So yesterday ended with a little bit of a laugh! After I had decided to ignore Amelia's advice on not watching the film " london to brighton", I was a little down. That movie is sad!!!! I just sat there in disbelief and shock. (Watch it- but with someone there...its brilliant;paedophilia, prostitution,shooting and the beautiful brighton sea front...what a mix). But then I got a knock on the door from Amelia, and all of us decided to put on our Yukata (summer kimono which you get freshly everyday from the hotel). So dressed up japanese style we marched to the front desk and got the clerk to take photos. He seemed a little bemused (and possibly confused). We took it a little further and decided to go up to the main hotel part. It was quite a sight - 4 gaijin shuffling their way to the lift, we even stopped a load of japanese people dead in their tracks, they were so confused by the sight. They must think we were such weird foreigners.
Today we went to the Asakusa temple again and happened upon a ceremony of sorts. I am not sure what it was really, but the wooden pillars that were normally covered in white material were naked and sporting chinese writing, and possibly sanscrit. The monks (?) were chanting and there were several rituals. It was mesmerizing to watch. What was interesting was that when they had all finished and left, the floor was covered in these colourful pieces of paper, which must have been there all along. The minute the last monk left, the crowd (mainly the elder people) swooped in like a pack of wolves to grab one of these pieces of paper. Not quite the dignified behaviour I'd expect...but hey. The paper must have borne some religious significance.
After that we went to get food and I wanted to try a white pork bun. We have them in Vietnam too and I loooove them! The guy was being very sweet and complimenting my japanese even though I was clearly rubbish! The bun was alright...vietnamese ones are better!!! HA!
It was raining a lot today so everyone was carrying an umbrella. I now understand why some guys hate umbrellas, and how dangerous I am around taller people. My eyes were in constant danger of being gorged by some transparent umbrella belonging to a japanese person (BECAUSE YES! there are people SHORTER than ME!!!!).
A tip for people who want to work in Japan/Tokyo: every train stop has its own tune (they all sound a little bit like something out of super mario), which means that when your stuck between lots of sweaty business men during rush hour and can't quite see the sign for your stop, all you have to do is listen to the tune and you'll know where you are! Believe me the getting stuck between lots of people happens during rush hour...I don't know if its worse than London, but oh my goodness does it get cramped! The worst is when people then want to get out; they literally transform in to little "made in Japan" bulldozers that will run you down to get out. Its a little scary.
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