We got up early to go to the breakfast buffet at the Hawaii-ish themed Hapuna restaurant. Well, about the only Hawaii things about it were the name and the music they were playing. Oh, and the staff members were wearing aloha shirts! Anyway, good thing we got there early, because there was already a huge line. Once inside I enjoyed salad with apples. Then I went back for saba and salmon with rice and natto. And then back once more for yogurt and fruit with cereal on top.
We took the bus to Yokohama to visit Soji-ji (temple), an important head temple in Soto Zen Buddhism. It's a huge peaceful complex filled with greenery and open space, yet surrounded by an urban and industrial landscape. When we arrived, one of the ministers there with ties to Hawaii spoke to us. Many of us were happy that he talked about the “Golden Chain of Love” - a popular Buddhist chant in Hawaii. This was followed by a tour of various important buildings in the temple.
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| The cavernous Daisōdō (Great Ancestors' Hall), is the main ceremonial hall at Sojiji, and has room for 1000 tatami mats. The sign boards on the left list upcoming events. |
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| Hōkōdō (講堂 / Ancestors Hall) where memorial services are held. The sign boards are verses from Zen scripture. |
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| This is where monks mediate. They sit on the round cushions, facing the wall. |
Lunch was in Chinatown at Jogenro. I offhandedly mentioned that since we were in Chinatown it would be great to have some jin dui (sesame seed covered deep fried mochi balls). After lunch, on the way back to the bus, our friend showed up with a tray of jin dui! How thoughtful!
Next we went to the Red Brick Warehouse. Yeah, it’s kind of a tourist trap, but it was a good place to stock up on omiyage.
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| Yokohama waterfront |
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| Yokohama storm drain cover |
That night, we had a farewell dinner (actually one night early) at the Ichozaka Restaurant in the hotel. It was a good time with some impromptu musical and dance performances.
The next day our plan was to travel around Tokyo by train and subway, so we went to the station to find the ticket machines for our friends who weren’t paying with Suica. We took pictures of the maps and of the ticket machines. Then I thought it would be fun to go to an izakaya (pub) for dinner tomorrow night, so I wanted to check out around Shinakawa Station’s Konan exit. We went through a few narrow alleys and there were some nice looking places to eat. When we got onto one of the wider thoroughfares, the atmosphere became crowded and boisterous. Lots of company employees, laughing, shaking hands, bowing to each other, and bidding farewell after an evening of drinking.
Still needing to find a few more items of omiyage, we went to Queen’s Isaten market. It’s a high-end grocery store in the Isaten department store. As a treat, we bought ourselves a quart bottle of amazake. We also bought prize winning natto furikake to bring home.
Proceed to the next day ->
