Category: Journal

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Travel: Japan – Tokyo (Day 3)

I’ve grown accustomed to having my breakfast downstairs at the restaurant here in the hotel. (I think I forgot to mention that I am staying at the Tosei Hotel Cocone. As this is my only experience with a hotel in Japan, I would have to give this one five stars. Very comfortable, very clean, and the people are very kind.) The breakfast is buffet style, and I generally make two trips. Round one is typically breakfast food with a few unusual items, including Ramen noodles with grilled mackerel and onion. Round two… Now that’s something very different.

What we have here is a bowl of rice with three types of sushi: salmon, salmon roll, and fatty tuna. It just makes me happy. Never what I have thought of having sushi for breakfast, but they offer it and I eat it. I get plenty of protein, so I have plenty of energy to see me through the day.

It was only a five-minute walk to the first stop of the day, the Tsukiji Hongan-ji Buddhist Temple.

Tsukiji Hongwanji is a Buddhist temple belonging to the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha denomination, also known as Shin Buddhism, which was founded by the monk Shinran (1173-1263) and whose head temple is Hongwanji (Nishi Hongwanji) in Kyoto.

The temple has been destroyed by fire or earthquake several times, and the current structure was built in 1934.

The interior is rather magnificent and ornate. The photographs are not great as you are not allowed to get very close.

I’m sure some will mark this up as my Christian bias, but I just didn’t “feel” all that much while I was there. I got a sense of the peace and the calm (with the exception of all the construction that was going on) yet it did leave my spirit wanting. Am I really so narrow-minded? No. As I am certain they believe Buddha leads to the path of enlightenment; I believe that Jesus leads to the path of life. That’s an argument for another day, so I shall end this discussion with a nice glass of iced, VERY green tea.

It was really good, but I did get the impression that someone had gone out and mowed the grass and made tea from it. 

It was time for my longer excursion, which took me about an hour. It was only one train ride, but it included 15 minutes of walking on both ends. All this took me to St. Mary’s Cathedral—the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Tokyo. This is the church I mentioned in yesterday‘s post. I saw pictures of it both on the outside and the inside and wanted to visit.

When I arrived, a service was taking place, so there was time before I could enter. Fortunately, on the church grounds, there is a recreation of the grotto at Lourdes. I made good use of my time and prayed my rosary.

I really like this one…

I don’t know what kind of flower this is, but it was beautiful.

Following the service, I was allowed to enter the church and spend some time. This is where I will make confession and tell you that I am a bad person. There was a sign that said no pictures inside the cathedral, and of course, everyone there was taking pictures… very discreetly.

The building was designed by the famous Japanese architect Kenzo Tange (1913-2005). From an article…

For his Tokyo Cathedral of Saint Mary, he visited several medieval Gothic examples. “After experiencing their heaven-aspiring grandeur and ineffably mystical spaces,” he says, “I began to imagine new spaces, and wanted to create them by means of modern technology.”

I still do not know the architecture type, but I would classify it as brutalist/modern. It provides a very clear message that declares, in no uncertain terms, “The Lord is my rock!”

That is the altar at the top of the red stairs. Maybe that gives you an idea of how large the sanctuary is. If I were given the opportunity to build a church, oh yeah…

The Mary Chapel to the left of the high altar.

Following my time at the cathedral, I headed back to the hotel. Today is my last full day in Tokyo, and I must check out my 10 AM tomorrow. What this means is that today is laundry day. For those of you who remember Portugal, this will not be me doing laundry in the sink and drying it with a hair dryer. There’s a good and proper washing machine/dryer downstairs available to hotel guests. It did take me a while to figure out how to use it, but once I put my glasses on, the instructions made a bit more sense. After that’s all sorted out, I may have to go and find myself a bit more sushi. I may turn into a fish before this is over with, but it’s so darn good!

Tomorrow, we ride the bullet. The bullet train, that is! I hear it goes a little over 200 mph. That oughta be fun! I’ll keep you posted.

This is your man in Tokyo signing off.

