Japan Trip day 3: Hitoribocchi Tokyo (Pictures)
So while sorting through these, I am reminded of something... I had my camera set to Eastern time, and forgot to change it, so some of these may end up on the wrong days! I don't think my Facebook and Instagram posts are gonna help here, so... be prepared for me to mess this up!
The view from my hotel room in the morning. A very scenic urban sprawl. Okay... not particularly scenic... but still, a sight different from the views I am used to on a day to day basis. I think this side looked out on to apartments, as opposed to other hotels, but I could be wrong.
This car can be seen in the bottom of the previous picture, I decided it needed a better view. Unfortunately I did not take the sun into account. For the record, the car is adorned with an anime character on the hood (Hatsune Miku, I believe). So yeah, you want a better idea of what this car looks like, Google "Hatsune Miku" and you'll get an idea of what this character looks like.
EGGSLUT! Yes, I know it is probably childish, but once I learned there was a place called "eggslut" I had to eat there. And also, I am aware that it is a chain store, that is technically available in the states... The states that it is available in are not close to my state, so I went considering the closeness to my base camp. The food was alright. Not some life changing experience, but I am glad to have taken part in the eggslut experience. Seriously, I can not stress the term “eggslut” enough.
Two images of a "3D" billboard. The images appear 3D because of the curvature of the screen allowing it to pop more. It doesn't look quite the same on my camera as it did in real life, but the cat still looks a little 3 dimensional. The second image is an ad for the Dungeons and Dragons movie. Owlbears and cats... truly this billboard is a thing of beauty.
What was this a sculpture of? I have no clue. I saw it from multiple angles, and none of those angles seemed to make a difference so you get this particular image. The further removed I get from this piece of sculpture, the more it puzzles me… I really should have gone over to try and see if there was a plaque or something. But it would have probably been in Japanese.
One of the entrances to the Meiji Jingu shrine grounds. The next image will give you a little more info. I suppose it goes without saying that this shrine came about after the death of emperor Meiji, and thus the end of the Meiji era.
A map of the grounds, as well as some information about the shrine. This is also where I learned that the red rectangle on the bottom left of the image is a sort of "You are here" indication. Something that would help me later in my travels. One can also see that there is some expectation of English speaking tourists in Japan. I’m gonna warn you now, if you don’t like Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, this particular trip will not be your cup of tea. I visit several shrines and temples.
The gate to the shrine itself. These much more elaborate gates are found at the entrance to the shrine itself. One can easily see that there have been some modern upgrades. If nothing else, they added what I assume are lights around the edge of the gate. I don’t remember if I was inside looking out, or outside looking in. The way old lady with the cane in the front right of the picture is standing, I think I am inside looking out.
Another gate. I love these gates (I have a model one sitting on my desk as I type this). Sadly, I am not the only tourist, so there is still a decent crowd surrounding this gate. There is a specific protocol one is supposed to follow when walking through these gates. If you are entering you should bow before passing through. Also, don’t go through the center… the center of the path is reserved for the gods, and it is disrespectful to walk there. But I’m an idiot foreigner and I didn’t listen. Oh yeah, after you leave, you are supposed to turn and bow one more time. There is a lot of bowing. And in the shrine itself, one is supposed to throw a 5 yen coin into the offering box, and then I believe it is clap twice, bow once, say your prayer to the gods in your head and then bow again. I failed shrine etiquette.
These two images are lumped together. A description of the second image is contained in the first. My bottle of sake bought at this shrine is located at my feet currently. As I edit my random blurbs about the pictures, the sake bottle is now sitting next to me on my desk. The sake was my big souvenir from this shrine. I also picked up a bell for my mom, she collects bells kinda like I collect shot glasses.
My last image from the Meiji Jingu shrine. Amusingly I walked past this shrine another time during my roaming of the city as I headed from Shinjuku to Shibuya. But, at that point I was sort of focused on Shibuya, so I didn’t stop by again. I would have liked more pictures.
These two images would make more sense if they were taken from above, but what you are looking at is the famous "Shibuya Scramble" the story of the Scramble is a little depressing, involving a loyal akita that walked to and from work with his owner every day. And much like Seymour from the famous episode of Futurama, Hachiko continued to come to the same spot every day even after his owner died. There is apparently a statue to Hachiko somewhere, but I did not get a good shot. If you go to the 15th floor of Shibuya Sky, there is an entire gift shop with goods based on Hachiko. I kinda wish I had bought something, but it was the first day and I was really watching my budget at that point. I have since been told, that the Starbucks you can see in the second picture offers a decent view without having to pay to get to the top of Shibuya sky. But, I am an idiot, and I don’t like coffee, so I never considered it.
Sakura! One of the most famous Japanese images, these blooms are seen through the end of March and the beginning of April. There are multiple shots involved in my adventure that are all about the Sakura, so... I'm not gonna say much... except that this particular tree was near Shibuya Scramble. After this, I was tired and a little overwhelmed by the crowds. It was a three mile walk from my hotel, if I went straight here... Considering my detour through Meiji Jingu, It might have been 4. I gave up and went back to base after this.
