March Snow Day in Ikebukuro

March 29th and my time in Tokyo was almost up. What would I do this day? 

I thought about this as I enjoyed a sakura dorayaki. 

And watched the rain turn to snow. 

Between places closing because of Covid-19 and my not wanting to be in crowded enclosed places during this time, the snow limited my choices even more. 

But it was fun to see this. I had been in an ice snow mix storm in Ueno, but this was much nicer to see. 

Enough snow fell to build up a little. Sticking as we call it here. 

Finally it stopped. So I decided to get out and see a few things in the neighborhood. There was snow in the sakura tree on the left and snow in front of Lawson. And enough snow to make it slippery in places.

Snow on these pink ume plum blossoms. 

I admit there wasn't much snow on things. It was melting fast because the temperatures were above zero. But it was fun to see familiar things with a coating of snow on them. 

And despite the temperatures, there was still a bit of snow on some things. Which made me think of a couple places to visit to see how they looked dressed in white.

Part of my trip outside was to get fresh food. I found a good local market. And strawberries.

Above the Todoroki Valley

 Something else about Todoroki Fudoson Temple is it has a wonderful view of the Todoroki valley.

There is a railed observation walkway which offers a view of the gorge with the many trees there. 

Including beautiful sakura trees. 

And bright pink ume trees. 

It is a very pleasant view. 

The observation walkway is near the steps that lead down to the gorge. Ready for this? 

 The dirt and board steps transitioned to these stone steps. Still couldn't see the bottom yet. It is a long way down.

However there are things to see along the way. 

Little shrines, like this one with a frog. Frogs have been considered protectors against fires and also for praying for returns, for bringing things back, in Japan.

This shrine was rather interesting, being set into the gorge wall and lined with concrete blocks, giving it an ancient Roman or Greek appearance.

Parts of this shrine appear older, yet the lanterns and bell rope are newer. 

There was even a stand for burning incense. I am not sure who the shrine is for. Perhaps the person who founded Todoroki Fudoson Temple, or if it is for Buddhist Priest Kobo Dashi who explored the valley back when. It does resemble his statue at another shrine in the valley.

 There is also a formidable looking Fudo Myo-o in a shrine up on the side of the valley. 

Someone is definitely tending and visiting this shrine, even though it would be a difficult climb up there. Also if you were to have a god to protect the valley, Fudo Myo-o is a good choice. His name means "immovable". Which I am sure they hope all the rocks are.

 I could finally see the bottom of the steps, which lead to that timeless valley gorge.

And looking back up the lowest part of the steps.

Koyasu Inari Shrine

So many pretty flowers were in bloom. Like these ume plums.

Not far from Kami Ikebukuro Sakura Park is a Inari Shinto Shrine.

Walking through this quiet neighborhood I reached Koyatsu Inari Shrine, 子安稲荷神社.

Their ema were really cute. It is year of the rat and so they were also wishing everyone good luck with their design.

This shrine dates from at least the Tensho era (1573-91) if not earlier.

It is said that the shrine was established by a retainer of Tokogawa who lived in the area.

He was caught in a terrible thunderstorm with no protection.

An old man with a white beard showed the retainer a place in the forest where he could be protected from the storm.

As the retainer thanked the old man, the old man told him he was a messenger of the god Inari. That if the rundown shrine was rebuilt, the messenger would protect their harvest from disasters such as fire. So the shrine was rebuilt and festivals began in thanks for the protection and to honor Inari-sama.

It is an older shrine and the statuary shows aging. The komainu did look a little newer than the kitsune foxes.

It isn't a very big shrine but it is nice to visit.

Besides saving the retainer from the storm, it is said that in 1715 there was a plague and many people were saved here by the spiritual test of the shrine.

Which is when it was given the name of Koyasu Inari Shrine. They also have a website in Japanese with more information here https://www.koyasu-inari.com/

Shoshuniji and Taichoji Temples in Yoyogi

Remember my post about eating curry at Potohar again? Of course I took a walk afterwards. Through the same area I walked a year prior. The Bunka Fashion College which is right by Potohar. 

 Just an aside, since I saw a cloud like this recently. Turns out this formation is rare. It's called a cirrus vertebratus because it looks like a spine. So now I've seen one in Oregon and one in Yoyogi, Japan.

Under those clouds, I walked the greenway again. Sadly the sakura were not blooming yet. 

But that did allow some nice glimpses of the temples nearby. 

Which I visited again. This is Shoshuniji Buddhist Temple. 

 Where a few ume, plum, blossoms were still blooming.

This time I decided to take a better look at the hondo at Shohuniji.  

My telephoto lens on my camera gave me nice shots of the komainu on the roof. 

Along with a carved bird at the center of the roof lintel. I will assume it is probably a hou-ou, a phoenix.

Also on the grounds of Shoshuniji was this delightful pair of stone fish. 

More ume on this tree in a rather bare part of the grounds. Perhaps it is an attempt to distract from the not so attractive Metropolitan Expressway. 

Over to the other temple here, there was sakura blooming with this little kawazu-zakura. I want one of these little trees.

More ume showing off. I'm glad I was able to see some during my visit. 

And the hondo for Taichoji Buddhist Temple. 

Gorgeous tree growing so big it's run out of space. 

And the entrance mon or gate. Still closed. This is a view from the inside, to contrast with the surrounding buildings. 

The modern structures really overwhelm in this area. Like the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. 

And the NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building. 

I will say the good thing about these skyscrapers is they help in knowing what direction you are headed if you are walking in the area. And that clock is helpful too.

My previous post from the year before about these temples is here in case you want to know a little more about them: http://blukats.blogspot.com/2018/08/temples-and-shrines-in-yoyogi-shibuya.html