A month or two before ever sampling Ippudo Ramen, there is this image of me standing in front of it, getting a bit excited apparently as the carriers of the shrine were soon going to be changing.

I don’t know if this is the norm or not, but in the case of the Tenso Jinja Matsuri different groups or organizations took turns carrying the omikoshi around town. I was part of the Nishi-Waseda group (in the blue happi coats).

Back to Ippudo Ramen… I need to get some photos of it up one of these days. With so many food choices in Tokyo, and near Waseda University in particular, I rarely ate at a place more than once or twice. Ippudo was probably the only place I enjoyed a meal more than 10 times.

Posted on October 20th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: matsuri, nishi-waseda. Comments Off on Waiting for my turn with the Omikoshi in front of Ippudo

Tenso Jinja in the Fall

My neighborhood shrine (Tenso Jinja) looked great in autumn. I say autumn, but this was actually December. By December in my neck of the woods the fall foliage is long gone, but in Tokyo one can still enjoy fall colors.

Posted on October 4th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: autumn, nishi-waseda, shinto, Tokyo, 紅葉. Comments Off on More Autumn foliage in Japan

Festival at 天祖神社

Although the heat in the summer in Japan can be brutal, the evening festivals can make for an enjoyable end to otherwise miserably hot days. Today’s photo is from one of the many matsuri I attended at Tenso Jinja near our apartment in Tokyo.

Posted on August 29th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: lanterns, matsuri, nishi-waseda, shinto. Comments Off on Summer festival

One of the closest shrines (if not the closest) to Waseda University is Mizu Inari Jinja on the Takadanobaba side of campus. I’ve shown you glimpses of it previously. Today’s photo (my Windows 7 random wallpaper of the day) is a close-up version.

Posted on May 3rd, 2011 under Japan. Tags: nishi-waseda, shimenawa, shinto. Comments Off on Mizu Inari Jinja

Another random wallpaper of the day offering… This is my daughter sporting a Nishi-Waseda (西わせだ) Happi Coat for one of the many festivals we enjoyed in Tokyo.

That’s a 7-Eleven in the background. Although founded in the USA, 7-Eleven is now a Japanese company. There are far more 7-Elevens in Japan than anywhere else in the world. You can find almost 2,000 of them in Tokyo alone! In the USA I enter a 7-Eleven about once a year. While living in Japan I entered one, or a similar store (like Lawson, FamilyMart, etc.), daily. They are far more interesting, and have a much larger selection in Japan. It’s also the place to do your banking, buy concert tickets, etc.

Posted on April 17th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: ellie, nishi-waseda, Tokyo. Comments: 1