The sun came out today, so we walked.
40 minutes from our door on foot and we arrived at Yoyogi, home of the Meiji Shrine where the titular Emperor is buried. A beautiful walk through tall shady trees to an active Shinto temple where we also got to see a rather unique wedding procession.
The Meiji Gardens were quite pretty, with the lilies in full bloom. At a Park Guard’s insistence, Marthese washed her hands at a natural well for good luck, while the guard asked me if I’d seen the Ninja Samurai. I looked around in panic (“Ninja, where?”) much to the amusement of the guard and the other visitors. He calmed me down, assured me they were only in movies. It’s only day two but so far Marthese and I are having a great time chatting with the friendly locals.
Next door is Yoyogi Park, home to much activity on Sundays, so we’ll probably come back. For now we just strolled around, met a bunch of dogs (and a rabbit), paid way too much money for fresh juice, chatted with some of the friendly locals, and watched numerous groups learning dance moves together while being yelled at.
All the hip kids shop on this one street in Harajuku, but somehow they let Marthese and I in. Lots of great clothes shops, and we picked up a few gifts for the folks back home. Finding vegetarian food was a bit of a task, but we’re slowly getting better at it. The concept of someone who doesn’t eat meat (especially fish) is not so common around here.
For the first time ever, I waited in a line to enter a store. Marthese describes Asoko as a store of “cheap, cheerful things for your house”. We popped in on the way home and grabbed a few more super-cute gifts and maybe a little something for ourselves. On the wall were the words “She’s like a rainbow.” I thought that was a nice hip sentiment, until I realised that it was also the name of the Rolling Stones song that was playing in the store. On loop. All day. As great as that song is, I suspect they’ll burn through quite a few staff members….
Tonight I get a lovely dinner surprise from Marthese. She has booked a super fancy place in Ginza. I might even wear a collar.
I’m gonna try to post a photo gallery. Hopefully this works:
Elias Rambles 