Tokyo August 4

RKK and Meiji Shrine

Yesterday was all about tourism in Tokyo. Today, we were a little more serious and focused for most of the day on our relationship with RKK.  We celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Grand Sacred Hall with them.  The Hall is a very impressive building with a huge gilded Shakyamuni Buddha at the center of the altar. Shakyamuni is also known as Gautama Buddha, or Siddhartha.  RKK followers believe he was the first human to attain enlightenment, and he is referred to as Shakyamuni after enlightenment.

The ceremony consisted mostly of readings from the Lotus Sutra, which were beautiful.  We were fortunate that our guide Oroiko could translate and we had headsets to hear her translation.  After the formalities, the RKK people (who had come from many of their Dharma Centers for the occasion) split into small groups for "hoza," which is a time that they share their concerns with each other and help each other with issues large and small.  I liked that idea!

While they were meeting in the hozas, we had a tour of the front of the Great Sacred Hall and learned about the meaning of the decorations at the front.  Everything seems to have a purpose!  We also toured other buildings on the RKK campus. The most impressive to me was a museum to honor the founder of RKK, Nikkyo Niwano.  I loved an exhibit of enlarged photographs of his hands.  He was a musician and an artist as well as a spiritual leader.  We also visited a large reception hall with a Dharma Wheel theme.  I spent some extra time in the gardens, which were amazing.  Very peaceful.  The whole time was very spiritual.

We had lunch in the dining hall and then went to the Meiji Shrine, an oasis in the middle of the big city of Tokyo.  Again, we were in for VIP treatment.

Our guide was a Shinto priest.  He led us through the three Tori gates leading to the shrine, which are very beautiful.  It is very woodsy and in a completely natural setting but, if you look at a map, it is surrounded by city buildings.

Along the way, we learned about the history of the shrine and how barrels of beer and sake were donated to raise money for the construction of the shrine, but mostly they were drunk by the priests and students.  The shrine itself is modest, and we learned to bow twice, clap twice and bow again to attract the attention of the "kamis" who are the ones who are worshiped.  I won't go into that theology as I am not sure I understand it...other than to say there are many kamis and they are the oceans, mountains, rivers, trees, and all of nature.  They are the little things as well as the big.  The highlight of this visit was being invited to participate in an actual Shinto service.  It was very beautiful, and very restrained. We couldn't drink water or eat any food on the Meiji Shrine grounds, but we were offered a glass of sake at the the conclusion of the ceremonies.  I found that interesting.

We stayed in the area for dinner that night at local restaurants, and split into smaller groups.  I ate with a group at a restaurant called Jonathan's.  We assumed it was an English-speaking place, but we were wrong.  There was only one English menu for the whole restaurant!  We got it, and ordered by pointing to what we wanted.  The waitress was very nervous about us, and even became intimidated when one of our party ordered sake.  Everyone got what they ordered except for my friend Carol....and she said she thought what she got was better than what she ordered.  I had a hamburger with avocado and it was delicious.  Carol and I split off from the group and took a cab back to the RKK headquarters.  When I handed the driver the address, he couldn't read it. Luckily,we had her number, she was available and could help him with the directions.  He had to talk to her to get to the general area and then called again when we were there because the RKK campus is pretty big and he wasn't sure exactly where we should be let off.  I think a cab driver in the USA might have just left us close and drove off.  The Japanese, though, were very concerned about treating us well.  We got back in time to watch a showing of the documentary, Pictures From a Hirsoshima Schoolyard, in preparation for the trip to Hiroshima tomorrow.  I have to admit that I kept dozing off!  Again, I had a short, late, bath and was in bed at about 11 pm.  Long days, but good memories!

Tokyo! August 3

Waking up on August 3, I realized that I really was in Tokyo.  What a city!  It's the largest in the world....in terms of population.

At the RKK world headquarters, they have a cafeteria and our first order of the day was to learn how to purchase breakfast.  Because of the "extreme hospitality" that we experienced throughout our trip, we had help.  It was a unique process.  The various choices were displayed in a cabinet--the descriptions all in Japanese.  We had to purchase tickets from a machine (also all Japanese) and then present the tickets at the right counter. They had someone stationed at the machine so we could describe what we wanted and get help with the ticket purchase.  Although tea was included with meals, coffee was separate and required another ticket.  This is a good time to talk about the money.  Although there are fluctuations, the value is approximately 100 yen to one dollar US.  This seems very inflationary, but it doesn't seem to bother anyone in Japan.  Along those lines, the breakfasts at RKK were reasonable and were about 300 yen.  However, as I recall it, the coffee was 200 yen.  It was worth it--it was so good.  The breakfasts were mostly Japanese and included noodle soup as well as omelets (which the Japanese love) and various fruits. With the help of the RKK people who assisted us, I always got what I wanted.

