Temples and Shrines

We were up and out early today to meet a guide we had hired for the morning to show us around a couple of places and to help us get our bearings in getting around. Our guide was called Hiromi and was the most wonderful, kind, considerate person who did a lot of bowing , thanking us for our patience and making sure we were okay and getting what we wanted from the tour. We first headed to the Meiji Shrine a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife.

Meiji Shrine is in a forest made up of over 100,000 trees which were donated by people from all parts of Japan when the shrine was established. The forest is visited by many as a recreation and relaxation, and a visit to the shrine is meant to bring peace and calmness. Romy was very kind and bought Carys an oracle, a poem based on Shinto ethics which is hoped to have some meaning for the individual. We also bought Carys an amulet, they are aimed to represent something positive for the individual. We chose one to hang in the car which is meant for safe driving and protection from traffic accidents 😂

After this we went to Asakusa, where Romy left us and we wandered around on our own. - a complete contrast. Whilst it's main attraction is Sensoji, a very popular Buddhist temple, built in the 7th century, the approach to the temple is via the Nakamise, a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs for centuries. It was very a busy, offers of Rickshaw tours (pulled by humans and the temperatures hit around 38 degrees today!) , and lots of places where you can hire kimonos , if you wish. There were a lot of people wandering around in them. Chris and Carys also got stopped by a random Japanese gentleman who wanted to practice speaking some English!