The Japan (Summer) Diaries - Day 10
On the tenth day, I set out with two main objectives: visiting the Imperial Palace and the Meiji shrine.
The Imperial Palace grounds are pretty massive, in the middle of Tokyo and not too far from my hotel. I loved how you got a glimpse of old meeting new, where the skyscrapers met the flat grounds of the surrounding park, dotted with ancient Japanese architecture. I retreated deeper into the grounds, leaving the hustle and bustle of downtown Tokyo.
Massive stones, that were once the walls protecting the palace grounds, can be seen all over. While the Imperial family still resides here, the walls have been replaced with greater means of modern security.
It’s basically a straight line from the subway exit right up to the Imperial Palace. There is a popular viewing point in which I stopped, since I saw many others there too, that enabled me to finally get a glimpse of the Imperial Palace - or what I thought was it. Turns out that the view is really of Fushimi-yagura (the watch-tower), with the famous Nijubashi bridge in front. The whole time I thought it was the actual palace! I didn’t reserve the tour ahead of time, so I was unable to enter the inner grounds and therefore see the actual Imperial Palace. A lovely view, nonetheless, where I decided to sit down and take it all in. I fell in love with Japanese architecture even more.
After some time, despite the heat, I began making my way to Meiji-jingu, inside Yoyogi Park, next to Harajuku.
I took the train to Harajuku, exiting on the side of Yoyogi Park, not very far from the Meiji-jingu entrance. At the entrance, you’re greeted by the largest torii gate I had seen so far on this trip to Japan. The torii gates are made from 1500-year-old Taiwanese cypress and such an unforgettable beauty to behold! This was probably the most forest-like park of all the Tokyo parks so far, trees towering even higher than the torii gate, making a tunnel of sorts for the visitors to walk under towards the shrine. It definitely helped shade me from the sun. Although the walk from the entrance to the shrine is lengthy, at least I was no longer dripping sweat. I passed picturesque sake barrels and wine casks, gifts to the shrine, and then I finally arrived upon yet another towering torii gate; I felt like an ant beside it.
The shrine itself was modest, yet stunning. Upon entering, I thought to myself, how awesome would it be to see a traditional wedding while here? Little did I know that literally ten seconds later my wish would come true! The bride was breathtaking in her traditional wedding gown, although I wonder how hot she must have been because it looked rather heavy. The bride and groom were currently taking their pictures. I watched the happy couple for a few minutes, then decided to continue on throughout the shrine, admiring the architecture and watching people perform the customary rituals for praying. It left me with chills to see these people bowing and clapping.
After departing and making the long walk back to the entrance, I decided to venture once more down Takeshita-dori. I didn't linger long before heading back to the hotel early in order to rest some. It had been an exhausting day of walking - just how I like it! But I did in fact stop at a Starbucks beforehand where I was able to add another mug to my insane growing collection…
This was another top favorite day of this summer trip to Japan, but certainly not the last…
Where to next?
