Tokyo Day Two - Asukusa, Shibuya, Harajuku

Today started with a traditional breakfast at a lovely restaurant. A Cobb salad at Denny's is the Tokyo way. Then we went shopping since our luggage still didn't arrive and I didn't want to wear the same clothes again. We went to Uniqlo, which is one of my favorite Japanese stores. I love the stores here because many will hem your pants for free. We're staying in a more traditional area of Tokyo called Asakusa. Near our ryokan is a very large Buddhist Temple dedicated to the God of Thunder. Here is the entrance to the Temple.



And the pagoda.



Here's Eric and Monica in front of the Thunder God.



There are often women dressed up in beautiful kimono near temples. Here is a picture of Monica and me with four women.



Traditionally, at temples, you buy incense, light it and then waft it towards you to cleanse your spirit. Here's my dad lighting the incense.



And Monica and me wafting.



After visiting the temple, we rested and then went to Shibuya (Tokyo's Time Square). I love seeing all the people on the trains. So many people actually fall asleep on the train, which completely amazes me that they can do that. Of course, after wondering how they do that and whether they miss their stops, I actually fell asleep on the long ride over to Shibuya. Luckily, Eric woke me up and we all got off the train. Shibuya has one of the most popular meeting spots in Japan. There's a well known story that a dog named Hachiko used to wait for his owner every day in Shibuya. Sadly, his owner got sent off to fight in the war and died there. Hachiko waited and waited but his owner never returned. Here I am with the statue of Hachiko.



The intersection that looks like Times Square always has hundreds of people crossing at once. You can't really see the people in the background but here is a picture of it.



Later, we went to Harajuku which is the shopping district. It closed right after we got there, but I managed to go to my favorite store, Kiddyland, and buy a change purse that looks like toast. Tomorrow we will go back to that area and visit the Meiji-Jingu Shrine.