Tony Rogers, Bob Grawl, and I had a day off today, so we took a trip down to the Meiji shrine in the southwest part of the city.

We started out the morning late, so we stopped at the noodle place right next to the ANA Hotel where I’m staying. As I’ve said before, the food in Toyko is very expensive, so the ramen houses are a wonderful relief to the wallet. For 750 yen, you can get a large bowl of miso broth, with noodles and pork (or chicken, if you prefer). It’s a delicious food choice that even the pick Tony Rogers can eat and be satisfied.

We took the subway right down to the entrance to the park, and walked along a gravel road in the rain about a quarter mile until we came to the open area where the shrine is housed. The walkway to the shrine was beautiful, surrounded by the forest, wet with the sporadic rain.

The arches leading up to the shrine are amazing, dwarfing us as we went through them. Look closely at the bottom-right of the arch to see Tony and Bob.

For a Monday afternoon, there were a lot of people there. Many Japanese tourists were there snapping pictures of the shrine.

Once we actually arrived at the shrine, it had the traditional elements found at Shino shrines. At the end of the shrine, there is a offeratory, where guest will throw in a few coins, and clap twice.

Once we were done at the shine, we took a walk around the surrounding gardens, which, of course, were also very beautiful. They’ve managed to cultivate the plants and trees, while still keeping a very natural look to everything.

Whatever you do, though, don’t try to go to bathroom at the Shrine (or just about anywhere that isn’t the hotel), or you may need to deal with this.