Tag Archives: Zojo-ji

1st January 2017: Hatsumode {Japan, winter 16/17}

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Hatsumode [初詣] is the Japanese custom of visiting a shrine or temple within the first three days of the year. Some people – like we did – actually wait the New Year to roll in the temple grounds. After the 108 (fast!) gongs that signal the entrance of the New Year, you are allowed into the shrine grounds to say the first prayer of the year in Hie Jinja [日枝神社].

After the prayer you can buy good luck charms, arrows which are ammunition for the kami to protect you (or something alike), enjoy some sacred sake, get your shuin, and once you’re outside, buy food and drinks. In my case I got some fresh takoyaki and ate them alone because apparently they’re stinky ｡ﾟ( ﾟ^∀^ﾟ)ﾟ｡

Then we headed off home, and I got up at 8 am to have 12 grapes with Spanish TV as it has been my custom all my life. Then I went back to bed.

In the evening I headed off to Minato [港] to see Tokyo Tower [東京タワー]. Zojo-ji [増上寺] and Shiba Kōen [芝公園] were packed with Hatsumode parishioners and I had never seen such a line to go up Tokyo Tower. Thus I did not climb up, but I did take pictures of all the illumination around.

Afterwards I met with D****e and K***n. to go to Yokohama [横浜], to have dinner in Yokohama Chinatown, as Chinese people have their own New Year, they would be open to business as usual. It was my first time in Chinatown at night, too, so it was interesting seeing places like Kanteibyō / Kuan Ti Miao Temple [関帝廟 / 中華会館] in a new light.

On our way back we tried to see Shiodome [汐留]’s Winter Illuminations but they were off. We’re not completely sure of why…

30th July 2016: 。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。 Last day {Japan, summer 2016}

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I had set up my alarm at an insane time in the morning because I needed to take the trash out before 8am (between 7 and 8?! Seriously, Japan?). But in the end it was good – you see my contract said that I had to clean the apartment, wash and dry the sheets and vacuum the floors. Which was okay, until the fluffy cover sheet took an hour and a half to about 95% dry. Oh, and I packed. 23.1kg of suitcase (^◇^;).

Anyway, the previous day I had been unable to get the Gakucchi clearfile from the UFO catchers, but I still wanted to try again. As I had to be back at the apartment by 4pm to give the keys back and pass the inspection, I headed off to the nearest Taito station, the one in Ueno. Unfortunately, they did not even have the GACKT machines. So I decided to brace myself and go to Akihabara [秋葉原] to try to find an arcade. The first three – the Sega ones – were not successful at all. I was about to give up and go home very sad when I was finally victorious! I found the clearfiles in the Taito Station. The staff-San I approaches was not very helpful at first – probably my Japanese was not the most articulate at that point either – but when she realised what I was trying to tell her she got me the clearfiles (I had an order, aside from the one I wanted for myself) and placed the plush I wanted on the machine for me to try. Of course I was not successful but I have the clearfile and that makes me happy.

As I had a bit of time, I headed off to Yoyogi Kōen [代々木公園] and Meiji Jingu [明治神宮], as I wanted some omiyage. In the end, I offered an ema, and got some silly stuff. I also located the Like an Edison shop, but I stopped myself from going in because SUITCASE WEIGHT issues. I blame the Hyde is Dead photobook （；￣ェ￣）. I got back and bought some suahi from the street stand down my block, ate, sneaked out the rest of the trash, and sat down to wait for the inspection. At this point I was feeling kind of sad. Okay, without the ‘kind of’.

But the inspection / cleaner guy was adorable and he was pretty early so I could do stuff in the evening that would keep me going. I went to Tokyo station so they kept my luggage and then I headed to Tokyo Tower [東京タワー]. I got up to the main observatory, and had been considering walking up, but I did not trust myself without seeing the stairs first. So I climbed up on the lift and took pictures and enjoyed myself. I also wrote a postcard to myself to get the special post stamp… yes I’m lame like that, but I had a message for my future self （・◇・）/~~~

I walked down, because I figured out that I could so that more easily and I enjoyed it immensely. Then I stayed for a bit in the Zojo-ji [増上寺] matsuri in Shiba Koen [芝公園] , retrieved my luggage and headed towards the airport.

On my way I got to say goodbye to the Rainbow Bridge [レインボーブリッジ] on the way. It might be worth mentioning at this point that I could not complete the check in, and that I has only registered until Frankfurt… whoops.

Fortunately, after a bit of haggling with the lady organising the check-in queue I managed to get through to talk to an actual assistant who could get me my final boarding pass. I found myself some karaage dinner before moving on.

