lost.in.shinjuku

first sunday in tokyo.



 

this will be the last panoramic view of 42nd floor.  the view from the breakfast lounge, i think i pretty much cover the 360 view perhaps still missing one view from the gym.

i set out to church. i found a g12 church in tokyo and i connected to the pastor through facebook, so today i am going to visit shinjuku shalom church.  knowing how confusing shinjuku is, i leave early enough so that i can afford to get lost if i have to.  the metro trip is not a big deal, what is totally confusing is when i get off at shinjuku station, finding the west exit itself is already a challenge, the signboards are pointing toward each other with so many metro lines and so many rail companies sharing this crossing.  it took me awhile to get to the street level...

and these buildings welcome me as i surface from underground, still i don't know where exactly i am and where i am heading too.  thankfully there is a street map every 200m away.  so i eventually heading towards the right direction, they don't use street name in shinjuku, all the smaller alleys are signed by number such as 7-9-7.  i did my homework on google map and know that there is a hospital nearby. 

after asking 6 different people, i found my destination!  thanked God for that, just in time, a few minutes before 11am.

at shinjuku shalom church (新宿シャローム教会), the congregations are mostly japanese and most of them i believe are bilingual.  i am the only one that needs translation.  i can flow with the worship, the songs are the same except they sing them in japanese and i sing in english.  pastor elmer (left)welcomed me and mentioned briefly how we are connected through facebook.  he didn't preached today, instead a pastor from sapporo (right) preached about how we can make an impact to the world.  he also recently published a book on how to turn the mandarin orange's skin into an art and the book is well received in japan.  he is well exposed to media and that is how God uses the gift that He has given to him to make an impact to the world by sharing his faith through creativity.

i have to listen to the translation which is done by pastor elmer's daughter, whom bought me a lunch opposite and we had a good fellowship together.  bless her! 

she has to go back to the 1.30pm service which i decided to check out the shinjuku gyoen (shinjuku garden新宿御苑). 

the temperature drops significantly, in fact it's not so good idea for a park, but i go anyway. first walking through the train station again, lots of people, lots of noise and lots of neonlight...

and finally i arrived.  the sakura welcomed me. only one tree where the flowers are blooming...

and i can already imagine how shinjuku gyoen will be like when all the sakura blossom at once, must be an amazing hanami experience.  i walked to the japanese garden, it's cold and i didn't enjoy it that much...

some parts of the garden reminds me of new york central park.  a part within the city. a park surrounds by high rise buildings. a park with pond here and there...

although out there is busy and chaotic, but right here i actually can feel the peace of mind, a good space to breath and reflect on the sermon i just take in.  right here is an oasis not only just for shinjuku but also for me.