Invocation

After much time negotiating: lockers to store our bags, train schedules to Misawa (where my daughter and her husband now reside), and subway connections; we rise to the Asa-kusa district of Tokyo and begin our day walking towards Senso-ji, Tokyo's largest Buddhist temple complex. But first we need to negotiate the gauntlet of shops and people lining the narrow street leading to Kannon Hall. As we exit the first arcade of trinkets, souvenirs, and exotic foodstuffs, a young Japanese gentleman in tanktop and khakis and his wife clothed in a colorful kimono gently waylay me, asking if their young son might practice his English. Explaining that we only have this single day to see the sights of Tokyo, I almost extricate myself from the situation, but Emmy and Beverly have come back to see why I tarry so. So now we must have pictures! The poor boy is in a mild state of shock. Still, though a bit sheepishly, he offers the peace sign to each view-finder, and our first full day here in Japan.

everyone is talking
but I’m understanding
nothing but the signs