7 Gods, Coffee, Ichiro and more…

Beginning New Year’s Day, and continuing for 10 days, many will participate in the 7 Gods Pilgrimage. Our journey started here at this Buddhist Temple in Tokyo. The goal is to collect a stamp from all 7 of the participating temples and shrines along a pre-determined route.  As you can see, the locations can be sandwiched amongst corporate Tokyo. The deities originated from Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, and one from Japan. Tradition holds that the 7 lucky gods will arrive at New Years and distribute wonderful gifts to worthy people. And this is location #8… representing the treasure ship which transports the gods. We collected all the stamps, representing good fortune (happiness, knowledge and a long life). This next story takes place each year on February 3. Setsubun is a spring festival designed to drive away evil spirits from the previous year. Roasted soy beams are thrown to the masses to bring good luck. These next photos come from atop Mori Tower’s 52nd floor.  The view is spectacular on a clear day. Here’s the new Olympic stadium which will be ready next summer for the 2020 games. Mt. Fuji is always breathtaking. For this next story, please take my word for it, manhole covers are a big deal in Japan. They come in a variety of designs and colors… …which has spawned a trading card culture… …bringing great joy and excitement. Souvenirs are available… …and books cover the topic in detail. This idea is very clever.  It starts with green paint and a t-shirt… … a little bit of pressure… …and every artist collects a unique memory. OK, I had to do it. In this photo, chocolates are flying out the door in advance of Valentine’s Day.  But in Japan, it’s only the women who give chocolates to men on February 14. However, this is followed one month later by “White Day” on March 14 where the men respond in triplicate.  I reciprocated with chocolate donuts… …and banana-flavored Kit-Kats. It does snow in Tokyo.  My experience is there’s one day, typically in February, where we get a dusting.  However, winter tires are not common, and there are no snow plows, so it’s best not to drive. Also in February, the plum trees start to blossom… …which creates an excellent environment for wedding photos… …and shutter bugs. Some people have powerful lenses… …while others use last-century’s technology. The plums are always overshadowed by their more famous cherry blossom cousins, which follow a month later.

This next story marks the 8 year anniversary of the massive 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, known as 3/11 (March 11).  It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan and the 4th most powerful in the world. The earthquake lasted 6 minutes and moved Honshu (the main island of Japan) 2.4 m (8 ft) east, shifted the Earth on its axis by estimates of between 10 cm (4 in) and 25 cm (10 in), and increased earth’s rotational speed. The red line of this billboard shows the height of the tsunami if it had hit the Shibuya area of Tokyo (16.7 meters or nearly 55 feet).  In the Sendai area, the waves traveled up to 10 km inland (6 miles). This “before” Internet photo shows the Daiichi Nuclear power plant — 373 km (232 mi) north of Tokyo.   On March 11, 2011, tsunami waves over-topped seawalls and destroyed diesel backup power systems, leading to the world’s second worst nuclear power disaster at 3 of the 4 reactors (Chernobyl in 1986 was worst). Last summer, I traveled to Fukushima prefecture, and as I moved closer to the Daiichi power plant, the ghost towns appeared. The stats from the quake and tsunami are staggering:  15,897 confirmed deaths, 6,157 injured, and 2,533 people missing.  The main road — parallel to the ocean — is open to vehicles, but the homes and business on either side are permanently closed. Monitors along the road display radiation levels. This is the entrance to Daiichi. The power plant is under the cranes to the right.  Clean up efforts are estimated at 40 years. Just north of the plant, I watched construction of sea walls… … …as defense against the next tsunami. These concrete blocks will be placed along the shore line. This is not your typical beach.

As I write this post on March 28, 2019, the news media is remembering the events of March 28, 1979.  It was 40 years ago when the world’s first nuclear accident occurred at Three Mile Island.  At that time. Lynda and I evacuated from our college only 6 miles away (home for me was merely 15 miles away). It’s fascinating to watch the transformation of the energy industry over the past 4 decades.

Moving on to happier stories, Japan is the 3rd largest car market in the world.  People love their cars and adorn them with personal license numbers, like this BMW M2 for instance. The dark car is a 5 Series with the license number 5… but please also notice the white car behind him… … it’s a 3 Series with the license 33 33. i’m assuming this Toyota taxi received this number at random. The number 32 is pronounced “mini” in Japanese. Clearly this MINI owner put forth extra effort for this number. I’m assuming this BMW owner formerly drove a MINI, and merely transferred the licence plate. This has nothing to do with license numbers, but this massive Ford van appears to have been transported to Tokyo from 1970s America (I love the whitewall tires and side exhaust). This next story has captivated thousands… … … involving huge crowds… …where people patiently queued.  What can it be? The world’s largest Starbucks Roastery Reserve just opened in Tokyo. Everyone wanted to see it. These pups came dressed for the occasion… … in their Ralph Lauren outfits. Our journey started here where we received entry tickets. Using the QR code, we were able to monitor our wait time.  We had 1000 people in front of us.

After 4 hours, we finally made it inside.  I don’t drink coffee, but they had an entire floor dedicated to tea. It was quite an experience.

What follows are random photos from the sidewalks of Tokyo.  These young ladies are out for a Sunday stroll. This is how many people “walk” their dogs. This farmers market was full of activity… but do you notice anything a bit odd (hint: look at the center of the photo). This little boy found a good place to rest. This market offered 100 different blends of teas, with samples for all.  It was like tasting fine wine. And yes, everyone is a bit Irish on March 17.  The St. Patrick’s Day Parade marched down the main street in Omotesando… …bringing lots of spectators (these are real dogs – not stuffed animals). And here it is… cherry blossom season has arrived in Tokyo.  This is one of the early bloomers. Baseball season has begun.  We watched an exhibition game between the Tokyo Giants and the Seattle Mariners at Tokyo Dome. Clearly, the star of the game was Seattle’s 45-year old Ichiro Suzuki, a 28 year veteran of Japanese and American baseball  That’s him at bat.  A 17-time all-star, Ichiro holds many records, including 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons, the longest streak by any player in history. Three days later, he retired (Internet photo).  It’s safe to say that Ichiro is the most beloved Japanese player ever.   Perhaps we will see him in the near future as a coach. Please enjoy the bonus photos below. We always enjoy seeing visitors in Tokyo.  Vikas joined us for dinner in January… … …and we had tea with Sakshi in March. It’s official… Greg is now 18… a milestone birthday! Enjoy ts