June 16, 2001

TOKYO, JAPAN (June 6-7, 2001)

Dear Friends and Subscribers,

If the attitude in India is "Fate will have it" and the injunction in Hong Kong is "Relax, another train comes in three minutes," the motto in Japan must be "Stay on Schedule!" During a morning tour of the downtown area, we stopped at the Imperial Palace Gardens, a place of exquisite beauty and peacefulness. Footpaths branch off from the main walkway, enticing visitors along shaded paths to view fountains, brooks, bonsai trees, sculptures and colorful gardens of flowers. Nevertheless, our guide herded us at a brisk pace along the asphalt walkway through the park, pointing out the 47 trees planted to represent the 47 provinces of Japan, never deviating from his scheduled course. He did allow us minute to take pictures of the park's highlight, a lovelyfield of purple and white irises surrounded by a border of brilliant pink azaleas (with tripods and photographers sprouting among the blossoms!) I guess the plan is to snap as many pictures as possible, and then reflect upon the beauty of the places you saw from the privacy of your own slide projector back home.... Finally, at the end of the walkway, our guide said, "This is our place of rest. You may take a break here." Good, I thought, I'll go back to the garden and sit for a while, meditating on the peaceful atmosphere. Or perhaps I'll meander through the footpaths... My reverie was interrupted by his final instruction, "Be on the bus in five minutes." So much for our "rest stop"! It was really just a potty break. (And you don't want me to describe the Japanese toilet...)

Mark began feeling sick as we left Hong Kong (probably from the lemonade he drank at TGIFriday's on our last night in India), so he remained in our room at the Imperial Hotel while I went on the Tokyo city tour by myself. We began with a visit to the Meiji Shinto Shrine, passing through a huge gate made of giant cypress trees which symbolized purification. I liked the thought of passing through a purification force field, and drank in the freshness of the sunny morning. Then, (just in case you think evil thoughts after entering, I guess) the believer stops at a fountain of holy water to purify hands and mouth before approaching the actual shrine. Our guide demonstrated the process of pouring water on first the left hand and then the right, followed by rinsing the mouth and then spitting the water into the basin below the fountain. Several tourists in our group decided to participate in the custom, but with Mark back at the hotel suffering from India's revenge, I wasn't going to take a chance; the cypress gate would have to do. Outside the shrine was a large sacred tree from which hung dozens of small wooden plaques bearing prayers and wishes of those who had visited the shrine. I liked the idea of shared prayer requests, rather like the western (wailing) wall in Israel and prayer rolls in our own church. It gave a sense of personal intimacy to the religious worship.

We also visited a Buddhist Temple, the Asakusa Kannon Temple in the older part of Tokyo. I was surprised to learn that the Canon camera company is named for this temple. Buddhists also go through a purification ritual before entering their house of worship, but instead of washing with water, they wave their hands and shake their hair to take in the smoke of the incense that burns in an altar outside the temple. Both groups pay alms by tossing coins into a large slotted alms box (designed to keep prying hands out, I assume). Coins are tossed from a distance, not dropped discreetly, and the posts behind the boxes bear the knicks of coins that have been banked into the slots. For some reason the coins are shaken in a metal canister before they are selected and tossed, giving the whole process the sound and feel of a craps table--buy a chance to win a blessing! I'm sure that's not how it feels to a true believer, but to me that's how it seemed.

Our tour ended in the shopping district of Ginza rather than at our hotel, and I was a bit nervous about making my way back by myself, since I don't read Japanese. But I had a good map, and enough signs were written in English that I had no trouble and felt like a seasoned traveler. Along the way I found one of my two shopping bargains in this very expensive city where a taxi ride from the airport is over $250 each way: a meal at McDonald's for three bucks. Later I found the Uniqlo shop inside the Mensa department store, where Gap-quality clothing is available at Walmart prices. Keep it in mind if you ever go to Tokyo. For everything else, bring lots of cash. And increase the limit on your credit cards.

Mark was feeling a little better when I returned to the hotel, and had an unusual tale to tell: He woke up midmorning remembering vaguely that the 76ers had beaten the Lakers in overtime in their first game of the finals, but he couldn't remember why he knew it--was it on the news the night before, or had he only dreamed it? He switched on the television and there was the game, in progress. He watched it to the end and sure enough, the 76ers beat the Lakers in overtime. Must have been a delayed broadcast he decided, and he must have heard the results while I was watching the news the night before. Only I didn't know anything about the game, and when we did the math on the time change, we realized that he had been watching the game LIVE. There was no way that he could have known the outcome, and yet, he did. Now, if only he could get such clear premonitions about the markets.....

In less than 24 hours we were heading back to the Tokyo airport (via airport limousine bus--we knew enough not to take a taxi), having enjoyed wonderful weather, a quick but informative tour (for me anyway) and enlightening meetings with subscriber Joe Pescatore, who lives in Tokyo, and Professor Chiaki Nishiyama, past president of the Mont Pelerin Society and a research fellow with the Hoover Institution.

We took advantage of the internet computers provided in the Red Carpet Lounge, sipped some tomato juice and nibbled on cheese and crackers while waiting for our flight to be called, and then stretched out in seats 12 G&H of the 747 that is starting to feel like home.

-- Jo Ann Skousen

email: jaskousen@mskousen.com

Return to the Index of Jo Ann's Odds & Trends articles:
Return to Index of Articles