November 10, 2009

Misawa & Hachinoche Tours

Hey, enjoy the video! but i do want to talk about a few of the pics.

Budhist Temple: The cemetary at the budhist temple is beautiful and those large head stones/areas are for entire families! They cost over $300,000 and the red and black looking pictures all in squares is family crests, which is also very expensive, they are on the ceiling of the temple! The japanese say that if you can afford to die than you cant die! They believe that the more you spend the higher you are in heaven (or something like that). In one pic demi is standing in front of a red desk with a bowl on it, that is where you stand to pray to Budha, you give an offering $, light an insense and ring a bowl (like a drum), then you pray!

House museum: Is made of a light wood, cant remember what kind and paper! they cook in a fire pit. manicans represent the people of that time (a warrior and his wife and visitors) it was cool to learn about their different customs and what different things represent.

Nitobe Museum: Is next to the Road Side Station "Misawa", the Tonami Clan Memorial Tourism Village. it is named after a warrior, who built it to bequeath the valuable literature, materials, and agriculture machines and tools of that time to future generations. At that spot there is: go-karts, battery cars, putting golf, a petting zoo, and open fields to enjoy. we look forward to going back in the spring & summer!

Train Station: In Japan they have a bullet train, which is very fast traveling, we went there to learn how to use it. While we were there we seen different artifacts and statues and also that float, it was cool!

Shinto Shrine: Is a religious shrine, all the things with a rope hanging on them (paper hanging from rope) are sacred! There is a 400 yr old Japanese ceder tree! in the video you will see Dee, Demi and other tourists standing under a roof structure with a stone water fountain, with wooden sticks. They are at the cleansing spring fountain. You are to cleanse yourself before entering the shinto temple grounds. To do it you pick up stick/scoop with right hand and wash left, than switch hands, new water wash right hand than put water in left hand and rinse mouth/spit and than rewash left hand. they consider you sin free and cleansed to enter.

next to the orange bridge demi and i are on are the sacred holy fish, that we were able to feed. then at the temple you see demi and i standing by a table and ropes with bells. that is where you pray to the gods. again you leave an offering $ ring the bells i think three times bow and then pray! (the bells get the attention of one of the gods)

Out in front of the shrine there is a souvenir shop and we let demi pick out an english version fortune, we didnt open it though, I'm going to put it in her scrapbook and she can open it when she is old enough to undnerstand it! (usually cant find them in english) there was also little "key chains" to put in your vehicle to give good luck in your car, to expensive for what it was, i hope to find one somewhere else!

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