Torii gate, Meiji Jingu.
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When we checked into the hotel last night the room was very warm. I set the temperature lower so it would be cool enough to sleep. But then M. and I both woke up in the middle of the night feeling cold. The blanket was thin and the room was being cooled too efficiently. I turned the thermostat up a couple of degrees and tried to find an extra blanket in the closet, but there wasn't one. I used a dressing gown instead to lay it over M.
We got up a bit before 07:00, after only a semi-restful sleep, which is sort of usual the first night away on a trip. T. and K. were already up and keen to head to Haneda to pick up their missing luggage. We got ready and headed off about 07:30. We walked back to Shinagawa Station and caught the Keikyu line train back to Haneda. There we went to the information desk on the arrivals level and asked where we could speak to a Japan Airlines representative about claiming the luggage. The woman at the desk very helpfully phoned the information number that K. had been given, and spoke to someone there, who said they would come out to speak with us. As it turned out, they appeared a few minutes later with the luggage. K. just had to sign a form and we were on our way back to the hotel again.
We got in around 08:30. T. and K. went up to their room with the luggage to have showers and freshen up, while M. and I went back to the Japan Rail ticket office in Shinagawa Station to pick up our booked tickets for tomorrow's train journey to Kawazu. A helpful man there showed us how to scan the QR codes we had with a machine to print the tickets, and he gave us a small folder to put them in as well.
Then we explored the station a little to try and find a place where M. could get some coffee. We found what looks like a new place since we were there two years ago, called City Bakery. They had coffee and baked goods, and also did hot breakfast meals as we saw people having scrambled eggs and French toast. We thought this might be a good place to have breakfast tomorrow before leaving on our train trip to Kawazu, and confirmed they'd be open at 07:00, giving us an hour to have breakfast.
M. had a mixed berry scone and I tried a pretzel croissant, which was exactly as advertised, very much a cross between a pretzel and a croissant in flavours and textures. By the time we had these and got back to the hotel, T. and K. were ready to leave for the day.
We all went back to Shinagawa Station and caught a Yamanote line train to Harajuku. As we boarded the train, I felt a tap on the shoulder and a voice say, "David!" I turned around and right behind me was Paul H., the Apple representative on the ISO Photography Standards committee. Obviously he's in Tokyo for our meeting beginning on Tuesday, but imagine the odds of randomly running into someone you know, from the USA, in Tokyo. He caught the train with us and mentioned he was planning on going skiing tomorrow. He stayed on the train when we alighted at Harajuku.
We exited the west gate of the station into the park surrounding the Meiji Jingu shrine. We walked along the path under the two huge torii gates, one near the station and the second a few hundred metres down the path and around a corner.
Torii gate, Meiji Jingu. |
Along the way we passed the stacked sake barrels, wrapped in reeds and colourfully decorated with the emblems of various sake brewers across Japan. These are sent here as offerings to the spirit of the Meiji Emperor. Across the path from them are wooden barrels sent by French wineries in a similar tribute.
 Sake barrels, Meiji Jingu. |
As we approached the shrine complex, uniformed guards appeared and ushered everyone to one side of the walking path. We wondered why, and then heard rhythmic tramping of feet on the crushed gravel central section of the path. Coming around the corner from the shrine towards us was a procession of monks, dressed in white, with large black shoes. Maybe 30 or 40 of them passed by, the way we had come. After they passed, the path was free to use again, and we proceeded to the shrine.
 Procession of monks, Meiji Jingu. |
Here I washed my hands with the water at the purification area, but the others declined to do so in the very cold weather. Fair enough, my hands were freezing and it took them several minutes to dry. We wandered around the shrine, taking photos and looking at the sights. The day was very cold, but sunny, and it wasn't actually too chilly underneath the trees of the park. When we were unsheltered and the wind blew, it was really bitter. We saw what looked like a wedding party in the shrine, with a man in a suit posing next to a woman dressed in a kimono, and three other young women in kimonos standing near them.