After the breakfast, we boarded a tour bus for a general tour of Tokyo.  Highlights of that tour were a visit to the Imperial Palace and a tea ceremony.  We couldn't actually go into the Imperial Palace, but we visited the grounds....which are amazing.  This is the double-arched bridge:

And this is a group photo in front of that bridge:

The Imperial Palace is a very popular spot and there were busloads of people there.  Here is a line of buses:

The tea ceremony was special for our group.  It was very traditional, and those who received tea needed to sit on the mats....this was hard, as it lasted a long time.  I did it, and had to keep shifting my weight. At the end, the ones who were seated on chairs were also served.  The whole thing was very formal and very beautiful.  Here is one of the women who served the tea:

We had lunch at the restaurant in the Hotel Okura and enjoyed a meal in the teppanyaki style.  It's very similar to Benihana here.  The beef was especially fabulous.  I took a picture of some of my fellow travelers---Carol, Margaret and Melinda--at the restaurant, waiting for the chef to serve us;

We then went to Senso-ji Temple--at least, I think that is the name.  It is very beautiful and there are several buildings, in the compound  including a five-story pagoda.  We spent a short time there, and I think we all wished we could have had more time.  I think a person could spend a whole day exploring here, but we had other plans.

We boarded a boat for a ride down the river that would get us closer to the baseball stadium where we planned to watch some Japanese baseball.  It was hot, even on the river, but we enjoyed the boat ride.  One of the things we saw was the headquarters of one of the brewing companies and the building is supposed to look like a beer mug with foam on top.  BTW, Japanese beer is very good!  There is also a strange shape in this picture.  It was supposed to be a flame to inspire Japanese youth, but somehow the plans were not cleared and it was not approved to be installed upright.  It ended up on the side---looking sort of like a blob that could inspire many crazy comments, rather than hard work and study.  The boat in the picture is similar to the one we were in.

The ball game was great, even though it was the Swallows.  We had hoped to see the Tokyo Carps, but they were sold out.  I loved being there and drinking Japanese beer.  Japanese love their baseball and follow the heroes who have made it to MLB teams in the USA.  It is especially fun when the home team scores a run.  Fans unfold tiny transparent umbrellas and bob them.  I didn't get a picture, though.   I bought a t-shirt for Griffin and a folding fan for myself.  Go Swallows!!!!!  This picture was taken before the game started.  It actually was very crowded.

We took the Tokyo subway back to RKK and that was a fun adventure, too.  We had to change trains, and I was greatful for the leadership of Gretchen Jones, who knew how to navigate the Tokyo subway.  I really had no idea how to get back to RKK, but she did.  Another hot bath and a sound sleep when we got back to our rooms.

Arrival in Japan

I embarked on a Peace Pilgramage to Japan with 36 other Unitarian Universalists from All Souls Church in Washington DC.  Reverend Robert Hardies was our spiritual leader.  Here is a link that gives an overview of the trip and some information about Rissho Kosei-Kai, who were our hosts for most of the trip:  http://www.all-souls.org/heiwa-2014

I am posting this after returning to Washington DC as there was too much to do on the trip and I didn't always have internet access.

We left Dulles Airport at 12:25 pm on August 1 and arrived at Narita airport (near Tokyo) at 3:10 pm, but it was August 2.  When we arrived, we had to assemble in one spot and then move to the Japan Rail Pass desk.  It took quite a while there because passports for the group had to be recorded and rail passes issued.  I was finding that travelling with a group required very sophisticated logistics.  As a result, I developed a deep appreciation of our leaders who had to make sure everyone got to where they needed to be.  This was a constant throughout the trip and the leaders always succeeded, despite some crazy challenges.  There were 37 in our group, which was inter-generational--the youngest being 12 and the oldest 82.   Some of the group had traveled separately but, by the end of the Japan Rail Pass process (which took a couple of hours), we were all together and boarded a bus for Tokyo.   The ride to Tokyo seemed long.....I had gotten very little sleep on the plane and so was feeling tired.  I still couldn't sleep, though.  I was filled with anticipation

We arrived at Rissho Kosei-kai world headquarters and got our room assignments.  They made us feel very welcome.

I had a nice room with a deep bathtub. Although it was late, we hadn't had dinner and so gathered in a room for bento boxes and reflection on the journey so far and expectations.  It was after 10 when we went to our rooms for the evening.  I took a bath in a deep tub and had no trouble going to sleep.