Tuesday July 25 - Temples, Shrines and Cats

Wonderful, wonderful day!

We have a delightful private guide named Sachimi. I found her through the website "ToursByLocals". We set up a day through mutual conversation that was going to be a temple, a shrine, an old period shopping street, and a botanic garden.

Plans changed a little the day before when I figured out there was another cat shrine in Tokyo in the area we are going to today.

She figured me out quickly on Tuesday and just what level of "Crazy Cat Lady" I am.

Warning - if you're not into cats, you might as well stop reading today's blog here. Also, lots of other days of this blog.

Outer gate of the Asakusa Senso-ji Buddhist temple complex.

So the story goes something like this:

There were fishermen fishing with a net in the river. They pulled up a small Buddha golden image. They brought it back here to their town where they displayed it to their townsfolk. The town built a temple. But after time (years?) a monk showed up and said it was too sacred and should be shielded from eyes. So it was hidden away from view within the complex somewhere.

Dragon that guards the temple - he spits water.

Shopping way.

Buddha within the complex. There is a kindergarten here.

Temple.

Five story pagoda.

Place to wash your hands and clarify yourself before entering. See, the dragon spits water.

Another view of the same pagoda.

Asakusa (Senso-ji Buddhist temple/ Nakamise shopping street /Asakusa Shrine)

The photos above are the Buddhist temple they built for the Buddha image.

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The photos below are the Shinto shrine built for the fisherman who found the Buddha image in the water.

The two, Buddhist and Shinto, are intertwined in Japan all over. There two are a great example of that. And the people can believe in both, and that is ok. One has the weddings, and the other has the funerals.

About the shrine ... the little foxes are their spirit animal at this shine. In the summer, the foxes get straw hats to keep cool.

Tokyo SkyTree is within sight. It is 634 meters tall, so it doesn't need to be close to see it.

About this shrine

Imado Shrine

Japan, 1-5-22 Imado, Taito-ku, Tokyo 111-0024

A cat shrine in Tokyo.

When I came in 2003, Yayoi brought me here because I wanted to see a Cat Temple (or shrine. It was about the cats to me, not which religion).

The belief here is that the first two dieties fell in love and were married and live here. These are the two that created the Islands of Japan. So this Shrine's speciality is marriages.

Walking in cat town. Yanaka Neighborhood

Cat cafe!

Sachimi, Shelley, and Lillian at the end of our day.

14,000 step day