on my last thursday adventure i headed over to ueno park, which is only a few stops past ikebukuro, so i relished a bit in the not having to puzzle over whether i was lost or not. however was not expecting this place to be so huge. i must've stayed there for three to four hours, but i still didn't get to see it all!
first stop was to toshogu shrine, because my main attraction in going to the park was to see the enshrined flame left over from the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki. toshogu was supposed to be a really cool temple too, but when i got there...sad sauce: under construction D:
at least it's incentive for me to come back (not that i need it! that place was gorgeous). the weather was pretty much perfect, if albeit a little warm, and the fall leaves were workin' it.
a japanese lady (bright blue dress and i'm 99% sure i saw her at baba the next day) was standing next to me at the flame shrine, and i asked her if she could tell me the meaning behind the stone carvings nearby since i couldn't read the kanji. she was very sweet, if a little surprised i could understand her (which i am ashamed to say, but i couldn't really. simple japanese conversation i get, but peace/war/life topics are just a tad bit harder, if you know what i'm saying), and we chatted for a while. i do remember her saying that she had been to hiroshima to see the peace monuments as a high schooler, and that she hadn't really gotten the magnitude of it all (since back then it was more like "memorize what we're telling you because it'll be on your test!") until her grandmother died, and then she went back for a business trip years later and it all hit her. we stood together for a bit staring at the memorial, and then she headed to toshogu shrine to do some praying, and i headed out.
of course, then minute i saw some old men feeding stray cats, i bee-lined over. they must've seen me wavering on whether or not to ask if i could sit with them and pet the cats, and motioned me over. very sweet, and one told me i had no need to worry about the strays because tons of admirers fed them, and if it's cold or rainy, they crawl in with "the tent people" (japan's homeless). i might buy some cat food soon and see if they flock to me too~
oh man. the daibutsu. this was by far one of the best moments of my ueno adventure. i decided to head on up and see what kind of weird temple was through the trees. except there was a purifying spot. and i had no idea how to purify myself. the general idea is first hands, then mouth, then tip the handle back so the water falls out etc etc etc but i didn't know which hand to start with and i wasn't too keen on insulting buddha, so i kinda stood at the entrance and looked around without going in.
THEN. then the priest came over. oh man this guy was a charmer. walked straight up to me and said "you have very cute eyes." to which i just laughed and bowed and said thank you, and then in an attempt to break any awkwardness asked him how i should do the purifying. he grabbed my hands and pulled me over to the spot, took the water handle and splashed water over my hands, then declared me done. little fast don'cha think buddy? but i had gotten the green light, so i had a quick glance around at the giant daibutsu head (preserved after it broke off from the main statue body during an earthquake) and the shrine (stupa?), bowed in thanks to the priest, and was about to proceed out like a good little gaijin, but he grabbed me AGAIN and dragged me over to the buddha face, into the area where you are MOST DEF NOT SUPPOSED TO BE AS A TOURIST and slapped my hand onto buddha's nose. complete and utter shock was the only the i could register. i was all "AM I ALLOWED I DO THIS???" and he was all "yeah yeah douzo," so i did what any foreigner in that situation does: stood there for five minutes and petted buddha's nose. (let it be known that buddha was totally not happy, because when i threw a 10 yen coin [couldn't remember what the good coin to use for gods was] into the offering box, it got stuck in the grate above the coin holder. ho jeebus. buddha if you are reading this i am super sorry about the nose petting and the [[most likely]] wrong coin throwing) D:
i took in some more sights, and ventured by the pond with all the lilies and pretty kouyou leaves. chased some ducks down for pictures too, like the beast i am.
second favorite part of my adventure were the performers. so there's this guy. and he's a pretty cool guy. we'll call him luna (shaddup i'm in a harry potter mood). luna is half naked, covered in white paint, and acting his heart out, pretending to be a discus thrower, mona lisa, the statue of david, etc etc. and he's good too: i was laughing my ass off, especially when he would bring this sign out (camera=$) and stare at photo-takers until they dropped some yen in his box (yes, i paid up too) :D
so this one old guy standing next to me donates quite a bit, and luna insists on giving him a hug, but old man is so not having it (told him to go back to his box lolforever) and walks back to his spot next to me. so luna turns his stare to ME and i'm all "who me?" complete with the finger to nose pointing just to make sure. i must've looked skeptical because luna grabbed a towel, dusted himself off dramatically (although i still ended up with white imprints on my dark purple shirt haha) and then held out his arms waiting. and i mean, really, would you have said no? talk about fun! so i walked over and hugged him (to the applause of a crowd of japanese people highly amused at mime+gaijin antics) :D (the old man later said i had good 自信 "confidence")
of course he put on a show pretending to rob me, and moving his hands towards my ass, to which i smacked him on the back a few times and he let me go to resume his mime-ish ways.
i took in another performer and some more fall leaves, and then went home for some needed foot rest~
video is on the long side but this guy was hilarious in person. i love the part when he reaches out for the bag and his real hand pops out, and then in the song you can hear "i was under the influence." it really does explain everything :D
awesome. you are a bamf.
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