Visitor from the West to the East ==> Summer 2007

A great buddy of mine Luis came down to visit in Japan from big bad Cali. It was his first time in the country and as of the time of his visit I didnt know enough to be dangerous as a tour guide. With just one month behind me in a new country that I knew very little about especially not having family and friends as close (physically) to me like before made his visit all the more better, to hang out with a familiar face. It was the dead of summer and hot and steamy it was quite a bit to get used to especially coming form the cool Pacific coast of California.

There was no place closer and better to hang out then in Tokyo City. Just an hour train ride from the airport, we were ready to get our feet wet in the city. In the picture above you can see a human taxi. It was quite interesting to see and surprisingly they managed to get through traffic better than the cars did!!!
After window shopping and touring the city a bit by using the Yamanote Train line the next stop was a very popular destination for many tourist.

Sensoji (also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple) is a Buddhist temple located in Asakusa, the center of the shitamachi (lit. "low town").
The legend says that in the year 628, two brothers fished a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, out of the Sumida River, and even though they put the statue back into the river, it always returned to them. Consequently, Sensoji was built there for the goddess of Kannon. The temple was completed in 645, making it Tokyo's oldest temple.

The temple had hords of people getting around the campgrounds proved challenging but it was fun. There was a line of out door shops that lined the path way all the way up to the temple itself. We couldnt resist getting our hands on some memorabilia of the temple and souveneirs of Japan here.

The temple is massive if you look at the people leading up to the temple, the place is huge. Unfortuneately no shots of the inside can be taken since this place is considered a religous house, but the walls and ceilings had beautiful murals of the Goddess Kannon and Bhudda preserved in its original glory.

Before entering the temple our hands and bodies needed to be cleansed of any bad luck and to wash away any unlucky spirits by the blessed water in this fountain pictured above.

A local Tokyo buddy was also with us and couldnt resist putting his finger on the lens of my camera........classic!!!!

A Japanese garden area lies beside the temple which had a stream and several small Bhudda statues. For as hot as it was every bush and tree were a deep beautiful green color.

With all the busy tourists around we manage to snag one to take a group shot in front of the Pagoda.

The rest of his trip was great by hanging out in the Roppongi area and other major popular parts of Tokyo. I know he had as much of a culture shock as I did being in Japan but I was very happy to offer a glimpse of an eastern country and the culture and heritage that Japanese people have here.

Thanks for visiting my site, there is so much more in 2007 that was done, that I am trying to push out on this web blog quickly , before I get too deep into the new year of 2008.

jjc