June 30, 2016 Tokyo and Home

June 30, 2016- Tokyo/Seattle

We checked out of the hotel and headed to our last shrine. It is a Meji era (late 1800 and early 1900's) shrine, Yasakuni Shrine and museum. It was built to honor the war dead. The shrine itself was plain compared to other older shrines we visited. This is a bit of a controversial shrine. After WWII, there were some people enshrined there who had been convicted warm criminals. Enshrinement doesn't mean that the bodies are laid to rest there, rather the spirits are laid to rest there. Because of this, there was not way to remove these war criminals from the shrine.

Elissa, our Japan expert and Eva our Tokyo guide

Smoking trailer

Statue in memorial of all the mothers and wives who sent men off to war

An Indian judge who was sympathetic to the Japanese war criminals after the war

Sumo wrestler statue

The museum was also quite interesting. The tone was quite aggressive. The text in the museum talked about how the Japanese were really just trying to right a wrong in many of the conflict they were involved in. Many people are still upset about this museum because of the tone of the text. They did have a quite moving section. They had many pictures of war dead as well as letters they wrote home. These types of artifacts are so much more poignant than seeing maps of Japanese aggression toward their neighbors. 

Off to lunch. And then to the airport. Before we left the restaurant I convinced a couple of my travel companions, Anne and Calvin, to take a quick walk with me. We happened upon a beautiful little Shinto shrine set between two office buildings. It was a fitting way to end our trip through Japan. We said goodbye to the spirits of those Japanese who have gone before us. 

Some observations about my trip:

1. China was such a foreign experience. Of the two countries, I would like to go back to China. There was so much we didn't see. It's a rich country with a diverse population. People live life out in the open there, from their bathroom habits to their nightlife in the street. There is always something going on.

2. Japan is a much more structured society with strict social guidelines. It felt a little more controlled and not as foreign. I would love to travel to other parts of Japan that are more remote. The Japanese people are so generous, and I'd love to spend time in an area that isnt' so touristy. They also have a beautiful country. Lots of trees and greenery. I felt like I was in Seattle. 

3. I became known as the bathroom conissour. China doesn't have western toilets except in the hotels. This causes the westerner to become familiar with a different set of bathroom expectation. For girls, they have to have strong legs because there is a lot of squatting involved. This can lead to a few other problems I won't explain here. Also, always bring your own toilet paper. Usually none was provided. The positive thing about the Chinese "Happy Houses" as we like to call them, is that they are plentiful. Because a lot of Chinese don't have their own bathroom, they are many public toilets all over the city. After we reached Japan, I had a little bathroom culture shock. While there are still a few squat toilets, mostly there are western toilets. These toilets will rock your world. You might have running water sounds to cover the sound you make in the bathroom, a fresh water bath with the bidet, a heater seat (not a fan of these), self-flushing toilets, music and bird sounds, self-closing toilet seats. These toilets have a lot of electronics involved. I sure hope they don't have power outages very often.

Japanese toilet, notice the control panel

Japanese bathroom with slippers to wear

Chinese squat toilet. This was a very clean one.

4. Japan's energy future is uncertain. They only have one nuclear power plant operating today. They are relying on hydro-electric power and solar power. They are going to have to figure out their next steps soon. Apparently the lights in the cities are much dimmer today than then have been in the past.

I would like to thank my wonderful travel companions: Anne, Pilar, Sonja, Ginger, Calvin, Thea, Melissa, Kim, Lou, Meb, Marilyn, Josephine, Pei-Jin, Jennifer, Deborah, Dawn, Kristen, Karen Kane who organized the trip, Jeff our China expert, and Elissa our Japan expert. We also had some amazing guides, Kathy,Ping, and Richard in China, Junko and Eva in Japan. Their knowledge and organization was invaluable. This trip wouldn't have been so much fun without all of you. We we constantly on the go, and you all handled it with grace. Hopefully I'll see all of you again somewhere in the world.