Serenity Now!

Yesterday we ate lunch at a rotating sushi place--that was fun. It was a lot nicer than I thought it would be. To pay, the server scans your plates; they contain chips. $40 fed the four of us, and it was delicious--the best I've had. On the way down into this place we all saw this cute small dog and made a small fuss--the owner loved this and got the dog to watch us descend the stairs, all the while waving at us!

After lunch we took the train to Harajuku and visited the uber-serene Meiji Jingu Temple. The grounds are beautiful--it's a huge forest (100 000 trees!) with massive gates made of Japanese cypress. The temple itself is made of the same wood and it smells fantastic.

From there we made our way into the bustling streets of Harajuku. Tons of people and lots of shops. We went to a place where I noticed a sign reading 'Tokyo Champs d'Elysee'--fancy shops like Dior and Burberry. We toured a bit looking for a vegetarian option for Joanne (harder than you think). Energy levels dropping. So we stopped on this main drag for coffee and food. I was very tired and then Jo and Chanti stuck me with like $25 in change--this somehow pushed me over the edge and I got really grumpy. It's all good.



We then hit a park near the temple to kill time before meeting Jo's friend Mac. People were singing, playing guitar and there was a guy tap dancing who was very good. With time in hand we were off on the train to Shibuya to meet Mac. Dude-Shibuya is crazy. Lost in Translation anybody? I have never seen so many people before in my life. For real. According to Mac, every 3 minutes 10-20 000 people cross the intersection. I have video proof. It makes Times Square look quaint!!! We rendez-vous'd at the statue of Hachiko the dog and Mac took us on a short tour of the area around Shibuya station. It was insanely busy with a varied mix of people. We then made our way to a Nepalese restaurant for some delicious food.

Then it was back into Shibuya station (one of the busiest in the world) to get home. It was after eleven and extremely busy. The train we got on was packed. Like sardine style packed. And as the doors were about to close a uniformed official wearing white gloves gave a polite but firm shove to squeeze everybody in. It was awesome. What a place--serene temple within walking distance of complete absurdity. If ever you can you must come to Tokyo.