Shrines, Sushi, and Sleepovers

Trip Start Jun 07, 2008
1
59
188
Trip End Jun 28, 2009


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Where I stayed
Meredith and Isa's house, Villa Shoto
(Kamisuwa hotels)

Flag of Japan  , Kanto,
Saturday, November 1, 2008

Yesterday was a really fun day! Our friends, Meredith and Isa, and their parents Keith and Kathleen, took us on a walk through a big park called Yoyogi Park, where we saw people learning how to ski on the grass (weird), lots of runners and bikers, and some guys doing cool tricks on bicycles. On the other side of the park, we watched a performance by some musicians and a dragon dancing on stage, then we went into the Meiji Shrine. We were lucky because it was a special culture day, so there were lots of boys and girls wearing traditional kimonos. They were all 3, 5, or 7 years old and they were coming to the temple to present themselves. The little ones were very cute in their kimonos and robes but they had trouble walking in their wooden clogs. The Shrine was built by Emperor Meiji and it is surrounded by a forest of 100,000 trees.

Meredith and Isa showed us how to wash our hands before we went into the temple - there is a handwashing ceremony that you have to do before you enter any temple Handwashing at the temple
Handwashing at the temple
 . First you wash your left hand, then your right hand, then you get special water to wash your mouth and face. Inside the temple, we saw a special ceremony which has been done for over 1000 years. Guys were banging a big metal gong and dancing around in cool costumes. We gave a donation to the temple by throwing coins into a table. Someone said that the Japanese royal family was there, but we did not see them.

After we left the temple, we got ice cream and melon floats, which were great! We then walked to the Harujuka area. On the way we took some photos with some Harujuka girls - they dress in crazy clothes and have crazy hairstyles! I thought they looked cool.

We had three different things for lunch. First, we went to a tiny dumpling shop where all they had was basically dumplings. I liked the steamed ones the best, but they were hard to eat with chopsticks. Then Meredith and I chased down a truck that was selling Yakimo, which are huge sweet potatoes. They cook the sweet potatoes on the back of a truck in a huge pot - there is actually a fire going in the back of the truck. After that, we went to a sushi go-round restaurant where the sushi goes around on a conveyor belt and you just take off what you want to eat. I got seven plates in all and I really liked the salmon sushi Harajuku girls and us
Harajuku girls and us
 .

They also took us to Kiddyland, which is a giant toy store with all kinds of things and lots of lights and tons of people. I found Pokemon cards in Japanese - COOL!!! It was a great toy store and I got some new cards for my collection and some to give to my friends at home. After that, we walked back home to their house. They live in an apartment in the Shoto area - it is very nice! We had a sleepover with them while our parents went out to have dinner and go to a Halloween party in Tokyo. It was a great day.

Domo Meredith, Isa, Kathleen, and Keith!
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