13th July 2016: Here we go again! {Japan, summer 2016}

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I am a creature of habits and I won’t deny that. I will however wonder how come my phone thinks about autocorrecting ‘gabits’ to Gackt, which is interesting to say the least. Anyway. On July 12th I realised that my 朱印帳 (しゅいんちょう) or seal book was lacking one of my favourite Temples in the World! So off I went to Zojo-ji [増上寺] with my newly-activated JRPass. I gotta make the most out of it because it was expensive, mkay? (￣^￣)ゞ

Anyway, off I went to Hamamatsucho and I had a very beautiful flashback to the first time I saw Tokyo Tower [東京タワー], coming from that station. A lot of things have changed since then. I wandered around Zojo-ji temple, Shiba Koen [芝公園] and the base of Tokyo Tower for a while.

Later, I headed off to Ueno because the previous day I had not eaten Ichiran Ramen and I wanted Ichiran Ramen. I went with time to be able to wait out the queue. Once again I freaked some poor kid out. This was staring to get tiresome.

Ichiran is a restaurant designed for people who eat alone, and you have a little ‘booth’ to do your thing. Some people find it outrageous/controversial but as a lone traveler I love it. And if you are not alone you just take down one of the booth walls and you’re free to talk to whomever you came with. And the ramen is quite nice. And hot. But the restaurant is cold even with the hot ramen and always being packed so I guess it is fair enough.

After lunch I went back to Ueno station to make my reservations for the trip I was planning along the weekend and I decided to go to Ikebukuro again to get a CD I had not bought the day before as I was not sure it was the one I wanted – and the Internet was not cooperating. Once again I had to brave Ikebukuro station and this time I kind of gotten things sorted out! Let’s see how long I manage to remember what to do. Then I headed off to class.

After class I walked over with T. to Yasukuni Jinja [靖國神社] to check the about-to-open Mitama Matsuri (festival), but we did not stay longer than the necessary to get some yakitori and be on our merry way.

19th August 2015: Kickstart in Minato (not Ueno for a change) {Japan, summer 2015}

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After I don’t want to think about how many hours of travelling, a quite narrow connection and too many superhero films on the plane, I landed at Narita and got my suitcase. No problem through customs though I was quite surprised when the guy tried Spanish with me. That took a bit to register.

I had ordered my SIM card online, to pick up at the post office at Narita Airport, and then I had my first run-in with Japanese maps. Ah, the lovely Japanese maps. You gotta love them. Once located where the hell I was and which of the corridors I had to wlak, picking up the SIM was easy and efficient.

After that, I got my JR pass and my NEX ticket at the Narita JR office, recharged the Suica and and I set off towards Tokyo. During the NEX trip I took the time to exchange SIMs and get my internet connection up and running so I did not get too lost around. My original plan had been runnign to the Natural History Museum in Ueno, but the weather was nice and there was rain announced for the next day, so I changed plans on the fly.

I left my suitcase in Tokyo Station because I was not sure that it would fit in the coin lockers and there is a manned storage there. Fortunately, it did fit, and I set off towards Minato [港] to say hi to Tokyo Tower [東京タワー], Zojo-ji [増上寺], Shiba Koen [芝公園]. Just because I could.

I really like this view of Zojo-ji and Tokyo Tower.

The altar in Zojo-ji (sneaky pic):

Ema tablets and Mizuko belonging to Zojo-ji:

Small Buddhist altar in Shiba Koen, Nyoirinkanzeon [如意輪観世音].

Kumano Jinja [熊野神社]:

Shiba Koen view, along with a certain tree I really like:

The cicadas’ singing was deafening, but welcoming, and I spent the morning and early afternoon in Shiba Koen and the lower / free levels of Tokyo Tower, also getting used to my new camera – which I love, by the way. Afterwards I headed off to pick up my luggage and… well no, that’s not true.

As it was getting hot and I still had an hour to kill, I dropped by Akihabara [秋葉原]. It is not my favourite part of town but it was quite close to where I was and there is a nice Book Off, where my first shopping of the trip took place. I love the new ‘maxisingles’ section, makes everything so convenient.

Then I did head off to pick up my luggage – and had a bit of trouble locating my coin locker because Japanese stations have levels. Urgh. Afterwards I did head towards Satte in Saitama, as would be staying with a friend there. Then there was some food, and one of those flavours that I always associate with Japan – the strange veggies / fruits juice they have at the GUSTO drink bar. And then bed because excitement can only compete against jumping over half the world for so long and there was stuff to do the next day. Mainly fossils.

22nd August 2014: Re-discovering Zojo-ji {Japan, summer 2014}

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After spending the morning with D****e waiting for her suicase to be picked up, we headed off downtown Tokyo. We would separate for a few hours and then meet up to go visit a Japanese friend.

