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A DAY WITH SOHSUKE:
Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan.
October 13th, 2013, 12:05am.
Oops! I didn't finish blogging yesterday. I was just to tired!!! I had a great day yesterday (the 13th) with Sohsuke! Sohsuke is a younger Japanese resident who spent 2 years in Canada as a student. He befriended my Auntie Kari- so that's how we got into contact. He so kindly showed us around Harajuku, and The Meiji Shrine. We had a little trouble at first, though. In the morning, at the Chinzan-so Hotel, we went for breakfast, this time at a Western Restaurant. Aaaah! What a nice break from Japanese food that was. I had scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and the best orange juice I've ever had in my life. They hand squeeze fresh oranges and serve you real orange juice!!! Nothing else added! It was delicious! I really need to buy a juicer when I get home. Anyways, after we ate breakfast, we had to hurry up and get our stuff and check out of the hotel. We walked all the way backdown to the Edogawabashi Station, and took a line to the Ikebukuro Station. That was a main station, so we decided to drop our luggage off there. That way, we didn't have to carry it around everywhere. We easily, and luckily, found lockers big enough for our bags. We got two that were right beside each other! What are the chances of that? I hope we have that kind of luck in the future...
So we took another line from the Ikebukuro Station and ended up in Harajuku. We were half an hour late, but we made it! It was bright and sunny and full of people. We got Sohsuke's and our meeting place, suddenly realizing that we had no idea what the heck he looked like! Before, we assumed that it would be easy... Oh he's Asian, he'll stick out. *Sigh...* We sort of forgot this whole country is inhabited by Asians. Oh well, luckily there was WiFi, so we were able to pull up his Facebook page and see what he looks like. It didn't help much, but we got an idea. About another half an hour later, there was still no sign of him. So we pulled out a piece of lined paper and scribbled, "SOHSUKE" on it. You can imagine how silly that looked. We waited and waited, and after we were getting a little frustrated that he wasn't answering Real's texts and emails, he decided to call him. An Asian man picked up the phone- but it wasn't Sohsuke. Turns out Real had been texting the wrong number! After figuring everything out, and getting a hold of the real Sohsuke, (hahahaha! Real Sohsuke.) we decided to meet across the street. "Meet at da Gee Aye Pee!" We looked around and saw nothing like that... All we could see was the GAP Store. Real and I exchanged glances and laughed out loud. I guess they call it different here.
We finally met him once we made it to THE GAP. He was huge!! Probably about 6 feet tall! That was good for us, because if we ever got lost or separated from him, all we had to do was scan the horizon of heads and see his entire top half of his body sticking out above anything else. It's kind of how I pictured my dad would look in this mess of people. Except I'm sure he'd stick out 10X more because he doesn't look the slightest bit Japanese and can only really say, "Hai!" in the language. The word means "yes," but my dad just adds it at the end of every sentence to sound more Asian. Actually, because of that, every time I hear people saying, "Ohhh! Hai! Hai! Hai!" I think of him! I miss him!
So before Sohuke took us anywhere, he took us to the Meiji Shrine. It was a beautiful walk to get there. The ground was all gravel and the massive trees on either side reached out to touch each other above our heads. It was like walking trough a tall tunnel with only fragments of sunshine peeking through the branches. I could hear people talking, laughing, and their feet crunch under them. I could also hear cars and buses, since the street was not to far away. The wind blowing through the leaves could be heard over all these other sounds, and that was probably my favourite part.
I quickly started noticing the crowd that was there. It was all families and young children. Sohsuke's English was a little bit rusty- understandable, but rusty. He told us that this was the day where they celebrate 3 year olds, 5 year olds, and 7 year olds. I looked around again and noticed that they were all wearing traditional clothing. The 3, 5, and 7 year olds, boys and girls were wearing Kimonos. Well, I'm not sure if the boys were wearing Kimonos, but they looked similar. A more masculine variation of it. It was so cute because they had their hair done, their bows on, and they were wearing their traditional socks and flipflop shoes. The boys even had little samurai swords (probably just toys) sticking on the side of their belts. It was adorable. The 7 year olds looked proud and happy to be wearing them. The 5 year olds looked happy, but you could tell they didn't care as much. And most of the three year olds were just toddling around, playing with the rocks, or being carried. The odd few though, were wailing bloody murder. They must have been so hot in those things! All I could think of while watching them cry was that they must be saying, "GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!" Real snapped a couple pictures.
Along the way, we saw a couple dressed even more formally! The woman had a beautiful white shawl-like hat drapped over her head. It reminded me of something from Star Wars... Sohsuke noticed me looking, so he pointed to them and said, "wedding!" It was beautiful! I wished I could have seen the ceremony! To any of you reading this blog, you should go on Google Images and search "Traditional Japanese Bride," or something, and take a look at the beautiful clothes they wear.
