Rise of the Siblings - Part XIV: Tokyo Private Tour - Meiji Jingu Shrine & Shibuya

After we left the Sensō-ji Temple and Asakusa Shrine, Roy asked us what we wanted for lunch. We all said ramen! He took us to a tiny restaurant where you order using a machine at the front of the shop. 

The ramen was the best I have ever had!

After lunch we went to Akihabara. This area is a major shopping district for video games, anime, manga, electronics, and computer related goods. Roy called it the "geek place."

We were then taken to the Meiji Shrine. This beautiful shrine was originally built in 1915 and was dedicated to the recently deceased Emperor Meiji and his wife. The shrine is located in a man made forest that covers 170 acres and consists of 120,000 trees!

[Torii]

[Barrels of Burgundy wine from France]

[Barrels of sake]

[Washing station]

[Main temple courtyard]

[More fortunes]

As we were leaving the main shrine, Roy pointed out this smaller shrine where you can go and get your new car blessed.

We then walked over to Takeshita Street. 

This is a pedestrian street that is full of shops with the latest trends, food vendors, and some very unique cafes! We saw a micropig cafe, hedgehog cafe, cat cafe, owl cafe, puppy cafe, and even an otter cafe!

I made mental notes of all the good food we needed to come back and try!

We were then driven to the famous Shibuya Crossing! Before we crossed the road, we went to see a statue of the most loyal dog in the world, Hachiko. The story: "Hachiko's owner, Professor Ueno, would take the train to work, and Hachiko would meet him at the station upon his return. After Ueno's unexpected death, Hachiko continued to wait for him at the station for over nine years until his own death." The statue is a symbol of loyalty which is very important in Japanese culture.

We then crossed the Shibuya Crossing with 3000 other people. It is the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world!

We made our final stop at the Tokyo Tower and then Roy and our driver dropped us off at the Tokyo train station so we could get some dinner and desserts. 

[Another delicious meal]

[Matcha cream]

[Butter bread!]

It was a really long day, but we had a blast visiting all of the amazing sites around Tokyo! 

Rise of the Siblings - Part XIII: Tokyo Private Tour - Sensō-ji & Asakusa Shrine

We were then taken to a roof top restaurant, so we could get a good view of the Sensō-ji and the surrounding area.

[Tokyo Skytree and Asahi Beer Hall (gold building with "foam top")]

Sensō-ji is Tokyo's oldest established temple. It is the most widely visited religious site in the world with over 30 million visitors annually! The temple complex consists of a large gate, then a long row of shops, another large gate, and then the main temple with a five-story pagoda right next to it.

We then walked down to the first gate which is called the Kaminarimon or Thunder Gate. This large gate has four statues and a large lantern in the center. The two statues by the lantern are the Shinto gods of wind and thunder (Shinto and Buddhist religions are very intertwined here).

The giant red lantern is almost 13 feet tall and weighs 1500 lbs! 

[Roy, Luke, Ryan, and me]

[Symbols on the lantern]

We then walked through the very busy, 820 ft long, Nakamise-dori with its shops. There was everything from food to knives to souvenirs. Roy knew I was interested in getting an authentic Japanese knife, so he showed me the best shop for them (we'll come back to it tomorrow).

We then arrived at the Hōzōmon or "Treasure House Gate."

[Five-story pagoda]

We walked through the gate and found the main temple.

We got our fortunes and if you like your fortune then you can keep it, but if you don't you can tie it to a wire and the wind will eventually take it away.

I got a good fortune, so I kept it!

Ryan got a not-so-good fortune, so he tied it to the wire.

[Such a beautiful temple]

We then crossed the street too the Asakusa Shinto Shrine. This shrine was built in 1649 and was one of two buildings in the area to survive World War II. The shrine honors the three men who founded the Sensō-ji.

[Cherry blossoms]