Wednesday, May 3: For my first day off during Golden Week, I decide to visit the Meiji Shrine as part of Walking Tour 18 in Tokyo: 29 Walks in the World’s Most Exciting City. The walk includes Harajuku, Omotesando and Aoyama, but I am only able to do part of it today. It’s very crowded, as I expected it would be because of the holiday. That is one thing I hate about being a teacher — we get the same holidays as everyone else in a country does; thus whenever we travel, we have to contend with huge crowds.
As soon as I get off the metro, I see a huge three-story Gap store, with “Everything 50% off!” for Golden Week. The crowds are already thick, despite the early hour. I walk away from the shopping district to visit the Meiji Shrine, built in 1920 to enshrine the spirit of the Emperor Meiji and his wife, the Empress Shokun. It was built eight years after the emperor died and six years after the empress died. Though destroyed in World War II, the shrine was rebuilt shortly thereafter.
Emperor Meiji was the first emperor of modern Japan. He was born in 1852 and ascended to the throne in 1867 at the peak of the Meiji Restoration when Japan’s feudal era came to an end and the emperor was restored to power. By the time Emperor Meiji passed away in 1912, Japan had modernized and westernized to join the world’s major powers (JapanGuide.com: Meiji Shrine).
I take the bridge over the railway to the Harajuku-mon (Harajuku Gate). I’m visiting only the Inner Garden today; it consists of 178 acres with over 120,000 trees of 365 species from all over Japan.
the Harajuku-mon (Harajuku Gate) of the Meiji Shrine
After walking along the path, I come to this fabulous display of sake barrels wrapped in straw.
During the Meiji Period, Emperor Meiji led the industrial growth and modernization of Japan by encouraging various industries and supporting technological development. These sake barrels are donated every year to these enshrined deities by members of the Meiji Jingu Zenkoku Shuzo Keishinkai (Meiji Jingu Nationwide Sake Brewers Association), which has made offerings of sake for generations. as well as other sake brewers around Japan wishing to show their deep respect for the Emperor and Empress. (from a sign at the shrine)
sake barrels
I love these barrels, with their artistic displays of flowers, Japanese landscapes and calligraphy.
sake barrels
sake barrels
sake barrels
The Meiji Period was an enlightened period during which a policy of “Japanese Spirit and Western Knowledge” was adopted, in the hopes of learning from the best of Western culture and civilization, while keeping Japan’s age-old spirit and revered traditions. Emperor Meiji promoted modernization by embracing many features of Western culture in his personal life, such as donning Western attire. He also set an example by taking Western food and enjoying wine with it.
The barrels of wine to be consecrated at Meiji Jingu have been offered by the wineries of Bourgogne in France, to be consecrated in the spirit of world peace and amity, and with the earnest prayer that France and Japan enjoy many more fruitful years of friendship.
wine barrels offered by wineries of Bourgogne in France
Past the sake and wine barrels is the O-torii, the Great Torii. This 40 foot tall torii is the largest torii in Japan, created from cypress trees said to be 1,500 years old. Because no cypress trees large enough for the design of this torii could be found in Japan, the Japanese turned to Taiwan to provide the large tree.
the O-torii, the Great Torii
Many celebrations and performances are in store today at Meiji Shrine, but I always seem to be in the middle of shows, and never actually catch one in progress. I do see these scholarly looking men marching ceremoniously down the path.
some kind of procession
O-torii, the Great Torii
The temizuya water pavilion consists of a water basin and ladles, but is not a place to drink water. It is there to perform misogi, a ritual to purify the body and mind with water before proceeding to stand in front of the deity. Originally this ritual was performed in the nude at special misogi locations like the ocean or a river, but today the ritual has been simplified to rinsing your hands and mouth at the temizuya. The idea is to wash away impurities of the heart as well as from the physical self (Into Japan: The Official Guide: Shrines and temples).
purificaiton at the “temizuya” water pavilion
Finally, I reach the Kita-mon, the North Gate, which opens onto the Honden.
the Kita-mon, or North Gate
The Honden contains the enshrined spirits of the imperial couple. Built in 1915-1920, the shrine burned down during a 1945 air raid and was reconstructed in 1958.
the Honden
tapestry on the Honden
A path leading to the left would take me to the Imperial Treasure House at the far rear of the Inner Garden. This holds personal belongings of the emperor and his consort. I bypass that in the interest of visiting the Meiji Jingu Goen.
a gate out to the left of the shrine, toward the Imperial Treasure House
I take this photo of the Honden from inside the courtyard of the shrine. The large shrine is presently covered in scaffolding for renovation and doesn’t make for a good picture.
The Honden
Returning down the same path on which I entered the grounds, I decide to stop at the gardens I passed earlier. I pay an entrance fee of 500 yen to go into Meiji Jingu Goen. I’m happy to pay an entrance fee if it reduces the crowds!
