I’m turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so.

Well, not really, but it is an amazing place in lots of ways. With 14 1/4 million people, Tokyo is the busiest and most crowded place I have ever seen and Osaka runs a close second.

Tokyo Tower

From the top of the 1,092 ft Tokyo Tower the metropolis stretches out to the horizon in every direction.

It’s all a mad jumble of ultramodern neon-lit skyscrapers, some remaining small traditional buildings amid countless historic temples and small shrines.

It is all so tightly packed that getting a handle on it photographically feels next to impossible, but that’s of no matter, it’s really the culture and people that’s so interesting. People are polite to a fault. Gratefulness and courtesy are evident in ever transaction. People, with the exception of some half wit adolescents, are pretty quiet everywhere.

Small shops are crammed in everywhere amongst the sky scrapers.

All school children have a backpack called a Randoseru. They are typically given to youngsters by their grandparents when entering elementary school. They are expected to use the same bag for the first six years of education.

Subways

On the packed subways, like the world over, everyone is hypnotized by their phones, but no one here talks on them. It’s all about courtesy. Subway riders are even instructed to wear their backpacks in front to avoid bumping into people around them.

The Shinkansen

Everyone asks about the bullet trains. Yes, they are as good as they say. Fast, clean and incredibly punctual. We went on 10 different trains and experienced only one four minute delay. No, you don’t feel any G forces, just comfort.

Expo 2025

As crowded as is humanly possible. Let’s leave it at that.

Shrines

Being of Irish descent I’ve always been attuned to Murphy’s Law, if something can go wrong it probably will, but not in Japan. For them good fortune and blessings are out there for the taking if you have the devotion and dedication to ask for it. Large temples and small shines are literally in every neighborhood. You are never more then a block away from a blessing or a quick prayer if you need one, and who doesn’t? It is simple enough, wash your hands in the prescribed manner, toss a 5 yen coin in the slot, face the Buddha or ring the bell, bow your head reverently and ask for a blessing, either for yourself or a loved one. Anything at all, as the deities are in charge of everything.

At 1500 years old Ishiura Shrine is the oldest shrine in Kanazawa. Known for love and devotion, many visitors come here to wish for a soul mate.

As you walk the Torii Path and go through the Torii Gates you pass from the human world to the sacred space where the deities reside.

The vermillion red symbolizes vitality and protects against evil spirits.

If you really want to hedge your bets just donate a few more yen for a small slip of paper called an omikuji which can be a great blessing. Fold it into a long strip and tie it to one of the hanging strings to seal your fate. The polka-dots symbolize happiness.

Kinkaku-Ji Temple

The Kinkaku-Ji Zen Temple, or Golden Pavilion was built in 1397 by Yoshimitsu, third Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate and is the most visited temple in Japan. The gold was intended to purify any pollution and mitigate any negative thoughts and feelings towards one’s death. Fate is to be accepted, not feared.

Matsubara Fudo

It might seem that this small unassuming neighborhood temple is of little import but in 792 when the capital was built, Emperor Kanmu gave sutra scrolls to four “iwakura” or “Dwellings of the Gods” located on the north, south, east and west sides of the city to protect it from evil. This temple is the South Iwakura.

When Toyotami Hideyoshi was building his new palace in the late 1500s he removed the, already 800 year old, moss covered stone statue of the Buddha and brought it to the castle. Every night it would give off a strange glow. Hideyoshi saw this as a miracle and quickly rebuilt the temple and returned the statue to its original location.

Misaki Shine – Kyoto

Kitsune, the fox, is a messenger and guard for the Shinto deity Inari Okami.

Guardian Gods

The Buddha, through enlightenment has been freed of all earthy concerns and desires and is a quiet gentle creature.  The kind and benevolent Buddha is somewhat helpless when faced with the trials and cruelty of the world and as such requires fierce protection.

These two threatening 12’ statues are Guardian Gods that flanked the doors of the Rendaiji Temple near Kyoto for centuries. They were there to protect the Buddha from the evils of the world and the corrosive effect of nonbelievers. During the typhoon of 1934 the statues were completely destroyed. The devout locals gathered and carefully stored all the fragments and prayed for the Guardians safe return. In 2020 a group of restorers and master artisans began the painstaking task of bringing them back to life. Today they look as proud and threatening as when they stood watch outside the temple.

Castles

Osaka Castle

The castle is one of Japan’s most famous landmarks and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century.

In 1583 Toyotomi Hideyoshi began the 14 year construction of Osaka Castle only to die one year later. In 1614 the Tokugawa Clan attacked the castle starting the Siege of Osaka. On June 4th the following summer Tokugawa’s 200,000 man army breached the outer walls. As Osaka Castle fell and the Toyotomi clan perished forever, Toyotomi Hideyori and his mother Yodo-dono both committed seppuku while the castle burned to the ground around them.

