After filling our bellies, we walked to Yoyogi Park, with 134 acres, it's the 4th largest park in Tokyo. The kids made a donation to the man at the gate.
The 40ft tall Torii (shrine archway)
We walked by the wall of sake. This is an offering that has been made of barrels of sake.
At the Temizuya, we participated in the cleansing ritual before approaching the shrine-
rinse left hand, right hand, mouth (we skipped that part), then tip to rinse the handle.
Approaching the Meiji Shrine.
Once in front of the shrine we paid our respect by bowing twice, clapping twice,
bowing once more. Some put coins into the offertory box. This is how people are
expected to show respect. It is independent of your own religious beliefs.
To the right of the shrine is a place where people hang small
wooden signs with prayers or messages of thanksgiving on them.
Time to head back to the hotel.
We stopped at the grocery on our way home and found this freeze-dried assortment of shrimp, fish, and who-knows-what-else. The kids thought it was amazing and enjoyed every bite!
They somehow still had the energy to swim at the hotel pool for a bit before crashing into bed after our very long but fantastic day at the Imperial Palace and Yoyogi Park.
Oh and I almost forgot to mention, the toilet at the hotel. If you haven't sat upon a heated toilet seat, you don't know what you're missing. The number of buttons on the control panel are a bit overwhelming. I only know what about half of the buttons are for, but there's sounds to cover your own and options for temperature, pressure and angle of the spray. I seriously don't know why these toilets aren't in every home in the US, I mean at least the heated seat part.
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