Highlights: Shrines, Shrines, Temples, and Shrines

Because Katie and I were interested in maximizing our Tokyo experience at minimal costs, we turned to the ever reliable temple and shrine touring to help fill our days with Japanese-ness. Admission onto shrine grounds is almost always free (unless you are in a place like Kyoto), and although it can get old seeing one shrine after another, there is always some treasure to find that makes each one unique and fascinating. By now you have figured out that Temples and Shrines are as prolific in Japan as McDonalds are in America. By the end of the week, Katie and I developed a love-hate relationship with these ancient vermilion structures.

Below you will find some pics, stories, and highlights from some of our favorite shrines:

Temple of Benten
According to my guidebook, the Temple of Benten sits in the middle of a little pond in Ueno. A temple that has stood in the water for a hundred years is enough of a reason for me to check it out, but there is, as described by the guidebook, something more... You can rent swan shaped paddle boats to paddle around the pond and get a close-up view of the temple. I don't know about you, but I love paddle boats, and especially when they are (supposedly) shaped like swans. Ever since reading about the Temple of Benten, I couldn't wait to go there.

On the first sunny day of the week (it rained almost everyday Katie was here), we took off for Ueno to find the Temple of Benten and the lucky swan that would take us around the pond. Like many of my experiences in Japan (see "A Day at the Museum"), this one didn't quite live up to expectations.

The temple itself was beautiful, but it hardly sat in a pond. It was more like a swamp overgrown with giant lily pads. In the pictures it looks nice enough, but if you could look into the murky water below you would find trash as well as very unhealthy looking pond life. Katie and I had fun diagnosing the fish with various life-threatening illnesses.

I tried to imagine paddle boating through the lily-pads, but as funny as that image became, I wasn't ready to act it out in real life. When we finally made it to the dock where the paddle boats were kept, we realized that they had divided the pond, clearing out a small section to allow for paddle boating, about the size of half a football field. Determined to follow through with our goal, we paid the greedy dock man $7 for a half and hour in the ugliest swan in a bow tie that I have ever seen. It was a very funny experience to say the least. Katie and I laughed at ourselves as we paddled from one end of the little pond to the other and then back again during our half hour on the water.

Giant lily-pads have completely overgrown the pond that surrounds the Temple

The ripples you see in the the water are made by hundreds of hungry fish swarming for any morsel of food.

The temple of Benten.

You call this a swan? Please. This friendly seagull soon joined us on our voyage around the bathtub-sized pond.

Asakusa Shrine

This is one of the most famous shrines in Tokyo. We had been out all morning when we decided to make the trip across Tokyo to visit the shrine. It was lunch time so we decided to eat a quick bite before we set out. We bought some bento boxes, which are the Japanese variation of bagged lunches, except much more gourmet. Katie chose the eel on rice, she was feeling daring. We ate our lunches on the platform while we were waiting for the metro to come. As we sat eating, we received quite a few looks, some dirty, others amused. It is very likely that it is against the rules either written or unspoken for us to eat on the platform, but no one dared to say anything to us, that is until another American approached. An artsy looking man came running off the train and handed us his business card: he is a photojournalist with the New York Times, and he is working on a piece about American tourists. He saw us sitting on the platform, awkwardly eating our bentos and thought, "hey this would be a great shot." He must have taken five hundred pictures of us sitting there eating. When we finished our food, he came with us to the shrine and took more pictures. It was surreal to say the least. We'll let you know when our pictures will be published.

Our friend from the New York Times took this picture.

A small mountain of incense filled this little pavilion. People would waft the smoke over their heads before entering the shrine.

National Cemetery and Shrine

This was our favorite Shrine. It was very small and we were the only ones visiting. It had a very earthy feel to it.