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Travel: Japan – Tokyo (Day 2)

How do we begin to describe this day? Well, given that it is the Lord‘s day we went to church. Saint Albans Episcopal Anglican Church in Tokyo. It was about a 30 minute train ride and I made all my connections. Arrived early and was able to pray my rosary before the service began. A very small church in size but it seemed to be a vibrant congregation. I would say that half the members were African.

The service was straight out of the Book of Common Prayer. Very few deviations. I like that in a service. The sermon was good however following the sermon (the priest was a graduate of Nashotah House) the former priest to the church (also a graduate of Nashotah House) gave a small presentation on a gift that he had received and that he was now giving to the diocese. The gift was a FUMIE.

A fumi-e (踏み絵, fumi “stepping-on” + e “picture”) was a likeness of Jesus or Mary to which the religious authorities of Japan required suspected Christians to step, in order to demonstrate that they were not members of the outlawed Christian religion. If they refused, they were put to death and a most horrible way.

The priest who gifted the fumie to the diocese provided us with a detailed description of how they were put to death. I’m not going to go into that here. They were the Martyrs of Japan. It’s worth reading up on.

During the announcements, they invited the visitors to tell who they were and where they were from. Yours truly spoke up and gave a loud shout out for Enid, Oklahoma! Funny thing, that was not my only connection with Oklahoma for the day.

Following the service, the day turned into a bit of a tourist outing. As I turned the corner on the street that leads up to the church I saw the Tokyo Tower.

I said to myself, “Self, you’ve got to get up there!” Both self and I were of the opinion that we would not be climbing the stairs, but we took the elevator. What a ride. It goes up and up and up.

Standing 1,092 feet high in central Tokyo, Tokyo Tower (東京タワー) is the world’s tallest, self-supported steel tower and 10 feet taller than its model, the Eiffel Tower. A symbol of Japan’s post-war rebirth as a major economic power, Tokyo Tower was the country’s tallest structure from its completion in 1958 until 2012 when it was surpassed by the Tokyo Skytree. In addition to being a popular tourist spot, Tokyo Tower serves as a broadcast antenna.

820 feet up is the top observation deck. Yours truly wrote the elevator all the way there. I can honestly say I felt a bit woozy at times, but what a view.



Selfie of the day.

What goes up must come down…

To get my feedback on the ground, I traveled to the Imperial Gardens. Most everything has bloomed except for the azaleas. The variations of green were fantastic though.

At this point, I had been on the go for about eight hours and I had not eaten since breakfast. I was hungry. I took two trains to get back to the general area of my hotel, and then found a sushi bar. I ate my weight in sushi. I also had four very tasty beers. I had the salmon, shrimp, eel, salmon roe, tuna, mackerel, shrimp… and when all that was done, I looked at the guy and said, “I’ve never had sea urchin before. I think I need to try that.” I did. Salty and earthy. I would eat it again, but it’s not on the top of the list. I topped all that off with a salmon skin roll garnished with salmon roe. Dang! Good eats for sure!

Now, when I ordered the sea urchin, I noticed the two girls at the end of this bar about three seats away from me. They were very friendly and we chatted a bit. But they watched me eat that sea urchin, and then we discussed it. Come to find out, they were from Stillwater, Oklahoma. They both work at OSU. We had a really good laugh about that. They have one more day here and then they’re on their way home. How strange is that? There are over 14 million people living in Tokyo and I happen to run into two people from Oklahoma. A very good day.

Tomorrow, I have absolutely no idea what’s on the agenda, but I do believe that I’m going to go and visit some more of the churches that are here. I don’t know what the architectural style is but I have not seen it before. More on that tomorrow.

I pray you all are well. My cat sitter extraordinaire sent a picture of The Queen. She seems to be doing well.

Silly photos…

Of course, Godzilla had to make an appearance!
Too cloudy to see it, but it’s in that general vicinity. 
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Travel: Japan – Tokyo (Day 1)

I left Oklahoma City sometime yesterday with a layover in Dallas and then a 13 1/2-hour flight to Tokyo. I’m not gonna complain about that flight because I got to come to Japan, but I will say… Dang! It’s a long flight. I flew American Airlines and they did pretty good. I fly Japan Airlines on the way home. 

