Japan: Tokyo Part 2 - Meiji Shrine and '5 things' I LOVED in Japan

Just West of the railway tracks of Harajuku Station you will find Meiji Shrine, one of Tokyo's major shrines, in a large green oasis shared with Yoyogi Park (which I will share with you in a future post), it is a beautiful and peaceful place to visit, which seems worlds away from the hustle and bustle of Harajuku...


Washing hands is part of a ritual purification before entering a shrine.



I was so excited I got to witness a traditional wedding procession...

Dress: Akira blue silk/wool dress
Jacket: Nina Ricci silk goosedown-filled teardrop jacket (so warm!)
Boots: Chloe black leather buckled flat boots
Bag: Chloe Ava leather bag in Mocha


Another happy couple (love her wedding kimono!)

We got to wander in the Meiji Garden (within the Shrine complex) - unfortunately no flowers were in bloom, but we were lucky to catch a few last red leaves before they fell...

The autumn leaves of red and gold...

Thought I would share 5 things I loved in Japan:

1. Vending machines - you find these everywhere in Tokyo with cheap cold and hot drinks/coffee. There are even beer-vending machines, which hubby loved (they used to have them in Tokyo when he was last here 10 years ago, but we could not find a single one until we went to Kyoto).



2. I loved the variety of different coffees available, and could not resist trying a 'Hello Kitty' cafe au lait...just so I could photograph the cup and show it to my sisters



3. These 'sealed' sandwiches were great for breakfast or a snack (tried to always have one in my bag in case of 'emergency' - ie. if I got hungry), peanut butter and the chocolate flavours were my favourite (the chocolate included a slab of chocolate and chocolate cream, yum!)



4. Sushi!!! Or Sashimi...or really, the incredibly fresh raw fish in Japan...amazing!!! The tuna (maguro) simply melts in your mouth, and I adore scallop sashimi (hotate sashi).


Hubby had never tried scallop sashimi/sushi until this trip, and fell in love...


5. The toilets.

Laugh all you want, but the toilets in Japan are incredible (and so clean)! The one below was a simple model in my hotel room (I stayed at the Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, and highly recommend it! Great price, convenient location - 3 minutes from Shinjuku station, yet still quiet, small (well, it is Tokyo/Japan) but great rooms, great service, will stay here again for sure). 99% of public toilets had a fancy 'seat' (fancier than this one) which could include: bidet (including a setting for girls), warmed seats, flushing sound or music, air, etc...