Anyways, once we got to the Shrine, we had to cleanse ourselves before entering. This was what I was talking about before. So, at the fountain, you take a coin in your left hand, take the cup, and pour the water over your hand and your coin. Then, you switch hands and do the same. Then you switch hands again, and cleanse your mouth. You don't have to swallow the water though. So with the remaining water in the cup, you tilt it so that the rest of the water cleanses the handle. Now you are ready to enter through the gate! Right at the entrance, there is a little lip/ledge thing of wood. You aren't supposed to step on it, Sohsuke told us. He said to make sure you step OVER it.
Once we were in, I noticed another wall of little plaques, like the ones I saw at the Fox Shrine. Remember how I said I wished I knew what they meant?! Well, now I do! You're supposed to take a plaque, and right a wish/prayer/dream on it. A common Japanese prayer is to wish for good health to you and your family. So that is exactly what I did. I wrote on it, "I pray for health and happiness for my family. To live long, prosperous lives, and for my Mother to recover from her illness." I then signed it, dated it, and placed it on the wall with all the others. The wall surrounds a large tree, which is supposed to mean they will be shown to the Gods so that they will be answered. It was very peaceful and meaningful to me. I felt like I contributed to the culture in my own way. It was nice to hear them clacking together in the wind, too. We then went up to the actual Shrine and prayed. This is where you throw the washed coin. It's an offering to the Gods, which is why it needs to be cleansed upon entering the Shrine. Uhg I wish I could explain it better! The actual Shrine is a big building. Everything else like the gate and the tree are outside. And you aren't allowed into the Shrine- just at the entrance where you can throw your offering into a big square container and pray. I watched people praying. They bow twice, clap their hands together twice, and then pray for a while. People behind them always respectfully wait for them to be done praying before they try to go up- no matter how long the prayer is. We exited the area to the right, and continued along a similar tunnel like path filled with trees and children. It actually looped all the way back! We walked across the street and followed Sohsuke to our second destnation...
Takes***a Street. The home of the Harajuku Girls. Man!!! I could stay here for HOURS!!! There was everything you could possibly imagine there! Everything from a drugstore, to a hippie store, to a mainstream fashion store, to a 100 yen store! (That's a dollar store by the way.) Nothing could compare to the store that we entered near the end though. It was like a Cosplay/Costume/Lingerie/Japanese Clothing store. Everything had tons of beautiful feathers, sparkles, sequins, chains, buttons, ties, laces- honestly it was like I died and went to heaven. The store halls were so packed, I almost had to remove my backpack to fit! Real and I found this beautiful modern kimono type house coat for really cheap, so we caved and bought it. I love it though. It's red and has a Japanese pattern with frills and lace! I'll post pictures of it later...
Once we walked all the way through Takes***a Street, which was far from a disappointment, we went through a more quiet rural-suburban area. Real was loving it, all because of the fine architecture and design. He was pointing out the beautiful concrete wood replicas, when a very french man with a heavy accent came up and said, " Verri fine architecture indeed!" They talked for a bit and stuff. Actually, since we got here, we've met tons of people! I've met people from Germany, Sweden, France, Austria, England and India so far! Most of which are here on business trips, but some are travelling or teaching!
So Sohsuke took us to a "secret" cafe where we had pork and spaghetti, tomato soup, and of course, rice. I was so hungry, I ate it all!!! It was so yummy. This is where we gave Sohsuke his gift, too. I'll tell you a little about it first though. We asked him if he missed anything from Canada. He said he missed Kari, of course, but he also missed A&W. So, at the table, we pull out an A&W bag. "What's this?" He asked... He opened it and burst into laughter. We had given him an A&W mug and some burger seasoning, so that he can at least try and make his burgers taste like A&W's. We also gave him some salt and sugar packets straight from the restaurant to fill in the mug and make the gift look nicer. He loved it so much, he instantly took a picture of it!! It was funny. We were so thankful for him taking us around Harajuku, it was the least we could do!
Next we walked a little more through the buildings, and ended up back in Shibuya. I don't know how that happened!!! But while Real and Sohsuke went to Mosburger for a tea, I went back to the store, "109." Ah I loved it when Michiko took us here, but I didn't have time to do any shopping! I power shopped through all 7 floors, but didn't end up finding anything. A little discouraged, I went to Mosburger to meet them. By then, it was already 6:00pm, and Sohsuke had to leave. He took us to the Shibuya Station (where we saw Hatchiko again!!!) and we were sent on our way...
However, our day wasn't over yet. Everyone we had met so far had told us that Asakusa is a must. Now, if this name looks familiar, don't worry. It looked familiar for me too. Akasaka is where we stayed at our first hotel. Unfortunately for us Canadians, Asakusa has a very similar name. Even though we were a little confused, we somehow ended up in the right place. By now, I was exhausted... But I wanted to see everything this city has to offer. I was actually so tired that I felt really sick and dehydrated. We stopped to get something to eat. We ate at KFC (bad choice) and felt a little bit better after getting something into our stomachs. It was gross though. If KFC isn't gross enough in Canada, it's worse here. And even more shocking is that THEY DON'T HAVE POPCORN CHICKEN! What is this madness? Anyways, as we were sitting, I decided to try on that beautiful new kimono-like house coat I got on. It fit like a glove! I told Uncle Real he should try it on too!! And of course, he did. He took it a little further than I expected, though... He wore it all the way down the street until we reached the Senso-ji Temple. He wasn't wearing his glasses, so he couldn't see all the people staring and laughing... Not that he cared anyways. He danced all the way down the street in his kimono while I carried both backpacks and snapped photos of him. What a laugh I had. My laughter quickly turned to amazement though as I realized where we were.
