The Meiji Shrine

While Julie was here, we were able to visit the Meiji Shrine! It was an amazing experience & I look forward to taking my family to visit in the fall when the weather is cooler. (Thankfully we had fans... Tokyo summer is no joke!)

The Meiji Shrine is tucked away in Yoyoji Park, located just outside the Harajuku train station. The best way I can describe Yoyoji Park is that it's basically a forest with a giant rock path carved through it. Although the summer heat was in full force, we enjoyed a peaceful stroll through the park on our way to the shrine.

For any history lovers:

The Meiji Shrine is dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. It's construction was completed in 1921, but it was later destroyed during the Tokyo Air Raids of WWII. The rebuilding of the shrine was completed in 1958. The surrounding grounds are expansive at 170 acres, with 120,000 trees of 365 species having been donated from all over Japan.

(source: Wikipedia)

My bestie & I... i love her!!

yes, we had a selfie stick..

no... we have no regrets

#TouristsInTokyo!

The first Torii gate on our walk to the Meiji Shrine.

Custom dictates that out of respect, you should pass through the gate either to the left or the right, never through the middle. The middle is know as "Sei-chu" and is the path of God.

The wall of sake barrels... it was even more gorgeous in person! Every year, brewers from all over Japan donate a sake barrel as tribute to the enshrined deities.

(I actually did some research afterwards, and discovered that the majority of the barrels are donated empty. The Shrine only asks for the sake it needs, but the intention behind the gifting of barrels is what's important more so than the gifting of the sake itself. No sense in accepting more gifts than one can use. So generally the shrine will accept small bottles to accumulate what they will need for ceremonies & the large decorative empty barrels are displayed outside the shrine.)

Prior to entering the Shrine, it is respectful to participate in the cleansing ritual.

Using your right hand, scoop water & pour over your left. 

Switch hands to pour over right. 

Switch again to pour water into left hand to cleanse mouth. 

Then tilt scoop back toward yourself & allow remaining water to cleanse the handle.

Once inside, there was such a spirit of respect. If anyone was speaking, it was in quiet tones so as not to disturb those who came to pray. The interior courtyard area was spacious and lovely. There were a few areas for prayer; a large tree with an offering box, the temple/shrine area, and then a prayer wall. For a small donation, visitors to the shrine can purchase "ema", wooden plaques, on which they can write their prayers or wishes. They are then hung on the expansive wall. As I wandered, I discovered quite a few written in English and it was so moving to see the hearts desires of people. A stunning reminder that there are still selfless people in a world that seems so topsy-turvy.

I'm so glad we made time to visit the Meiji Shrine. I love getting a glimpse of parts of the culture we are experiencing while living in Japan. 

If you ever make it to Tokyo, you should put this place on your list!

Tokyo DisneySea

We have been Disney fans for a long time! While living in Florida, we made a few trips a year to go experience the crazy magic that is Disney. So it was a no brainer that we would be visiting Disney upon arrival in Japan! There are 2 parks here: Tokyo Disney & Tokyo DisneySea. When we asked our little which park he would want to visit, he immediately yelled "DisneySea!" So for Spring Break this year, we surprised him with some Disney magic!

Unlike Magic Kingdom, DisneySea is more of an Epcot type park. It hosts more visual attractions than actual rides, but also has a slew of Disney movie characters. It is also home to Duffy the Bear!!

The entire park seems made to photograph! In all honesty, the longest lines we encountered were not for characters, but for photo spot areas such as flower planters, statues, and seasonal displays. Those areas were actually the only times I saw professional park photographers.

One of the things everyone talked about was the popcorn! Throughout the park, there are different flavored popcorn carts and a variety of popcorn buckets. Our first popcorn bucket purchase was Mr Potato Head & he was filled with a delicious White Chocolate Popcorn! (Little man was gracious enough to let us sample... and then he promptly hoarded the entire bucket to himself!) Purchasing a popcorn bucket is a must, as it enables you to get refills of any flavor for a discounted price! We purchased a second bucket & spent the day snacking on the different flavors. Our popcorn flavors for the day were: Milk Tea, White Chocolate, Cappuccino, Jalapeno & Cheddar, & Curry. Popcorn is a favorite snack in our house, so we really enjoyed the continuous snack options. 

While the rides may have been sparse, they were certainly packed with detail and the amazingness that you expect from Disney. One of our favorites was Indiana Jones! There was a slew of things to look at as you waited in line and the staff was super polite! I'm used to the theme park experience of trying to pack every available seat on a ride. The 3 of us were lucky enough to score a front row seat & the staff politely asked if we would mind if a single rider joined our row. This was a re-occurring theme throughout our day... while it was a Disney park, the staff were very mindful of the experience & making sure that all the guests were happy.

One of the biggest differences between our experience stateside & our experience in Japan was the character meet & greets! In the states, you stand in long lines & then have a photographer take your photo. However, DisneySea had characters roaming around & no lines in sight! I think the largest group we saw near a character was 6 people! Again, I found this to be partly because of the polite society and partly because of the handler's expertise. Little man was feeling rather shy, so we waited patiently for a turn each time.. and sure enough, every time he wanted to meet a character, the handler would notice him & make sure that he wasn't overlooked. 

Another cool thing from our visit was Disney's Easter Celebration! This year was actually the first year that DisneySea was decked out! In years past, only Tokyo Disney hosted the Easter festivities. There was lots of decor throughout the park, but my absolute favorite was the Easter egg display! Each egg represents a different section of the park!

Where would a good Disney post be without more food?!

These delicious morsels were Alien mochi dumplings from the Toy Story section! We received a trio of flavors: chocolate, strawberry, & lemon. The line was ridiculously long, and I can absolutely see why! They were one of the tastiest things I ate all day!

This next set of photos is probably my favorite moment of the whole day!

As we were wandering through some of the quieter sections of the park, we came across Honest John & Geppetto. As luck would have it, only 2 people nearby! So of course we stopped to watch what they were up to & snap a few photos.

...and this is why you should never antagonize a villain....

This interaction was just another amazing experience that I can only summerize as "Japan".

Not only did the characters (& their handlers) interact with my son, but the characters themselves took the time to make sure my son was posed as well! 

So the next photo has an accompanying story:

As we were finishing up our time with Honest John & Geppetto, we heard ear piercing shrieks of "Kawaii!" (so cute!) & tons of giggling! As we turn, these 2 japanese girls came racing up to us completely in awe of our son. (I'm telling ya, this kid has mad skillz with the ladies...) After about 5 minutes of giggling & "kawaii! kawaii!", we finally managed enough charades to get the idea that they wanted a photo with him. We, of course, obliged... however, it seems Honest John was a little put out that he was not the center of attention. So he promptly photobombed & it is one of my favorite pictures from the day!

My view the whole day... i seriously love this little boy! 

I hope he never outgrows his love of Disney magic!

 I hope we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse. ~ Walt Disney