Ok, I know I’m a bit behind with the old blog, but I’ve been a busy bunny!
Back to New Years Eve in Japan.
After spending last new year in Preston’s most cheesy nightclub, Tokyo Joe’s we searched for somewhere hip and happening to spend new year. But After asking people in our hostel and spending some time searching the internet we ended up going to the only place we could find advertising New Years festivities, Zojoji Temple. Zojoji is situated below Tokyo Tower and despite being the only place we could find it looked like a very good place to welcome in the New Year. I have since discovered that, like Sydney harbor bridge in Australia, it is THE place to be in Japan on New Years Eve – so we made a pretty good choice.
After spending the day at Sensoji we wanted a ‘little sleep’ before going out and ended up running late. Whilst we frantically got ready, each of us had our moment complaining that we didn’t have anything to wear, not that it mattered because we were going to spend the night outside wrapped up in our warm coats. So all the photos would again be of us wearing the same coats we have on in EVERY photo! And despite spending new year at a temple instead of a nightclub we wanted to maintain New Years drinking traditions and got a bottle of cheap wine from the local supermarket to drink while we were getting ready.
Arriving at the train station we realised no-one had looked up which station we needed to get off at for the Temple and we couldn’t remember where we had got off for the Tower. We asked a Japanese couple on the train but they couldn’t help, so we disembarked at the next stop and asked a train guard. He told us a stop, different to the one for the Tower, and we got back on the train.
After a couple of stops a western man, accompanied by a Japanese woman got on the train. He waited about five minutes then, looking over at us, asked: “Where are you from?” in an American drawl. Our response of: “England,” was met with the increasingly irritating: “Eeenngggaaaallllaaannnnddd, you’re kidding.” He then proceeded to talk at us for the next 15 minutes: Amongst other things he told us he was 45, a grandfather, his daughter, who lives in California, would be 21 in a few weeks, he has been married twice (the Japanese lady was his second wife), he thinks England is beautiful, but has never been there and never will! He doesn’t have a job because he can’t speak Japanese, Japan is backwards in a lot of ways compared to America, oh and he won’t get a job as an English teacher because he wants to die Japanese!!!!!! This bit none of us could comprehend.
At one point his wife asked us what we were doing in Japan, but as soon as one of us spoke he continued his monologue about himself. Unfortunately he was also going to Tokyo Tower so we had the endure the rest of the journey listening to him.
Once we arrived at our destination we headed for a really pretty looking restaurant we’d spotted whilst visiting the Tower. Unfortunately appearances can be deceptive. The menu was boring and we all plumped for spaghetti and garlic bread. When the meal arrived the food was tasteless and the bread solid. After we finished we waited ages for our table to be cleared and to be offered desert only to get bored of waiting and ask for the desert menu, to be told the kitchen closed five minutes ago. Gggrrrr (as Emily would, and probably did say)! Knowing that they wanted to close, and annoyed that it has cost a fortune for a crap meal, we made our drinks last as long as possible just to irritate them, but were eventually driven out when they turned the heating off!
After paying for our ludicrously over priced and rubbish meal we went to Zojoji temple to welcome in the New Year the Buddhist way.
Zojoji Temple was originally built in 1393 but was moved to its present location in 1598. It is the main temple of the Buddhist Jodo sect. This sect is simpler than other forms of Buddhism and believes that everybody can achieve salvation by strongly believing in the Buddha Amida.
At midnight the people visiting the temple were going to release 10,000 eco frindly balloons with wishes attached to them, so as soon as we arrived, wanting to be part of the action, we found out where to get the balloons and joined the very large queue. As we neared the front of the queue we realised everyone had tickets. An Aussie girl (who spoke fluent Japanese) in front explained that the tickets had been given out earlier and we couldn’t get a balloon without one. Already being near the front of the queue and having queued for ages we decided to stick it out and see if we could blag one.
Upon reaching the front of the queue and pretending we’d just realized we needed a ticket we asked if we could just have one balloon, but were given a resolute “no” by some guy who shook his head and talked at us in Japanese. Oh well – it was worth a try!
After our balloon disappointment we headed back into the crowds. The steps to the temple were full of people, mainly couples, sat waiting for the ceremonial festivities to begin. We picked our way up the steps only to get to discover there wasn’t much up there except more people!
The inside of the temple appeared to be closed so we attempted to have a look at some of the stalls. It didn’t take long to discover that most of them were selling food and the queues were too thick to bypass. After a lot of pushing, shoving and squeezing through small gaps we found our way to a (kind of) merchandising stall and decided it would be fitting to all get something to mark the occasion. After much discussion we opted for a phone charm – they were cheap- of a pig/boar (marking 2007 the year of the boar), saying Happy New Year in Japanese.
With just 20 minutes until midnight we picked our way back down the steps and headed towards the big temple bell, as this was where the action would be. We managed to get ourselves a good spot from which to watch proceedings, just behind the Tokyo TV man.
With about 15 minutes to go the ceremony began. An old man, that I presume to be the head monk of the temple, dressed in elaborate orange robes performed the ceremony before giving a brief address to the crowd.
After addressing the crowd he went to the back of the stage in preparation to ring the large temple bell at the stroke of midnight. Through the night the bell would tool 108 times. This is because Buddhists believe humans have 108 worldly desires, hearing the bell toll 108 times absolves you of your desires for the coming year.
Once the monk reached the back of the stage and settled in his seat, he was too old to stand, the lights around the temple went off and the countdown to 2007 began. It was strange to hear the countdown in a foreign language knowing that at home, in England, it was still the middle of the afternoon.
On the stroke of midnight the bell was struck making a deep reverberating noise around the temple, and I turned around the see the beautiful sight of 10,000 balloons floating into the air like bubbles lit against the night sky.
Taking in the atmosphere as hundreds of people hugged loved ones and welcomed in 2007 we all found each other and realised we had been so caught up in filming and taking pictures we had barley noticed each other as the new year dawned. As the bell was struck for the second time we wished each other happy new year with a group hug and wondered where we would be at the same time next year.
With that we turned and followed the crowds heading for the tube station, stopping to have our photo taken under Tokyo Tower with 2007 lit up on the side.
* Posted by j150vsc on 14/02/2007.
Leave a Reply