The scary part is over. I have met the family and they have welcomed me with open arms. But that is later in the story.

We spent our second day in Tokyo visiting and seeing some sights. We went to Asakusa which was the original downtown for the city when it was Edo. The streets are narrow and lined with shops close by each other. We were accosted by a young man wearing a half kimono jacket and a headband. He sold us a ride in his jinrickisha at the price of 1500 yen for 10 minutes. That took us out and about. We authorized an additional 10 minutes and he took us to the big temple. Then he only charged us for the initial 10 minutes and wouldn't take a tip. It was yet another once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I felt bad for him because I am not a lightweight person but he picked up the bars of the ricksha and ran off down the street while cars edged past us and pedestrians jumped out of the way. At one point an older man walking on the sidewlk waved to us and called "Are you happy?" To which there was only one answer, "Hai!" ("Yes!")

Our guide paused at significant points to explain where we were and, I suppose, to catch his breath. He must be in remarkable shape for he ran, pulling us along, as though we weren't there.

After we left him we wandered over to the Asakusa Buddhist Temple. It has been destroyed by fire several times so what we saw was just the most recent reconstruction, barely 150 years old. There is one gate to the temple grounds that is still of the original construction. It is over 400 years old. There we many people on the grounds. One group were gathered around a cauldron from which smoke poured. Inside, standing in sand, were burning scrolls of fortunes that people had bought. It sems that burning the scroll is how you persuade the Buddha to grant your fortune come true. The people were waving the smoke on to themselves. Wakana explained that they believed the smoke would cure their minor ills, headaches, muscle strains, etc. She waved some on to my bad knee but it didn't seem to help.

We went into the temple and saw the richly colored paintings on the roof and looked into the inner part where the Buddha sat. It was a beautiful building with magnificent sculture and painting. I paid 100 yen for a fortune. I had to shake a stick out of a hole and then read the number from the stick. The number corresponded to a drawer and in the drawer were the fortunes. Mine was that I would have a good marriage, among other things. As prescribed I tied it to the rack so it would come true.

There was a shop selling other worship related Items and I bought a present for my daughter there.

We then walked over to the oldest gate but got sidetracked to the Asakusa Sinto Shrine. It is a smaller building sitting behind the temple. Buddhism and Shinto coexist in Japan. Neither and both are the "official" religion. Japanese houses, including this one, have both a portable temple to Buddha and a small Shinto shrine. They are carefully tended and form a large part of daily life.

The shrine was also beautiful. We couldn't get into the inner sanctum but we could see it with the straw rope over the entrance and the folded paper tassels hanging from it. The guardians were there in ancient samurai armor. We added our donation to the pot and clapped to pray.

We walked from there up the main street that led from the main gate. It was a crowded thoroughfare of walking pedestrians, open shops fronts, brightly colored decorations and talking, laughing people. I bought some more Christmas presents for my children and was hopelessly charmed by the whole thing.

After we left there we rode the subway to the train station and boarded the bullet train (shinkansen). Unfortunately it was dark by the time we left the station so I have no sense of how fast we were going but Wakana says we were moving at about 150 KM/hr. I might have another opportunity to find out more next week after my day in Kanda at the music shops with my brother-in-law.

Wakana's parents were waiting for us at the train station. We drove to their house, a lovely Japanese house on the edge of a commercial zone. The house has a tiny yard with a sculpted garden of bonsai trees and curving pathways. The doors slide open and inside is a wonderland of wood floors, tatami mats, and scultures, photographs and paintings.

Unfortunately they do not believe in central heating. There is a split air conditioner/heater in the major rooms but they don't bother much with that. The kitchen, dining room, and living room get some heat but that is turned off in the evening at bedtime. I haven't been this chilly in a long time.

We gathered in the living room around a short table, seated on the floor. Wakana's mother served us salty cherry tea, a lucky drink. Green tea is considered an unfortunate drink to serve when meeting your future son-in-law. I then formally asked Wakana's father for permission to marry her which touched the old man deeply. We drank sake together, toasting the future, and then I gave them my presents. I had bought presents to be opened on Christmas day but they are not Christians and the custom is to offer small gifts when you visit. They loved them.

We have become very close in a short time, notwithstanding the language barrier. Today Wakana's father gave me a very nice Pentax camera with a 90 - 200 mm lens. He has used it for years in taking his outdoor photos. I was deeply toched.

Tomorrow we will do some sightseeing and visit the local temple. The day ofter that is wedding day.

Having a great time.