Oniko's Travel Diary: The Three Mountains (August 5-31, 1998) |
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Monday, August 10th, 1998
Up I rose about 8:00 o'clock and, after watching cartoons for an hour and a half, checked out a little before ten. I carried my stuff straight over to Hotel I.B.A. where I already had reservations. It was, of course, far too early to officially check-in, but I was able to reconfirm the reservation and let them know I would be there tonight, and I was able to leave most of my stuff in safe keeping behind their counter as I headed back out to explore for the day.
My main goal for the day was to search more areas I hadn't yet searched, mainly with an eye out for more ATMs that will give me cash for my American ATM card... knowing of only one machine that will do this is just a tad limiting, eh?
My first stop was right across the street from the hotel itself, where there's a ten-foot tall Shinto shrine that I couldn't help but notice. It stands in a concrete structure only about five feet wide by four feet deep, and with a building on one side and a parking lot behind it and on the other side. A dozen or so red banners hang from it, as well as a number of red lanterns. I dropped a couple of coins and rang the bell to let the resident spirit know I'd left something. I hope I can learn enough someday to identify who or what each of these small shrines are built to honor... but it's going to take a lot of learning.
Anyway, from there I walked back in the direction of the Ikebukuro JR station, on a side of the roadway I had not yet explored. In the area immediately across the street from the hotel are a lot of residential little alleyways that quickly appear to remove you from a city to a more rural town area. Houses and apartments are separated by small mostly dirt paths just wide enough for two people to walk by each other, and plants sprout on the edges of paths and in the front of many of the small residences. The buildings quickly absorb the sounds of the city, adding to the rural illusion. I could have walked around there for hours, but I would probably have bothered the residents who don't see many tourists back in these areas... besides, there's definitely no ATMs or stores in the residential area. So I headed back towards the street to follow the main road again.
UPDATE 2002: The tanuki statues always hold a bottle of sake. Learn more about tanuki... Click Here! |
Japan has its own rock stars and top 40 charts; it's know as "J-Pop", which is short for "Japanese Pop Music". |
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