 Main courtyard, Meiji Jingu. |
We decided not to explore the shrine gardens, as it was getting close to lunch time, and T. desired a rest for a bit. So we just walked back to Harajuku Station and caught the train one stop to Shibuya. We stopped to look at the Hachiko statue, then crossed the iconic scramble crossing to a cafe I noticed on the upper floors above L’Occitane, being the L’Occitane Cafe. I was worried it might have a long queue for a table, but when we got there they showed us to a table straight away. They had light lunch menu items, none of which were vegetarian, but M. requested to see if they could do the waffle croquet monsieur without the ham, and was told that would be fine. So she got that, while I chose a lighter option of what was essentially a caesar salad, just without any dressing. The cafe had an okay view of the Shibuya crossing scramble, but not from the best angle and slightly blocked by a tree. The food was good though, and I was very happy to have found somewhere for lunch that could do something vegetarian.
 Caesar salad, Cafe L’Occitane. |
After this we walked down one of the shopping streets to explore and see the sights. It was fascinating for T. and K., who haven't been to Japan before. We walked a few blocks and then returned in a loop to head over to the Shibuya Scramble Square building for our 14:40 entrance to the Shibuya Sky observation deck. We had some minutes to spare, and found the ground floor level of the building to be full of gourmet cakes, chocolates, and other sweets, so we spent some time in there looking around. M. bought a mochi sweet with red bean paste, and T. bought herself some caramel treats.
 Shibuya streets. |
We went to the Shibuya Sky entrance a few minutes early and were ushered into the lift which took us to the 14th floor lobby where another lift took us non-stop to the 45th floor. We emerged into a bright blue sky, on an open air level with glass walls affording a spectacular 360° view of Tokyo all around us.
 View over Tokyo from Shibuya Sky. |
The open level is actually split into two levels, with one corner a floor lower and connected to the indoor observation level below. We spent several minutes outside, soaking in the view. There were dozens of other people there as well, but not enough that it felt crowded. The corner spots were coveted for photos of people standing against the backdrop of the city below, with queues of people waiting at each corner to take photos there.
 Open rooftop level of Shibuya Sky. |
After a while we went into the indoor level and found a couple of seats near the bar. We managed to get sitting space on an adjacent lounge for me and M. so we could all sit relatively close, but it was busy enough that it was impossible to find any better seating for the four of us. We got some drinks from the bar and a bag of spiced nuts to nibble on. We sat and rested and waited for the sunset, which was at 17:30. It set behind heavy grey cloud that was obscuring Mount Fuji in the distance, although we could see some of the smaller mountains next to it. As sunset approached, the sun appeared below the cloud and painted the city beneath us red in its glow.
 Sunset view from Shibuya Sky. |
After sunset, we left Shibuya Sky and caught the train back to Harajuku. We walked down Takeshita Street, which was quite an experience. I've never been to this part of Tokyo before and wasn't quite sure what to expect. It's full of cutesy stores and cafes and young people's fashion and street food stalls selling lots of fried things and sugary desserts. We passed a cat cafe, several dog cafes, two miniature pig cafes, and a cafe where you can get to meet otters.
 Takeshita Street, Harajuku. |
Beyond this incredible street we entered a quieter back streets area and found our dinner venue: Sakura-Tei okonomiyaki restaurant. We got our reserved table and ordered some food, which arrives uncooked in bowls for you to mix yourself and cook on the large hotplate in the middle of the table. M. and I showed T. and K. how to do the cooking, and we enjoyed the meal and the experience immensely.
 Okonomiyaki, Sakura-Tei. |
After this we walked back to Harajuku Station. I got a banana caramel cheesecake crêpe for dessert from one of the numerous fancy crêpe places that serves it wrapped in a cone for eating on the street. It was delicious.
 Banana caramel cheesecake crêpe, Marion Crêpes, Harajuku. |
Then we caught a train back to the hotel to turn in for a relatively early night. We need to be up early tomorrow for breakfast before our train trip to Kawazu.
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