I had a good nights sleep, and got up a bit before 7 – just in time to say goodbye to Minami as she left for school. I had some breakfast, and eventually Kenichi and then Yukari came down. Yukari left for work, then Kozue, and finally Kenichi about 8.45, and Kaoru had the day to ourselves.

Kaoru attempted packing everything to see how we’re looking, while I checked work emails and tidied a few things. We left the house around 9.30 after applying some suncream, and filling my camelback with water and ice, and walked to the station. First thing there was have a look at the sushi shop – we asked Kenichi and Kozue if we could take the out for dinner tonight, and Kozue said she can cook, so we agreed on us buying take-away sushi from this place. Next was a walk through the supermarket to see what they had in the way of salads. But then it was time to get on the train.

It was about a 20 minute trip to Harajuku, and we went to Sarutahiko Coffee. It’s a place we have been the last couple of trips, and whilst it’s still an average coffee by Melbourne standards, it’s the one Kaoru likes the most. The place was actually only half full this time – in the past we have had trouble getting a seat, but it was very easy today.

Next was our customary walk through Meiji Jingu to pray. How things have changed from the first time Kaoru took me there. LOTS more tourists, and the number of japanese people seemed lower. I don’t think we saw anybody walking around in a kimono, whereas normally there are at least a few girls doing it. Granted it was a school day – maybe yesterday would have been different. At the entrance to the shrine the area to cleanse had water pipes several metres away from the usual washing trough. The original trough was still there, so we used that, although no spoon – the documented process has changed, to move things on. At the actual shrine there was a queue about 4 people deep to pray. Not that most people were actually praying – just having a look and moving on. Eventually we got to the front, did our thing, and moved on.

Out of Meiji Jingu we headed towards Takeshita street, walking through a department store (to get some shade). We actually hit it at the Daiso rather than the entrance, so in to the Daiso we went for a wander.

From there it was up Takeshita street, turning left at the crepe truck, and in to Togo shrine (where we got married). Still no ladle’s for washing, but there were no people in the way at least. While doing it, we saw a google-camera walk past! So we need to check Google Maps to see if we the next update! https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!4v1779278010774!6m8!1m7!1sl7lN2lI5p0IPTuF2qBO33w!2m2!1d35.67125484366155!2d139.7057851092741!3f342.48386274312674!4f-2.418228146926836!5f0.7820865974627469

There were some people in the shrine area, but nobody at the actual shrine. So we prayed, and then did a walk around the grounds.

We were getting hungry so we found an Udon noodle shop for some lunch. Again, it was full of gaijin. You could tell there were no japanese people because nobody was slurping their soup! So we ate, and then resumed our exploring. We decided to walk to Shibuya rather than catch a train. Once there we went to Bic Camera to look at a few things. I bought a couple of bottles of whisky for bringing home. Then it was off to Don Quiote for a bit more shopping, and on to a train to the “Carrot Tower”.

Watch this space – this is another free view of Tokyo, but only 180 degrees (you can see the Fuji side though). We went to the 26th floor of the Carrot Tower, where they were have a live radio show going! We enjoyed the views for a while, but unfortunately it was too hazy to see Mount Fuji.

We were feeling like a rest, but the cafe there was too expensive. Once back down on the ground floor we found a Freshness Burger, which had a seasonal drink – frozen mango lemonade. So we got one of those, and also a frozen lime lemonade, and sat down for a bit of a rest. Then a short walk to the train station, where we caught a small, 2 carriage train. It was quite unique – a single row of seats on each side, so only about 40 people could sit down. We went 7 or 8 stops, and then walked to the Gotokuji Temple. It was quite interesting – we were looking at the maps and somebody asked (in broken English) “Are you looking for Gotokuji Temple?” We said yes, and he said to follow him, as he was going there. He was Vietnamese but working in Japan at the moment. He took us a slightly different way to how we would have gone, but it was good as he took us up the “Pine Approach” which was beautiful. Once we had arrived we were again surrounded by gaijin. I don’t think there were any Japanese around. This temple was famous for its cats. And lots of them!

After some photos, we walked to a different station, which ended up being a longer way than an alternative, but once there we got the train back to our starting point, bought some sushi, and walked back home. We got back around 5.00, so it had been a long day. It was great to get my shoes off!

I tried something new today – tracking our walking on my garmin watch. Unfortunately it wasn’t charged, so the extra drain ran the battery flat during the day – but some of it was captured:

Kenichi got home from work about 7.30, and the four of us enjoyed sushi and sake for dinner. Kenichi had a beautiful sake from Akita prefecture which paired well with the sushi. We sat around chatting for a while, and then I had a bath, followed by Kaoru. Kozue and I were talking about kanji for a while – she showed me the writing of the names of everybody in her family. I already knew some kanji’s, but not all.

Minami got home from cram school about 10.00. So she enjoyed sushi for dinner and I spoke to her for a while. Interesting that both Minami and Yukari told me that they don’t have anybody to practice english with usually. I guess it’s different if the person you are talking to is native or not. But her english is really improving every time I see her.

We went to bed about 11ish – feet weary from a long day of walking.