Moss Temple and Tokyo Round 2

Hey Everyone!

I am currently running on a little over 2 hours of sleep right now, so this post may be a bit incoherent. Unfortunately, I wouldn't have slept at all if I didn't have to recharge my batteries. I enjoyed my time in Tokyo significantly, and I'm 90% sure that I am going to have to look into a career field that will let me live there for a period of time, or at least make trips routinely. However, before I gush more about Tokyo, let's talk about the Moss Temple!


So last semester, my Gender in Japanese Culture Professor spoke of this temple in Kyoto where there were 120 different types of moss. She said that it was unlike any other temple that you will ever visit. Naturally, I felt a sudden urge to go. What I encountered was an enlightening experience. Before we went though, my friend and I had to send a postcard ahead of time for a reservation, pay $30.00 to be let in, and go on a 2 hour ride to get there. Nonetheless it was definitely worth it.
The excursion in the temple first started with a Buddhist sutra, chanting different scriptures and what not, while us onlookers did calligraphy work. After doing some calligraphy and making a wish on our parchment (I chose happiness/good luck in Japanese, 幸), we were let loose to explore the temple grounds. Largely unchanged since 1339, the temple has a bunch of different moss everywhere, along with two little ponds. One of the ponds actually had rocks in it that resemble the kanji for heart 心 (The computerized character doesn't do it justice). The coolest part though is that we went around the grounds twice, the first time it rained and was hazy, which was really cool. However, the second time the sun came out, so rays of light would shine through the trees and onto the moss or pond, it was a really tranquil experience and I would highly recommend it because this is a very uncommon tourist trip.
Now, back to Tokyo! Basically, not a lot was different than last time actually (we checked out Ginza, Shibuya, Akihabara, and Harajuku again) minus seeing Asakusa, which was nice, but not overly exciting. There was alos Roppongi, which was quite an interesting experience. Roppongi is known as one of the club districts of Tokyo, yet it was extremely shadier than we all expected it to be, mainly due to the influx of workers trying to hassle us into going to their clubs. Nonetheless, we also checked out one of the clubs in Shibuya that is routinely listed in the top 5 of Tokyo's best clubs. It was a techno club and we all had a really good time.

As for hotel commodities, we stayed at a capsule hotel this time around. If you don't know what a capsule hotel is check it out on wikipedia or look below at my "room" for the past few days...


Finally, I just wanted to show you some pictures of my new girlfriends. One is a Lolita (which is a popular fashion style in Japan, and the other is asleep on a subway train. Hopefully these ladies and the deer from a few months ago can all get along.





I'm sure you all are wondering why I am crazy about Tokyo. Basically, it has everything I'd want in a city. It has the cool historical aspects and interesting museums that are a lot of fun to see. It has the geeky district, which is always fun to look at and become apart of. It also has the weirdness of different fashion styles and people (plus normal stores for me and other foreigners). Most importantly though, it is alive. You can really feel the energy in the city when you visit, and it makes you want to become a part of it. It's so individualized that I couldn't help but find something to like in most districts (minus Roppongi's creepiness). Either way, I think that whether you've learned Japanese or not, you'd be doing a disservice to yourself by not going to Tokyo at least once. With that, I bid you adieu, I'm going to see a Japanese baseball game tomorrow, so be sure to expect another update soon!