Meiji Jingu & Kawaii Monster Café

chillilila
Oct 14, 2016
3 min read

Chris & I didn't leave the hotel until about 2pm as I hadn't been able to sleep at night so had spent most of the morning catching up on sleep & Chris had been chatting with the others to see what everyone planned on doing. Christine still wasn't feeling great, & Matt & Kayla were going to meet up with us later in the day.

We headed to Shibya & went to Meiji Jingu (明治神宮) in Yoyogi Park. It's a large shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji. The park is pretty big & so peaceful, you totally forget you're in the heart of a large city like Tokyo! It's beautiful, with huge playing fields & towering trees. Before entering the shrine, there's an area you can cleanse your hands by pouring water on the left, then the right. The shrine itself is big but work was being done on it so we couldn't really see much. I would have loved the chance to have seen a traditional wedding but alas it was not to be. However, I did participate in prayer, where you bow twice, clap your hands twice, pray, then bow once more. Felt a little odd but then I didn't really know what I was doing! What felt nice however was writing down my 'thank yous' & wishes on a wooden plaque to hang with the others. Chris wrote down his wishes on a piece of paper & posted it in the box.

Time was getting on so we met up with Kayla & Matt at Shibuya Station & the statue of Hachiko. I had really been looking forward to seeing the statue after reading so much about the story of the dog whose love & loyalty made him famous around the world.

The Shibuya Crossing (aka The Scramble) was interesting to watch but wasn't as mental or busy as I was expecting it to be. Now beginning to get very hungry (& therefore, a little grumpy!) we headed to Kawaii Monster Café but they weren't serving for another 90 minutes! So we went to a restaurant called "Coffee Fr Artificer Pancake Fr Manly" (who knows!) & Chris & I shared some mango pancakes & had lattes. The pancakes weren't like pancakes we have in England; it looked more like an omelette! But it was sweet & came with cream & ice cream. Waiting around in the restaurant until we were able to go to the Kawaii Monster Café, we finally headed up. We joined the queue that had already formed but it went down quickly. We were taken through to the main restaurant & were greeted by two girls dressed in crazy outfits & directed to a booth by a cake carousel spinning in the middle of the room. Oh it's just as wacky as I had hoped! The decor is amazing! Colourful, crazy & the sort of mental that only Japanese can do! We had a meal to share - wedges, chicken, beef & pork cooked together, wrapped up, then covered in oil & gravy by a waiter at our table. Chris had a beer, I had a Piña colada, & Matt & Kayla had cokes. The food was good but a bit pricey for the amount we got, & Chris thought the meat may have been a little on the cheap side, but at the end of the day, you're paying for the experience - & what an experience! Just as we got our food, the lights went down & two girls started dancing on the rotating carousel & getting people to clap & join in. After that, a pretty, scantily clad girl came out & performed a sexy dance. However, half way through, this giant pink cat appeared & started dancing too...only, dancing in the only why someone dressed in a giant pink cat suit can dance! Hilarious!

We went back to the Shibuya Crossing so we could see it at night, but then Matt & Kayla headed to Starbucks, & Chris & I decided to walk the 40 minutes back to the hotel & see the none tourist-y side of Tokyo & all the backstreets that we wouldn't have seen otherwise. Quite quiet, small & compact homes.