Day 8, Saturday, May 19th: Finding your Zen

Woke up around 07:00 so that was pretty good. Overcast skies, but highs expected today around 26 degrees. Downstairs to our breakfast. Wow, the service is superb here. Sincere greetings, very patient and helpful. Our breakfast buffet was excellent again!

Randy's waffles and pancakes. Yup, those are pancakes Japanese style. They were delicious, being crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. 

Lana's fruit in a bowl on top of muesli. All the fruit served is fresh and full of taste! Lana is happy to have fruit every morning--she calls this "sunshine in a bowl". 

We decide to check out the Shibuya, Harajuku and Ebisu neighbourhoods. We take the Yamanote Line to Shibuya station. This one station is so huge it is a challenge to find the exit! Facts say that the two Shibuya stations; Shinjuku station and Shibuya station, are the two busiest railway stations in the world! Yes, we can attest to that as these stations are teeming with fellow travellers. As you walk, you are constantly trying to avoid other people and at the same time find your railroad line. 

After getting off at Shibuya station we use the Handy to find our first destination. On the way there Lana is curious about a furniture store: Nitori. About eight floors in total. Again, no access to wifi. At the front of the store is a robot greeter who can answer questions--we try speaking to it in english but we think it says "sorry, I cannot understand what you are saying!!!"   :)

Greeting by robot on entry to Nitori:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMpvkZ7hUqE&feature=youtu.be 

Elevator with controls on the side of the elevator. This is for disabled persons--and a great idea that should be adopted in North America. Randy holding is our Handy device. 

Shibuya area Tower Records store. We once spent hours in a Tower Records store in Los Angeles--Lana thought the mascot was pretty funny to. We both loved the saying no music, no life. 

Our first stop is YOYOGI PARK although I didn't follow the Handy very well as this wasn't our first planned destination. Meandering paths, fountains, green spaces, many trees, huge crows (?), cyclists, many runners, birds, public washrooms, ponds, benches etc. A good relaxing start to our hectic day. 

MEIJI TEMPLE is one of the 'must see' destinations listed for Tokyo. It is located just around the corner from the park. From the entrance torii to the actual shrine is a long walk along a very wide gravel path and surrounded by trees. Lana says we are not allowed to walk down the middle of the path as that is 'reserved for the Gods'. Downhill walk and then uphill walk. Lots of tourists and locals! The actual shrine and complex are beautiful and well maintained. In front of the famous shrine is a large open plaza covered by cement tiles. Lana is in her glory here. 

Famous entry torii for Meiji Temple. 

Exit torii from the main plaza. Lots of fellow tourists taking pics and relaxing in the shade below. 

Second torii gate on way to the shrine.

The sign says it all. This is located near the famous shrine. 

On path to main shrine we come across this explanatory sign. 

Main Meiji  Torii gate. 

Meiji Jingu Shrine. 

Lana purchases an OMIKUJI--a forture telling/inspirational message. You shake a box that contains sticks with a number on it until a stick presents itself. You remember the number and then get in line and provide the number to the clerk and pay 100Yen. She then gives you your poem/drawing created by the late Emperor and his wife. 

Lana's Omikuji--#15 from the box of sticks. This is very telling as one of the reasons Lana wanted to come to Japan for vacation this year was to "rebalance" and find her Zen! When I asked her what this meant she replied: I need to remember to stop and see the bigger picture, not be so task focused and remind myself to be more in the moment and appreciate the little things I usually miss. In Japan, even the littlest of things are celebrated--the changing colour of the leaves in the fall, the cherry blossom trees when they bloom, etc. etc. 

Randy's Omikuji--#18. When I show this to Lana she starts laughing and telling me that somehow the gods just know :) Lana seems to think this is quite relevant to me?

This explains Omikuji. 

As we are sitting appreciating the beauty of the template, we notice a small wedding party leaving one of the smaller buildings. Video of wedding procession taking place outside the front of the shrine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEf1bo4Vo8E&feature=youtu.be 

The bride in the wedding procession. Check out the head covering and the beautiful embroidery of her dress. 

