Trips

Sun., 10/9/ - Tokyo

This morning the group used 5 taxis to get to the district of Asakusa for a Japanese “drum experience” at Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten. In the lobby of the drum studio were two portable Shinto Shrines that could be carried in street festivals.

Once in the sound-proof room, the 30-year-old master drummer played a 5 minute composition he had created. He used 5 different drums. Then he explained how drums are made. A cow hide (or horse hide for smaller drums) is stretched over both ends of a wooden cylinder and fastened with ropes or nails. The wood is usually hollowed out (by machine) cedar or elm tree trunks, carved on the outside by hand, and dried for three years. The ropes can be tightened or loosened to adjust the tone. The nailed ones are toned before being nailed. They often tune them just by ear but it can be done with a meter. We then each got a drum and two sticks and copied his strokes to play out a rhythm. It was a good experience.

Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten	Varieties of drums
Display of drums - presumably for sale	Lots of drum sticks
Portable Shinto shrine - for carrying during street festivals	Drum performance
Drum performance	Drum performance
Following the leader	After the drum experience, we walked to the Senso-ji complex that contains a shrine and a temple in a public park. The group entered the Senso-ji complex through the Nitenmon Gate, visited the Asakusa Shrine, and then exited through the Hozomon Gate into a very crowded arcade where people were standing in long lines waiting to get into restaurants. There were lots of souvenir shops but we had no time to shop. There were men and women pulling rickshaws through the crowded pedestrian streets and there were fortune telling sheets along the arcade.
Nitenmon Gate	Asakusa Shinto Shrine- 5-story pagoda
Asakusa Shrine	One of the two stone dog statues at the entrance to the Asakusa Shrine
Another stone dog statue	In Japan it is the custom for 5-year-old boys and 3- and 7-year-old girls to observe the Shinto custom of Shichi-go-san. This family event traditionally takes place on or around November 15. At this time the children and their families visit shrines to pray for health and prosperity as the child grows. To celebrate the event, the children are dressed in traditional kimonos (usually lent or rented). The photos below are of children dressed for their Shichi-go-san event.
	Main Hall - Kannondo Hall
Hall façade detail	Young women in traditional dress
Incense burner was in front of the main entrance - people were “bathing in the smoke” to cure them from what ever ailed them or to purify themselves before entering the temple.	Hozomon Gate
Other side of the Hozomon Gate
Lantern in the Hozomon Gate	Lantern in the Hozomon Gate
Crowds along Nakamise street	Saki barrels
Interesting sign	Example of Nishik-e - Japanese traditional art
This looks like hard work	Women are rickshaw "drivers" as well
Lunch was at a fish restaurant. Carol ordered nothing but got miso soup and rice and two grilled shrimp. Gail and Gale got chicken fried in corn starch. Gale also had rice and a watery pumpkin and corn soup. Dessert was green tea pudding - not a favorite.
The menu	The grill was right at our table
Grilled shrimp	A $3 beer
Animal Cafe - no, you don't eat them From Google: "Have you heard of “Animal Cafe”?? It might sound a bit crazy but it’s literally the place you can enjoy drink and playing with/watching animals at the same time! Animal Cafe industry has become huge on market in last couple of years in Tokyo and now it’s even one of the most popular attractions for foreign visitors! The selection of animal cafes are really various in Tokyo! Find the cafe with your favourite animal and spend the most precious time with them!"	When we took our first orientation walk in Tokyo, we noticed what looked like a roller coaster a few blocks down the main street and that is what it turned out to be: Tokyo Dome City which is an amusement park in the Bunkyo district of the city - district where our hotel was located. After today's visits, there was some spare time and we walked down for a closer look and, of course, to take some photos. The roller coaster (the Thunder Dolphin) is just amazing. It has very steep pitches and even passes through an opening built into the wall of an office building. Fun to see!
Tokyo Dome City - Thunder Dolphin roller coaster	Thunder Dolphin roller coaster
Thunder Dolphin	Thunder Dolphin and Big O centerless Ferris wheel
Thunder Dolphin	Big O
Sky Flower Parachute Drop	Thunder Dolphin
Window display showing dishes served at the Bubba Gump restaurant at Tokyo Dome City	Service station in the city

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