Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo is a shrine built in 1920 for the emperor Meiji and his wife.  It was destroyed (so many of Japan’s temples and shrines are destroyed) in the air raids of World War II and so was rebuilt in 1958.  We want to visit this shrine today.  First, a brief look around Shibuya and then brunch in nearby Harajuku (I can’t wait to visit Harajuku, but that’s for tomorrow)

Lunch turned out to be just “ok” but the atmosphere in Harajuku was fun to see.  The buffet had a lot of western food on it, but with odd flavors and sauces we didn’t recognize.  The interior certainly had a lot of character, though.  We weren’t sure what to do with our plates when we were finished.  In an American buffet, you usually leave your plate.  At some places you take your plate to a counter.  Here, they didn’t collect our plates and we didn’t see anywhere to put the used ones.  We never did figure out what to do.

On the other side of Harajuku station is the Meiji shrine.  There is a long walk to the shrine itself, completely wooded.  This was a surprise to see such a long, wide wooded path, as we were still in the heart of Tokyo.  You get the sense of being deep in the forest even though the park is in the middle of the city.

As luck would have it, a wedding procession arrived and we got to watch as the bride entered the complex.

After this excursion, we parted ways with Jared at the train station so that he could catch his plane.  We go back to the hotel to rest for awhile and decide what to do about the evening’s plans.

Lawson convenience store.  As I’ve mentioned previously in this adventure, these places have it all and are like oases in Japan.  Good thing there are thousands of them everywhere.  We stopped at this one for milk coffee, snacks and other goodies quite a few times as it was near the hotel.

You get these plastic fans with ads on them all over Japan.  There are people giving them out everywhere.  Most people carry and use fans in Japan.  It’s not uncommon to see men, even older successful businessmen or macho college guys fanning themselves in the heat.  I don’t think it will ever catch on in the states.  It’s too bad… it gets hot out there!  Tired from the heat and the day’s adventure (not to mention 2 weeks of nonstop madness), everyone agrees it’s time for a nap.

After some rest, we felt better.  We decided to try the hotel’s restaurant.  I don’t normally like to eat at these.  In my opinion hotel restaurants are overpriced and not authentic or interesting at all.  They are almost designed to prevent adventure and experiences while traveling.  But, the Cerulean Tower boasts a restaurant owned by Iron Chef Chen Kenichi, AKA Iron Chef Chinese from the Japanese TV show.  We had already eaten at Morimoto’s (Iron Chef Japanese) restaurant in Philadelphia, so we were excited to try another Iron Chef’s place.

Unfortunately, “Chen” at the Cerulean Tower was just not what we hoped for.  I can’t say I was too surprised.  It seems like Chen has put his name on many restaurants since appearing on the show.  It’s a shame, because Morimoto pays close and personal attention to his restaurants.  The presentation and quality at his places is way above and beyond.  “Chen” was just “average to good” and very expensive.  The decor was fairly nice.  I didn’t take a photo.  It was a classy place.  Sigh.

Maybe the other restaurants are better.  I didn’t do much research on Chen’s food franchise.  This place seems like a licensing deal rather than a real experience to me however.

After dinner, what else?  Another walk around Shibuya.  That’s the nice thing about staying in a hotel that’s right smack dab in the middle of a major downtown hub- especially one as crazy and intense as Shibuya.  We walked around Shibuya almost every day of this trip and never even started to get bored.

Signing off…

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