Our last two temples

Tokyo, Japan. There are so many compelling and beautiful temples and shrines in Tokyo that narrowing down the most compelling to visit before leaving here in a couple of days was difficult. But two stood out for different reasons and that’s how we spent the day.

The first destination was the Yasukini shrine. This shrine is devoted to the spirits of people who died in service of the Imperial crown of Japan. Founded in 1869, it is considered to hold the spirits of over 2 million people. It’s a large complex that attracts large numbers of visitors.

Adjacent to the shrine is the Yushukan military history museum. This museum was first opened in 1882 to house artifacts associated with Japanese war efforts and to chronicle Japanese progress during the years of their successful empire expansion. This was the place that displayed captured enemy spoils during World War II.

At the end of WWII, this museum was closed by occupying forces. The building was emptied of its contents and was rented to an insurance company. The insurance company left in 1980 and a few years later the museum was reopened. The museum has since attracted some controversy over what is considered to be its revisionist history of Japan’s war involvement.

We didn’t get to assess how revisionist this might have been because most of the museum was closed for renovation. But what we did see presented a pretty strong celebration of the achievements of the Japanese armed forces.

The first item on display in the museum is a Zero aircraft. This is the small nimble plane that almost won Japan the Pacific War in the early 1940s. It was a brilliant piece of design that took several years for American forces to counteract. Obviously, this plane is on display as a point of pride. In the gift shop, they sell different types of images of the plane, such as refrigerator magnets. The gift shop also sells the wartime version of the Japanese flag as well as items glorifying Japan’s past war efforts, including, for example, calendars with photos of war weaponry of the past and period reproductions of military toys.

There was a special exhibit of how Japanese servicemen men were fed during the war. The restaurant in the museum was featuring meals made entirely with the types of food found in WWII rations. We didn’t try these, but many tourists filled the restaurant. One would think from the exhibit that Japanese servicemen were extremely happy with their balanced and nutritious diets.

Outside of the museum were a number of statues representing heroic soldiers or families of the fallen.

One significant memorial is devoted to Radha binod Pal. Pal was a judge on the court that was assembled after WWII to address Japanese war crimes. He wrote a 1,000-page sole dissent against the court’s rulings that condemned Japan, supporting the Japanese defense during the trial. This clearly is the perspective supported in this museum — and perhaps by many Japanese as well. Visiting this museum after recently visiting Hiroshima underscores the complex issues that still circle around the causes and events of WWII.

We next traveled to Gōtokuji Temple, with somewhat misleading expectations. It is a Buddhist temple, known as the Cat Temple. We were told there were cats everywhere, and were looking forward to cuddling some kitties. Yes, the place was loaded with cats. However, not the furry kind.

These “beckoning cats” refer to a story about a cat who saved the lord of the manor from a lightning strike by beckoning him to move. They are supposedly harbingers of good luck, and you see them everywhere in these beautiful temple grounds. (Soon one will move to New York with us.)

Don’s Food Corner

It would seem that visiting just two temples would be an easy day. Alas, no. The distances between the two, as all distances in spread-out Tokyo, was greater than expected. We seemed to have traveled on subway lines for hours — changing trains and stations. I have no real idea where we were today. I just blindly followed what Google maps told us to do. (I’m finding that is often a mistake. But there are few options. There are no street names here. A old-timey paper map would be of no use.)

This travel experience cut into our food energies.

When we finally got back to the hotel, Jo opted to go back to the Indian restaurant that she liked yesterday. And today it was just as good. To keep her company, I ordered a small platter of dumplings, thinking that they would arrive as an appetizer before Jo got her meal. I should have known better. The dumplings arrived long after she was served and was actually almost done with her meal. But the dumplings were pretty good and almost worth the wait.

I was determined to have some sushi tonight. Near the hotel is a section packed with small restaurants — none of which had English signs or menus. I wandered around asking the restaurant shills standing outside of most of them: “Sushi?” After a few no’s, I was finally directed to a little hole in the wall.

I should have suspected something when I went in the door and it smelled a little fishy. But it was filled with Japanese, so I figured they should know. They didn’t. It was the worst sushi I’ve had so far in Japan. The sushi you can get in an average Japanese restaurant in New York is better — albeit at three times the price. While it didn’t taste tainted, the presentation was really sloppy. Not the tidy pillows of fish/rice that you would expect. But I ate it and, as I’ve said before, I’ve lived to tell the story. (I forgot to take a photo before I had already eaten most of it. Trust me, it wasn’t pretty.)

