Closer than they seem

Gate to Meiji-Jingu

It was a day of discoveries. Some were challenging(not bad), but most of them were still good and wonderful and unexpected. 

We discovered that when jet lag hits, it hits hard and at the worst moments. This morning, my brain was telling me that is was time to get up at 4:30 am. And I mean eyes wide open, brain fully awake kind of getting up. Argh. So forget the 7:30 am alarm - I was already up, dressed and out the door. 

We discovered that, though all the guidebooks talking of ultra full metro and trains during rush hour, we managed to travel early enough this morning to avoid that experience, and even found some seats available. I suppose it's to be expected when the city contains more than 20 million people! Also, the train/metro stops are quite far apart from each other, so small distances in terms of stops may equal long trips time-wise. We're slowly getting used to things here.

Sake barrels - offerings to the gods

Daily prayers offered at the temple

Entering the main temple courtyard

Meiji-jingu, the largest Shinto temple in Japan, is sleepy this morning, with the occasional commuter passing through to make offerings and say prayers before continuing on with their day. We made it in time to hear the taiko drums which mark the start of the day, tour the grounds a little, clap our hands to make our presence know to the gods. Afterwards, we head outside the park to a small coffee shop for some tasty pastries and iced coffee. That habit harkens back to our days in Italy, I suppose. We discovered that it's sometimes hard to find a public space to sit and eat. Luckily, we hadn't ventured too far from Meiji-jingu, so we returned to the shade of the trees, and some benches we spotted earlier, for a picnic.

Sacred tree at Meiji-Jingu	To wash your hands and mouth before entering
Nature and Architecture combine on Omote-sando	Architecture on Omote-sando

Harajuku Street

After continuing through the park, we headed out to the shopping streets of Harajuku, gawking at the fashion shops of Takeshita-dori. This is where all the young girls go for Lolita- and Goth-style clothing and accessories. Think lots of bright pinks, or sombre blacks. There are a lot of well-known brand name stores in this area, but we are too poor to even walk through their front doors. We discovered that often, the outside of the buildings is just as fashionable, so instead we toured Omote-sando, gazing up at the awesome architecture of the boutiques.

The crepes are following me!

We discovered that there are no more reserved tickets available for the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, which makes me sad because I was really looking forward to going there. Boo.

Shibuya crossing

We discovered that, though all of this visiting was supposed to fill an entire day, it was only noon and we were done with Harajuku. Granted, we really aren't avid enough shoppers to properly appreciate this area of town, and the museum at Meiji-jingu was strangely closed. So now what? Off to Shibuya and its super-busy pedestrian crossing!

We discovered that Shibuya isn't really that impressive unless you happen to experience it during rush hour. Noon is not rush hour. 

Obento lunch in the park

Still in the Shibuya area, we discovered that there is a serious lack of public space in which to eat, which makes no sense since the food malls are FULL of people buying takeout meals. The only thing we can guess is that they are eating at home, or at work. There is no food court, there are no benches and there are few parks, which are far, and often not really the green spaces we are searching for. We did manage to find a place, eventually, eating next to a basketball court dedicated once upon a time by the one and only Michael Jordan, complete with well-worn bronze handprints(which we obviously have to touch). Luckily it wasn't as far away as Meiji-Jingu, which had been an last-resort option.

We rediscovered that carrying your guidebook is ALWAYS a good idea, and worked out some afternoon activities while we ate our lunch. Then it was off to Asakusa, and the Senso-ji temple. 

5-storied pagoda

There is a fantastic shopping arcade leading up to Senso-ji, and if we had been wondering where all the people were before we certainly weren't anymore. Senso-ji seems to be THE temple to visit. Shops line the arcade selling all manners of foods and souvenirs. School groups make their way through the crowds, and there are all manner of tourist here, including us. This is a Buddhist temple, so there are different rituals to be performed, and prayers to be read, and fortunes to be told. It feels almost like a theme park, the way people are touring the grounds, stopping at each of the stations and completing the rituals.

Shopping lane leading to Senso-ji temple

Main courtyard

I got to store-hop along Kappabashi-dori, the shopping street in the restaurant suppliers' district, and Mario indulged me. I bought a sashimi knife! We discovered that if you try your best in Japanese, but fail anyway, people are all the more friendly and appreciative for it. And it often gets a free gift thrown in the bag for good measure.(Vegetable peeler business card!)

"Sun Road" - walking to our ryokan

Insert here an intermission with a long train ride back, a long cool shower since it's so hot out, a short nap, and then we head back out for dinner.

We discovered that foreigners are scary people. So much so that we got ignored at the restaurant we sat down in for dinner, even though we got water, and menus, and I made multiple attempts to flag down the waiter. He just smiled, turned around, and found something else to do. We left 20 minutes later, having never ordered. 

In the end, we bought yakitori(grilled skewers) from a stand run by a nice old man who took the time to explain, using gestures and very limited English, just what every skewer was(picture said nice old man flapping his arms like wings, and then pulling on his skin, and take a guess what he was describing). So we also discovered that the flashier the place, the less appealing it is, or should be, really. 

In the end, we discovered that a trip is all you make it out to be, and that you really can't dwell on the negative because the trip will otherwise just suck. For us, it was a really good day.