A popular quote attributed to Saint Augustine is, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” As a veracious reader, I’m off on another adventure to the Land of the Rising Sun (not to be confused with the House of the Rising Sun!).
My adventure starts in Tokyo with a few days to acclimatize to the time change and see some of the sights in the most populous city in the world with a population of more than 37 million (there are 41 million of us in Canada so that’s a lot of people!). After that, I’m hopping on a cruise ship for 12 action packed days at 10 ports in Japan and a whistle stop in Busan, South Korea. Come along for the journey if you like – adventures await …
April 9-10, 2025
April 9 was a travel day. Typically, there was snow in the forecast even though it was April adding to departure day angst. Despite Environmental Canada’s alert and Air Canada’s offer the night before to allow me to rebook free of charge, my flight to Toronto was only slightly delayed due to a minor mechanical issue and the need for deicing. We were a little late arriving in TO but there was still time to grab a quick bite at Pearson before the 13 hour plus flight. In the past, I used points and flew bizzness class to Asia but this time I’m in the back of the bus with the great unwashed. Overall, the experience wasn’t too bad. I didn’t get much sleep which will make my jet lag interesting but it wasn’t uncomfortable.
The immigration process in Tokyo could use an overhaul. Despite, completing the Visit Japan on-line pre-clearance process, it was all of two hours to clear customs with long lines and a convoluted multi-step process. But all good and bad things come to an end and I finally escaped the terminal and made my way to the hotel shuttle. The hotel checkin process was painless and my room with a beautiful, comfy bed was a good size with lots of amenities including PJs and slippers. The bathroom has a toilet you likely need a PhD to operate but it does have a heated seat so yay!
I wasn’t really hungry so I hung out in my room trying to stay awake long enough so that my body would acclimate quickly to the fact Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of Ottawa. I wasn’t overly successful though I did manage to sleep for a couple of hours here and there before I decided to go for a walk and do some exploring.
April 10 – The Anamori Inari Shrine is within easy walking distance of my hotel so after fortifying myself with my typical breakfast of a protein bar and some water, I headed out. Luckily, I had purchased an eSIM before leaving home so google maps will be my friendly assistant to reduce the possibility of being totally lost most of the time due to my poor sense of direction. No doubt, there will still be times but today wasn’t one of them.
The Anamori Inari Shrine is modelled after Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Taisha, the oldest Inari shrine, and is also dedicated to the deity of rice cultivation. Originally built in 1818 on the site of what is now Haneda Airport, it was moved just after WWII.
Although the shrine is small in size, it does contain many of the characteristic vermilion torii (gates) and a multitude of fox statues (foxes are considered messengers of the Inari deity).
Before entering the shrine, visitors are asked to purify themselves at the temizuya by washing their hands and rinsing out their mouths.
When visiting a Japanese shrine, the standard practice for prayer involves bowing twice, clapping twice, and then bowing once. This ritual act of respect and reverence to the deities is believed to awaken their attention and express joy and gratitude.
A male and female fox, complete with cub, guard the entrance to the main hall of the shrine.
In addition to the main hall, this shrine is also home to many little “Oyashiro” or miniature places of worship on the grounds, each offering different blessings such as success, prosperity, and good fortune. Sacred fox statues (kitsune) abound at the various oyashiro.
Omikuji are fortune telling paper slips found at many shrines and temples. Randomly drawn, they contain predictions ranging from daikichi (“great good luck”) to daikyo (“great bad luck”). By tying the piece of paper around a tree’s branch, bad fortune can be left behind. I guess you take the good ones with you.
Towards the center of this complex is the inner shrine or “Oku no Miya”, which contains special sand believed to bless visitors with good fortune. This most famous blessing at Anamori Inari is the sacred sand, known as “Anamori no Suna.” It is believed that taking this sand home and sprinkling it around your house or carrying it with you brings protection and fulfillment of wishes. You know that I snagged some to bring home with me!
Stamp collecting, is a popular and fun hobby in Japan, allowing travelers to document their journeys as they explore the country. Stamps can be found at many train stations (eki), shrines and temples (goshuin), museums, and other attractions around Japan. I started my collection today with the goshuin from Anamori Inari Shrine featuring one of the cute foxes.
I had intended to go to a local onsen (mineral bath) today as well but ran out of steam and headed back to the hotel with a few detours along the way.
Fun fact – Japan has the highest density of vending machines per capita – with a whopping 5 million dotting the landscape. That’s roughly one vending machine for every 23 people! Apparently you can find vending machines that sell everything from umbrellas to live lobsters but the ones I saw today were mainly slinging drinks.
I spied a few cherry trees in full bloom though I couldn’t access them directly. I’m sure there will be many more pics of those to come.
Before heading back to the hotel, I decided to check out the 7-11 across from the way to see if they had any of the famous fluffy egg salad or strawberry and cream sandwiches. Sadly, there were none to be found but I’ll surely be trying those one of these days as well and will report back!
I thought I’d chill and then go grab a bite afterwards but I didn’t resurface until midnight so grabbed another protein bar. Tomorrow is another day. Better food and adventures await…
Judy’s Rambles 