Japanese breakfast: rice, egg, miso soup, grated daikon radish, pickled radish, grilled fish and nato
In the picture you will notice a little paper cup of beans. The Japanese refer to this as natto. This seemingly innocent substance is one of the more controversial food items of Japan. Forget the blowfish, this is the stuff that you'll have to wrap your mind around. Natto is basically fermented soy beans. It is very potent and has a very pungent smell and taste. It is surrounded by a sticky, stringy film that is on par with spider webs.
close up of natto
Boyfriend and I know about natto thanks to exposure from my family, but it is not for picky eaters. I tried it and still can't stand the stuff. However, my Mother will be happy to know that the two white boys I ate breakfast with, both ate and enjoyed it. Good for you guys, but I'll pass.
After breakfast we hopped on the train and explored the city. I think Boyfriend's friend and colleague said it best. "When you look around, Tokyo looks like every other city. But when you look closer, everything is completely different."
Tokyo is a collection of many populated connecting districts. There are a lot of commuters, restaurants, bars and shops. However, Tokyo is shockingly quiet. The only major metropolitan city I've been to is Chicago, but in comparison, Tokyo is as quiet as a museum or library. Everyone has tunnel vision and is traveling quickly and efficiently and silently. The cars don't honk, there are no wagons or carts being pushed down the sidewalk, even the alleys and trains are eerily quiet.
We started our journey at the Meiji Shrine next to the Harajuku station. Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji. The grounds are covered in trees and greenery, which were gathered from all over Japan and donated to the Shrine in dedication to the Emperor.
Entrance to the grounds is made of cypress
Barrels of sake wrapped in straw
Barrels of Bourgogne wine
Boyfriend and I at one of the gates
Paper lanterns
Walking through the inner gardens
So peaceful
"Feed me Seymour"
Clever man feeding a bird and capturing it on his phone
Emperor's well
Customary to cleanse hands and mouth to enter shrine
Gifts to purchase for prayer
It is very common and traditional to go to the shrine for New Years to pray and ask for blessings for the upcoming year. Many prayers are made at the head of the shrine by bowing twice, clapping hand twice, then bowing once more. Others choose to write their wishes for good fortune and display them on a wall.
The wall of wishes
Hand-written prayers from visitors
After Meiji Jingu, we walked around the neighboring Harajuku district. Made famous by outrageous outfits and incredible shopping, Harajuku is one of the major shopping districts of Tokyo. I thought it would be loud and busy, but it was quite calm. It could have been because it was a weekday, but the shopping district was just as quiet as the shrine.
Harajuku from the streets
On top of a department store in a nice garden
Roof-top view of Harajuku
After walking through some stores, we headed back toward the shrine to Yoyogi park. Though it is Winter, the park was fairly occupied with a few book clubs, jugglers and pet-owners. However, the largest population of occupants were the giant ravens. Creepy.
Next stop Shibuya, another well-known shopping and eating district. The train station is one stop from the Harajuku station and leads you directly into the famous Shibuya crossing/ intersection. Adjacent to the train station, this giant crosswalk with a backdrop of large TV screens and billboards. A rumored 20,000 people walk through this intersection each day.
Shibuya crossing
Shibuya crossing
Streets of Shibuya
When you arrive at Shiubya train station, there are multiple exits including the one that is next to the Shibuya crossing. Besides the high traffic due to shopping and eating real estate, this station exit is made famous by a dog and is dubbed Hachiko exit. Hachiko was the name of a Shiba Inu (a Japanese dog breed) with a touching story. Every day his master would leave for work at the Shibuya station where Hachiko would wait for his master's return from work. When his master passed away unexpectantly, Hachiko continued to wait at the train station for 11 years. The people were so enchanted and touched by the dog's loyalty, they built a statue to commemorate Hachiko.
Boyfriend, Hachiko and I
It's Genki Sushi! Haha
Order with your touch screen menu...
and your sushi zips out to you and stops until you send the tray back
Boyfriend's warm sake
My soju and grapefruit juice
Seared Shrimp/ Salmon with Garlic Butt[er] Haha
Grab your sushi!
Evan trying Ikura (Salmon Roe)
Pudi pudi pudi! Japanese custard
After more exploring, we went back to our hotel to prepare for our dinner plans. One of Boyfriend's colleagues was meeting with friends in Shibuya for dinner and we were invited to join them.
Irashai masei!
We went to a Yakitori (grilled skewers) place in Shiubya. All sorts of fun. I never thought we would be able to meet new people, mingle with the locals and drink, eat and laugh the night away in a foreign city.
Beer and skewers
Cheezu!
Group shot
After about 10 rounds of skewers and 4 rounds of beer, we went to another bar where you pay a flat rate for all you can drink beer... in the span of 2 hours. AMAZING! Truthfully, I had already had several beers, so the booze wasn't really flowing on my part for the second bar. To be fair, I can't compete with the German and Japanese people we were with.
At bar number two
After saying our goodbyes, we hopped onto the last train from Shibuya and had one of those stereotypical run-to-the-train moments, followed by an equally stereotypical pack yourself into a sardine-can of a train car. Yes, they have officials that literally push people into the cars to the brink of capacity.
Packed into a crowded train
Waiting for the last train of the night
Drunkenly awaiting train
What a full day, and we made the most of it. What a way to spend a Friday in Tokyo!
-Akemi-chan
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