Wow. I'm so behind on blogging about the trip. I just realized I'm still on Day 2, and it's Day 5. Things are going well though, and my sleep cycle seems to have adjusted fairly well. It's a bit after 4:30pm now, and I have some time before our full-course Japanese dinner tonight here in Takayama.
Before I dive into the next part of Day 2, I'm happy to report that I was way too pessimistic about the adaptability of my electronics. It turns out that everything I have is capable of using the Japanese power grid, if maybe a bit less efficient than intended. So starting with Day 4 I'm basically back to all of the pictures being taken with my Sony. And with that, on to Asakusa!
So earlier in the day we visited the Meiji Shrine, a Shinto religious point. After our sojourn into the Japanese traditions at the Koomon, we were off to Asakusa Kannon Temple. This one is Buddhist.
One of several Tori gate entrances into the temple. I'll need to ask our tour director, Moko, about this now that I think about it. I had been under the impression that Tori gates were a Shinto thing.
While the tree got in the way, this is a broad view of most of the temple grounds. The little girl at the lower part of this photo was adorable, by the way.
I panned to the right from the shot above, and here we are at the main temple.
Remember from my post about the Meiji shrine about purifying yourself? Well here's me doing it.
Left hand first.
Then the right hand.
And back to the left for the mouth!
I don't think anyone would want to see me spitting out the water, so no picture of that. Sorry any of you who were dying to see it. After that, it was time for some incense.
It smelled really good, too.
Going back to the temple, there's one thing that really, really stands out.
I couldn't even tell you what exactly that big thing above us is, but as you can tell it was very hard to miss. And since she's in there, let me introduce you to Lizzy. Lizzy has the honor of being the youngest person on the tour, but she's been studying Japanese quite a bit longer than me. She's here with her mother, and they feature in more than a couple photos.
Inside the temple was amazing, and the smell of incense was everywhere. Here are a few shots.
As we headed out of the temple, I grabbed a few more photos to get some better shots.
The next post will be about the adventures in Nagakise Shopping Arcade and the surrounding area.
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