鳥居

This is the last day of pictures from the Meji Shrine. These pictures are of a 鳥居(torii) which is a kind of archway often found at Shinto shrines. This particular one is near Harajuku station where the path to the shrine begins. It's a relatively long path. As you can see, I wasn't the only person snapping pictures that day.

Kimono

Once I got to the shrine I noticed this person in what I do believe is a full on Kimono, she kind of stood out. I wasn't the only person who noticed, as some other foreigners visiting the shrine asked if they could take her picture. As you can see from behind, the obi (belt) looks pretty complicated. It is my understanding that kimonos are difficult to put on and uncomfortable to wear. They're also expensive and you can rent them as you would a tux, but I feel as though she owned that one. At any rate, it certainly makes a statement.

In Search of Fortune

Somewhere in these first two pictures, possibly both, people are getting their fortunes. I explained this back in August but you pay about 100 yen, draw a random number and that corresponds to a fortune. Lucky people get "Big Luck" the less fortunate ones get no luck. But hope is not lost if you draw a bad fortune. You can take your bad fortune and tie it to a series of ropes set up along the path in an attempt to ward it off as you can see people doing below.

Have a Great 2011: Year of the Rabbit

This is the gate into the main grounds of the Meji Shrine, one of the most famous Shinto shrines in Japan. In Japan, New Year's is a pretty significant day and many people head to shrines with their families to pray and wish for luck for the upcoming year. With the exception of a few businesses and necessary services like the trains, everything is shut down from the 1st to the 3rd. From December 31st to January 1st is the only day all year that the trains run all night. Meji Jingu, located in Yoyogi park, is heavily trafficked, so I decided to check it out yesterday morning. I took a lot of pictures, many of them good, but I've decided to spread them out over a few days. I decided to start with the main attraction itself, the shrine as seen below.

Also, if you didn't see the previous post, on the right I've added a link to a map of Tokyo with most of the places I've taken pictures marked on it. Many of the marks are approximations, most often pointing to the station I used for each location. There are some absences too, most notably Saitama, which isn't in Tokyo.