2012 Day 6: Meiji shrine, Harajuku, Shibuya

So today we went to the Meiji shrine. There were some really tall gates [torii]
at the entrance, and everything was very traditional. We saw the beginning of a
funeral ceremony and the end of a wedding. Then we went to Harajuku, and
traveled down a very weird street with many unique shops. Some of us were
creeped out by it and some of us enjoyed it. We only spent about 40 minutes
there, and then went to Shibuya, which is a very busy city. We toured the shops
and ate lunch, and a few of us made hanko, a traditional Japanese stamp. Now
we're on our way to Yokohama to meet our next host family.
--Roman

Today I went to the Meiji shrine, which was really cool! There was a lot of
pretty scenery and I took a ton of pictures. After that I went to Harajuku,
where I bought an Arashi poster and some nice jewelry. After that I went to
Shibuya and bought some CDs and gifts for my siblings that I'm sure they'll
like. All in all it was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to see what Yokohama has
to offer!
--Amani

The Meiji shrine was really big. Humungo. It's the centennial this July so there
was a lot of cool things that had the history of the shrine. So that was cool.
Then we went to Harajuku which was interesting but it creeped me out. There was
some sketchy Jamaicans. Then there was Shibuya which was a bunch of shops. Now
we're on the longer of the trains we have to take to Yokohama.
-- Anna

At the Meiji shrine we were lucky enough to see a cleansing ceremony as well as
see a newlywed couple wearing traditional wedding kimonos! The shrine was very
neat and we saw people coming from all over to see it. Then we went to Harajuku,
went shopping, and saw some crazy Tokyo fashions. Next we went to Shibuya, and a
few us made hanko, which is a customizable stamp of your name. Virginia and I
went shopping and wandered around the rest of the time. We're now on our way to
Yokohama to meet our high school home stay families. I'm really looking forward
to it!
-Josie

My toe got mysteriously cut and irritated so therefore I didn't do much walking
today. Harajuku was total sketch and Shibuya is only truly enjoyable if you are
not like me and am a shopping deity. It is worth it to see, but I did not do
much aside from people watch on the second floor of a McDonald's. Guys I went to
a McDonald's for the first time in ever. This is all that has happened today as
we have not yet reached Yokohama yet.
-Bre