Ueno Park - March 15, 2020

Ueno Park has a lot to see and do. It is home to a zoo, 5 museums, 2 temples, and 3 shrines. Due to COVID-19 the zoo and the museums are closed. We were drawn to the park this weekend by its reputation for having ~1200 cherry trees. Unfortunately, only a few trees were blooming (photos coming in a future post) so those plans went out the window. I am happy to report that the day was not wasted thanks to the plethora of options provided by the park.

The first site we stumbled on is a statue Prince Kamatsu. He was involved in the founding and management of the Japanese Red Cross.

We then headed to see Toshogu Shrine. As is customary we passed under a gate to indicate we were entering a sacred place.

The pathway was lined with bronze lanterns.

Just before reaching the Shrine we passed Kan'ei-ji Pagoda, a five storied pagoda. This pagoda was built in 1639 to replace one that had burned down.

These are ema, plaques where people write their wishes for the gods to consider.

We arrived at the Karamon, a chinese style gate, it was built in 1651. Komainu, the 'lion-dog' statues, are placed on either side of the entrance to repel evil.

It is beautiful. Check out the Ascending dragon carving. The Descending dragon is on the other side of the door (not pictured).

Once I started writing this post I realized we had not seen the actual Toshogu Shrine. People were paying their respects to the gods at the gate and I had assumed the gate was the shrine. Ooops.

Our next stop was Hanazono Inari Shrine. At the entrance to this shrine is a series of torii gates.

This is a temizuya, it is where people perform a cleansing ritual prior to approaching a shrine. I thought the copper roof on this one was stunning.

Unfortunately, while I did see this shrine, I didn't get a good picture of it. I did get a good one of the statues at either side of the entrance to the hall of worship.

From there we headed to Bentendo Temple. The temizuya there was a dragon and I thought it was exceptionally cool.

There is often incense at the entrances to temples. I can be sensitive to certain odors but I do like the smell of the incense they use. I don't know what type it is but I believe it is always the same one.

This statue, in front of the temple, caught my attention. Torii gates are associated with shrines and not temples typically so I thought it was interesting.

This temple is dedicated to the goddess Benten. She is the goddess of good future, wealth, music and knowledge. The first picture is the front and then second picture is the back.

Shinobazu Pond is behind the temple and we stopped to watch people feeding the fish...and the birds. Unfortunately, David and I both ended up wearing bird poop.

On to our next stop: Kiypmizu Kannon Temple. As you walk up to the temple you can see the "Pine Tree of the Moon" (tsuki no matsu).

The temizuya there was the coolest one yet.

In front of the temple was a fortune telling machine that I found hilarious. I couldn't resist spending the 200 yen (~$2) to watch it in action.

I received Fortune #13: Moderate Luck. It's better than little luck I suppose.

This temple is the home of the goddess of conception. A quick look around, a picture of the gong in front and I was out of there. No need to push my 'moderate luck'!