I actually woke up in time to get to breakfast, which was a buffet that offered both Japanese and Western style breakfast foods. So I had a balanced breakfast of miso soup, grilled salmon, "English" tea (black tea with milk and sugar), and a chocolate croissant (very small). We started the day with a bus tour of the area of Tokyo around the Imperial Palace, including Japan's Supreme Court and the Diet, Japan's legislature. You can't see the Imperial Palace itself from the road, but it is surrounded by a huge moat and covered with dense greenery.
We had lunch at a traditional Japanese restaurant with tatami mats (shown above), I guess to acquaint us all with traditional practices before our home visits. We had tempura, not sushi, as well. Afterwards we had a total of 45 minutes to explore the area around the Senso-ji Temple, Tokyo's most sacred and popular temple, also known as Asakusa Kannon. The street leading to the temple is called Nakamise-dori and is lined with shops selling different kinds of souvenirs. I was more interested in the temples' huge paper lanterns, giant incense burner, and numerous buildings. I bought a book from the temple I can have stamped at each temple I visit in Japan (thanks to advice from Ken Vieth) and took lots of pictures. The photo on this page portrays the Hozo-mon Gate, which leads to the temple.
Back at the hotel, we watched a performance of a traditional Japanese theater called Kyogen, performed by Don Kenny, who has popularized this historic form, performing it in English. The day ended with a Welcome Reception with lots of speeches, food, and drink.
Lots of our participants immediately went out on the town for the evening but I need to recover some energy before I am up for that!
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