I am keen on eating Omurice. Lana had done some online research and found Chamoro Restaurant located near the Ebisu train station. This restaurant has been in business since 1923 so pretty authentic. We walk back to the Harajuku train station and into the subway. We arrive at the restaurant around 13:35 after using the Handy. It is a small place near the corner and very busy street. We walk down the stairs and the older lady tells us they are busy, put your name on list and wait upstairs on street. Lana visits Lawson for their ATM to get some cash. Other customers are waiting on the street so there must be a buzz about this place. An Uber Eats cyclist whips by and a cool breeze helps with the afternoon heat. About 25 minutes later we are escorted down the stairs by the older lady who we think says that the remaining names on the list will get a table but the wait list is now closed as the restaurant will close lunch service. We are thankful to get in for lunch today! Yeh! Very small place with five tables crammed in. Hobbit sized bathroom. Chef is working in a small kitchen and that is it. 

Menu board at street level. 

More menu board information for Japanese customers. 

This picture is to give you a better idea of the street front of the restaurant and then the dark stairwell down to the restaurant. Blink and you would miss this place--Lana recognized the picture of omurice as we almost walked right by.

Very small place, but a real homey feel. No english here so you need to take a picture of what you want and show the older lady. 

This is my plate of Omurice. Beef tongue with gravy sitting on top of an omelette wrapped around fried rice. Delicious! A new cuisine we have not tried and I am hoping we have this somewhere in Vancouver! The beef tongue is tender and juicy. The omurice itself is very tasty with lots of egg flavour. 

Lana's omurice with a Chorizo sausage inside. She loved it. Tasty, with the omelette being fluffy and tender. The fried rice was very well made also--not overly salty, but nice flavour and a good balance to soft egg and gravy. Who knew this combination could taste so good? Omurice is considered a "Western Japanese" dish. 

We have a little bit of drama when the older lady hostess/server talks to me in Japanese and we have no idea what she is saying? Later, one of the other customers indicates she wanted to know what drink I wanted? She drops off a glass of barley tea. I was thinking she wanted me to move? Anyway, the total cost of our lunch was 2480Yen. 

Back to the train station and then return to Harajuku station. Wow, huge crowds in the area. We are looking for the famous HARAJUKU TAKESHITA street. The Handy is helpful to find the street as we come at it from a more complicated route as we learn later we could have found it within about a minute walk! 

Had to take a picture of this Cookie store near the Harajuku train station. 

This picture doesn't do justice for just how many people are walking here. I think you get the idea though. 

We decide to escape this 'madhouse' and find some peace and solitude. We navigate to Togō Shrine which is located fairly nearby. Much more peaceful on the residential side streets. It is cooler now as there is some cloud cover. We walk by the "Grove of Life" which is a smallish park in the middle of the neighbourhood. We find a bench and relax.

Continue walking to Tōgō Shrine. Very calm area. There is a wedding happening. We find out later from Naomi that this is an auspicious day for weddings which would explain why we saw so many weddings today.

Wedding photographer getting ready for the wedding couple to leave the shrine. 

Lana is tired and we have been fairly busy all day so back into the train station and return to Shinagawa station. Also, we need to be back to get ready for our special welcome dinner later tonight. 

At Shinagawa train station we navigate the masses of people to Starbucks which is located in one end of the station on the second level. Yup, this place is very busy and zero seats available. Just an aside that Starbucks in Japan is a 'license to print money'. Wherever we go they are busy and sometimes no seats to find! Out we go and begin our walk back to the hotel.

As we pass a small shop Lana notices some stamps in the window--you may recall a picture of small round symbols that Lana talked about in a previous blog. I talk her into entering so she can inquire if they can design a Hanko stamp for her personal use. This place is actually three businesses in one. There is a dry cleaner, sewing operation and then Mister Minit that fixes leather and creates specialized rubber stamps. Lana is pretty excited and we spend about 30 minutes using google translate to talk between English and Japanese with a clerk named Sasaki-san. He is very helpful and works with Lana to figure out the best design to order for her. It all goes fairly well considering. They can design a Kanji rubber stamp representing "Lana". Pretty cool. More pictures and details when we pick up her hanko tomorrow but this will be her keepsake from our trip. Pretty unique and interesting. Later that night, our Japanese friends confirm Lana's new stamp is authentic! 

Back to our room and then get ready for your special night out. We are both really excited to see our friends again and meet their family.     :)