
Jesse_O private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Thanks for sharing these pics!! I'd love to see more goshuin. I can definitely see the appeal in collecting them. | ||
| Post 53 • IP flag post | ||
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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 Jesse_O I'll see about posting some everyday. I got 13 total today, and I may get the same or more tomorrow. We'll see.  |
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| Post 54 • IP flag post | ||
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Speaking of tomorrow, I'll be heading to Taima-dera Temple in Nara prefecture. I'm hoping they'll have a little fall colour there still. If they do, you'll definitely be seeing that. It's something the temple is famous for. | ||
| Post 55 • IP flag post | ||
 It gets old smelling it everytime I go outside my door.
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Nearmint67 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd Now you're talking my language. This southerner has a hankerin' for sweet tea most every day. They don't know what their a missin'... lol... And like @Jesse_O said, those goshuin are nice. But these guys on the restroom building are cool. Excellent artwork.  Thanks @Byrdibyrd for bringing us along on your adventure. We are getting to see places we would never get to see otherwise. |
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| Post 56 • IP flag post | ||
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Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Nearmint67 I would not cry if I could have a southern sweet tea here every once in a while. I'm surprised they don't have it here yet. Japan has a serious love for sweets. Check out the display (or part of a display - the place was hella crowded) for this dessert waffle shop:  You can only see about one third of it in the photo. The real fun? It was just one of at least a half dozen similar waffle shops all down one street. It was insane. |
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| Post 57 • IP flag post | ||
 Cover, 8 pages before the staples, 8 pages after, back cover.
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Try to get to Genki Sushi in Tokyo near Shibuya. You won’t be sorry. |
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| Post 58 • IP flag post | ||
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It gets old smelling it everytime I go outside my door.
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Nearmint67 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Byrdibyrd Those waffle deserts look yummy... I just gained a pound looking at it lol... |
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Cover, 8 pages before the staples, 8 pages after, back cover.
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MrNotSoNice private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Nearmint67 The Japanese make an art of it. |
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| Post 60 • IP flag post | ||
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Cover, 8 pages before the staples, 8 pages after, back cover.
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MrNotSoNice private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Bronte The younger generation drinks coffee now. Tea is your parent’s drink. |
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HAmistoso private msg quote post Address this user | |
One of these please tyvm: |
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| Post 62 • IP flag post | ||
 CBCS Pressing
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SteveRicketts private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Byrdibyrd Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I hope you have an amazing time! | ||
| Post 63 • IP flag post | ||
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @MrNotSoNice That looks pretty nice. I'll be back in Tōkyō on the 16th. Hmmm... |
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| Post 64 • IP flag post | ||
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by MrNotSoNice Ain't that the truth! It's good that I walk all over the place when I'm here. If I didn't I'd never fit back in the plane. |
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| Post 65 • IP flag post | ||
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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 MrNotSoNice Yeah, tea is the traditional drink but coffee is the 'cool' drink. |
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| Post 66 • IP flag post | ||
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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 Just wait until you walk past one of those places and smell the waffles. 🤤 🤤 🤤 |
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| Post 67 • IP flag post | ||
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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 SteveRicketts I'm having a great time so far, thanks! Getting ready for Day #3 right now. |
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| Post 68 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
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scratchtasia private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd The tea I noticed was green tea. It's everywhere! It's even an ice cream flavor. |
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| Post 69 • IP flag post | ||
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
It's a yummy flavour, too. It's all over the place as a soft-serve. I may get one next time I see a cone.  |
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| Post 70 • IP flag post | ||
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Collector
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scratchtasia private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd Thank you! I will mostly be in the Tokyo area and haven't figured out any side trips yet. But since you seem to seek out the temples, I wondered if you'd been to the Taya Caves and Josenji Temple in Yokohama. I was reading about them and they seemed like a really interesting place to visit. |
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| Post 71 • IP flag post | ||
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by scratchtasia I haven't done much in Yokohama yet, but my usual travelling companion and I have plans to explore the area more soon. Both of the places you mentioned are definitely choices for our itinerary! In fact, I believe Josen-ji was on our itinerary for the trip in Spring of 2019 that had to be cancelled. I can definitely recommend a trip out to Kamakura. That's a fantastic place and I wish I had the time to visit it on this trip, but I only have one more full day in Tōkyō planned. All the rest of my time is spent here in the Kansai region. |
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| Post 72 • IP flag post | ||
 "Forum Overlord" bah ha ha ha...
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JustThatGuy private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I’m so jelly. It is so awesome. My wife and I have always wanted to the land of the rising sun. |
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| Post 73 • IP flag post | ||
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| It's not cheap, but it's also not as expensive as a lot of people think. When my trip is over, I can give an estimate of how much the basics cost. Keep in mind that if your airfare isn't the most expensive thing you're paying for, you're doing something wrong. Accommodations here do NOT need to be US $100+ per night/person. I'm usually US $ 50 or less. | ||
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| @Byrdibyrd is there excitement for Japan at the World Cup? | ||
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I'm currently on a little train headed for one of my transfer stations on the way to Taima-dera Temple in Nara prefecture. | ||
| Post 76 • IP flag post | ||
 Masculinity takes a holiday.
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EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by JustThatGuy Christian Bale made the most of his time there: |
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| Post 77 • IP flag post | ||
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It gets old smelling it everytime I go outside my door.
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Nearmint67 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @EbayMafia Are you shopping for a new Kimono? Easier to pack than a Bonsai.. |
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| Post 78 • IP flag post | ||
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by WMorse YES, advertisements everywhere when I was in Tōkyō, though not so much out here. The temple I'm visiting right now is waaaay out there. |
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| Post 79 • IP flag post | ||
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Nearmint67 Kimono are a bit much, plus it wouldn't all fit in my luggage. They're so big! I'm more of a hankies & hand towels type. |
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