Engaku Temple, Japanese Italian and Baskins Robbins!

Japan Day 3:

08/07/14

I slept in. Disney knocked me out.

In Japan you need to be ready to get up and go in seconds.

So I performed an unconscious social challenge and slept in. (Sorry guys!) We rushed to the train station and caught about 5 rails and a Shinkansen (fast rail) to the Engaku Temple, a Zen Buddhist foundation. Zen Buddhism is connected to harmony and peace and nature. I didn't feel this way for the three and a half hour hot trek around a mountainous temple and tropical garden.

But a live in cat certainly did. This beautiful creamy cat was lapping up all the sunlight and attention and cuddles from our group. Literally an enlightened Buddha cat if I ever saw one!

We had lunch in the cutest, quaintest little house/restaurant beside the train station. After lunch we went along to a few other shrines and temples.

Also congrats to me, my Shinto fortune says I will soon have an arranged marriage; just what I've always wanted!!! (sarcasm there, sorry...)

 I know I've already said it but the Shinto shrines are all about beauty of nature, purity and cleanliness so at certain points in the shrine they have this purifying water that flows from this well-like stone fountain structure. Copper or wooden ladles hang over bamboo bars above the water flow and you can spoon the pure water to wash hands and face. You cans rink from it too, and I was one of the "brave" ones to share lips with a billion others for a sip of spiritual liquid. But truth be told it was the freshest, smoothest (if that's possible), thirst quenching water I've ever tasted or felt even. Worth all the future mouth sores.

 

 

After a very long walk to a train station and a very long rocky train ride back to Shinjuku Washinton Hotel we split, refreshed and headed out for dinner and shopping. I took myself to try Japanese Italian food and some yummy Baskins Robbins, where they gave me a spoon to eat my ice cream cone with... :P

View from Restaurant.

While we at the intersection my friend and I were giggling about the "naught tissues" from the day before. And at the busiest intersection in the world you wouldn't believe how quite it can be! We said something inappropriate in Japanese at the exact moment the entire world goes silent and a business-business-posh-business man turns around and- the look was priceless. He wasn't impressed you could say...

My friend and I laughed the entire train ride back to the hotel!

It was very very hot, and something so far about Japan is that everything is always sticky. You're just constantly sticky and not in a fun way :/ It's kind of a supple skinned humidity; different to the melting kind of one in Australia.

Whist in line yesterday for "splashu mountain!" (Sugoi!!) we practiced our Japanese basics. I think I'm really staring to improve as remember things. Being surrounded by it all makes things easier.

That way I won't have to undergo te experience of "it's almost 12:30, I'm alone in Tokyo, where do I eat the dinner?" That happened on the first night. It would have been helpful to know a few more phrases so I didn't have to point at a bun and awkwardly say (translated) "excuse me, what? Chocolate?! What???" To a family mart worker.

(P.S. it was chocolate)

(P.P.S I didn't end up buying it, even more awkward...><)