Completing our pre-trip portion, the rest of our 16 member group joined us today for a whirlwind tour of frenetic Tokyo by coach, on foot, and subway. We will leave for the high country and Mt. Fuji tomorrow. Tokyo was just too much for our new folks to absorb in one day! First stop, the 7th century Asakusa Kannon Temple, a lovely Shinto shrine complex with little souvenier shops along the way. Then, after peeking at the Emperor's palace we spent time at the first shogun Emperor Meiji Jingu's shrine, a beautiful wooded complex where we were fortunate to observe a number of wedding parties, in full dress, parading around the grounds. Plenty of time to enjoy these sites.
On from the Historical to the Fashionable, the high end Ginza shopping area with its huge department stores. It is so busy that the street is blocked of at the main intersection on the weekend, turning it into a pedestrian mall. Bento box lunches at the dept. store here on their terrace roof.
From the hustle and bustle of the commercial world to the Zen of a private traditional Tea ceremony this afternoon. Then one last series of subway rides, 7 people deep during rush hour, to our Welcome dinner back in our own neighborhood. This city is not for the faint of heart!
Pic 1: Kannon Temple; Pic 2: Ginza shopping; Pic 3: Tea ceremony ; (bonus: subway map!)
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