Bunkyo-ku

Hi Everybody,
We went to try to find another fukappatsu kain (less-active member) or oyasumi kain wo (sleeping member) of the Church in Bunkyo-ku. It was about 30 minutes north of Minato-ku by train but probably only about 5 miles away from our apartment.

As we emerged from the station we saw this beautiful shrine and decided we would come back to look at it after our visit.

The guidebook says, "Bunkyo-ku means culture-ward and it has been said to be the academic and intellectual center of Tokyo. It is where Tokyo University and other major universities, galleries, printing, and publishing companies are located. there are an abundance of temples and shrines, beautiful parks, stunning botanical gardens, etc.  Bunyo is quite a hilly part of Tokyo.  Of the 433 hills in Tokyo, 133 can be found in Bunkyo
Since most hills form their own communities that date back to the Edo period they reflect a lot of the city's colorful past."

As we walked along and saw some of the older places, you might have thought they were pretty old and from the Edo period.
(ha ha)  

We're back! And here is the entrance of the Buddhist Temple grounds with my favorite person
standing in front!

Here are the familiar guards:  These statues are Nio or Benevolent Kings.  They are a pair of protectors who commonly stand guard outside the Japanese Buddists' temples one on either side of the entrance.  The open-mouth version is placed to the right of the temple, the closed mouth to the left.The Nio's fierce and threatening appearance is said to ward off evil spirits and keep the temple grounds free of demons and thieves. At Shinto shrines the guardians are replaced with shishi lion-dogs or foxes and sometimes have one mouth open and one mouth closed, too.

In some accouts the Nio were said to have followed Buddha and protected him. The open-mouthed guard  is called "Agyo" who is uttering the sound "ah" meaning birth.  The closed-mouth statue is called "Ungyo" who sounds "un" or "om" meaning death. Also the the mouth is open to scare off demons, and the other mouth closed to keep in the good spirits

We were surprised to see such a large Buddha there.

There was also a beautiful cemetery there.

                       Isn't this a beautiful Japanese couple on the stone?               They must have loved each other very much.

The Japanese have believed that their ancestors return to this world on certain occasions each year. Even in the present day those of the Buddhist religion believe there are four times a year in which ancestors are present in this world- the equinox days, New Year`s and the Obon festival in summer. A YORSHIRO (these wooden sticks that are by the graves or stuck into the ground) is used to attract (or guide) the spirit to the grave. By the way, we were the only people working in the office part of the day today with the Area Presidency as it is a holiday in Japan celebrating the equinox.

Last, but not least, the sister missionaries and one of their sweet investigators, Lieke, from the Netherlands, forming a "T" for Tokyo.  They have been coming regularly to our house for dinner and wonderful gospel discussions.  Lieke is so special and we are so happy to know her!
GOOD NIGHT EVERYONE; you are very special to us, too!

Korea in Japan?

We went to an area of Tokyo not too far away called Korea Town which was settled by Koreans.  It is full of little shops and restaurants.

The restaurant where we ate our Korean lunch was a real 'hole in the wall'
You walk down the stairs and you are there in the tiny restaurant
There are lots of little mom and pop type restaurants here, and there were
tons of restaurants all along the street here.

Where we ate there were two frying type cookers on each table and our waiter
cooked the pork belly and some vegetables right there.

It smells good!

At most restaurants, you are each given a moist wash cloth or a disposable wipe
to wash your hands before you eat.
Bibs aren't typical, but with the bibs on, it's time to eat.
Napkins are almost never offered.

Good thing we don't have to wash the dishes--anyone for rabbit food?

The menu was all in Japanese so we mostly ordered by the pictures and it turned out well.

This might be the most piping hot soup every served.  It is actually boiling
in the serving bowl on the table.  It was a tomato based soup
with tofu  in it.

You're supposed to make kind of a lettuce wrap or in this case
a leaf wrap.

These were delicious frozen strawberries that had a custard type pudding frozen inside.

