Thursday, September 28, 2006
Japan: Even their airports are cleaner than ours
So I got to have real-life conversations with real-life Japanese people yesterday! Who doesn't relish the feel of asking the clerk at the front desk where to buy sunblock? Who can't but gasp in sheer delight at the wonder of asking the lady at the yakitori shop if there's room for 5 people inside? Okay, probably most people. Simple pleasures for simple people, I guess.
So I went sightseeing with five other girls yesterday. First we stopped in Roppongi to see the Imperial Palace. Unfortunately, the gardens there are several square miles in size, so we only got to see the tiniest portion of them. We all posed for pictures in front of Nijubashi Bridge, which is a very famous bridge that shows up in a lot of movies, including "The Last Samurai."
From the palace it was a short walk to the Diet Building, where Japan's parliament meets. I found to my chagrin that 'Diet' is just the English word for it--when I asked random people where the Diet Building was they looked at me like I was nuts. Their word for it is Kokkai. Where in the world does 'Diet' come from?
Then we rode the train over to Zojoji Temple a very famous temple that was built over a thousand years ago and served as the family temple of the Tokugawa clan that ruled the country as shogun for 250 years. Inside the main temple was a giant statue of Amida Buddha. To the right were Jizo statues, which supposedly protect the souls of dead children. Bereaved mothers will knit caps and leave toys for the statues. At the back of the temple was a graveyard and a monument to several Tokugawa shoguns buried there.
Tokyo Tower was only about 1/2 of a mile away from Zojoji, and I got some *beautiful* pictures of the temple with the tower looming in the background. Then like any self-respecting anime fan I had to go to the tower and take a couple of pictures there, too. For those of my viewers that don't watch anime, Tokyo Tower is almost always the location of the final battle between the good guys and the bad guys in any show with magical powers. Card Captor Sakura, Tenchi Muyo, X, Magic Knights Rayearth, Sailor Moon, and many, many other anime all had final show-downs on top of the tower. So it was really an amazing experience to finally see in person something I've seen a thousand times on TV.
When we got back to the hotel we found that the Japanese cleaning services take their responsibilities *very* seriously. All of the toiletries in my bathroom had been neatly organized, and Emily across the hall found all of her clothes neatly folded and set at the foot of her bed. I'm not so sure how I feel about total strangers rifling through my dirty clothes...
I finally figured out how to use the toilet in my room! Yay! It comes with a water-conserving option, a bidet, a water spray, and an option for changing the pressure and temperature of the water. Note to Japan: seriously, guys, if you need three instruction stickers, and the poor gaijin STILL takes 10 minutes to figure out how to flush, you might want to consider whether the toilet's a little too complicated.
Today we're heading to Ueno, which has a huge garden full of museums and temples. I can't wait!
Love you guys!
|
So I went sightseeing with five other girls yesterday. First we stopped in Roppongi to see the Imperial Palace. Unfortunately, the gardens there are several square miles in size, so we only got to see the tiniest portion of them. We all posed for pictures in front of Nijubashi Bridge, which is a very famous bridge that shows up in a lot of movies, including "The Last Samurai."
From the palace it was a short walk to the Diet Building, where Japan's parliament meets. I found to my chagrin that 'Diet' is just the English word for it--when I asked random people where the Diet Building was they looked at me like I was nuts. Their word for it is Kokkai. Where in the world does 'Diet' come from?
Then we rode the train over to Zojoji Temple a very famous temple that was built over a thousand years ago and served as the family temple of the Tokugawa clan that ruled the country as shogun for 250 years. Inside the main temple was a giant statue of Amida Buddha. To the right were Jizo statues, which supposedly protect the souls of dead children. Bereaved mothers will knit caps and leave toys for the statues. At the back of the temple was a graveyard and a monument to several Tokugawa shoguns buried there.
Tokyo Tower was only about 1/2 of a mile away from Zojoji, and I got some *beautiful* pictures of the temple with the tower looming in the background. Then like any self-respecting anime fan I had to go to the tower and take a couple of pictures there, too. For those of my viewers that don't watch anime, Tokyo Tower is almost always the location of the final battle between the good guys and the bad guys in any show with magical powers. Card Captor Sakura, Tenchi Muyo, X, Magic Knights Rayearth, Sailor Moon, and many, many other anime all had final show-downs on top of the tower. So it was really an amazing experience to finally see in person something I've seen a thousand times on TV.
When we got back to the hotel we found that the Japanese cleaning services take their responsibilities *very* seriously. All of the toiletries in my bathroom had been neatly organized, and Emily across the hall found all of her clothes neatly folded and set at the foot of her bed. I'm not so sure how I feel about total strangers rifling through my dirty clothes...
I finally figured out how to use the toilet in my room! Yay! It comes with a water-conserving option, a bidet, a water spray, and an option for changing the pressure and temperature of the water. Note to Japan: seriously, guys, if you need three instruction stickers, and the poor gaijin STILL takes 10 minutes to figure out how to flush, you might want to consider whether the toilet's a little too complicated.
Today we're heading to Ueno, which has a huge garden full of museums and temples. I can't wait!
Love you guys!
|
