All the signs

Shortly after moving to Tokyo, I walked into the DLC (Driver's License Center) and walked out with a valid Japanese drivers license.  Thanks to a special agreement between Washington state and Japan (also available for Hawaii and Maryland), I didn't have to take an exam or anything.  I still can't believe they do that.  Whenever I see a traffic sign I don't know, or think about the craziness of driving in Tokyo, I am floored that they just hand them over.

I have not used my license to get behind a wheel at all since obtaining it.  The thought of driving in Tokyo simply freaks me out.

Today I actually got a lesson in traffic safety when we took our son to the Oizumi Traffic Logical Park.  It was a 45 minute bike ride to get there, which resulted in a bit of complaining right before we arrived.  He gets tired of being on the back of the bike for anything longer than a half hour ride.  I can't blame him.  It gets tedious and his seat isn't exactly cushy.

He had no idea what to expect, and frankly, it wasn't what I was imagining either.  As soon as we arrived, my husband registered our son by completing a short questionnaire with our son's name, what level of school he s in, gender, and what type of bike he wanted to use.

The day was cold (10°C/50°F), but beautiful blue skies.  The park had lots of families there, but it wasn't crowded by any means.  My son immediately ran up to the pedal cars and hopped on.  Pedaling similarly to a bike, he moved the car with ease around the track winding its way around playground equipment.

Getting a lesson from dad about the meaning of different signs.

He had to follow the traffic signs and stay in his lane.  Within minutes of getting behind the wheel, my son exclaimed with glee, "The ride here was so worth it!"

After completing a couple loops, he was ready to switch vehicles.  There is a small parking lot filled with various sized children's bikes.  Some had training wheels, other did not.  There were also several bins filled with helmets in case kids didn't bring their own.  (I'm pretty sure kids cannot ride their own bikes at the park.)

The bike path consists of a lot more signs, including electric traffic signals.  Kids get to choose right or left and to go on this route or that one.  Paths wind around and lanes merge and veer off.  I loved how there were staff at every intersection with a traffic light to ensure the kids stopped when the came upon a red light.  For some reason, this one seemed to be the hardest traffic rule for the kids to deal with - the changing light.

The crossings in the park are so realistic!  

Good thing the staff are there to help the kids follow all the rules.

They had a game for kids to play in addition to riding around on bikes and go cars.  The kids had to pay extra attention to find frogs tucked near various signs around the park.  I loved how the game encouraged the kids to pay extra attention on the road.

This park was incredible.  My son loved it and so did we.  Not only did he get to learn about traffic signs, I did too.  But, I'm still not going to get behind a wheel here!

Amongst the skyscrapers

Since visiting Greece when I was in college, I've always admired how modern and historical buildings can be intertwined to create a truly unique tapestry of old and new.  Growing up in the US, with such a limited history, I didn't grow up with a living history that extended beyond a couple hundred years.  It was the first time I had ever seen something 3,000 years old right next to something built in the previous 10 years.  Unlike Greece, which tends to be built around ruins, Japan reserves spaces of historical and religious significance that have been kept up (some more than others, of course) and some have even been rebuilt.

Kotohiragu Shrine in Toranomon, Minato is a perfect example of this weaving together of old and new.  Originally built in the late 1600's, it has held an important role in the community for over 400 years.  People go to this shrine to pray for family health, business success, maritime safety, as well as relationships.  The majority of visitors to Kotohiragu Shrine are businessmen and women looking for job promotions.  This is in part because of the location.  Surrounded by skyscrapers, it is tucked into the middle of a bustling business district.

Although the shrine has been in the same location for hundreds of years, the buildings actually aren't very old.  The shrine was bombed during World War Two and has since been rebuilt.

The torii leading up to the main shrine building is made of copper.  I have not seen many made of metal, as they are commonly constructed of wood or stone.  This one had writing carved into the base of each leg.  I am guessing it was the names of donors, but I'm not sure.  There were also 4 animals affixed to the torii, representing the 4 Chinese mythical creatures which are meant to bring good luck and protection.  They are the blue dragon of the east, red bird of the south, the white tiger of the west, and the black turtle of the north.

I was very interested in the red strings that I saw tied to frames near one of the smaller shrines.  They were tied there by women looking for companions, usually meaning spouses, but not always.  Before they had the red string, women used to cut locks of their hair and tie it to tree branches or the shrine fence!  Nowadays, the shrine sells the red string to tie to the frame near the shrine and omamori (Japanese amulet that brings luck) to keep.  However, they only sell it to women.  My husband was quite affronted by not being able to buy a red string, but it just made me laugh.

Photo credit: kotohira.or.jp

I was so intrigued by the history of the red strings that I forgot to take a photo!

Photo credit: kotohira.or.jp

This small shrine is so unique in how it is tucked in amongst the modern city buildings.  But there it stands, strong in its history and importance to the neighborhood.

Musashino Inari Shrine

Each time we go to Ekoda, I enjoy it more and more.  It is a cute little area of Nerima that has little family owned shops, three universities (including Nihon University's College of Arts, one of the best art schools in Japan), some great restaurants, and some really neat shrines.

On January 1st, we visited two of these shrines.  We started our time in Ekoda by visiting Sengen Jinja, where we "climbed" Mount Fuji.  My husband had gone to a different shrine on a previous visit and wanted to show it to me.  It was just a short 5 minute walk from Sengen Jinja.  Even though there was construction going on directly in front of the shrine, we just walked around the block to an alternate route and still found it very easy to get to.