I decided to spend my time revisiting the Zojo-ji [増上寺] and Tokyo Tower [東京タワー] area, because the last time I had passed by I had glimpsed a part of Shiba Koen [芝公園] park that I had not seen before and that seemed open. It actually was, and I got access to the back of the temple. The graveyard was closed down, so I only snooped over the fence.

After this I met with D****e again to go to our Japanese friend’s house, and she made us curry! Actual Japanese homemade curry!

Oh yeah, and we watched VAMPS videos and she gave us a lot of food-presents!

17th August 2014: Meiji, more Odaiba, Rainbow Bridge {Japan, summer 2014}

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I started the day heading off towards Yoyogi Kōen [代々木公園], the park where Meiji Jingu [明治神宮] stands. I got my fortune in the shrine, and apparently, it shall be excellent from now on (and wouldn’t that be awesome). I got an English fortune and it came with a tiny Manekineko (lucky cat) and told me that my life was going to get better. I am going to cling to the thought. (Plus: I did not get dengue fever from my visit to Yoyogi Park).

After that I took a stroll down to Shiba Kōen [芝公園] and Zojo-ji [増上寺] in Minato [港], just because I could, but I had to move on before long. I did have the time to say hi to the mizuko, though, before I had to leave.

I met my friends for ComiKet [コミケット] in the convention centre Tokyo Big Sight, in Odaiba [お台場]. Comiket is reportedly the largest amateur comic convention in the world.

ComiKet was disappointing, mostly because it was insanely crowded, and we decided to make up for it walking back to the main Tokyo area crossing the Rainbow Bridge [レインボーブリッジ], which was an amazing experience. Not only the views, but the whole walking on it… well, within it might be more appropriate… was great, and I am very glad I got to do it.

The day ended in Ikebukuro [池袋] eating okonomiyaki and monjayaki (with some sides because huuuuungry), which was quite yummy, although I have decided that I prefer okonomiyaki.

1st July 2013: Wandering on a Monday {Japan, summer 2013}

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Many national places like museums are closed in Japan on Mondays, so I thought I would visit the Imperial Palace East Gardens, Kōkyo Higashi Gyoen [皇居東御苑], which are considered a public park and should therefore be open, right? Wrong. Closed too. Thus I got a few pictures of… the moat and wall XD

I decided to head down to Yoyogi Kōen [代々木公園] and Meiji Jingu [明治神宮], as it was a place I enjoyed a lot last year and was closer than most my other options – and bound to be open. I took a few pictures I could not because it was raining in 2012, among them one of the daitorii up.

I met with a friend in the Minato-ku area, as Tokyo Tower [東京タワー] is a good meeting point and I still had to see Zojoji open. It was finally a success and I got an awesome omamori that turns bad luck into good luck (summer special, too!). What, you thought I had gotten over my omamori liking? You thought wrong XD

Finally I headed back to Roppongi [六本木] to meet with D****e and try the Roppongi Hills [六本木ヒルズ] observatory again, which was a success this time:

24th June 2013: Less-known Tokyo Shrines {Japan, summer 2013}

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Most of Monday was spent wandering around Tokyo [東京] trying to find my way between shrines, since as you might have suspected, I like those. Akasaka [赤坂] was the first stop of the day to visit Nogi Jinja [乃木神社], which I managed to find even if I had missed all the landmarks that should have led me there.

As I headed towards Roppongi [六本木] for my next stop something went wrong. The station I was supposed to find was wrongly marked on Google maps, or another exit was marked or… I am not sure (looking back, probably a signal disruptor). My route ended up being a bit meandering. I crossed Tokyo Midtown [東京ミッドタウン]’s Hinokicho Kōen [檜町公園].

Once in Roppongi I took another detour (this time it was my own fault though XD) to Hikawa Jinja [氷川神社], which is one of the most creepy places on this earth. I liked it, but it did give off one hell of an eerie feeling.

After this I headed down the Minato Ward where the Tokyo Tower can be found. There I was to explore around for a few things, including Atago Jinja [愛宕神社], which was having a matsuri and thus crowded.

On my to-find list was, among other things, this mini-Inari shrine:

Then I headed down to Shiba Koen [芝大公園], Zojo-ji [増上寺] and the Tokyo Tower [東京タワー], just because I could.

I was to meet D****e back at Roppongi [六本木] to go up to the observatory in Roppongi Hills [六本木ヒルズ], but it did not pan out due to weird closing hours. However, we did manage a cool shoot or two of the Tokyo Tower lit up and the supermoon next to it.

We walked to Shibuya [渋谷], where we made a stop at Book Off. Money was spent XD

4th July 2012: Multitasking Day {Japan, summer 2012}

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4th of July is the USA’s Independence Day, and Gackt’s brithday and Akanishi Jin’s birthday and Massu’s birthday, so I renamed it multitasking day.

