Where are we today? Heading north to Tokyo, remembering Naha

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Yesterday, we met ship friends Jae and Brad for lunch at Jango Jango in Naha for a bit of Mexican/Okinawan fusion.  With Americans stationed here since WWII, the two kinds of food combined.  We thought we were ordering the famous taco rice and soba, but it turned out to be actual tacos and soba.  It was all yummy.

We had a great time at the Japanese version of the dollar store — Daiso.  We walked through neighborhoods and came to  Shinto shrine on top of a high hill. 


People buy prayers or blessings here. 
Did you know that Marie Kondo was a miko or Shinto shrine maiden for 5 years? A miko sells amulets, helps maintain the shrine grounds, and helps the priests perform rituals.  Shintos believe in gods called Kami which they think inhabit things like wind, rocks, mountains, trees, fertility.  They believe everything — from houses to shoes — are inhabited by spirits. Some Shinto believe they will become Kami when they die.  Some Buddhists in Japan have Kami as part of their cosmology, as well. 
People attach their prayers to this structure


People then purify themselves at this hut by washing their face and hands and even rinsing out their mouths. 


Finally, the believer on Shinto is ready to approach the shrine steps with a number of ritual bows.

Sayonara! 




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