Today I took a guided tour of Tokyo! First is the TOKYO TOWER meant to be a modern representation of the famous tower in France. We drove by Roppongi known for the bars and night life and the Roppongi Hills shopping tower in midtown Tokyo. It had 54 floors of shopping! Next was the Meiji Shrine (Shinto) where we learned the purifying customs before entering the shrine. Walking under the torii (gateway) meant mental purification. Water washing signifies the physical purifying (Body and Mouth). 70% of Japanese are Shinto and 60% are Buddhist (If those numbers don't add up for you, it is because many Japanese are BOTH) There are 180,000 trees designated as "sacred" near and around the shrine complex. The lanterns and stores of royal/sacred sake were impressive.
Soon we were off and driving by Takashita district which is a HUGE shopping area in Harajuko for teenage-ish shoppers. Then we stopped at the Royal Palace. It is 284 acres in the center of Tokyo. The gardens there were breathtaking and I loved taking pictures there.
Finally we headed to Asakusa 628 A.D. the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo. Also the oldest Geisha district...I guess there are still 45 actively working Geishas there today. ?? Who knew?? At the end of the day I bought my plane ticket home and within 24 hours I flew through Taiwan to Anchorage! THE END.