Musashino Inari Shrine has an impressive gate at its entrance.  Carved zodiac animals are just above head level.  We liked finding the rat, as it is the year of the rat, as well as each of our own zodiac animals.  The gate is filled with so many interesting things to look at.  I'm glad I took the time to really take it all in.

Inside the shrine grounds is small, but very peaceful.  I have grown accustomed to very simple shrines without a lot of color variation in the buildings, but this one has bright pops of color all over.  I found it to be very aesthetically pleasing.

There is even a short row of red torii gates to walk through, which is always a delight.

I also enjoyed the stone statues scattered around the grounds.  The size of this statue of the seven lucky Shinto gods was impressive.

I could see going to this shrine on a bad day and walking away with a renewed attitude.  It had a wonderful energy that is hard to explain and even harder to find.  I really enjoyed my time here.  It was a great place to visit on the first day of the year.  As an added bonus, this was the only shrine without a line to pray at!

One step at a time

We decided to travel to Minato today to go to Atago Shrine.  Located at the top of Atago hill, the famed shrine was first established in 1603.  Before it was encircled by skyscrapers, the shrine had a beautiful view of the surrounding area.  In fact, it is 26 meters (85 feet) above sea level, which is the highest natural elevation in the Tokyo metropolitan area.  It was used, in part, as a fire lookout back in the day.  Connected to this important work, the main shrine is dedicated to the God of Fire, Homusubi no Mikoto.  While the history is quite fascinating, we wanted to go climb the "stone steps to success".

People who want to go must climb 86 stairs in order to reach the shrine.  According to legend, a samurai rode his horse up the stairs to pick some plum blossoms that he later presented to the Shogun.  Getting the horse up and down the stairs was quite a feat, and is remembered as inspiration for anyone wishing to succeed at something difficult.  To reach any goal, one must be focused and have a lot of perseverance, just like that samurai did.

Standing at the bottom on the steps, they look pretty daunting, but it isn't bad to climb.

At the top, there is a lovely little shrine.  We were all gung ho to go say our prayers, until we saw the line.  With the number of people jammed into a long, winding line, we decided we would come back to pray on a different day.  Although it was a beautiful day, we didn't want to spend it standing in a super long line.

As we were leaving, I realized just how close we were to Tokyo Tower.  We could have easily visited here when we were living in temporary housing in Azabujuban!  There is a reason many say this is a hidden gem.  You wouldn't expect to see this fun shrine in a totally urban area just a 15 minute walk from Tokyo Tower.  But, then again, this is Japan and there are little surprises everywhere.

Our New Year traditions

My family has always tried to celebrate each New Year the Japanese way.  We clean our house, eat osechi (a special meal with all sorts of symbolism), and visit shrines.  I find it a wonderful way to ring in the New Year.  Before marrying my husband, I often went to bed before midnight on December 31st.  I didn't care about the parties or any of that stuff.  But when I found out about all the fun traditions of the Japanese New Year, I was hooked.

On December 31st, we enjoyed soba with friends at the local restaurant we have made a tradition out of going to each New Years Eve.

We then finished cleaning our house in the evening.  I had been putting off the last little bit.  Toward the end of the day, I pulled everything out of our bedroom closet to wipe down the shelves and mop the floor.  My son and husband fished out each and every dust bunny that had taken up residence under our bed and gave them eviction notices.  Since Japanese homes are all hardwood, residents deal with lots of dust bunnies.  No matter how clean of a house you keep, they keep coming back.

The actual turning of the clock is pretty uneventful.  My husband has a bit of time-sensitive work to do right at midnight, so he is focused on his computer.  I get a quick kiss and head off to bed.

In the morning of January 1st, we enjoy our first round of osechi, making sure to give our ancestors a portion of the meal.

We also made sure to check our mailbox for nengajo (New Year's postcards).  My husband heard the mailman deliver them at 3 am!  But we waited to grab them until daylight hours.

After we ate our fill and read our cards, we headed out for a day visiting shrines.  We started with our local shrine, then visited 2 more shrines, and ended our tour with a stop at Seiryu-ji Fudoson Temple.
The second stop on our tour was Sengen Jinja in Ekoda.  It is a bit of a bike ride from our house (about 30 minutes), but we wanted to "climb Mount Fuji" today.  The small shrine is pretty typical, as far as shrines go, except for the fact that there is an 8 meter (26 feet) mound behind the main shrine that was constructed, in part, out of volcanic rock from  Mount Fuji.  This part is only open to the public three times a year - January first through third, July first, and the second weekend of September (during the shrine's annual festival).  We had been to the shrine before and really wanted to see what was up this hill.

The path ran back and forth, with probably 5 switchbacks and several short sets of tiny stairs, making the journey longer than expected on such a small mound.  As we went up, we stopped at several tiny shrines and statues.  The volcanic rock is very easy to identify as it has a very rough texture.  I was shocked to learn the rocks had been brought from Mount Fuji to its current home in the 1830s.  It is actually one of the oldest and biggest miniature versions of Mount Fuji in Tokyo prefecture that is built with actual stones from the famed mountain.

Although it didn't even take us 3 minutes to walk to the top, it was a fun experience and it felt special since it is rarely climbed.

When we got home, all three of us exclaimed what a special and fun day it was.  Each year New Years becomes more and more special to me, especially as we create all these memories in a place that holds this holiday is such high regard.