Shrines, Shoes & Shibuya

Today started with a visit to the Meiji Shrine. And what can I say: It was incredibly busy. Really extreme – but not surprising either. After all, New Year's is clearly felt here too. Consequently, we mostly just strolled without a longer stay.

The shrine itself is beautifully nestled in a large forest area in the middle of Tokyo, but with the crowds, moving on was clearly the priority. Nevertheless, we didn't miss the opportunity to draw an Omikuji – a traditional Japanese oracle that predicts luck or misfortune for the coming year. And I believe mine is at least not bad. Which is quite good because the one from the Asakusa Shrine was definitely not good!

Right after that, we grabbed something to eat – there were numerous street food stands around the shrine. I treated myself to Dango, those small rice dumplings on a skewer, in my case lightly sweetened and drizzled with a sweet soy sauce. Perfect for a quick snack.

Our next stop was coffee number one for today. On the way there, however, we passed countless food stalls again, so a chocolate banana found its way to me. One doesn't want to arrive hungry for coffee.

As we continued walking, we passed a Vans store. “Just a quick look inside” turned out – as so often – to be a longer affair. About half an hour later, we were back outside. With two pairs of shoes. After that, we actually went directly towards coffee without further interruptions.

Just before our goal, we suddenly found ourselves at a big intersection. Without consciously planning it, we had landed directly at the most famous intersection in Japan: Shibuya Crossing. So, of course, we crossed – with enthusiasm, even though in the end, it felt a bit less spectacular than expected. Still: once you have to experience it.

The coffee itself turned out to be a bit of a letdown: sitting was not possible, only coffee to go. But better coffee to take away than no coffee at all. So armed with cups, we continued towards lunch.

Very close by is Shibuya Scramble Square, a huge skyscraper complex that seems to have it all – including plenty of restaurants. Eventually, we ended up at a restaurant that specialized in Spanish cuisine.

So there were tapas, beer, and various other Spanish specialties chosen by the coffee nerd (he knows a lot better than I do). A nice change after all the Japanese food of the past weeks.

Afterwards, the day was slowly winding down. The Meiji Shrine went faster than expected, and everything we had planned for today was basically done. We wandered a bit through Shibuya, letting ourselves drift – and then set off once more for coffee number two.

This one had a special surprise: Philocoffea, a café run by World Brewers Cup Champion Tetsu Kasuya. So it was somewhat special – at least for people with a certain coffee affinity.

In the evening, we had ramen again – this time at a ramen place recommended by our host. And it was wise to follow this recommendation, as the ramen were once again incredibly delicious.

Though the dinner gave us a temporary boost of energy, overall we were just worn out for the day.

For almost four weeks, something has been happening every day; we are constantly on the move and almost always on our feet. That's why after that, we did absolutely nothing – each to their own, relaxing, unwinding, recharging.

Because: tomorrow is another day. And there is already a concrete – and hopefully pretty cool – plan for tomorrow to see even more of Tokyo.