As part of my "let's discover Tokyo"
mission (and as promised), I went to Ueno Park - just 20 minutes north of
central Tokyo. The park is expansive with many trees and green areas
(duh! it wouldn’t be a park
without those things would it now) as well as several museums, some
temples/shires, restaurant and a Starbucks (YUP! – a Starbucks in the middle of
a national park in Japan). There
is also a zoo! A ZOO! A BIG zoo with monkeys….lots of
monkeys! I love monkeys! I HAD to see the monkeys so I bought my
ticket and took a detour from the stroll in the park to see the monkeys…monkeys, monkeys, monkeys!
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| tree right over Starbucks...I made sure to crop the pict so the Starbucks would not interfere with this awesome tree! |
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| some of the trees and green areas in Ueno Park |
What started as a day of touristy exploration
quickly turned into a long, reflective walk. There is something about being surrounded by nature, vast
and all-powerful nature that makes my brain and soul go from excited curiosity
to a deep sense of peace and contentment.
Under my totally awesome state of mind I walked aimlessly around the
park feeling highly spiritual. The
world was in perfect harmony and so was I! That feeling was briefly interrupted when I saw the
Starbucks, but it came back shortly after.
There was a gigantic pond with gigantic leaves
growing out of it and a Shinto
shrine (or Buddhist temple, I don’t have a handle on the difference between the
two yet) smacked right on the center of the pond – the temple/shrine is called Benten-do. There is a lot of history surrounding
that shrine/temple/pond and the whole park for that matter but between you and
I Ueno Park and it’s history, as it turns out, are NOT the main focus of this
blog posting. For info about Ueno
Park, click here http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3019.html
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the gigantic pond...
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| leaves, plants growing in/from the gigantic pond - what are these called? |
The main focus
of this blog posting is that shrine/temple I mentioned a few lines ago and the
other, 100’s of thousands shrines and temples in Japan. In Japan they practice Shintoism
(original Japanese religion revolving around innumerable gods) and Buddhism
(imported from China in the 6th Century revolving, well….around
Buddha). Shinto shrines and Buddhist
temples are present in every direction you turn around the city. In them, I see people ringing bells,
well ONE gigantic bell, they clap, they bow and some even chant. They wash their hands; they burn
incense. It intrigues me. So Benten-do in Ueno Park got me thinking
that this blog entry could be a good opportunity to do a little research.
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| these fountains are often seen in front of Temples/Shrines...will get the scoop on them.... |
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| make a donation, take the incense stick and light it |
I want to tell
you what I have learned about Shrines and Temples, Temples and Shrines. Of course my findings come from sources
such as Wikipedia and other travel guides which barely scratch the surface on
this VERY ancient topic, but at least we will have a general idea for the next
time Shintoism and Buddhism come up in casual conversation around the water
cooler in the office or the dinner table at home – hahahaha!
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| there is the GIGANTIC "bell"... |
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| these gate/pathways lead to a shrine or a temple...I have seen these around often...are they Shinto or Buddhist??? |
I will leave you
with this for now and in a day or two when I have all my info organized I will
tell you what the fountain by the entrance, the ever burning incense, the
ginormous bell, the clapping and the bowing I see people doing are all about.
Until then, tell
me…where do you live? What
places/cities are near you that you have not visited but would like to see one
day?
Let the
exploration continue….
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