Day 7: Meiji Shrine / Shibuya / Harajuku / Hakuyo High School

Korr:

Today, the morning weather was sunny with a bit of wind. We rode the train to Yoyogi, transferred trains there, and made the stop at Harajuku. We walked not too far to Meiji Shrine and there, we were able to see the large shrine gates.

Once we entered the shrine, we were able to see the “Wall of Sake Barrels” donated by different organizations or businesses. 

After that, we were able to see the beauty of the shrine. There were two big trees and in between is the shrine where you pray for either health, prosperity, or whatever you want. 

We did various activities like Ema and Omikuji as well. Luckily we came in the morning, we were also able to see the shrine's worshippers. As the day went along, it became a lot warmer as well.

After Meiji Shrine, we headed into Takeshita street (Harajuku) nearby. There were so many fashion shops as well as sweet shops. So many people from high schools and middle school came too, so it was very interesting to see various uniforms.

An amazing cotton candy!

Crêpe stand

Once we left Takeshita Street, we got on the train to Shibuya. It was a short ride there, but the scenery changed very quickly. Compared to what we saw in Harajuku, Shibuya is a whole lot larger. It's almost like New York in a way. 

Some of us ate ramen for lunch while others ate udon for the first time. Overall, Shibuya was an amazing experience of Japan’s urban area! 

After exploring Harajuku and Shibuya, we traveled back to the hostel to grab the rest of our bags and head to Yokohama.

Sebastian:
We took to the rails for a couple hours as we were headed to Yokohama, transferring at the 6th stop on the first train, then took an hour and a half on the second train. 

We then went to the high school and gave a similar presentation to the one we did at the elementary school, talking about where we are from, and what it is like there. We then go to stay with our second host families.

The trip surprisingly, is almost halfway over. I got to see a lot of cool things so far, my favorites being the imperial palace and the Meiji shrine. There is so much history in those two locations, and I got to see a lot of neat architecture. I look forward to being in Kyoto and Nara to see more old architecture, history, and culture. 

The time I spent at the first host family was nice, and I look forward to being reunited with them at the end of the trip before the flight back to the states.