TOKYO - WEEK 4
This fourth week was generally quite calm. I experienced my second earthquake, which occurred near Tokyo on Sunday, January 21. The tremors weren’t very strong, so nothing serious happened. In my recent posts, I often mentioned that I was walking a lot. After reflecting on the month of January, I realized that I had walked about 260 km. Even though I’ve already visited many places, there is still so much left to discover.
On Wednesday, I woke up earlier to go take photos at the Sensō-ji Temple. I had already visited it on January 1, but there were too many people. At 7 a.m., the temple was almost empty. I’ll try to go around 6 a.m. next time to enjoy an even quieter atmosphere. I then headed to the Higashi Hongan-ji Temple, where I was able to witness a prayer session. It was an interesting experience, and for once, I was allowed to take photos! There were only elderly Japanese people there. I think they let me take photos because they probably don’t deal with mass tourism. However, the weekend was busier. I was able to visit the Iidabashi district, known as the French quarter of Tokyo. When I went there at night, I discovered a very pleasant atmosphere with many small restaurants.
On Sunday, I also returned to the Meiji-Jingū Temple. Unlike my last visit, this time, Sunday, January 28, according to the lunar calendar, was the day of 大安 (Taian), considered the most auspicious for luck and weddings. Since it was a Sunday, many ceremonies took place throughout the day.
Although I only stayed for five hours, I was able to witness more than ten newlyweds and capture over 500 photos. Needless to say, I was pretty satisfied with my day! I even almost had the chance to photograph a newlywed couple exclusively with the agreement of their family, but the temple staff refused…