Catholic church in Tokyo and Fukuoka

Out of the four weeks we were in Japan, we managed to attend Sunday Masses on 3 weekends, but did not manage to attend Sunday Mass while we were in Kyoto. Tell you why later.

I used this site to locate the churches that are near us, and find out the English mass times. http://www.jcarm.com/jpn/directory/index.htm
But specifically for Tokyo, I also found this site
http://www.ignatius.gr.jp/eng/index.html, which provided useful information on how to get there.

Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium

In Tokyo on Day 5 (Sunday, 4 December 2011) of our trip, we took a train (from our hotel in Ikebukuro) to head to St Ignatius after breakfast. As the English mass was at noon, we hopped off at a random station before we got to Yotsuya Station where the church was supposed to be. It turned out to be Sendagaya Station we hopped off at, totally on the spur of the moment on finding we had an hour to explore before mass. Anyway we found ourselves outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium and had a nice leisurely walk around the area. It was a beautiful day. Aoi, aoi ano sora! 

More photos in a later post regarding Day 5 of our trip.

Nice walk around the area at Sendagaya Station

Saw a teenage boy practicing his dance moves in front of a reflective surface at an outer wall around the Gymnasium building, using it as a huge mirror. Admired his daring. Then we came across an indoor ice skating rink during our walk, but of course we did not have time for that before Mass. Saw many Japanese parents bring their kids here to ice skate on a Sunday morning, how nice!

After that we hopped back on the train to Yotsuya Station. St Ignatius was just a stone's throw from this station. The Japanese crowd was leaving after the Japanese mass, and a slightly more international crowd was slowly weaving their way in. There were still quite a number of Japanese people attending the English mass, perhaps they understood English, perhaps it was to practise their English listening skills, perhaps to expose their kids to more English, perhaps they woke up late and did not make it in time for the earlier Japanese mass....

Anyway, it was still early and we went to the gift shop at the church first. It's really a must as the religious items are very different in every country. The little crosses, crucifixes, pendants and rings charmed GG and I and we each bought a little souvenir. I liked the picture of Mother Mary and infant Jesus in Japanese garb, so cute!

Gift shop at St Ignatius

Mother Mary and infant Jesus in Japanese garb

There were Caucasians, and lots of Filipinos. The mass was celebrated by an old Caucasian priest who spoke English throughout the mass. Good, but even if it was half English and half Japanese, it would be fine too.

I've been to an "English" mass in Port Dickson (Malaysia), where parts of the mass was in English, and parts of it in Tamil. And also such mixed language mass in Krabi (English and Thai), and other places. Have always loved attending mass in other countries, but there was once we attended a mass celebrated completely in a foreign language (there was no English mass available) we did not understand and did not feel like we had fully attended mass, since we did not understand a word of the readings or sermon, so we have given up attending mass if it's completely in a foreign language. The mixed language mass are still fine.

Inside St Ignatius

In Singapore, the English Catholic masses have recently been converted to using a more accurate translation of the Latin tranlation. For example, we used to respond "And also with you" when the priest says "The Lord be with you." The new translation is "The Lord be with you" / "And with your spirit". Over in Japan, while we were there, the English masses are still using the old version, which is fine with us too.

Grounds of St Ignatius

It's interesting to find that the two Catholic churches we attended in Japan had this unfamiliar kneeling "cushion". You can see it in the photo here. We saw the locals take the light weight box-like cushion from the seat in front of them only when you needed to kneel, and put it back immediately after kneeling. Hence you don't take it out and leave it there on the floor the whole time. So we did likewise. Another reason why attending mass in a foreign country is always interesing.

Kneeling on box cushion in St Ignatius

I made sure to keep a copy of the circular detailing the Christmas Mass times for St Ignatius, as I know we'll be back in Tokyo by 25 December. Oh, there's also some pews at the back (on the right side of the church) marked with a sign "for families with children". Turned out these are for families whose children get restless during mass, so they can sit at the back so the restless kids do not bother the congregation as much. My kids are largely fine in church, so we did not use these seats but sat wherever we liked.

Box cushion stored in front

The following week, we were in Kyoto on Sunday (11 December 2011). I printed out the list of Catholic churches in Kyoto from the jcarm site and showed it to the lady manning the hotel counter, to check which ones were near us at Gojo-Karasuma. She pointed to one and said that was near, but it did not have an English mass. What about those? I pointed at the ones that had an English mass. The lady made a face and said those are very far away, and shook her head. I suppose she would know better than us. I did not have a clear idea how big Kyoto-hu was, though I knew Tokyo itself was huge. And so, unfortunately, we did not have the experience of attending an English mass in Kyoto.

The week after that, we were in Fukuoka (staying near Hakata Station) on Sunday (18 December 2011). Again printed out the list of Catholic churches and asked at the hotel counter. Hooray, Daimyo Machi Church was near and they had an English Mass.

Daimyo Catholic Church

We made our way there, and as we always arrive early for Mass, there was time to have a look at the gift shop. I do not have photos of the church interior as there was a sign at the door that said no photo- taking within the church, which is totally weird. Never encountered that before in a church. They could have stipulated no flash photography, but why no photo-taking at all? In all the foreign churches I've been to, I've always taken photos without using flash, much like in zoos.

After that, there was still time to take a nap at the waiting area where there were lots of comfy seating. GG even napped lying down, stretched out on the long cushioned seats. The nap refreshed us to attend mass with renewed vigour.

Books in the church gift shop

I think it was here that GG did not get a blessing from the communion minister (the persons who help thr priest give out the host). As was usual in Singapore, she had crossed her arms in front of her chest, a gesture that signalled to the communion minister/priest that she had not yet reached the age where she could take the host, and she would be given a blessing instead. At the church in Tokyo, she did not encounter any problems, but here in Hakata/Fukuoka, I guess they did not have such a practice and she came away without the usual pat of blessing on her head.

Doves, love, peace and joy stickers in the church gift shop

Okay, it's Christmas day and we're back in St Ignatius for the Christmas Mass. Did not bother to take any photos this time. Just enjoyed the Christmas mass. It was interesting to have a family sitting in front of us, where the pretty, petite lady is Japanese (she spoke good English) and her husband American, I think. The three children, 2 young boys and a girl are mixed parentage and very good-looking. I liked the fact that the Mum spoke Japanese to the kids, while the Caucasian dad spoke English to the kids. That's what I would have done for my own kids (speak Mandarin to them) if I married some other nationality who does not speak Mandarin. The parents conversed in English mostly, with the lady throwing in some Japanese words when she found it more convenient to do so. Their kids are well-behaved.

One thing was different though. The church was very packed, much more than on the usual Sunday mass. Lots of people had to stand. During communion at this Christmas Mass, there were a large number of adults, young and old, who lined up during communion. They were obviously not baptised Catholics as they did not receive holy communion. They simply lowered their heads for the communion ministers and priest to bless them. A strange sight for us because of the sheer number who did so. I guess some Japanese people liked to come to church for Christmas Mass to get their blessing.

The pianist was a Japanese lady who wore a baby harness on her back. I admired her determination to serve the congregation and the Lord even though she had a baby to look after, in addition to another young toddler, whom a church friend was trying her best to keep engaged and well-behaved while Mama played the piano. Oh, the choir (on the upper floor) in this church was very good on both times we were at St Ignatius. Much better than the ones in our Catholic church in Singapore.