20 Hours in Tokyo!
Konnichiwa!
My Wi-Fi reception is spotty, and I am 30 minutes from having dinner with the pastors here in Batanga, Philippines, but I thought I would offer a few quick updates.
After 18 hours on three separate planes, I finally made it to Japan. I cannot calculate the mileage in the last three days, but it includes walking, driving, flying, bullet trains, and buses. The only thing missing is a bike ride, but there is a promise of a bike ride between lectures when I return to Tokyo.
I arrived on Tuesday (U.S. time), and after one day, Pastor Ben Zedek and I boarded Philippine Airlines for Manila. So, it has been quite a ride!
My 20-hour stay in Tokyo included a delightful gathering with two additional officers of local churches—an Australian and an American—who have deep roots and decades of ministry and service in Tokyo. One of the church officers gave me a stirring tour of some old parts of Tokyo while simultaneously giving me a world-class summary of some of Tokyo’s history.
We stopped at a fast-food sushi place, which my host described as “everyday sushi.” We ordered the sushi, and the machines in the back made it and delivered it within 15-30 seconds. Year 2075 service with soy sauce, please!
The sushi easily matched a fine sushi restaurant in the U.S. The entire array of sushi (eel, okra, salmon, etc.) costs about $5. If I lived here, I would make that pilgrimage daily.
My dear host is Ben Zedek. For a few years, Ben has been the Senior Pastor of Mitaka Evangelical Church (CREC). His father is the brilliant Ralph Smith, author of several great books on Covenant, Trinity, and Van Til. Ben carries the same wit and theological literacy. We have met numerous times in the U.S., but it’s delightful to be in his territory and taste his world.
It was good to be in Tokyo for 20 hours. It was just a sample of Japan’s simplicity, technological innovations, and order. I will be back next week in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Amen! I’ve always had a burden for the Japanese people.
Cool! I'll be following you over there in August to serve the Mitaka church and to re-engage with family and friends. I actually grew up in the next neighborhood over from Mitaka.