Many thanks to the guests who participated in the tours of the day.
The weather of the day was cloudy and chilly despite spring season was nearing.
On that day, we hosted 1 person from Indonesia on the Asakusa tour in the morning and 11 people from Singapore, Argentina, Poland, Indonesia on the Yanaka-Nezu tour in the afternoon.
We hope all of the guests enjoyed the tours and conversation with the guides. As promised photos taken during the tour are posted on this page to recall the fun memories we shared.
Asakusa Tour in the morning
Yanaka-Nezu Tour in the afternoon
On these tours, we stroll traditional temples and shrines. As our guides describe shrines are pavilions for Shintoism, which is Japan’s native religion and temples are for Buddhism which was originated in India and imported through China and Korea.
However, Japanese Buddhism is not actually standard form of Buddhism. There are two major sects in Buddhism – one is Mahayana, which was streamed through northern Asia and the other is Theravada, which was streamed through southern Asia. Japan’s Buddhism belongs to Mahayana.
One of the guides of the Asakusa tour (Sensoji Temple premises included), Masa experienced the difference by traveling to Thailand in early this month.
Over there the season was opposite. A week before he left for Bangkok, he was frozen at a ski resort but in Thailand it was in the middle of summer.
It was a typical Southeast Asian climate. So were Buddhist temples in Bangkok, which were more colorful and decorative that fit into the local atmosphere.
One big commonality is Buddha statues worshipped by followers.
But the both sects of Buddhism differ in philosophy. Mahayana is the way to elevate oneself by saving others, whereas Theravada is focused on training of oneself.
In Mahayana, it is believed that anyone can be purified to become a Buddha, whereas Theravada allows only those enter monastery attain Buddha status.
So if you are interested in Buddhism, knowing the difference should be one of key points of the tour.
Why not join us to know more about religions by comparing to different version of religons?
To our guest on Febrary 26th – we’d love to hear your feedback!
We would appreciate it if you could leave your comments possibly with names of the guides you were with, on Tripadvisor or our Instagram/Facebook pages. If you want more info about our tour, check out our website.