I arrived at my hotel intending to get out and explore the neighborhood. That didn’t happen. I got to the hotel about 5:30 PM and I was out like a light by 7:30 PM. I don’t sleep real well on airplanes, but I slept good last night. I woke up at about 5:30 AM Tokyo time and started the day at 6:30 AM with a nice cup of coffee. Breakfast at seven… Now that was fun. I have no idea what I ate to be perfectly honest with you. I know there were some eggs involved and possibly some toast but after that, I really don’t know. There was some kind of fish there were noodles and some very tasty morsels that I said to myself, you’re here,  you might as well try them.

I was traveling by 7:30 AM and exploring the city. It’s crazy here! There are people everywhere. My first destination and the one place on the list that I wanted to see was the Gotokuji Temple, also known as the cat temple, but it is temporarily closed because of a certain festival that is going on. I don’t think I’m going to get to see it as it will be closed for three days. I’ll keep watching the schedule to see if it opens up. When that didn’t work out, I jumped on another train… Speaking of trains.

The trains go everywhere. They are color-coded. For the most part, the trains are all underground. You spend a lot of time underground in this city. I’m slowly figuring it out, but I will say that I have gotten on the wrong train more than once and gone in the wrong direction several times. It starts to make sense after a while and all I can say is thank goodness for Google Maps. It keeps you going in more or less the right direction.

My next stop was the Shibuya Scramble Crossing which is pictured above. It’s a place where everything comes together. It was fun to see, and I did cross it several times (a couple of those times were because I was going in the wrong direction.) Everyone gathers at the crosswalk waiting for the green go-ahead, and then you just start walking in the direction you want to  go. It’s marked off but basically, folks go wherever they wanna go. It is highly recommended that you not go when you’re not supposed to go. It’s a good way to get run over. After such madness, I decided I needed a little bit of calm and made my way to the Meiji Jingu Shrine, which is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken.

Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan, deeply rooted in its culture and history. It’s a polytheistic religion with no founder, sacred text, or dogma, emphasizing a sense of harmony with nature and veneration of the “kami,” spirits or deities believed to reside in all things. Shinto practices include visiting shrines, offering prayers, and observing festivals, often intertwined with everyday life and traditions.

OTORITHE GRAND SHRINE -GATE) this is the biggest wooden “Torii” of the Myõjin  style in Japan, rebuilt and dedicated via pious benefactor on December 23, 1915 and model both inform and size exactly after the original built in 1920. The material wood is “Hinoki” (Japan Cypress). 1500 years old from Mount Tandai-san Taiwan.
Sake

During the Meiji Era, Emperor Meiji, whose divine soul is enshrined here at Meiji Jingu, led the industrial growth and modernization of Japan by encouraging various industries and supporting technological development.

Due to their grace and virtue, Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken, the beloved mother of our nation whose soul is also enshrined here, are held in the highest esteem by the Japanese people.

These sake barrels are offered every year to the enshrined deities by members of the Meiji Jingu Zenkoku Shuzo Keishinkai (Meiji Jingu Nationwide Sake Brewers Association) including the Kotokai, which has made offerings of sake for generations, as well as other sake brewers around Japan wishing to show their deep respect forthe souls of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken.

In addition to stating our humble gratitude to all of the brewers who have so graciously donated their sake, we also pray for the continuous prosperity of the sake brewing industry and all the other industries maintaining Japan’s traditional culture.

Just on the other side of the street are barrels of wine!

The barrels of wine to be consecrated at Meiji Jing have been offered by the celebrated wineries of Bourgogne in France on the initiative of Mr. Yashiko Sata, Representative, House of Burgundy in Tokyo, Honorary Citizen of Bourgogne and owner of the Chateau de Chailly Hotel-Golf. Profound gratitude is due to the winemakers who have so generously contributed to this precious gift to be consecrated here to the spirit of world peace and amity, with the earnest prayer that France and Japan will enjoy many more fruitful years of friendship.

