Japan Day 2: Meiji Jingu & Harajuku

Highlights

• Morning
  • Picked up my JR Rail Pass at Shinjuku Station
• Meiji Shrine
  • Japanese Garden
  • Lunch at the Cafe
  • Meiji Shrine
  • Ice Cream & Coffee at the cafe
  • Gift Shop
• Exploring Harajuku
  • Takeshita Street
    • Candied Strawberries
  • Tokyo Plaza
  • Dinner from Aladin Kebab
  • Daiso

Meiji Jingu (Shinto Shrine)

The first time Karl and I visited Japan, we walked into the entrance of Meiji Jingu but didn’t have time to visit the shrine, so it was an easy choice for my first activity in Japan. Meiji Jingu is a beautiful forest and Shinto Shrine in the heart of Tokyo dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken.

Although the museum was closed, I explored the forest, visited the garden, sanctuary, cafe, and gift shop, and spent about half a day there. It was a really enchanting way to relax and acclimate to being in Japan.

• Forest
• Ramen lunch at the Cafe
• Garden
• Sanctuary (Shrine)
• Matcha Ice Cream & Latte at the Cafe
• Gift Shop

I look forward to revisiting and elaborating on this part of my day later because it was divine. Walking into the forest is like being transported to a sacred space in the middle of the city. The giant torri gate and trees loom overhead comfortingly–a shelter and refuge from the busy city life outside.

There was a Dresses of the Meiji Era exhibit at the museum I wanted to see but it was closed so I headed to the cafe to grab lunch before entering the garden. I can’t eat much solid food because of my weightloss surgery so I ordered Ramen, enjoyed the broth, and ate all the toppings plus a few bites of the noodles. It was very good. Food in Japan is amazing in quality and flavor compared to that found in the states. It’s no wonder so many Americans are unhealthy. Our food is mostly garbage.

Garden

Wandering through the garden was breathtaking. Some of the highlights included a giant lily pond where I watched dragonflies dance and baby ducks play with their mother in the water. I admired the design of a traditional Japanese Teahouse and the landscaping around it, enjoyed the enchanting views of irises in bloom, washed my hands in a natural spring well, and just enjoyed walking with my thoughts, touching plants, and taking selfies with trees. 

Two sweet Japanese women greeted me to admire my rainbow sash. They asked if I made it, I didn’t, and then admired one of my necklaces and asked about it. They didn’t speak much English but they spoke enough to teach me the Japanee word for ‘beautiful’ and another word they said meant ‘more’ or ‘more beautiful’. It was a really lovely exchange that made me feel welcomed. Sometimes I can’t help but wonder how the Japanese feel about foreign tourists. I love their culture and try to be respectful but I’m definitely a gaijin. I’m supposed to be learning how to stop emotionally monitoring other people and now I find myself worrying about what the Japanese around me think of me. I have to constantly remind myself that there’s no point in worrying about things like that but it’s a hard habit to break.

Sanctuary

The sanctuary consists of an elaborate shrine and a courtyard with ritual areas. I absolutely adore Shinto. It fits perfectly with my own beliefs in the reverence and spirits of nature. When I first visited Shinto Shrines in 2015 I developed a love and appreciation for the rituals associated with Shinto. Shinto isn’t a religion, it’s more of a loose spiritual belief/tradition with beautiful customs. 

Before entering the sanctuary I purified myself by washing my hands and rinsing my mouth at one of the purification sites outside the sanctuary. I bowed before walking through the Torii-gate, a gate representing the boundary between the secular and sacred areas, to show my respect. Inside I admired the display of Ema (tablets conveying visitors gratitude and wishes) and enjoyed reading some of them. I made an offering and a wish at the shrine and then spent some time admiring a pair of divine trees referred to as the ‘husband and wife trees’. 

Relaxing at the Cafe

I returned to the museum and discovered it was closed so I went to the cafe for refreshments. I ordered a green tea latte and soft-serve ice cream. Green tea isn’t my favorite but I enjoyed my order. My ice cream tasted like what I imagined the baby of tea and chocolate would taste like. After soaking up so much positive energy, I couldn’t resist the urge to dance with my hands. I try not to suppress my body’s desire to move these days but since I’m in Japan and am still getting comfortable I try to restrain it a bit and keep my hands close to my body so I don’t stand out so much. 

After finishing my ice cream I moved to a table on the deck outside with a lovely view of the tree canopy where I felt more comfortable sitting, relaxing, listening to music, writing, and allowing my right hand to just dance and do it’s thing. 

Spirit Dance

I’m so thankful for my body’s natural expression and my sensitivity to sound and energy. I suppressed my body’s natural movements for so many years out of embarrassment, but now I feel like a proud mom watching her young child learn to walk. I often just sit, surrender control, and watch with awe as my fingers move on their own. It’s always fun to listen to music because then they’ll respond to the feel of it. Sometimes I feel like it’s me dancing, and sometimes I feel like it’s my body itself (separate from my mind/consciousness). I refer to most of my dancing as ‘spirit dancing’ because most of the time, the way I experience it can best be described as surrendering control of my body to my spirit or some cosmic spirit, depending on the instance, and allowing it to dance through or with me. It’s a beautiful sensation and an incredible gift to experience.

