Tokyo Sunday Nov 23

Sunday Nov 23 - Tokyo Japan

Steps 23,000

Weather 15 cloudy

We were up early and enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the executive lounge on the 37th floor. There are western and Asian options along with an egg station. The server rakes your order, poached or fried or an omelette, along with a daily special. The coffee was delicious.

Blogger has brought in the photos backwards and I don't have time to fix them!

So we'll start with Shiboya Crossing, before lunch and after the shrine. It has been described as the world's busiest pedestrian crossing, with as many as 3,000 people crossing during a single green light cycle.

The crossing in Tokyo's Shibuya is a scramble crossing, where all traffic stops and pedestrians are allowed to cross the intersection in every direction at once, including diagonally. This "organized chaos" is a hallmark of the intersection, which is often called the world's busiest pedestrian crossing. 

This was fun and actually very orderly! 

Blaring its ads up and down the streets.

On the way there. Not surprising to see Disney, Since Disney Tokyo is not far away.

Meiji Shrine (明治神宮, Meiji Jingū) is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken.

Every year during autumn, Meiji Shrine, one of the biggest and most important shrines in all Tokyo, celebrates its Grand Festival.

This also coincides with the shrine’s chrysanthemum festival.

We sounded so silly, saying, look at the scallions!!

At a Tokyo shrine, you purify yourself at the temizuya (water basin) before entering by using a ladle to ritually wash your hands and rinse your mouth. The steps are to take the ladle with your right hand to wash your left, switch hands to wash your right, then use your cupped hand to drink water, rinse your mouth (spitting it out to the side), and finally rinse your left hand again before purifying the ladle's handle with the remaining water.

Our first (of many) vending machines.

Lunch, chosen at random, in a laneway off Shiboya Crossing.

The horse drew us in, not!

We were looking for "the dog" statue and we used the Scramble a few times!T

The most famous Tokyo dog statue is the bronze statue of Hachikō located outside Shibuya Station. It commemorates an Akita dog who waited for his deceased owner at the station for nearly ten years. Created in 1934 and rebuilt in 1948, it is a popular meeting spot and a national symbol of loyalty.

n the 90s, Takeshita Street was the place to go for counterfeit American and Japanese brands, so it always had a colorful — yet fashionable — reputation. Well-known and featured in every guidebook, it’s the heart of all things trendy and “weird” in Tokyo.

From here we decided to head back to the hotel.This was a more interesting way back.

We were coming up a little street when we encountered this!On the southern side of Shinjuku, near Minami-Shinjuku Station, lies one of the most famously frustrating — yet fascinating — level crossings in the city. Due to five merging tracks, including underground and elevated lines, the crossing gates close over 670 times a day.

And another one, that was flashing as we ran across.

Almost "home".

In front of Shinjuku's I-Land Tower, a 44-storey bubble-economy inspired development in West Shinjuku, can be found a touch of love. Designed by the late American artist Robert Indiana, the LOVE sculpture is an iconic presence in the midst of corporate ambition, a reminder for the people of Tokyo that life can a have a more enjoyable motivation.

We've seen the original Philadelphia  and Des Moines one and Montreal also has one.

Around us.

Around the hotel.

We decided to go to the happy hour in the executive lounge and the appetizers became our dinner!