Once you arrive inside the shrine, they ask you to not take pictures. However, just outside of the shrine was a wedding party. The bride was all smiles.

I then made my way across town (after getting lost on the train a little bit) to the big 3-D cat billboard. It’s just one of those things you got to see! Everybody was standing around with their phones pointed up towards it.

This was followed by a stroll around the city. I came to a wildly popular place that was jammed up with people.

Can you see Godzilla?

This is where I learned an important lesson: Japan is a very clean city. You will very rarely see any garbage on the ground or in the gutters. IF you begin to see garbage on the ground and the place gets a bit smelly, you are in the wrong part of town! You need to turn around and go back. You will be offered all sorts of things as you pass through this area. I don’t feel like it was unsafe, but it was definitely not somewhere you want to linger.

From there, I found a nice little restaurant and enjoyed a bit of lunch. I also reached the point where I was hot and tired after going for about eight hours. I took a couple of trains and actually made the right connection on the first try and arrived back at my hotel, which reminds me… Not nearly as confusing as the train, but still requiring a certain amount of study is the toilet. 

If all goes as planned, I’ll be at church tomorrow at Saint Albans Episcopal – Anglican Church. See you then.

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Travel: Japan (T-minus one day)

The big trip of 2025 begins tomorrow morning at approximately 8 AM. I will be catching a flight from Oklahoma City to Dallas Fort Worth. There will be a three hour layover and then I bought a 13 1/2 hour flight to Tokyo. It would seem that a person would complain about a 13 1/2 hour flight but I cannot do it. I am so very excited to be able to take this trip. I will be visiting Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, and Osaka. There are many different things. I’m excited to see, from that busy crosswalk in Tokyo to the temples out in the country. I’m also looking forward to the food… Let’s be honest… It’s gonna be good! While in Tokyo, I do plan on getting up around 3 AM and following Anthony Bourdain‘s recommendation and visiting the fish market. I know it sounds like a crazy idea but it looks like something I need to do. Apparently, they have fish on sale there that you have never seen before. In addition, you get to eat some of them. That’ll be my favorite part.

I will try to post something tomorrow, but I don’t know that I will have any luck from the airplane. I arrive in Tokyo at around 3:30 PM on Friday. We will see what happens. I don’t even know how to set my watch right now. It’s 16 hours ahead in Japan, so if you happen to call me, there’s a really good chance I’m not going to answer. I’ll be sleeping with the do not disturb on.

Someone asked me, “Why are you going to Japan?” There are a lot of reasons and a lot of answers to that question but I’m looking forward to experiencing a new culture. Even when I was traveling in Norway, it still felt like I was in the west. I want something different. I want to understand a little bit about how the rest of the world thinks and operates. I’m certain that it will help me gain perspective.

Not only all that, it is a vacation! V.A.C.A.tion! I’m truly looking forward to the opportunity to simply be and be at peace. I’ll be sharing my experiences in my pictures along the way. I hope you’ll follow along. If you know of something that I absolutely must see and must do while here, please leave a comment and I’ll give it a shot. No promises because the agenda is kind of full already, but you never know. I preached on Sunday about how we should be prepared to be interrupted by God. I suppose that could happen while on vacation as well. Let’s see what He wants to show me. Thanks for coming along. 

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Travel: Trondheim 2

A beautiful day for walking around the city. It started off in an12th century church, made a deviation into some level of hell, and came out the other side with a delicious espresso.

Vår Frue Kirke (The Church of Our Lady) is only a block from the hotel and is one of the oldest buildings in Trondheim, with parts of the building dating back to the 12th century. It now functions as a church, but also community outreach center for the poor. It is sponsored by the Cathedral.

I saw some pictures of the next stop, about a half mile further, and decided it might be interesting.

Oh.

My.

Goodness!

It was worth the trip to Trondheim. The Salamandernatten (The Salamander Night).