Watch and listen carefully wherever you are when you walk along the streets anywhere in Japan.
Bicyclists are constantly going in front of you, around you, behind you, etc
We think that they think it is more polite to run over you than to ring their bicycle bell,
So please be careful!

We always wish we could read all of the Kanji, etc.  This might be Korean
but it could be Japanese so it's all "Greek to me" or better yet,
"It's all Japanese to me!"
(Actually, we can tell the difference, and this is Japanese)

Maybe we're in Turkey instead of Japan's Korea town?

A spice store

100 yen stores are very popular here, too as they are like the dollar stores in the U.S.  They are
a hundred and five yen actually.  We had to stop and check out this large store.  We  bought some
toothpicks and two gift bags.  Great purchase!

You never know who you'll meet on the street!

There were lots of Korean Cosmetic stores there so Korean cosmetics might be something
that the Japanese really like, too.

Here's a super delicious Korean pancake that had cinnamon, sugar, sesame seeds, and a kind of syrup, in the inside of the pancake.  We have to get the recipe-it was sooo good! There is a similar recipe at this web address but it doesn't have sesame seeds: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/hoddeok

Here is a very entertaining young Korean man making cookies from honey and coated with cornstarch.  He takes a solid block of honey and creates over two thousand strands and then fills it with crushed nuts.  He was very entertaining.

He pulls and pulls the strands of honey over and over again and then he wraps them all together.
You had to have been there.  He was a good salesman and we bought some of his candy, too.

The final product is otare, a honey taffy once given to the kings and valuable guests.  The 16,000 strands suggest a prayer for longevity, health, good fortune, and wish-fulfillment. 

Hearts, or liver, or other assorted delicacies anyone? 

There are lots of fruit stands in Japan.  Here the fruit was actually cheaper
than most places but still expensive.  It is very, very good quality, though.

Here we are making a quick fruit stop.

Yes, we're still in Korea town.

Here was a little shrine just along the street where we walked.

We leave you with our closing words of caution as you go about life, especially if you find yourself in "little Korea" in Tokyo:
Be careful about what you open without notice as you may get an
"Acauisition" in the deal and we think an
"Acauisition" just might be similar to a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
So, please don't take that chance!

Best News, also, snow and a wedding in Tokyo

Hi Everyone,

Our very best news is that our granddaughter, Cassie, has begun her mission and is now at the Peru MTC practicing her Spanish and preparing for some of her best times to come as a missionary there!  Her brother, Taylor has received his great mission call to Raleigh North Carolina- Spanish speaking!  He will be working on his Spanish at the Mexico MTC! (This is their great family and I hope they don't mind that we use this photo as it was on Facebook.)
                              CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

                 

Now for less dramatic news: we just knew that you wanted to see that it really does snow here in Tokyo

Fortunately, it is warming up now and we hope that winter is over.

Is this a new Chandler couple?
Actually, we are having fun at a wedding reception for
our dear friend, Yayoi and her husband, Masaki.  Yayoi is a secretary
in our office.

Brother Aalders is rather entertaining, don't you think?

Here is sister Aalders and her sweet daughter, Scarlett.

This was the the wedding party.  The Mothers kimonos were so beautiful, too!
We were very impressed as the parents came around to each table
to greet all of us personally.  Fortunately, we had someone that could
interpret for us.

I didn't take pictures of the wonderful dinner that was served to us but we did get a picture of the dessert.
The numbers on the cupcake are kind of a special Japanese way of writing their surname, Iwanami.  
Each  number represents one of the sounds of the different syllables. 

For some of the program, the groom and his friends
demonstrated some of their old Scout cheers, or something like that.
Later, it was great to see many of the men get up and join them, Elder Chandler
included.  I was amazed at how well he could chant in Japanese.

Here's more of the great "chant-dance" on the program.

Here is the happy couple with some of us.

I think the flower girls are so darling, too.

Masaki and Yayoi had a wonderful marriage ceremony in the Tokyo temple in the morning
and a delightful wedding reception in the afternoon.
We are so happy for them.
 It is a wonderful beginning for their eternal family.
Congratulations!