Tokyo, Sunday, March 27, 2016

Sunday morning before church Rod took us to the nearby shrine to the emperor Meiji.

These are decorated sake kegs

The shrine was beautiful.  We learned that the Shinto shrines are much more simple and earthy like this one, while the Buddhist temples are very ornate and showy.  Most Japanese people participate in Shinto services for happy things like births, weddings, etc. but in Buddhist services for funerals.

We were lucky enough to be there during two wedding processions and the blessing of a child.  Rod was surprised and just kept saying "you guys live a charmed life."

The girls in kimonos never mind posing for pictures.  Hey, once you're all decked out . . . right?

This is the "Five Ring Bridge" built for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.  It was a time of rebuilding for Japan and they really wanted to put on a good face for the world.

On the way home, we walked through Yoyogi Park.  Thousand of cherry tress were starting to blossom and thousands of people were there to enjoy it (and get drunk).

Erika's superpower is that she gets asked to pray in almost every meeting she attends, especially relief society.  So guess what, even as a visitor to the ward in Tokyo, she got asked to pray.

Tokyo, Saturday, March 26, 2016

We decided to try to go to Mt. Fuji.  Rod and Lori drove us there.   

We think this says road closed because of snow.

We went back down to this little town by one of the five lakes that surround Mt. Fuji.

And got some lunch.

Then we took another route and got much higher.  This is the fourth station out of ten stations on the way to the top.  The clouds cleared just long enough for us to get some great pictures.

These ridges are cut in the road in such a way that, when you drive over it, the sound of your tires plays a familiar tune.
Click HERE to listen to the road.

There are vending machines everywhere in Japan.

Rod drove us to the Shibuya shopping district.  He found a parking garage.  Not room enough to turn around, so they have a motorized turntable to get back out.  Rod's car is in a vertical carousel several stories high.

This is Hachiko crossing. Crazy huh?

This is a statue of the dog, Hachiko that the pace is named after.

Perhaps you've noticed the medical masks.  They are worn by lots and lots of people in Tokyo whenever they go out.

In front of a Don Quixote store.  It's the Walmart of Japan.

Tokyo, Japan Friday, March 25, 2016

Turkish mosque near the Bosses' home in Shibuya

Pictures from the top of Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower is the same shape and size as the Eiffel Tower

This is a very "Japanese" thing.  Restaurants put out displays of their menu items in actual

 size plastic models 

Lunch with Rod and Lori in the "Food Court" in the basement of his office building.

The view from Rod's office

We were totally impressed by the Japanese public transit system.

A Buddhist Temple next to a busy shopping district.

They were very serious about the rule written above in Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean.  When someone walks away eating, they chase them down and politely insist that they eat only in the designated area adjacent to the shop.

Lori taught us the cleansing ritual before entering the Temple

Even the sewer manholes are pretty!