The Salamander Night is an art installation made by Trondheim artist Kjell Erik Killi Olsen for Sao Paulo’s biennial anniversary in Brazil in 1989. The installation is comprised of 72 sculptures, all of which are more than 3 metres high (about 10 feet). The Salamander Night was presented as a gift to Trondheim municipality by the artist in 2007. This wonderful piece of art may be seen in the premises of the bank “Sparebank1 Midt-Norge” in Sendre gate.

The light is quite low, so those pictures that are bright are adjusted or I used a flash so that you could see the sculptures.

Made a short video for your viewing pleasure. The sounds are from the cafe above, but they do add a bit of ambiance.

Fortunately, there were other exhibits in the same location that weren’t as freaky (sarcasm alert).

The 12th century church ruins are the remains of a Romanesque stone church. The church had an underground crypt, a very rare element in Nordic churches. Such crypts have normally had a cultic function in connection with saint worship and functioned as a place of pilgrimage.

As luck would have it, they kept the “saint” around.

And they gave him/her a few companions.

Nevermore… moving on to a happier little bird in another exhibit. I loved the shadows. It is part of the series Twelve Stories by Nils Aas.

After all that, I moved outdoors and crossed the Blomsterbrua (Flower Bridge) and entered Solsiden (The Sunny Side), the trendy happening section of town that is next to the harbor.

It was quiet this morning, and after a bit I stopped for an espresso (perhaps the best I’ve ever had, and that’s saying something because I’ve had plenty.) A little place called Dromedar Kaffebar.

I bought some beans to bring home and hope to find out how to order more.

On the way back to the hotel, I found the second bridge that I was looking for (had no idea I was interested in bridges.)

Gamle Bybro (The Old Town Bridge) was first built on this site in 1681, at the same time as Kristiansten Fortress was constructed. A sentry and excise house stood at either end of the bridge. The excise house on the western side is still standing and is used as a kindergarten. The bridge and gates as they now stand were built in 1861.

From the center of the bridge is the quintessential Norwegian photo op.

On the way back, I passed through the square and said, “Hello,” to Olaf. He holds up the dove (peace), but also carries a sword. I suppose he is saying, “It’s your call.”

This is likely my last travel post for a while. I’ve got some other writing that I want to work on… I had started a dystopian novel, but Miss Avery (I hope she lives through this one) insisted that I write of Dean Anthony’s most recent adventure. Will there be a murder? Where? Who done it? Working title: The Forty-Seventh Wife. It’ll probably stick.

And, for the record, I’ll be looking over my shoulder for a while.

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Journal Prompt: Week Eight

Please comment below. When I return, we’ll combine some of your journal entries with mine and produce a printed journal of our adventure.

WEEK EIGHT PROMPT

St. Irenaeus writes, “For the glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God.” The glory you have isGod and is of God. Without Him, you are……. nothing. You may claim worldly glory, but that is less than dirty rags. (cf. Isaiah 64.6) How will you reflect God’s glory.

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Travel: Trondheim 1

Some days you go to church, other days are something of a conversion experience. Today was the latter. My seat for the Mass (although they don’t call it that here.)

There were two stations to receive Communion. One on the floor, standing, and you intincted. The other was at the high altar… each person receives a small silver chalice. You go and kneel at the altar, the priest places the host in your hands, you eat, then, the deacon comes and pours a small amount of white wine in your personal chalice. If you have to guess as to which way I went, you don’t know me very well. The choir—about 40 members—were singing something, I was receiving, and… they got it right. Beautiful. Again, all in Norwegian and I didn’t understand a word, but I did know the flow. In addition, the entire service was printed in the bulletin, so I could follow along. Lovely. The choir—I’m guessing paid—was amazing.

Following the service, I went for a coffee and a cookie, then began looking around. The first is a view from the back, the second, a view from the front.

Yes. It is startling in every aspect. A few more views from different angles throughout.

Baptismal font.
The high altar.
Looking up at the crossing.
Rose window and organ pipes.

I then went up. 172 steps up a very narrow, claustrophobia inducing spiral staircase and you reach the top. Spectacular. I forgot to take a picture of the staircase, so stole one from the internet. The views were amazing.

