All over Japan!

I'm sitting here now in the ship's computer lab with 10 minutes to spare before the China Diplomatic Briefing. I'm writing about Japan, but out the window I see the beautiful skyline of Shanghai. I'll get to that city once I get off the ship!

We arrived in Japan on Tuesday the 9th at the Port of Yokohama. Yokohama is essentially the main port access to Tokyo, so once clearing the ship at around noon, we made our way to Tokyo! The very first thing I noticed stepping foot in Japan was how immaculate the streets were. For being one of the largest cities in the world, it was absolutely silent. People talked practically in whispers under their breath, cars' slight humming noise was barely audible compared to the loud honking and traffic of New York City. And to top it all off, there are essentially no trash cans on the sidewalks. Occasionally I would see a recycling bin, but because it's considered rude to eat and walk, if you leave the place where you bought your food, you're out of luck in finding a way to dispose of your trash! I was shocked that the lack of trashcans had a positive effect on the cleanliness of the city rather than a negative one!

Anyway, we walked (quietly) to the train station and boarded the subway for Shibuya, the "young, hip" district, if you will. As one would expect, every train car was silent and clean, and surprisingly, even in the large Shibuya station, though it was filled with people, everyone moved with disciplined order, completely lacking the chaos and noise I would expect from Tokyo. We walked through the city to find the Meiji Shrine. Since I can't upload pictures, I would suggest google-ing it because it was beautiful.

In the middle of this huge metropolis was a forest, akin to Central Park in New York. The pathway into the park was framed by a giant Cyprus torii, the "pi" shaped structure indicating the entrance into a Shinto shrine. The gravel pathways winding inside the forest were very quiet, and completely unlike a park in the states where you would see couples picnicking and boys throwing Frisbees. Everyone walked in quiet reflection, taking in the nature and preparing themselves for the spiritual encounter with the shrine. Once we passed through several more toriis, we were at the outer courtyard of the shrine. Huge wooden buildings stood before us, simple, yet intricate at the same time. They were all painted white with dark brown thatching, blending perfectly with the natural scenery around us. We stepped through the gate into the main courtyard, and we had to literally step over the raised threshold so we were completely aware of our entrance into the sacred place.

When we were through, we were surrounded on all sides but long continuous wooden buildings, culminating in the main sanctuary straight ahead. Curious, I walked up the stairs to the sanctuary and witness something I didn't expect. True, I know very little about Shintoism, so I don't know what their prayer rituals were. Individuals walked up to a kind of basin, threw in a coin or two, and stepped back. They would then bow twice, and then clap twice and begin their personal prayers. When they were finished, they would bow once more and walk away to make room for others. My friend Amy and I decided to try it, and even though I am not Shinto, I think I found a religious connection in my own way. Looking straight ahead I saw the section of the shrine that was off limits, where the kami, or sprits, dwell. Looking up and around I saw the tops of trees, with no skyscrapers in sight. When I clapped I felt more alert to these surroundings and much more able to reflect on my life, my time on semester at sea so far, and of course, the fact that I was halfway around the world in Japan. When we finished, we stepped just outside of the main courtyard where a stand was selling good luck charms. They ranged from good luck in love to safe travels to passing an entrance exam. We saw the same charms in every other shrine we visited as well.

I have to go, so I'll finish this quickly. As you can tell, I'm not going to get to the other 4 days just from this one entry, but maybe after Vietnam I'll be able to sum up all the highlights. My second day I saw Mt. Fuji which was spectacular despite the clouds. The third day was spent essentially in the electronics district of Tokyo. Our fourth day was in Kyoto, and my last day was a home visit in Kobe.

Gotta go to China! Love and miss you all!