nude highway driving

I finally took a day off Monday … a much-needed downtime after a seven-day workweek with some evil-ass hours thrown in there. I knew I was going to be busting ass when I came out, and while I’m in the middle of it I don’t feel that fried. But last night after working the late shift my mind was mush and I was ready for a day of no news.

I got a late start, but I began the day with a nice, quiet visit to Meiji Shrine. Once you cross through the first main torii you forget you are in Tokyo, save for the sounds of the JR Line trains. The walk from the main entrance to the shrine is a long, wide gravel road surrounded by trees and birds. The air gets thick with nature as spring and summertime approach. You know you’re halfway there when you see a wall of colorful sake caskets on the right.

I made my way to the main shrine, washed my hands and went to the altar. Tossed some coins, clapped, bowed, said a prayer, bowed and clapped again and peacefully walked away. The place puts me at ease … you can feel the holiness in the air even if you don’t quite understand the religion. It’s usually very quiet there except for the sounds of clapping, coins and crows.

Out front there is a “sacred tree” surrounded by a wall packed with votive boards on which people write personal prayers. The priests stand around it each morning and offer your prayers and thanks to the deities who live throughout the shrine. There are hundreds (probably thousands) of these boards hanging on the wall, and they fascinate me. The hopes, dreams, prayers and gratitude of people from all over the world, written in so many different languages, hanging there for the priests to offer and passers-by to read. Some are beautiful, some are sad, some are goofy … all seem so hopeful. I took my time walking around the wall, breathing in the spiritual optimism. I hung some of my own hopes around the tree. I tried to imagine what the original shrine felt like.

The day remained relaxing from there. Ate some octopus balls in Yoyogi Park, then wandered around the area, eventually making my way down Omote-sando to Kiddy Land for some toy madness. From there I walked to Shibuya, where I spent some time in the Starbucks that overlooks the major intersection, watching hundreds of people dash across the street every time the lights changed. (Once I buy a bigger card for my camera I will make a Quicktime of it.) I made it to T.G.I. Friday’s in time to have a couple Lights of Havana at half price, then enjoyed an amazing Thai dinner at Elephant. The pad thai was amazing, and the Indonesian spring rolls in Thai chili sauce weren’t so bad, either. (I’m just glad I ate them before I asked what they were made of.)

It was exactly the mind-clearing day I needed. On top of work stresses, I hit “the wall” Saturday night. It happens every time I visit — there’s always one day (or night) where I feel completely lost here, stupid for not speaking Japanese, annoyed at the crowds and the constant smoking and cell-phone chatter, overwhelmed by trying to plunge myself into a foreign culture, so very tired of not being able to walk home from a night out with friends without armies of girls in big coats asking me if I want a massagee. I felt it coming on as I headed out Saturday night and ended up having a bad night (save for when I blew away all odds and saw a second Japanese man impersonate Angus Young on a bar).

But Monday was good, the reset I needed. Special thanks go to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken for helping me out.