We decided to stop in Ginza on our way back from Asakusa. Ginza is the most expensive neighborhood in Tokyo and with numerous boutiques and department stores featuring the finest designers in the world. This shopping district is often compared to the Champs Elysee in Paris, yet to me, seemed very similar to Fifth Avenue in New York. After walking around a for a while, we stopped in a traditional Japanese fish house for dinner.
Two of my students, Kasumi (“Lotty’) Tanaka and Hisako Imaizumi and her son Yu, took me on an excursion to Asakusa to tour the Senso-Ji Temple Grounds. The sun had finally come out after a few days of rain so we were able to spend considerable time touring the grounds. The Senso-Ji Temple is the oldest temple in Japan and dates back to 628 A.D. It was built to honor the Bodhisattva Kannon—a figure highly regarded in Buddhism which is believed to have been sent to relieve human misery on earth. Many Japanese believe that their hopes and pleas will reach this deity, which is evidenced in the various methods available on the grounds for prayer— to bless, request good fortune or to eliminate illness and vessels for ritualistic cleansing. I took so many pictures that I created a slide show to share this rare experience.
Mixed Vegetables with Chicken, Rice, Cabbage Salad with Sesame Dressing, Miso Soup
Chicken and Rice Baked in a Clay Pot, Tofu and Seaweed Salad, Miso Soup, Pickled Vegetables
Food is a cultural highlight in Japan and much pride is taken in the preparation and presentation of meals. For me, the exposure to different and somewhat exotic dishes has become one of the most intriguing aspects of this trip. If you’re adventurous, you’ll experience real Japanese cuisine which may be some of this most delicious and interesting food you’ll ever have. I know have favorite places that I visit routinely and photograph the meals with unique visual appeal. Some of the meals have been disappointing, but some have been real standouts. Ootoya is a place I found during my first few days here. It was raining and I had no idea where to go for lunch, I then saw a nice sign directing me upstairs. I’ve found this restaurant to offer the best value (large portions) for the price and the interior is comforting. You can also get as much green or barley tea with your meals. Each set photographed cost less than $10.00.
Grilled Mackerel with Horseradish & Seaweed, Mochi-Mochi, Pickled Vegetables, Miso Soup
Interior Scene, Ootoya
Counter by the Window, Ootoya
In addition to leading the training, I’m scheduled to teach four workshops during my stay here. Still battling jet lag, I literally “hit the ground running” starting with the first weekend of teacher training on April 21 and the first workshop, “Surya Namaskar A & B” on the 27th. I chose this topic because its rich with resources–variations, modifications, and the repetition of asanas that reference anatomy & kinesiology relevant to the practice of yoga. This was a workshop for teachers with over 35 young instructors attending. I was overwhelmed by the response and trembled as I took a seat before the group. As the workshop got underway, my nervousness subsided and I began to connect to their movements, their breath and the words flowed. A workshop that was supposed to be three hours quickly turned into four. I love this photo of beaming participants taken at the end of the workshop.
As I’ve mentioned, there are 28 students enrolled in the program. This would be challenging under any circumstances, but more so, if you consider the language obstacle and the tedious process of translating every word exchanged between me and the students. However, in spite of this fact, they are amazing! All of them are kind, gracious and very enthusiastic about learning yoga and seem really happy to be in the program. There is one man and one American woman participating (she commutes two hours to get there). The students have great respect for Yogaworks and what the program has to offer. It’s been touching to realize this and I feel extremely honored to be leading this training. We’ve completed two weekends so far and only one person had to drop out—-work commitments. Regardless, 28 is more than enough to work with. We are going to spend lots of time together and I want to get know them, learn their names and hopefully inspire them to teach. They said I will definitely learn how to speak Japanese!
The First Weekend
First Weekend of Teacher Training
This 200hr training that began on April 21 and runs until July 1, has a total of 28 students enrolled! This a huge responsibility since it’s the first training I’ve led and on my own and without an assistant. In addition, it’s being taught in Japanese and translated as I speak and write. The translator (Tomoko ) works by my side throughout the entire day. We start out each day with a practice and I spend the rest of the day lecturing, writing out sequences and lessons on a board which she translates in tandem. This is an arduous process but, amazingly it flows well and the students seem to stay “tuned” in and understand the material. Their manuals and books are written in Japanese (The Yogaworks Teacher Training manuals; Pantanjali’s, Yoga Sutras; B.K.S. Iyengar’s, Light on Yoga; and Leslie Kaminoff’s, Yoga Anatomy. The training in the US has a few more books, but these aren’t yet available in Japanese. However, there is still a way to bring that content into the training with additional assignments.
THE TOKYO DIARY: April 18 – July 2, 2012
I arrived in Tokyo on April 18, my first visit to Japan, to lead a Teacher Training for Yogaworks. I’m staying in Gotanda, a neighborhood in the southern corner of this sprawling metropolis, Tokyo. Gotanda is the “business district” and many major corporations are headquartered here: Shisedo, Subaru, Microsoft and more. I’m staying in an apartment up the street from massive the TOC building. The photo above was taken one rainy morning in downtown Gotanda during my first few days here. I was told that I just missed the cherry blossoms, but these trees were flowering and the petals drifting down the stream created a tranquil scene. It rains a lot her, almost daily and I was told that the rainy season doesn’t start until June!
yoga with romy 