Meiji Jingu Shrine (明治神宫)
The Meiji Shrine was built in 1920 and was dedicated to the emperor Meiji. The main complex is located near the Harajuku Station. This is almost like a forest in the middle of the city, and the 100,000 trees surrounding the shrine were planted during the construction to create a sense of tranquility in this shrine. They have different ceremonies and events throughout the year, there are annual, monthly and even daily ceremonies, and we happened to see the daily morning food offering and prayers for world peace and everybody's prosperity.
Akihabara
Akihabara is a district in central Tokyo, and it has a nickname of "electric town" for being a major shopping center for household electronic goods. More recently, it has become the center of Japan's otaku culture, and there are many anime and manga stores in the area, as well as theme cafes.
We wanted to experience the Japanese culture as much as we can, so we decided to go to a maid cafe. If you are interested in going to a maid cafe, be prepared that it is going to get expensive. They have a minimum money you need to spend in there, and the money you spend determines the time you can stay there. All the waitresses (there are only female servers) are dressed in cute maid costumes and there is occasional dancing and singing performances. The customers are predominantly male, and the male customers are called "master" and also being treated like one. I think it is a way of fulfilling certain male fantasies. Very interesting. They also have other themes like dominatrix, vampire, butlers, cat, owl etc., anything you can or cannot think of.
Gundam Front Tokyo
I am not a gundam fan (what!?), but I am in Tokyo, how can I not see the gundam front, right? It is located in Odaiba, a set of man made islands. You can see a life-sized gundam, which is pretty impressive! Next to it is the Gundam Cafe, where you can buy all kinds of gundam souvenirs for your geeky friends! Besides the Gundam Front, there are other things to see in Odaiba, including Fuji TV building, the Palette Town, the telecom center, the Oedo Onsen Monogatari (We are planning to go somewhere cooler for onsen, that's why we didn't' do to this one, but if you don't want to go too far, this is a very cool place to go in the city), and the rainbow bridge (we saw the rainbow on the way back to the city center on subway). There are still a lot of places in Tokyo or close by that we wanted to visit, but time is limited, and we wanted to have relaxing onsen day tomorrow, so this is last day we actually wandered around the city, and the thought of it already made me miss the city!
