Yushima Tenmangu Shrine

This weekend we visited a Shinto shrine, Yushima Tenmagu, not far from the house, over near Ueno park. It was cold and rainy, but the plum blossom festival went on nonetheless. I had not thought about what sort of temple it was, but once I saw all the food and trinket vendors it could not be Buddhist (shochu sales and … belly dancing?????). It was nice to see something so local that we had passed over through the years.
Valentines day was uneventful. We watched some episodes of Glee. I was surprised to see the mention of Singapore (“tidy streets and the cane … that’s what we need here!” hahahah) when the coach did a segment on the local news. That and some pad thai, and the day was over. Valentines day in Japan is different than elsewhere. Here it’s for the girls to give all the males in their life gifts, while on White day the roles are reversed.

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