Hi Guys,
Anyone that knows me knows it’s been a lifetime dream of mine to visit Asia, particularly Tokyo. I’m not sure where the love started from but for as long as I can remember I’ve always been so fascinated with the Asian culture, food, fashion and just their lifestyle in general. Over the years a number of planned trips have fallen through but thank goodness everything worked out this time around and I finally made it! I arrived in Tokyo on Sunday and it’s been a complete mind-blowing experience since I got here. I wouldn’t even know where to start to explain it. Even though I see similarities between Tokyo and London and New York, no where in the world is quite like Tokyo. It’s so clean, well-organized and precise. The people here are incredibly friendly and respectful almost subservient in nature. And I can’t get enough of the food!
I feel so blessed to be here, I’ve decided to update my blog with pictures of my trip, in real time (as opposed to several weeks after like I’d normally do lol) So on my first full day on Monday I visited the Meiji Jingu Shrine with my friend Kiki. It’s located in Yoyogi Park and is completely breath-taking. The shrine was established in 1920 and is a shrine of national prayer for peace and prosperity. The spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken are believed to be enshrined there. We learned a little about the traditional Japanese religion Shinto and got to observe their methods of cleansing before entering the shrine and prayer. The thing I found the most interesting was the Ema tree. There votive tablets for special prayers are offered to the deities enshrined at Meiji Jingu. Each day there is a morning ceremony where the prayers are conveyed by the priests at the shrine.
After the visit to the shrine we explored the Harajuku area and had lunch in a small cafe where I had some delicious yaki soba. After that we walked down to neighboring trendy are Shibuya and partook in the crazy Scramble Crossing. It’s supposedly the busiest crossing in Tokyo and is made of 6 intersections. However since we were there on a Monday evening it wasn’t as busy as I was hoping. Last stop was an uber kawaii (cute) cafe we stumbled on called Alice which is based off of Alice in Wonderland. We had cocktails and desserts and sang along to our favorite Disney songs. After our long day we got the metro back to our hotel. It was an incredible first day.
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| Sake Offerings |
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| Cleansing Ritual |
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| Ema |
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| Yaki soba |
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| Scramble Crossing |
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| Alice |
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| Ticket machine |
Looking forward to seeing more of Tokyo! Living vicariously 🙂
FUN FUN FUN! Never been interested in Asia – but maybe now….
http://berrydakara.blogspot.com
You living my dream – love the pictures.. They even have anime xters as waiters.. Goodness. 🙂
So happy you're enjoying my Tokyo diary:)
Hi Ifeyinwa,
I stumbled on your blog today as I was looking for some deets on natural hair care. Your story is inpiring and how I love your blog contents but this trip of yours to Tokyo caught my fancy the most, If i may ask, did you go as a group/tour and was the trip booked via an agent. i think you have stirred my Asian trip to its core and its about time I make it a reality. Will be expecting to read from you!