Tokyo, Japan; Day 2

We have a quick announcement regarding the alias of one of our Adventurers. From this point forward, the following individual has expressed a desire to no longer be CreeperPuppy.

We introduce you to Toaster_ham!

Hopefully, this won’t start a trend which ends with one or more of kids wanting to be referred to as

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We reserved the first adventure of the day for Brian and Tiffany: Getting subway passes. 

The chip shortage impacted the ability of commuters to secure these individual cards and we were worried that we would be forced to buy individual tickets each trip.  Given that most of our desired attractions are spread all over Tokyo, we would be stopping at kiosks in every station.  It would also limit spontaneity in our selection of adventures.

Fortunately, the combination of increased chip supply and reduced demand (most new users are going with electronic passes on their phones) these cards came back on sale in September.

We bought cards for all of the family and headed out to our next adventure.  The plan for the day was to visit a Shrine and see the commercial districts of Harajuku and Shibuyu.

The Japanese people established Meiji Jingu complex and forest area to commemorate Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, who ruled until 1912.  The Emperor was recognized by the Japanese people as the first leader to properly balance Western trade and industrial practices while preventing colonization through force in the late 19th century.

This Shinto shrine is centered in a forest in the heart of Tokyo. There were 100,000 trees planted here from 360 species found throughout Japan.  The forest is quite mature now and creates a truly tranquil setting amidst the hustle of this mega-city.

The shrine was destroyed in 1945 during the Tokyo bombings in World War 2 but was entirely rebuilt by 1958.

The central courtyard features two magnificent Camphor Laurel trees where individual prayers can be submitted under these sacred trees.

There were a number of tour groups and professional photographers taking pictures of Japanese couples dressed in traditional garments. At one approach, there were displays of wine and sake offerings from throughout the country.

Brian was prepared to spend another hour looking at the shrine construction methods but the others were ready for lunch.  Today’s lunch took us to Mos Burger, Japan’s 2nd largest fast food chain. 

It was a tremendous amount of fun holding a smartphone in front of an ordering screen to get an English translation. 

Most of the electronic kiosks that we have encountered thus far have had a clear button to change language but not Mos Burger.  At any rate, we all had a satisfying meal (at least by fast food standards), but Tiffany is convinced that her burger wasn’t made entirely of beef.

In the same building as the Mos Burger was a cafe which caught the kids’ attention.

Yes, that is a hedgehog. The kids had to wear gloves to handle them but were delighted to have the experience. 

There was even a meerkat to hold and pet.

There are over 150 animal cafes in Japan. With pet ownership in the city difficult due to small living quarters, rental restrictions and busy lifestyles, they are popular with locals as well as visitors. This one was a huge hit with our crew.

The Harajuku district in Shibuyu, Tokyo is a center of youth fashion and shopping.  We discovered a number of interesting vintage and used clothing stores.  These stores were tucked between large Western brand stores such as Tommy Hilfiger, Fossil, Patagonia, and many more.  Two of our Adventurers bought new shoes at the Nike store.  The yen-dollar exchange rate is good for Americans right now, but those shoes were still priced to reflect the real estate.

Our shopping excursion took us from day into dusk, which was a real treat when we arrived at the Shibuyu Crossing.  This is one of the 3 major intersections featured as an establishing shot for movies and New Year’s Eve countdowns in Tokyo for years.

Known as the Shibuyu Scramble – the lights, sounds, and dynamism of this intersection was pretty awesome, even by the kids’ elevated standards.

We expect that despite all the fun adventures today, tomorrow will be even better.  In fact, one or more of the kids may want to write the blog post tomorrow.  We’ll see!