Today Sammi, Jacqui and Nicole were the guides.
We checked out of Shiba Park hotel and took a train down to Sensoji Temple. While shrines are for Shintoism, temples worship Buddhism. The first thing we did when we arrived at the temple was take a group photo at the Thunder Gate. Afterwards we went through the shopping stalls and bought some souvenirs.
Later we went to the main temple and took another photo. A few of the students drew fortunes at the Omikuji.
When drawing a fortune you insert ¥100 into the stand and pray while you vigorously shake a hexagonal can. A stick comes out from a hole in the can which has a number on it and you draw a fortune from the corresponding box. When a bad fortune is drawn, the paper can be tied onto a rack known as ‘musubidokoro’. Traditionally, the tying of a bad fortune reverses it into a good fortune.
Most of the fortunes were good, however a few were bad. An anonymous student -who wishes not to be named- received a bad fortune and later broke their glasses.
When we were done at the Sensoji Temple we took the Shinkansen (bullet train) down to Hiroshima. Before boarding, we stopped at a convenience store to buy ekibens (station bento boxes) for the trip. The Shinkansen can reach up to 320km/hour, and the seats can be spun around to face each other. On the way we managed to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji! Upon arrival we had dinner out in the streets and checked into the hotel.
We checked out of Shiba Park hotel and took a train down to Sensoji Temple. While shrines are for Shintoism, temples worship Buddhism. The first thing we did when we arrived at the temple was take a group photo at the Thunder Gate. Afterwards we went through the shopping stalls and bought some souvenirs.
Later we went to the main temple and took another photo. A few of the students drew fortunes at the Omikuji.
When drawing a fortune you insert ¥100 into the stand and pray while you vigorously shake a hexagonal can. A stick comes out from a hole in the can which has a number on it and you draw a fortune from the corresponding box. When a bad fortune is drawn, the paper can be tied onto a rack known as ‘musubidokoro’. Traditionally, the tying of a bad fortune reverses it into a good fortune.
Most of the fortunes were good, however a few were bad. An anonymous student -who wishes not to be named- received a bad fortune and later broke their glasses.
When we were done at the Sensoji Temple we took the Shinkansen (bullet train) down to Hiroshima. Before boarding, we stopped at a convenience store to buy ekibens (station bento boxes) for the trip. The Shinkansen can reach up to 320km/hour, and the seats can be spun around to face each other. On the way we managed to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji! Upon arrival we had dinner out in the streets and checked into the hotel.