At 11 we checked out and left our bags at the hostel. For lunch we walked the streets without anything in mind. At one point I mentioned some Takoyaki, the cooked riceball with octopus. Margaret had not had any yet so we got 8 each for a very tasty meal on the walk. After that I headed to Harajuku, a section of the city I'd not yet been to.
There, I spent a long time at Meiji Shrine. It is another Shinto shrine, though very different then the one we saw in Kyoto. Where that one was a massive path of red arches, this one was more reminiscent of a temple for prayer. That said, there were clear similarities. Most notable to me was that the arches (while different in number, color, and size) were all the same style.
The most interesting occurrences at the shrine were the weddings in occurrence. I believe I saw 2 throughout the day. Apparently this is one of the most popular places for them in the area. They were small, about 50 people (not counting all the tourists watching). They formed (different times but same procedure) small processions, lead by the shrine figurehead (I do not know the terms... I apologize) and another member. Then walked two geisha, followed by the bride and groom. They walked under an umbrella carried by someone behind them. Following that was the wedding parties. There were many people wearing comonos (spelling) and for me it was quite a sight (both times).
I spent a bunch of time just walking the grounds too. They were wide gravel paths with nice lanterns and lovely forestry on all sides. I explored around to the back side of the grounds where there was a bridge over a small river that fed 2 small ponds. I stayed there for a while and watched some fish and ducks, and just relaxed to the sound of the water. There was also a huge grassy clearing there which was fun to sit it. On the other side of the path in this section stood a treasures museum, which housed many possession of those that the shrine commemorated. There was also a fighting dojo, but both were closed at the time.
So instead I continued to loop through, which is what brought be back to the shrine to see the second wedding. Anyway, around 5 I started to head out, and had a cool but random sight. I knew where the sun was... setting over a hill to the right of the path. But, suddenly I saw the sun blast through the trees to my left. Confused, I backed up a step, and after a bit of wandering and puzzling, found that I hit the angles perfectly. From exactly where I stood I could see the sun set through the trees on my right. But, at the same time, the sun was reflecting over the trees onto a building to my left. That reflection was then shining through the trees on the left to where I stood. However, I could not see the building. It looked very much like there were 2 suns at that moment.
Anyway, another interesting thing to see in Harajuku was another aspect of japanese culture (or a section of it). Apparently, and so it appeared, Harajuku is the heart of the cosplay culture in Japan. That is, people who dress up as some of their favorite characters in fiction (manta, anime, books, sci-fi...anything) and to my knowledge... just dress that way. I don't know much about it, but walking the sidewalks there were TONS of people participating.
Around 6:20 (due to a communication debacle), I met with Yuki again. This time we walked through Harajuku and headed into Shibuya (where that really crowded intersection is). She took me through a street which was full of small clothing stores. Apparently this is the place to shop in high school. Soon after, in Shibuya, we passed through another shopping strip that targeted more of a business audience. However, it began to give me more of a feel of the shopping strips in Japan.
We also stopped into possibly the coolest mall I'd ever seen. It had elevators and escalators for the more direct routes, but the floors were all slanted. That is, there were no stairs and the entire mall was a ramp! You could walk from the ground floor to the top by just walking. It was awesome. When we left the mall we were in 'the squares and if I thought it was crowded before... I was wrong. Turns out 7:00 pm on a Saturday is THE time to be there. Where before it looked like swarming ants... now it was simply solid. It was even crazier than before.
Then, for my final dinner in Japan we went out to another okonokiyaki place. While it has started to be a lot of times for it, its something I've not found in the states. Better yet, I now feel fairly confident cooking it. That means all I need is the recipe and ingredients, and I think I'm close to knowing that too. I hope I can make it one day. Its just so good...
After dinner we went to a place called 270, where all drinks and all foods cost... 270 yen. The purpose was to have plumb sake, which had been recommended to me twice. I had mine with hot water (so basically just hot) and she got hers with soda (sprite maybe?). I tried them both and they were very different, but both very good. I quickly decided that I liked regular sake more though because this was just too easy to drink. But... it was tasty...
After that we got to the train station and bid farewell again. I took a train back to the hostel and met Margaret, where we then returned to the train to get to the airport. We are now here... and staying up to check in rather soon. Hopefully I can sleep the whole plane trip and take tomorrow easy. This flight was trouble for sleep schedules no matter what... Anyway, with this I'll call it a day and count the flight and check in as tomorrow...
All in all, it was a relaxing day and a nice way to go. But, I loved Japan, far more than I thought I would... I do look forward to coming back.
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