The Culture Shock

Tokyo is exhausting, enthralling, amusing, and addicting. It's extraordinary. But today I fully experienced stage two of "culture shock".  It was the frustration of not being able to read Japanese after we waited in the wrong line for 20 minutes; the struggle to understand given instructions, "What, no English translation?!", I annoyingly mumbled; scouting out locations without the use of wifi; judging the fashion sense. Although it hasn't even been a full week yet, I know this is all part of the process and understanding cultural differences is what travel is all about!

We started out this morning at the Imperial Palace, the residence of Japan's Imperial family. Located on the former site of Edo Castle, it's in a large park surrounded by moats and massive stone walls right in the center of Tokyo. While there really wasn't much to see, it was neat to walk around the grounds.

Then we made our way to The National Art Center for the Yayoi Kusama: My Eternal Soul exhibition. After an hour wait in line to enter the exhibit, we were finally among the hundreds of people wandering around in awe. It was a little difficult to fully enjoy and see the art with everyone pushing their way in front of you, but I was definitely glad we got to see some of Kusama's brilliant work. 

Next, we hopped on the subway and head over to Shibuya where there were even more people - it was truly an introverts nightmare! Despite some anxiety flare ups, Shibuya Crossing was fun to finally experience, and the people watching was pure entertainment in itself. 

Kiel and I briefly parted ways for lunch. He was tired of eating noodles so he went to McDonald's for a Big Mac 😂, and I indulged in a bowl of Butter Corn Ramen. I sat at the counter alongside other solo diners, slurping away at my delicious bowl of noodles (While this may be considered rude in the US, slurping in Japan apparently enhances the flavor of the soup. Slurp away!). We met back up and stumbled upon the Tokyo Foodshow. Just imagine the cosmetics/fragrance department in Macy's and replace it with stalls of fresh bread, fish and sushi, pastries, fried chicken, deli salads, fruits and vegetables, chocolate and other various desserts, while someone behind each counter fulfills all of your food fantasies; of course we couldn't leave empty handed! We each got a fish-shaped pancake filled with custard and caramel, known as Taiyaki, which was the perfect afternoon snack.

After Shibuya we took a short subway ride to explore Harajuku. We visited the Meiji Shrine (dedicated to Emperor Meiji, the first emperor of modern Japan, and the Empress Shoken). The walk in through the Meiji Jingu forest was quite tranquil, but unfortunately for us the shrine was undergoing renovations so we weren't able to see much. 

Outside, the streets of Harajuku were bustling with young adults everywhere. But after an 8 hour day, we were exhausted so we didn't explore any more of the area or attempt to wait in line for Ice Monster. Maybe another day!

At the Imperial Palace

Nijubashi Bridge

Some of The Yayoi Kusama Exhibit

My Ramen lunch!

Statue of Hachiko

Shibuya

 At Meiji Shrine

Barrels of Sake wrapped in straw

Harujuku