Singing

When I was little I made up a little song that I would sing over and over again especially when in the shower ‘i want to sing, I want to dance, I want to bow before a king’. I think about that a lot these days as I feel myself reconnecting with the essence of my being and the purity of my youth. I’m so happy to have dance in my life. I do want to sing but feel awkward with my untrained voice, but I have been too on-the-go to take lessons. I’ve felt God calling me to music and performance. He’s told me countless times the world needs my song, but I’m not ready. I trust that it will happen eventually. I took voice lessons one summer years ago and was amazed at what I could do with my voice afterward. I really want to rediscover that and see what else it can do.

Gift Shop

After relaxing for over an hour at the cafe enjoying the peaceful energy of the area I visited the fit shop and picked up a few souveniors for myself and a few others. There were so many beautiful things that I had to remind myself that I have to carry stuff around and that I should wait till the end of my trip to purchase things but I don’t plan on backtracking so I picked up a little things that I couldn’t resist.

It’s so fun seeing what kind of things the Japanese make, sell, and enjoy and how they’re different from what we find in the US. Most of the things the Japanese make have a precious quality that my heart can feel with just a look. I was burnt out on graphic design when I visited Japan in 2015, and it was the attention to detail and thoughtfulness of what I’ll simply refer to as Japanese user experience design that reignited my love for design. 

Interior/Environmental Design

I didn’t know what design, interior design, or graphic design were when I was a kid but one of my earliest memories is of being in one of my childhood rooms and of imagining how I could make the space look and feel better through different means. The fact that I later ended up studying graphic design and interior design in a very roundabout way seems uncanny, but now that I’ve opened up spiritually, I can often clearly see how all of the dots of my life have led me where I am and how they connect to my soul. I love making the world a better place and one of my passions is how spaces and the things in them make us feel. I don’t feel like I’ve had a chance to exercise my gifts and insights in this area fully yet but I am enjoying working on my house in Anniston and slowly creating a magical experience there for myself and others to enjoy. I have a lot of plans for it this summer and can’t wait to complete some of them.

Exploring Harajuku

• Takeshita Street
  • Candied Strawberries
  • Found a Totoro Hand Towel
• I walked around admiring the architecture
• I visited the beautiful Tokyo Plaza, and my jaw dropped when I saw the new Paramont+ building across the street. Its exposed upper gardens are framed by a geometric mirrored facade.
• Dinner from Aladin Kebab
• Daiso

I was really excited to visit Harajuku in 2015 because of Gwen Stefani’s song ‘Harajuku Girls’. It’s a really colorful and fashionable area where lots of young people go dressed very expressively. There are lots of fun and unique shops and restaurants and a lot of really cool architecture, such as Tokyo Plaza and the new Paramont+ building.

I enjoyed walking the infamous Takeshita Street, a bustling shopping pedestrian street with restaurants, cool clothing and jewelry stores, toy shops, and more. I stopped in a shop with floor-to-ceiling gashapon machines and looked to see if they had any Sailor Moon ones, with no luck. Next I explored a little anime shop where I found an adorable embroidered My Neighbor Totoro handtowel for less than 800 yen, about $5 USD. I walked across the street and got a snack of candied strawberries, 3 glazed on a stick, a perfectly sized treat. You’re not supposed to eat or drink while walking in Japan so I found a little side street to hang out in while eating my snack with a public toilet covered in murals saying ‘ninja toilet’. I walked inside, and it was a mess, which is unusual in Japan but not for this area, I think. Next to it was a path that led to a shrine. The shrine was closed but I enjoyed walking along the path and admiring all the design details while escaping the crowd of Harajuku for a bit.

I made my way down to the mirrored Tokyo Plaza building which blew me away on my first trip to Japan but this time as I approached my jaw dropped in amazement at the new Paramont+ building across the street. It’s similar in that it’s mirrored and at first I thought it was Tokyo Plaza and I marveled at the seemingly floating garden exposed in the upper levels. I tried looking it up on my phone to discover what it was but couldn’t find anything in English. I think it might be a movie theatre. I thought about inspecting it but decided to wait until Karl and I could do it together because it feels like a special experience I would like to share with him.

Instead, I went inside Tokyo Plaza and had fun taking photos and videos inside the mirrored entrance as I rode the escalator up. I looked around the shops and was a bit sad to see that the shops inside were not as interesting or lively as when I last visited. Despite being in an amazing building, it felt like it was declining.

Tired and hungry, I returned to Takashita Street to look for a snack and shop at Daiso, a Japanese dollar store (100 yen). I spotted a shawarma place called Aladin something and decided that was a sign because I had recently watched Aladin. I ordered a gyro-type wrap and ate part of it across the street before returning to ask them to wrap it for me so I could take the rest later. Dining is one of the challenges I have when by myself. I can’t eat much at a time and need very small portions. I experience great discomfort if  I eat too much or eat more than a bite or two of rice, bread, etc. I’d love to enjoy some sit-down meals but just can’t justify it most of the time if I’m alone, especially when unable to take leftovers. 

Daiso

Japan’s 10o yen shop is so much better than America’s Dollar Tree. It offers so many cute and fashionable goods, art supplies, and snacks. It was hard to resist the urge to buy all the cute things but I”m sure I’ll be back on one of the last days of our trip to buy souveniors to take home. I traveled over with just one suitcase but planned on buying a second one before leaving Japan to bring souvenirs back with me. It’ll probably just be a suitcase filled with things from Daiso. 😅🤣😊❤️