Laurie of Arabia: Reflections

My assignment at Sacred Heart did not take long. I basically was signing off accreditation papers with a member of the Japanese Ministry of Education and Sacred Heart administration present. Now the school is officially accredited with the United States. The school has been accredited for years, they were in a renewal phase. I had my camera and forgot to take pictures. The school has a website http://www.issh.ac.jp/ for those of you interested. By mid-morning I was back to running errands.

The Ginza

Ginza in Japanese means "silver place", and the area got this name because there used to be a mint here. There is a street called Ginza, but the name refers to the area as a whole. This area was the first part of Tokyo to have electricity, western-style buildings, and sidewalks. The reputation of the area is similar to Rodeo Drive or Fifth Avenue, top shopping with a snobbish aspect, like the Hermes store. There is a huge Gap store, along with other US imports. However, there are no American department stores here, like Macy's, Dillards or Nordstrom. The Japanese can do very well for themselves in that area, and the first department stores in Japan were built, and still exist, in this area.

The main shopping street in the Ginza - looks like your average big city street. But it is not.

Buddhist monk asking for alms. I always wait to have a Japanese person approach first so I know what to do. I waited and waited and not one person went up to him. I felt bad for him.

My goal was to get to the eight-story Itoya office supply store for the cool little plastic folders they have in different colors that I can't find stateside. (I need to show these to Staples and see if they can make them, because I can't afford to come to Japan for office supplies!)

Harajuku

My next stop would be Omote-sando street in the Harajuku area. This is where the Oriental Bazaar is, a place with the finest of souvenirs - even the Japanese shop there! My friend Suzzie, who does my nails, collects shot glasses - an interesting hobby for someone who doesn't drink! I barter shot glasses from my travels for nail appointments. We are both happy with this arrangement. Despite all the drinking that goes on in Japan, I could not find shot glasses, but I did get her some sake cups, which are about the same size. I also was looking for one nice piece of china for my sister to break for her art projects. And, my mother has a mug collection.

Harajuku is also known for the teenagers who come down on the weekends and hang out wearing the most outlandish, Halloweenie, of Disney-esque outfits. Since all Japanese students wear uniforms to school (the group), it seems that coming down to one area of town wearing wacky outfits shouldn't be a big deal. Singer Gwen Steffani saw these kids and liked what she saw. She now has a group of back-up singers known as the Harajuku Girls.

There is a darker side to all of this. Even though the group mentality exists, teenagers will be teenagers, and cliques do form. For many of the kids, coming to Harajuku is a way of finding a tribe to belong to. They don't belong with any group at school, so they might as well find someone who is also on the outside looking in.

Not being a weekend, there were no kids to photograph, and some will pose for and with you! Google Harajuku and you should get an idea.

Back to Hiro-o

This evening, I had planned on attending the Tokyo LDS temple, which I have been to numerous times before. Surrounded by embassies, and with a beautiful park across the street, and Baskin & Robbins two blocks away, this is a nice neighborhood.

How much the LDS church paid for this peace of heaven, I have no clue - or when they did it. The temple was built in the '70s. I do know that ten years ago, the church paid a few MILLION dollars for the small plot of land that would become home to the first LDS chapel in Yokohama. Prior to this, we were commuting to Kawasaki, a city between Tokyo and Yokohama.

Across from the temple is a lovely park, with a name that is very long. It starts with an A. Surrounding the temple are various embassies, like Norway, Switzerland, and some building belonging to the People's Republic of China - it is right in back of the the temple. I am not sure if it is the embassy, and with all the security cameras around this area, I wasn't about to take pictures of embassies.