Suitengu (next to hotel)

Suitengumae is the name of the subway station next to the Royal Park Hotel, where I was staying. It means "before Suitengu", where Suitengu is a shrine people visit in hopes of easy childbirth. Touching this dog is supposed to protect both mother & child.

It was rainy & cold when I visited, but bunches of families were there with their children.

I went there thinking how grateful I was that my children were long since born healthy and I'd seen them grow up, and that they were out dealing with the wide, wide world.