Tokyo - Day 3 - November 2nd

Ah, Sunday. We were starting to wish that we had scooters, like those people who went to The Scooter Store and had medicare cover the cost of their personal mobilization device.

But, we were in TOKYO. We were not there to sit around in a sparse hostel room and snooze the day away. So, mustering our strength, we set out for another day in the big city.

Our first stop of the day: Shibuya. Shibuya is one of the busiest places in Tokyo, famous for the crossing in front of Shibuya station. The crossing is called the 'busiest in the world' and every few minutes a hoard of pedestrians and bicycles take over, dodging this way and that and making it to the side of the road of their choosing. Even at 9:30 am there was a crowd, although nothing like the last time I was here on a Monday evening. The smell of the sewer is about the same though.

We start to wander, with no particular destination except to end up somehow in Harajuku by the time all is said and done, and see a few sights along the way. First, the dog stature 'Hachiko', built for a loyal dog who waited at Shibuya station for his master every day, even when one day, his master stopped coming home. Hachiko's statue also serves as a meeting place for people meeting at the sprawling Shibuya station.

Next, we walked through Yoyogi park and saw the structures built for the 1968 Tokyo Olympics. They were...olympian. Futuristic, in that 60s conceptualization of the future. Totally retro and wholly out of place, but still pretty interesting.

From there, we procured a meal, I believe our first of the day, from an Ometesando Hills Subway (the restaurant, not the mode of transportatin') and I walked around feeling outclassed by all the trendsters despite my awesome plaid shorts and leggings get-up. No longer dying of hunger, we wandered into Meiji Shrine.

The difference from my last visit was starkly evident the moment we reached the stone bridge that leads to Meiji Shrine. Instead of a scattered few strolling towards the Shrine, the bridge was littered with hipsters dressed in ostentacious fashions and masses of people heading for the shrine. Rather than the peaceful paradise of 3 months ago, it was one of the busiest weekends of the year. There was a festival as well as the celebration of Shichi-go-san. Shichi-go-san is when children who are aged 3, 5, or 7 go to a shrine dressed in their cutest baby kimono with their parents to pray and receive blessings for their lifetime.

That said, the shrine was still incredibly beautiful, and we found our ways to make the most of it. We saw a few places I had never been to, such as Empress Shoken's inner garden, and the treasure museum. After hoofing all over the world that morning, we still had much to conquer, being due in Shinjuku at 3 or something. We made it to the garden a wee bit late, but with plenty of time to walk around with my friend Rebecca and her friend Ayaka and mentally block foot pain from our minds.

After that, one of my favorite parts of the Tokyo trip...Mexican food. We went to a restaurant in Shinjuku called El Torito. I dined famously on chicken and beef fajitas, an apple margarita, and a banana creme chimichanga for desert. This food made me so very, very happy. I think of it fondly sometimes, remembering how I didn't even mind spending $20 on a meal I could have scored in the South for less than $10.After that, our minds and bodys rejuvenated, we sought to entertain ourselves further that evening. We walked over to the Mos Eisley of Tokyo, Kabukicho ("I just want to see it for a second!" Rebecca helped us justify.) and while not quite a hive of villainy at 7 on a Sunday, we could definitely see that it deserved its reputation. Following that, we met with more of Rebecca's friends of the English teaching variety and went to karaoke.

The night dragged on, and we didn't make it back to the hostel until after midnight. I think we took probably one of the last trains back. Upon arrival, I fell asleep quickly. Despite the blisters on our feet, we continued to look forward to the coming day.

See also: Day 1, Day 2, Day 4