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| At the main gate |
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| sake barrels |
Today we started off by going to Meiji shrine. Meiji shrine is a shinto shrine. Shinto is known as Japan's original religion. Enshrined here at Meiji shrine are Emperor Meiji who lived from 1852-1912, and Empress Shoken who was born 1850 and died two years after her spouse in 1914. On the way to the main shrine there were lots of barrels of sake with bright pictures on them which were presented to Emperor Meiji every year as gifts. I thought that the pictures on the barrels were very pretty.
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| Takeshita Dori |
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| strawberries & cream |
After visiting the pretty Meiji shrine we headed to Harajuku. I have been waiting to go here for two days! Once we got there, we went to Takeshita St. This is a famous shopping street in Harajuku. First we went to a Daiso. This is a￥100 store equivalent to a dollar store. We stocked up on gifts and things that we wanted. On our way down the street we picked up a Harajuku famous snack: crepes! After the delicious snack we headed for a toy store. I had heard about, in my intense research of Japan, a store called KiddyLand filled from top to bottom with hobbies and toys for kids and adults. I even found a kit to build a tako yaki shop just my size. Harajuku really lived up to my expectations and I had lots of fun. It is my favorite so far and I hope to come back.