Things have cooled off

Tokyo, Japan We finally got to visit Tokyo’s most sacred temple, Sen so-Ji. If some of the pictures look familiar, it’s because we tried to visit it when we first arrived in Japan. We got to the outer gate, looked down the very long avenue lined with shops and restaurants, and gave up. It was 100°, the humidity was off the charts, and the crowds were gigantic.

Continue reading “Things have cooled off”

Imagine, if you will..

Tokyo, Japan …this gorgeous view of Mt. Fuji. It’s one we might have had from our Shinkansen today, had the weather not been so overcast.

We took our final bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo, as we now start to wind down our journey.

Our hotel turns out to be rather stunning — with a promised view of Mt. Fuji, weather permitting, as they always say. In the meanwhile, we can admire the interior views.

The view from our room is nice, even in the rain. We face Tokyo Tower, which gets lit up like the Empire State Building at night. I think we now have a Halloween theme.

After unpacking, we found our way back to Takashimaya, the absolutely magnificent real department store, where my new glasses awaited. Sad to say, we no longer have anything like it in New York anymore.

As one might have predicted, Mr. Sakai was out today. But we sent our regards, and picked up my new specs, which I expect will dazzle New York. You might see a photo if I can ever catch a better hair day. Would you believe it’s just as humid and almost as warm as when we left Tokyo a month ago?

Don’s Food Corner

Since we were in such a fancy old-timey department store, which featured a white-gloved elevator operator, I thought it would be neat to see if they still operated one of those grand restaurants that all fine department stores once featured. Unfortunately, just like American department stores, Takashimaya no longer has one either.

Instead they have two floors of small restaurants featuring different cuisines. It was like the Epcot center of restaurants. Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, American hamburger. And, wonder of wonders, a German restaurant that served SCHNITZEL. You-know-who became almost apoplectic when she spied the very word schnitzel.

The restaurant was closed when we got there. Despair set in. But then we found out that it was closed until 5 p.m. for “resting.” It was 4 30, so we waited.

It was all rather humorous. The young Japanese waitress was befuddled by our questions and demands — like no bell pepper sauce on the schnitzel. But she seemed to have embraced her role as a quasi-German because she had bleached her hair blond. (There are a lot of blond Japanese, both male and female.)

Besides the schnitzel, Jo ordered a salad that claimed to be cold ham salad. There was nothing traditional about it. It was a modern salad with arugula and radicchio as the main event and a sprinkling of some fried bits of pancetta. But that’s OK. The dressing was a bit of Balsamic vinegar. So German!

We were also brought a couple of slices of what the waitress called paté. We had to order a couple of slices of bread to go with the paté. The whole thing was completely flavorless, but it did come with a nice puddle of grainy mustard.

I ordered a platter of small sausages that had been promised to be served with German potatoes. The sausages, as flavorless as the pate, had a crispy skin, which was surprising. The potatoes were basic fried things with a few strands of onion fried along with them. No German would claim this dish as representative of his country.

Like all meals we’ve had in Japan, the various dishes did not come in any logical order or with any consideration that all the people at the table are to be served at the same time. Ultimately, however, the schnitzel arrived. Do I need to say that someone was disappointed? She can even be picky, if not crestfallen, in Vienna when it’s not exactly right. Here, well, the grading system was suspended out of pity. We couldn’t even determine was meat was used in this schnitzel attempt. Chicken? Pork? It didn’t matter. It was overcooked. Breading like sandpaper. Burned at the edges. And tough.

I warned Jo that this would be our last attempt at international cuisine in Japan. From now on it’s just Japanese. But that could include egg salad sandwiches from Family Mart. After all, it’s not just American tourists eating all those egg salad sandwiches; discerning Japanese are helping.

Climb every mountain…

Kyoto, Japan You heard it here first. I have climbed my last mountain in Japan.

Today we thought we would visit the Arashiyama Monkey Park, where a special breed of monkeys cavort at the top of a mountain. This was one of those sites where the guidebooks say it’s 20 minutes from the base to the top. Ha!!

The mountain top is only 160 meters, or 525 feet high. Doesn’t sound so bad, right? But it’s a very steep cliff with a trail composed of many rocky and winding switchbacks. They wind and they wind…

Our ability to actually make that climb was made possible through the miracle of modern medicine that includes, between both of us, two complete knee replacements and five major heart operations. Don’s smart phone tells us that we did over 11,000 steps and climbed 11 floors. There are some New York City doctors who should be proud of their work on our (very grateful) behalf.

Continue reading “Climb every mountain…”