Past the halfway point
I officially have 3 weeks left in Japan! Time always passes so quickly…it doesn’t feel like it’s been 7 weeks.
Upcoming adventures:
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going to Kamakura
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hiking
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viewing fireworks
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visiting the Studio Ghibli museum
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eating at a Michelin-starred ramen restaurant, Tsuta
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and more
Now let’s hope that I have enough time to write about all those things afterward!
Hondo-ji
A few weeks ago I visited Hondo-ji, which is a temple in the nearby city Matsudo. Its nickname is ajisaidera, which means “hydrangea temple”, referencing the ridiculous amount of hydrangeas that grow there during the summer.
It was a nice departure from the busy city life of Tokyo.
In front of this statue is the Japanese offering box, where people can throw 5-yen coins before praying. The word for 5 yen sounds like “respectful relationship” or “destiny” in Japanese, and from this it’s believed to help build a connection with the deity of the shrine when you pray. The word for 50-yen coin sounds like “5 layers”, so sometimes people throw in a 50-yen coin with the hopes of getting 5 times the effect. But I feel like that’s inefficient compared to just using more 5-yen coins. Maybe I’m missing something.
Both the 5-yen and the 50-yen coins have a hole in the center, so they’re usually tied to things with a little string to make good luck charms. Speaking of good luck charms, don’t forget the humble Kit-Kat: Japanese students give each other Kit-Kats for good luck when they’re taking their entrance exams. This is because the Japanese word for Kit-Kat, kitto katto, sounds like kitto katsu, or “surely you will win”.
Other adventures
On July 2, I attended a Japan Illini Club reunion in Tokyo. It consisted of native Japanese who had studied at the U of I, current students who had just won a scholarship to study abroad in Illinois, and American UIUC alumni who were currently working in Japan. As a bonus, the directors of the UIUC Japan House attended as well. No pictures yet, unfortunately.
The next day, I headed to the south side of Chiba prefecture for an seaside BBQ that a coworker had organized. Unfortunately the beach in that part of Chiba is rocky and inaccessible, so we settled for the grassy hills nearby. I even had a picture taken of me! How rare…