First, I pass the Kakuun-Tei, or Tea House. According to a sign on the grounds, “The former building of Kakuun-Tei was built by the order of His Majesty the Emperor Meiji for Her Majesty the Empress Shokun in 1900. As the building was burnt down by the war damage, so in the autumn of 1958, the present building was reconstructed.”
Kakuun-Tei (Tea House)
Kakuun-Tei (Tea House)
The South Water Lily Pond is a tranquil place, but this isn’t the season for water lilies to be in bloom.
Minami-ike – the Water Lily Pond
Minami-ike – the Water Lily Pond
Minami-ike – the Water Lily Pond
glossy leaf in the Meiji Jingu Goen
The Jingu Nai-en Iris Garden is expected to bloom in mid-June. It still looks quite pretty, even if the field isn’t blossoming in purple yet.
The Jingu Nai-en Iris Garden
The Jingu Nai-en Iris Garden
The Jingu Nai-en Iris Garden
I follow the Azalea Path, but I’m too late for most of the azaleas, which already bloomed. I do manage to catch a few remaining blossoms from the season.
Azalea path
last of the azaleas
azaleas
azaleas
After enjoying the paths around the gardens for some time, I leave the grounds of Meiji Shrine and head next door to Yoyogi Park. As soon as I reach the entrance, I see it isn’t the kind of park I will enjoy. It’s filled with screaming children and loud music — just the kind of park I hate; it reminds me of many Chinese parks I visited.
Instead, I head into the commercial district looking for the famous Takeshita-dori, a narrow street of more than a hundred boutiques in a sort of fashion heaven for teenage girls. Before I head down that street, I of course have to stop at Gap, where I buy a couple of items to take advantage of their 50% off sale.
Back outside on Takeshita-dori, people are jammed into the narrow street, and I’m carried right along with them. Once I’m caught in the crowd, there is no turning back; I have no choice but to slide down the street with hordes of people; we’re all like flies stuck in slow-flowing honey.
Takeshita-dori
There are a lot of strange things to see (or NOT see over the heads of all the people around me), but I’ll just the let the pictures tell the story.
Takeshita-dori
buttons on Takeshita-dori
Takeshita-dori is one of those places that makes me think, yes, this is the Tokyo I’ve always imagined!
Takeshita-dori
Takeshita-dori
Takeshita-dori
Takeshita-dori
Takeshita-dori
Finally, the crowd is regurgitated out at the far end of the narrow street and I can breathe again! I turn left at Meiji-dori and walk a few blocks, where I find some serenity at Togo Shrine, which deifies the navy’s leading admiral in the Russo-Japanese War. Admiral Togo Heihachiro defeated the Russian fleet in the Tsushima Straits in the 1904-1905 war, so he was one of the leading heroes of the early 20th century in Japan.
entrance to Togo Shrine
lion at Togo Shrine
Togo Shrine
ema at Togo Shrine
Togo Shrine
pond at Togo Shrine
pond at Togo Shrine
pond at Togo Shrine
After leaving Togo Shrine at nearly 2:00 p.m., I’m starving. The only thing I can think about is finding a place to eat. Whenever I’m in downtown Tokyo, I like to take advantage of the many international restaurants that the city has to offer. I live so far on the outskirts of Tokyo, that most of the restaurants in my neighborhood, except a few, are solely of the Japanese variety.
Today I find Guzman y Gomez, where I get a taco dish with two tacos: one vegetarian and one fish. They are so good! This restaurant is in a big shopping mall, much different from shopping malls I’m used to. It’s modern and upscale and has many shops hard to distinguish because there are no walls between them. Usually the malls are multi-storied and have shops I’ve never heard of, although I do see some familiar ones such as Gap and Zara.
After lunch, as I head back to the train station, I can’t help but pop into Zara, where I buy a couple of T-shirts. One thing that is very clear about Japan is that it’s definitely a consumer culture. Everyone is into fashion and fine things, and everything that you’d ever want to buy is offered here. I also notice that Japanese people are not as small as the Chinese, so I can actually find clothes to fit here. When I was in China, I rarely bought anything, because everything was too small. So, I must admit, I’ve bought more things than I should be buying. 🙂
Japanese trends this year are baggy capri-length culottes and baggy tops with cute bell sleeves, flutter sleeves, or balloon sleeves. I’m not into the culottes because they make me look like a balloon on the bottom (plus they’re too tight around my waist), but I do like the tops. Everything is in plain colors or subdued delicate flowers. Because I often buy clothes with patterns on them, my clothes don’t fit in here at all! I normally like my style, but here, I stand out as the Westerner I am.
Below is how I got to Meiji Shrine this morning. Fuchinobe > Nagatsuta > Shibuya > Harajuku (1 hour 4 minutes).
Total steps today: 16,363 (6.93 miles).
catbird in japan 