This is “perhaps” the tomb of St. Olaf. During the reformation, much was removed, so there is no certainty as to which tomb is his. Silly Lutherans. Historians will tell us that Olaf was no real saint, but don’t say that too loudly amongst these people.

A chapel in the undercroft.

I’ve just begun reading The Kingsbridge Series (Pillars of the Earth is book 3.) I thought of it when I came across this series of models, showing the evolution of the cathedral.

I also had the opportunity to see the crown jewels of Norway. You are not allowed to take pictures, so I borrowed these from the web. What I was able to see were the real thing.

There is just entirely too much to show here. I spent about six hours in the cathedral and museums and didn’t even begin to touch on it all. I hope to show more pictures later.

My attempt at artistic photography.

Now we see in a mirror dimly. There is only one who is seen clearly. One who is True. One who is Life.

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Stations of the Cross

National Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway

You have to study them, but I found them absolutely fascinating.

Häkon Bleken’s Crossroads series
in Nidaros Cathedral. The Stations of the Cross is a series of pictures about the story of Jesus’ suffering and was originally created for St. Olav Cathedral in 1975.

I. Jesus Condemned to death

II. Jesus is made to carry His cross

III. Jesus falls the first time

IV. Jesus meets His sorrowful mother

V. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry His cross

VI. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

VII. Jesus falls the second time

VIII. The women of Jerusalem weep over Jesus

IX. Jesus falls the third time

X. Jesus is stripped of His garments

XI. Jesus is nailed to the cross

XII. Jesus is raised upon the cross and dies

XIII. Jesus is taken from the cross and given to his mother

XIV. Jesus is laid in the tomb

XV. Jesus is resurrected

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Travel: Bergen to Trondheim 2

What an amazing trip along the coast aboard the Vesterålen.

I thankfully did not have any issues with sea sickness, but it sure feels strange being back on dry land! I’m on the third floor of a hotel and it feels as though it is rocking more than the boat. I’m guessing it’ll settle down this evening.

Just more amazing sites here.

Norwegian Sea
Location of the picture to the left.

We made a stop in Ålesund. There was a devastating fire in 1904 that destroyed most of the city.

We were back to sea at 8 p.m. for the remainder of the voyage to Trondheim.

I waited for the sun to peak out from behind the mountain on the left and then tried to catch it in the center of the valley before it went back behind the mountain on the right. It was less than a minute.

I got up at 12:30 a.m. in order to get these next photos. Learned that this is nautical twilight.

In general, the term nautical twilight refers to sailors being able to take reliable readings via well known stars because the horizon is still visible, even under moonless conditions.  Absent fog or other restrictions, outlines of terrestrial objects may still be discernible, but detailed outdoor activities are likely curtailed without artificial illumination.

If I understand it correctly, when there is a nautical twilight from sunset to sunrise, it is called a white night, which this was.

A short ways off the dock in Trondheim is Munkholmen (Monk’s Island) and it has colorful history.

Munkholmen Island was Trondheim’s execution site in the Viking era. Benedictine monks built a monastery on the island in the early 11th century, probably one of the earliest monasteries in Scandinavia. In 1658 it was converted into a prison and fortress, and later a customs house. Its most famous inmate was the Danish Count Peder Griffenfeld, who spent 18 years as a prisoner there.

And then there is Trondheim.

I’ll tell more about the city tomorrow, but since I arrived at 9:45 a.m., my hotel room was not yet ready, so I made a visit to the National Cathedral where St. Olaf is buried. I want my first experience of the interior to be tomorrow at the Mass, so I wandered around the grounds. The pictures do not do it justice. I am very thankful that the reformers didn’t destroy it during their iconoclastic madness (although they did do some damage.)

The detail is stunning. Here is a closeup of one small piece.

I plan on spending most of the day here tomorrow, between the Mass, touring the church, museum, and climbing one of the towers. Hopefully there’s a quiet corner to pray the Rosary.

Fiddled with the lighting on the camera with this one.

That is all for now. Pray you all are staying safe back home with all the storms.

Still no need for another haircut.

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