Meiji Shrine and Yakiniku with old friends :)

So today was like a Madison reuinion. Sarah and I met up with a lot of our friends that were exchange students from Madison today! Kohei had an interview in Tokyo and flew up here from Fukuoka in Kyuushuu (The southern island of Japan.) So we all met and hung out in Tokyo today. First it was Sarah, myself, Kohei and Butsurin.

We decided to meet in Shibuya and go for a walk to HArajuku. Harajuku is about 20 minutes by foot from Shibuya. Too bad the weather sucked and it rained the whole time, but ANYWAY... When we got to Harajuku we decided to go to Meiji-Jinguu, which is a Shinto shrine built in the honor of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shouken. Apparantly though, this shrine was destroyed during the fire-bombing of Tokyo at the end of WWII and was rebuilt. It is the most authentic rebuilding of a shrine after the war. (What great information this Tokyo guidebook provides.. he eh he) In short, it was a pretty breathtaking place. Aside from all the tourists and cameras and such, looking around it felt like I was transported back into the past. IT was awesome.

Also, its the start of Shichi-Go-San. Shichi is the number 7, Go is the number 5, and San is the number 3. And what happens on this day is that parents get dressed up in kimonos and stuff and take their dressed up 7,5,and 3 year olds to the shrine to be blessed for good luck. The little kids were soooooo cute. They were all being mauled by old ladies pinching their cheeks and grabbing them for pictures... After I had been polite and asked the parents if I could take a pic with their child, these four old ladies pushed me aside and grabbed the little girl and took a pic. Then when they were done, I reluctantly took mine... poor little girl looks so scared.. but she was so cute and pretty. And so were a lot of the other kids too!

Also at the shrine, we got to see a traditional wedding!!!! I took pictures as best as I could, but it was really hard to take with them moving. They had just finished the wedding ceremony and were marching to the part of the shrine where you pray. It was a very cool place, and I'd like to go back on a sunnier day to take better pictures!

After the shrine, we all walked to Yoyogi Koen (Park), and met up with Keita there. He studied in Madison last year. We walked around Yoyogi Koen chatting and watching the various "Street lives" which are typically high school bands that perform on the street hoping to catch a deal... After Yoyogi Koen, we walked back to Shibuya to meet up with Tomoko, David, Yuka, and Yuka.. he he he yes there are two Yukas.. he he he Anyway, we hung out at Hachiko (the meeting place in Shibuya) until everyone showed up. Kohei had to leave on a flight back to Kyuushuu and Keita had a big paper to work on so they left. Butsurin, Sarah, David, Tomoko, and I all went to this really cheap coffee shop where they had a bread shop, and chilled there until Yuka and Yuka got to Hachiko. Then we met in Hachiko again and went to the Yakiniku place.

Yakiniku.. another case of the Japanese's love for gathering around a fire and cooking your own food with friends. Basically they just bring you plates of raw meat, and in the center of the table there is a small grill. Everybody cooks what they want and eats it straight off the grill. It's amazingly fun and I loved it.. The food was amazing. The only drawback with Yakiniku is that because beef is so expensive here, it was a little expensive for the small amount of meat that you got. But the company more than made up for it! We all had fun, drinking, eating, reminicsing, and making fun of each other. IT was a great time! I love my friends from Madison!

Here are some pics from our night out :)