Harajuku and Meijijingu

On Saturday I went to Tokyo for a business meeting (doesn't that sound posh?).

After the meeting, I went to Harajuku because I haven't been there before. Harajuku is known as a teenybopper's shopping district, which is why I hadn't been there before. But Meijijungu, which is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the Meiji Emperor and Empress is in Yoyogi park. Yoyogi park, like Ueno park, is a green oasis in surrounded by urban Tokyo. Tokyo University, or Todai, which is the nation's top university (imagine if you combined Harvard, Yale and Stanford) is nearby, so I imagine students find the park a good place to relax.

I'm guessing that the annual Tokyo St. Patrick's Day parade will come through here.


Here is a Wendy's in Harajuku. I haven't seen many Wendy's. When it comes to hamberger places usually I see McDonalds, Freshness Burger and Mos Burger.

Here is a Demiglace Bacon Cheeseburger set. Yum!

These plaques comemorating the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.are on a bridge.


































In case you are hungry, here are some vendors ready to feed you. The closest is takoyaki, which are balls made of octopus in batter. The joke, of course, is that there are 8 octopus balls per octopus. HT next is yakisoba, or stir-fried noodles. There were also okonomiyaki, which are savory pancakes with cabbage, shrimp, etc. Okonimiyaki is one of my favorite Japanese foods.

This is the first torii gate leading to the shrine.












Kimono never go out of style.











Here are some French wines that have been donated to the shrine.
















Here is the more traditional sake. Japanese gods like sake, which is OK!


Here is the final gate. I have finally found a Shinto shrine that has no stairs.



Here is taiko drum at the shrine.








This light looks like the sort that would fit just fine at my house! I like the arts and crafts/art deco/Japanese combo.

Here is the shrine itself. The proper way to pray at a Shinto shrine is very simple.
Toss a coin or coins in the box. Ring the bell once - pull the rope. Bow twice. Clap twice in prayer while thinking about your wish. Bow once.

People write their wishes and prayers on ema, or small wooden plaques, which are hung up by the shrine. I saw them written in many languages: English, German, French, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, etc.