The day started with getting on the public transport and into the Yamanote Line towards Ueno Kōen [上野公園], Ueno Park, obviously in the Ueno [上野] area. In case anyone has missed this, I am a big CLAMP fan, and the Tokyo Babylon / X arch has a very important plot device in Ueno Park – it is the place where the Sakurazukamori can be found.

The Sakurazukamori is a cursed sakura (cherry) tree which grows on the human blood the Sakurazuka mystic assassin clan feeds them, the blood of their victims. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate the Sakurazukamori, but I was creepily amused to notice how many crows there were in the area. However with that many people around, I think Seishirou would have trouble hiding his kills in there XD I was wandering around for about an hour and a half.

A path in the middle of a park. Bright green trees close over it

Thus started my torii obsesion, looking at the entrance of Hanazono Inari Jinja [花園稲荷神社]. Torii [鳥居] are symbolic gates that separate holy grounds in Shinto – they are made out of stone or wood, in this case they tend to be painted bright orange or vermillion. They usually have two columns and two horizontal boards on top, the upper one is a bit curved upwards, and there is a plaque showing the name of the shrine. They sometimes have some writing on the back of the columns.

The entrance of a shrine, with a row of torii heading down some stairs

There are a lot of Museums in Ueno Park, and I chose the Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan [東京国立博物館], Tokyo National Museum, for a visit when the heat became too much. Yesterday it was supposed to thunderstorm, so I decided to go walk the park first and go to the Museum if / when it rained. In the end I went into the Museum when it did not rain XD. It was a tadbit too hot to wander around…

The Tokyo National Museum of Art is focused on Japanese culture and art (there’s a Western Museum of Art not that far away, also in Ueno) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art in the next corner.

The entrance of the National Museum of Art, a light grey building with a brick roof

I am not going to bluff and tell you how I appreciated the sliding doors art of the china art. I did, but let me be honest. The katana collections are the ones that made me flail:

A katana

After I was done with the Museum I needed to hunt down some food. I had two options, stay in Ueno and give a try to the Metropolitan or go somewhere else. In the end I decided to head off to the station, get food there and get into the Yamanote line [山手線] again until Hamamatsuchō [浜松町] where I sat on a park to eat my onigiri and get some rest. After that, I visited the San’en-zan Zōjō-ji [三縁山増上寺] Chief Temple of Jodo-Buddhist, which kind of was in my way.

A vermillion Buddhist temple which you need to access going up the stairs. A few people come and go

A wooden Buddhist temple building

Very, very pretty. But the actual reason I was in the area was the metallic structure you can guess to the right in the first picture. This is the area where Tokyo Tower [東京タワー]. Insert a huge fangirl squeal here. Aloud. just after coming out the station, when the tower was barely visible against the sky. Of course, however, I could not stay away XD.

As I mentioned before, there was supposed to be bad weather, so originally I did not have plans to climb it up yesterday but… I did anyway because there was good weather. I had decided to only go up to the main observatory (150 m high), but in the end I found myself asking for the special observatory combo ticket, which lets you go to the special observatory 250 m high (total height of tower is 333 m).

A view of Tokyo Tower from the ground. It is not a good picture, a bit burnt, but it shows the whole tower from afar

Tokyo Tower - a picture from the base upwards

Lots of CLAMP manga have important stuff happening in Tokyo Tower: in Tokyo Babylon, Subaru banishes a restless spirit, in X Kamui and Fuuma fight there as it is one of the Tokyo kekkai, in Clamp Gakuen Noboru wants to celebrate his birthday party there and in Magic Knight Rayearth, the three main characters meet there. Though let me tell you, I don’t know how three classrooms fit in here so they see each other when Emmeraude calls upon them:

A view of the observatory of Tokyo Tower

Yes, I took pictures inside the observatory, I took pictures from the view too, of course. Note Tokyo Bay and Rainbow Bridge, another of the kekkai.

Tokyo buildings from above, with a huge park in the foreground

Tokyo highrises

Tokyo Bay inlet and buildings around it

I even looked down

A glass floor shows the view of the streets below and Tokyo Tower structure underneath.

The day ended with a quick visit to Ebisu [ヱビス] Place (where MatsuJun gets stood up in Hana Yori Dango), a quick once-over Shibuya, katsukare for dinner and then falling kinda dead.

A square. A covered gallery is int he background

I made friends with a Shiba Inu who wanted petting and totally pwned jet lag. I also was misled into trying a horribly ocha (tea) drink that Tackey promoted on TV, which was… horrid. Lesson learnt. We don’t trust Tackey on drinks…

A bottle of tea soda