OBSERVE, ABSORB, EXPLORE, ENJOY

JAPAN 2024

Blog Post No. 2

(2/25/24)

DAY SIX: Sunday, February 25, 2024

Tokyo, Japan

With only one more full day left in Tokyo, we hit the ground running guided by John's research. The clouds are rolling in and it's a crisp 39*.

The moment we step onto the street, it begins to drizzle, and continues to drizzle for the rest of the day. But we don't care. The concierge has given us an umbrella and we just feel lucky to be here.

Our first stop is the observatory on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (the aforementioned HUGE building blocking our hotel's view of Mt. Fuji). Unfortunately, with the clouds and the rain, there's very little to observe (certainly no Mt. Fuji), except for two things of note; 1) It's snowing on the 45th floor, but raining at the ground level. Very interesting. And 2) there's a grand piano at the center of the room and a line of people waiting for their turn to play it. Each person is allotted five minutes to entertain the visitors, and all of them play wonderfully. (I would have loved to hear John play there, but he's not one for any kind of public displays. But our daughter-in-law? She would have been game.)

John read about this unusual temple off a side street and down and alleyway in Shibuya; the Shinjuku Ruriko-in Bayekurenge-do. Built in 2014. It's designed in the Brutalist style of architecture (of which there is quite a bit in Tokyo, Brutalism having enjoyed its heyday at precisely the time Tokyo was rebuilding post World War 2).

The Ruriko-in Temple is Buddhist. I was surprised to learn that 69% of Japanese people practice Shintoism, and utterly confused to learn that 67% practice Buddhism. How can 136% of the population be practicing two religions? It turns out that Shintoism and Buddhism are considered complementary religions. The primary beliefs of Shintoism are the importance of purity, harmony, respect for nature, family respect, and subordination of the individual before the group; a spiritual practice for the lived-in world. Buddhism is about transcending the impermanence of the lived-in world so that one may achieve enlightenment and bliss; a spiritual practice for the afterlife.

In the awkward space it inhabits in the middle of this chaotic city, the temple is wrapped in a forcefield of peacefulness. For a religion rooted in the belief of impermanence, the temple itself, with it's steal supports and concrete walls, looks and feels like it was built to survive the test of time. But like so many things in Japan, it is surrounded by flowing water and accessed by crossing a small bridge, giving it softness and feel of continuance change. When we arrived, services were underway so we weren't allowed to enter the hall, but we enjoyed our time spent communing with the building very much.