Intersections in Tokyo

Need to cross from NE to SW or NW to SE?  No need to walk the two legs of the right triangle.  In Tokyo, go ahead and walk along the hypontenuse!

On our walk down from the Meiji Shrine to Shibuya, Onions and I had the "good fortune" of passing by a public appearance by a Japanese Girl band.

Their third album was released on that day!

Japan surprises me sometimes.  This is a country that still values and purchases CD's.  Can you believe there is a store that has over three floors of CD's?

And from the window of the Starbuck's on the second floor of the store you can watch the ballet of the Shibuya intersection!

Green light means GO!

We're in full swing here....

And it's time to return the intersection to the motor vehicles!

Participating in the Shibuya Intersection crossing!

Meiji Shrine

Japan before the middle of the 1800's was closed to the rest of the world.  But it was the Meiji emperor that had the foresight to open Japan to the west and therefore begin the process of modernization.  The Meiji Shrine and surrounding park are dedicated to the emperor and his wife.

The sake brewers honoring the Meiji emperor.

At every shrine you see a place to wash yourself.

With your right hand, wash your left hand.

With your left hand, wash your right hand.

Pour some water into your left hand and then rinse your mouth.

Again wash your left hand.

Lastly, raise the ladle up so the water drips down the handle and rinses it as well.

The Meiji Shrine.  This is the location of the seating of the emperor.

Views Over Tokyo

Just west of Shinjuku Station are the Tokyo Metropolitan Municipal Buildings.

The top floor of each of the two tours has an observation deck that can be visited for free.  From here, on a clear day, you can look over the expanse of Tokyo Metro.

Looking east towards downtown Tokyo and the harbor.

Just to the right of the tower that looks like the Empire State Building is that National Stadium that was built for the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.  Starting this year, the stadium will be torn down and a new Zaha Hadid designed stadium will be built in its place.  There has been much criticism that the new stadium is simply too large for what is essentially a residential area.

That expanse of trees is the park that surrounds the Meiji Shrine.

The Park Hyatt Hotel where the movie "Lost In Translation" was filmed.

Looking west....Tokyo extends as far as the eye can see.

Not sure the name of this building, but I think it looks cool.

Pandas

A major tourist attraction in Tokyo is the Asakusa Shrine which honors the three men who founded the nearby Senso-ji.

I thought this was cool.  The citizens of a city in Japan got together to make this huge rope sandal, which hangs on the wall of one of buildings.

As at all Shinto shrines, you can get your fortune.  First make a donation of 100 yen.  Then shake the canister and pull out a stick.

On the stick will be printed a number.  Then find the drawer with the corresponding number and you get your fortune.

YES!!  I thought everyone got good fortunes, but when Onions did his, it was mediocre.  The tradition is when you don't get a good fortune, you tie it to one of the strings nearby so you don't carry it away with you.

The shrine complex was packed with people, combine that with our general lack of interest in shrines, Onions and I departed within a half hour.  We decided to head over to Ueno Park for a stroll.

As we are enjoying the park, I see a sign for a panda.  It turns out that the Tokyo Zoo is located in Ueno park AND it's home to a couple pandas.  Our plan was to simply go in and see the pandas and leave, but we spent the rest of the afternoon at the zoo.  It was unexpectedly a total blast.

I apparently most closely resemble a panda bear.  And to me, Onions' spirit animal is the penguin.

Onions likes penguins and this is the first time he's seen penguins live.

'roo porn!

Hippos in Chinese are translated to "river horse."

Ever seen the inside of a hippos mouth?  Now you have.

Fugu.....PUFFERFISH!

Sushi

In Kyoto, on the road between Ryoan-ji and Ginkaku, Onions was able to read that this was a sushi restaurant that offered plates of sushi for 100 yen, or about 90 cents.

Just like the "sushi boat" restaurants in the United States, plates of sushi work their way around the restaurant.

You like something, pick it up and eat!

What's this green powder.....wasabi?  Nope, it's to make green tea.  There is a hot water dispenser right at your table.

This is fresh wasabi.

And it's potency is greater than all of us who eat the wasabi made from the powder.

Another feature is that above your table is an electronic menu.  If there is something you want right away, or doesn't come on the conveyor belt, you can press a button.....

.....and within a few minutes your order comes whizzing to your table on the upper conveyor belt.

We ate like kings....and came back for dinner a second time the following evening.