Chapter 11 - Tuesday 25th June 2008
Today it was our trip to the Nagata Shrine for Ebusi-Shin the God of Business and prosperity.(see photo). We got ourselves to Nagata via the subway and did a pretty good job of navigating our way through the labyrinth of Japanese subway/train lines. There are sub stations within sub stations and different companies run different lines. There are machines that give you your ticket and luckily with some of the machines you can push an ‘English’ button and it all converts to our language (just a little easier to understand!!). You can buy ‘credit’ and feed your ‘card’ through the gates.
You put it in one end and it gets sucked out the other and tells you how much credit you have left. Some lines have a hard plastic credit card that you pay a deposit on (so you don’t chuck it out) and you can top it up. Other lines sell you a floppy card that is disposable.
Now which rubbish bin do I put that in?
Burnable paper or metal and foil???? Oh dear just trying to figure out the rubbish etiquette is getting to me and Brian has given up I think and looks at me with that ? face. Which bin dear?”
The trains run regularly and on time! Yay! So if you miss one it’s not long till the next one and they are very very clean. Come to think of it you don’t really see any rubbish around anywhere other than on collection days. If you are lucky enough to know which kind of rubbish day it is!!!!
At the moment it is ‘big rubbish’ day. That happens once every 2 months and there is anything from tables and chairs to clothes and bric-a-brac a bit like our kerbside council pick up. You only see the street people (and there are not many of them) picking through it. They score pretty well I think as the Japanese seem to like ‘new’ cos the stuff I saw on the piles looked pretty darn good! Bit like an op shop on the street and it’s for free!!
Now where was I…………….???? Oh yes, the Nagata Shrine. Very beautiful and the district of Nagata seemed more ‘local’ like little shops and the buildings not so big. Cheaper veges and some shoes that were only $20. Shoes are very expensive in Japan and they don’t have my size. (I’m only a size 8 but that’s like ‘big foot’ here.) Did I mention that the women are like little sparrows and have feet to match also no thighs; a pair of pants doesn’t go past my knees let alone get over my leg. So if you are bigger than a size 10 you are very limited to what you can buy unless you go for the baggy look!
Linen is popular with the older ladies and cool in this climate too. Looks like ‘baggy linen’ for me! I don’t iron so it will have to be ‘baggy, crinkly linen’ – nice look Nols!
Now where was I again……………..????? Oh yes, the Nagata Shrine. Hang on we are getting there! Yes…………very beautiful and lovely wide open grounds surrounding the main shrine and lots of little ones for the 7 other gods.
We did the rounds and rang the bells. Oh yea………….now the deal is that you have to make a donation (gift) to the gods so that they help you out (or no blessings for you buster) and there is a special ritual that you do. First you go to the water fountain (which is out the front of every temple) and drink and wash your hands.
Then you bow before entering the gates (the big archway things that look Japanese (funny bout that!) – you know the kind you see in all the pictures.) Then you stop by the shop and purchase either a pray book thingy which has the prays that you want already in them, like prosperity or good health or good luck or no senility (I need that one.) Or a wooden plaque that you can write your pray on or several other versions of same. You then go up to the stairs to the front entrance. Throw your money offering into the big box container, Bow, clap 3 times, ring the bell (which is at the top of a big thick rope and looks like an over grown cow bell and sounds just as tinny (not like a pretty chapel bell),
Then you say your prays (whatever they are) and when your done you clap 3 times again and bow again. You do the rounds of all the other little shrines which surround the main shrine and do the same thing (these are the ‘support team’) not all of them have bells though. Lots of clapping and ringing and bowing going on around these places. If you did it anywhere else they would put you away! Then on exiting you bow at the entrance arch and your done. You got your blessings!! Yay!!
How did we know to do this? Watching the locals!! You think that they would have an instruction book just so we don’t look like dickheads! Now there is an opportunity for a bright young thing! ‘Noeline’ famous for her ‘Temple etiquette for ‘Gaijin’ (that’s an impolite way of describing everyone who is not Japanese).
Well another successful ‘Shrine day, we feel adequately blessed and grounded and now can be considered as acquainted with our hosts. Dually noted and in the record books of the gods. Blessing, blessings many many blessings.
Sending many blessing to all of you (we can cos we have heaps to spare.)
Stay tuned for the next thrilling episode of “Martins In Japan”.
(Remember the Muppets and ‘Pigs In Space’???) every time you read it you gotta say it like the Muppets. OK?! Ready
“Martinsssssssssss Innnnnnnnnn Japannnnnnnnn” with that big booming voice and you gotta look up in the air like Miss Piggy used to do looking for the voice. It gives you a better effect then! Good!
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