Instrumental in the unification of Japan in the 16th century, powerful Samurai warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi stands guard outside the Hokoku Shrine at Osaka Castle.

Himeji Castle

Japans most visited castle, the White Heron Castle, was built in 1601. Never having been bombed or besieged, the castle is one of the oldest surviving keeps. Including the basements, the keep is seven stories high and one of the tallest wooden structures ever built in Japan.

Chipped hand mill stones were used as filler in the upper part of the wall. They are called Ubagaishi or Old Widow’s Stone. Legend has it that when Hashiba Hideyoshi built the castle he feared he would not have enough stone to complete the reinforcements. When the news reached a poor old woman who sold rice cakes, she donated her hand mill stone. The story of the woman’s selfless act spread and stones were donated from throughout the province.

Kanazawa Castle

Fire has plagued this fortress throughout its history. Construction of the castle was begun In 1580 by Oda Nobunaga. The original six story keep burnt down in 1602 and was never rebuilt. The whole castle burnt down in 1603, was rebuilt and burnt down again in the Great Kanazawa Fire of 1759. Most of the surviving structures were destroyed once more in the fire of 1881. Reconstruction continues today and most of the current buildings look as they would have in the 1850s.

Nijo-jo Castle – Kyoto

Nijo-jo Castle was complete in 1603 on the orders of Tokugawa Ieyasu, first Shogun of the mighty Tokugawa Shogunate. He unified Japan and ushered in 260 years of peace and prosperity, one of the longest periods of stability in Japanese history.

Shopping

No one but tourists eat on the street. There are almost no public trash cans. You are instructed to take your rubbish with you or return the packaging to the store where you bought it and yet there is almost no litter. Paper products are at a bare minimum. Everyone carries a small hand towel as paper towels are just about nonexistent. And napkins in restaurants are so small they make our cocktail napkins look like a beach blanket. There are no hooligans or bike riders with boom boxes blaring their favorite rap tune, no car horns honking, just crowded quiet efficiency as the countless throngs move through the endless streets. So what are all these people doing? They are shopping, constantly. Tokyo and Osaka must have more high rise department stores than anywhere in the world and they are packed. There are over crowded narrow shopping arcades that radiate out in all directions everywhere we go.

Navigating the Terrain

Getting around in cities this tightly packed and where very few people speak english can be challenging. Fortunately the streets are full of helpful signs and messages so that you always know which way to go and never feel lost.

Good Luck

Luck plays a huge role here. It’s amazing how linked religion and basic luck are in the minds and behavior of everyday people. The Japanese pray for good fortune and protection from evil for themselves, their loved ones and even ancestors. They pray, ask for blessings and hang all manner of talismans to attract positive forces and ward off evil spirits and to keep them from invading their lives and homes.

The Shinto celebration turtle, Iwai Kane, is made from rice straw and is a symbol of longevity, protection and good fortune.

Attached to Japanese straw rope called shimenawa is a wooden talisman called a Somin Shorai. It is hung in the doorway to ward off misfortune.

A Chimaki is sold during the Gion Matsuri festival in Kyoto. The festival was to pray for the end of a plague. The charm is said to ward off disease and misfortune.

Known as morisho, piled salt at the doorway wards off evil spirits and bad luck, purifies the space, invites in good fortune, customers, and success.

Gotcha

With the common belief in the ability to call forth good gods and block demons it’s not surprising that games of chance are part of everyone’s life. It’s no wonder kids start gambling early and make no mistake about it, this little toy vending machines are gambling. Each Gotcha machine has 3 to 5 versions of a specific toy. The object is to collect all the different versions. You put in 400 or 500 yen, turn the crank and receive one in a closed capsule. The trick is that you could buy 10 or more before you might get the whole group. Oh yeah, that’s gambling!

No Smoking

In post war Japan smoking became hugely popular. Celebrities endorsed brands and everyone smoked. Little kiosks like this one were in every department store.

A good friend would come to Japan on business trips years ago. He was a nonsmoker and found meetings very uncomfortable. Conference rooms had an ashtray in front of every seat and someone during the meetings would repeatedly empty them. The smoke hung about two feet below the ceiling and created its own cloud layer. Now, mercifully, the entire country has quit. 7/11 still sells cigarettes, but you can’t smoke anywhere in public except in very few designated “smoking rooms”. People don’t group together outside offices or in front of apartment buildings to get their nicotine fix. Yesterday we saw a man huddled at the end of a small alcove between buildings with his back to the street puffing away. He looked isolated and abandoned, alone with his addiction.

Crime

Is there crime in Japan? Well of course there is, the Yakuza are infamous the world over. As for street crime, we haven’t seen any evidence of it, but we have noticed this exact same poster taped outside every police station we’ve passed by. Apparently these eleven scoundrels constitute the entire crime wave. Not to worry, the Japanese McGruff is on the job.