The Senso-ji Temple is one of the most recommended, famous temples in Tokyo. Please search a picture of this one... But be aware, it's nothing like this. There are rows and rows of tiny shops linning both sides of the pathway as you walk up to the gates. They were all closed by this time though, but it was a peaceful change from the busy street of Harajuku. As we exited the little labyrinth of shops, my jaw dropped and I cupped my hand over my mouth. This gate was so big. It was beautiful from top to bottom. This was only the gate though... If I had known what to expect behind it, I would have fully prepared myself. But, I wasn't ready. And upon entering this walkway and seeing the actual temple, I just burst into tears. Honestly- I just started sobbing! I don't even know why I cried so much, it was just so overwhelming to see how beautiful this temple was. I had so many mixed emotions flowing through me I didn't even know what to do with myself. I was happy because I was able to have this experience and to see this breathtaking piece of art, but I was also sad in that I couldn't share it with everyone in the world. I was sad that some people will never get the opportunity to come to this place and witness the elegance of everything around me at that moment. I looked around a little more, and saw another beautiful building- this time a 5 storied pagoda. And straight across from it, was a perfect view of the Tokyo Tower. What an amazing contrast, to see the city for its seniority and also for its youth, all at the same time. You have to understand too that by this time of night, everything was pitch black in the sky, and only city lights and spot lights lit up these structures. Which all made it that much more beautiful. I'm so happy that we went to Asakusa when we did, because any other time would have been busting with tourists and locals. The lack of people and noise brought a sense of peace to the whole area, where Real and I could move freely around without worrying about running into others. And we could observe and take in the views in near silence. Unable to quit sobbing, we left the Temple and visited a near-by graveyard. It was literally right beside the Temple, which makes me think that someone extremely important must buried there. Everything on the tomb stones were written in Kanji. It was still a nice little touch of history to have been able to experience.
We continued along, and walked through a couple more alleyways of restaurants and shops. The restaurants were jam packed full of hungry customers, but the shops were all closed down. It was sort of interesting, though, because instead of regular shop doors, they all had garage-like doors, and they were decorated with hundreds of different Japanese art. I instantly thought of my Auntie Kari, knowing she'd have so much appreciation for this. I knew we were missing out on the shops, but I thought, would we have ever known that these amazing paintings were on the doors if all the shops were open?
We finally found ourselves at another train station, and of course, we had to make a pit stop in Ikebukuro to grab our luggage. It was a scavenger hunt, to say the least. Ikebukuro is a main station, and the JR line runs through it. That means it's really busy and really big! Feeling disoriented, we asked two separate people where the lockers were. Luckily they have maps that can be read by locker number, so all we had to do was show our key and they pointed us in the right direction. We finally found it after about 20 minutes...
Onto the next station apparently! We went to Yotsuya Station, which is what I thought was the closest station. Apparently- it's not. Already exhausted from our busy day, we had to walk for almost half an hour trying to figure out where this stupid hostel was! On top of that, I knew Real was freaking out a little, because we both didn't know what to expect at this place. He's been doing really well though! I'm super proud!
So, we find the place, get there, and holy cow. It's a slight down size from the Chinzan-so. And maybe a slight down-grade, too. There ain't no sliding curtains here!!! There's people's stuff EVERYWHERE! Real had to move someone's bag out of the way of our locker, and all of his stuff fell out on the floor!!! Swearing and cussing, Real shoved everything back into the suitcase and tossed it aside. In the meantime, everyone is sleeping in these capsules right next to us! It's already midnight since it took us so long to get here! Anyways, It's just a big mess. Shoes are everywhere, clothes are everywhere.... I took a look at my bed and decided, okay. I'm just going to bring all my stuff up to my bed with me, It works, too! Since I'm so short, I have room at the end of my capsule to put all my things. I sleep crunched up, too, so that makes it easier too. Basically everything that happened was a blur after that. I was so tired and sore that I just passed out cold. I didn't even notice how hard the bed was. I did this morning though, that's for sure! But I'll continue today's story in a different blog... This one's getting kind of long anyways.
Well, I'm sorry I didn't write an entry yesterday... I'll try and keep on it!!! Stay tuned for today's blog! :)
Love always,
Lindsay Lehr
- comments
shirley Wow, that must have been SO exhausting! But also extremely interesting. It's so good you're writing this all down, as it seems to have a way of sometimes forgetting just where/when these things happened. Keep it up Linds!
Kari Lehr I started crying when I read about your reaction to the temple... I can just imagine it. It's that combination of art and spirit that is just so profoundly moving. I'm so grateful you've taken the time to write this blog, Lindsay!