After the conclusion of my matches in the professional division, I still had a good chunk of daylight left since my division was one of the first ones of the day to run. I decided that I would make use of it by attempting to visit a shrine in Harajuku for a limited edition temple seal book that I wished to purchase. Temple seal (Goshuin) collecting is one of my favorite side quests to do in Japan. When I visit a temple or shine, I can go to the office and request for the priest/priestess place the temple seal in my book via red stamps and hand brush stroke calligraphy ink. Each shrine and temple have their own unique seal. It is something small but memorable to collect, and also it gets me out of my comfort zone, interacting with people, and into different neighborhoods to explore more.

That said, I did completely forget of course that it was a Sunday which is prime time for Japanese street fashion parade crowd times in Harajuku. I was jet-lagged, exhausted from competing that morning, still dealing with a residual migraine, weighted down with my sweaty gear bag, and probably not at my best for stepping off the metro and gazing down into what I affectionately refer to as the “sea of people” or just “nope” that is officially named Takeshita street on a weekend.

I walked past the entrance of the main street, which would be the most direct route to the Togo shrine but I decided to opt for a side street approach instead. I ended up meandering a bit and walked past this small curated garden, then doubled back and decided to give it a stroll through in order to help relax and decompress myself.

I discovered a small center within it that was hosting a free art exhibition as well displaying various art pieces – no photos allowed but it was quite a lovely experience to stumble upon and I am so glad I took the time to just enjoy a nice meander!

I did loop back around to my starting point and then had to wander back to get to the shrine entrance again. I made it up the side entrance and then saw the huge crowd of people and was once again reminded that it was a weekend. I did not have the energy to complete my quest and noped it out of there. Instead on my way back to the station I ducked into a small crevice and grabbed myself a bottle of my favorite electrolyte beverage from one of the vending machines there. I don’t know what magic is in this bottle but it really is the best thing ever, and the name makes me smile.

At this point I realized that I really needed to get back to my hotel and lie down so that I could get some rest after the day’s events. My headache just wasn’t going away and there was really no need for me to be pushing myself since the rest of this trip was officially vacation with very little by way of actual itinerary. I had eaten a salmon bento box at the venue before I headed out but definitely needed to feed myself a bit more before going to sleep. I didn’t have the energy left for much interaction so enter the convenience store rescue. I went for familiar (to me) easily digestible items with the plan to get myself some real food to eat the next day. Milk tea, egg sandwich, pudding, and vitamin jelly pack for the win!

Monday:

I woke up pretty early Monday morning and started off with another milk tea before heading back to Harajuku to resume my quest. I still found the whole idea very overwhelming though and determined that since it was a much smaller and less familiar shrine I should instead backtrack to the other side of the station and instead first visit the Meiji-Jingu shrine – a very familiar, very large shrine that you walk through a large wooded park to reach. Even with the huge amounts of people present it still feels peaceful and I could feel myself getting into a groove.

One thing I quickly realized is that visiting so close to New Years means that I shouldn’t expect the normal type of tranquility that I usually experience when visiting shrines and temples in Japan. Most of the festivities were all over by the time I arrived in Tokyo, but people were still doing a lot of their New Years visits, and activity levels were much higher than what I had been accustomed to when visiting in the early autumn.

There was a box for placing your previous year’s amulets in so they can then be ceremonially burned later on. I had been holding on to mine since I had not been able to visit since 2019 so it was far past its prime – but we can only do what we can! My new amulet is for victory and perseverance, very appropriate methinks!

When I visit any sort of sacred space, whether it be a church, synagogue, mosque, shrine, temple, etc; I tend to minimize the photos I take unless I see the locals also taking photos, and what photos I do take I try to make sure that I do not take or share unavoidable photos of people, particularly of people in prayer/meditation. It’s the respectful thing to do. At this particular location it is such a hub of activity that it doesn’t feel disruptive to take photos so long as I avoid being obnoxious

After getting myself oriented a bit at Meiji-Jingu, I made my way out their side entrance (making note of their new location for their Goshuin request line), and back towards the Togo Shrine. At this point though I was getting cold and hungry and I decided to stop at the cafe on the shrine grounds for a bowl of ramen. It was my first hot meal in Japan and it was pretty stinking amazing. The egg was hard-boiled but it was marinated and I could have eaten a bowl full of just those. The whole bowl of ramen was about $4 with the current exchange rate and while a pretty mid-level for Japan ramen, blew away the best ramen you’d ever get state side!

Now I finally made my way to the less crowded Togo Shrine where I then discovered that after all that wind up, the particular Goshuin book I was seeking was all sold out. Yes, cue the sad trombone womp womp sounds.

I decided to then backtrack to the Meiji-Jingu Shrine and purchase a Goshuin book from them. If I couldn’t get the limited edition one I was after, it made sense to get one from a place that I felt anchors me in Tokyo. They also issued me my first temple seal in my book there.

After this I felt like I finally had my feet under me and decided to jump on the train for a short ride to the Hie shrine. I unexpectedly arrived during the time they were busy burning the previous year’s amulets and was enjoying watching the process while I waited for the priestess to finish inking the shrine goshuin into my book. When I saw the locals taking photos and video of the burning process I took that as a cue it was okay to take photos as well.

This shrine is a bit out of the way on top of a hill but became popular when people discovered that one of the entrances was lined with red torii gates and it became a hot photo spot. I snapped a quick photo on my way out but didn’t feel like waiting around to get one without people in it – I’ve got that photo in my memory card already from previous visits and really needed to grab some water.

After grabbing some water and a quick snack, I decided to head to the Toyakawa Inari Betsuin Shrine that was fairly nearby. It was another Shinto shrine – this one a new one I had not visited before. It was probably the largest one in Tokyo I have ever visited specifically dedicated to Inari. Originally the goddess of harvest and now associated with overall prosperity, you will see her messenger foxes quite frequently if you ever visit Japan.

As it was a completely new place it was of course overwhelming and I took my time with it. As an autistic individual I’ve learned to give myself time and space to explore new things in my own way – I take in and appreciate the feel of a place first before I start looking at things visually and with other senses. I probably sat for about an hour before I started actually moving around and (from an outside onlookers point of view) taking it in. This is one reason why I prefer to travel alone especially my first visit somewhere, so that I can really experience places fully the way my brain does best. The second visit to a place I can happily do so with company.

It was a lovely place to visit and relax in. After paying my respects I visited the main temple office to request a goshuin in my book and then went on my way. I was getting pretty tired at this point, but it was still only mid-afternoon and I was trying to power through the jet lag and cold as much as possible and decided I would take the train over to the Asakusa area and try to find a particular sweet bread shop that I have dreamed of since my last visit in 2019.

The shop was unfortunately closed for the day by the time I arrived, so I just made a mental note to return the next day for my prize and then strolled to the adjacent Senso-ji Temple – my first Buddhist temple of the trip. This is the oldest temple in Tokyo and enshrines the Kannon – the Bodhisattva of Mercy. A huge marketplace has grown around the temple over the years and you could easily spend a week or more exploring this neighborhood. Senso-ji is also one of those places where you just give up about not having people in your photos. It’s just that busy!

At practically all temples and shrines you will see pieces of paper tied to trees, poles, and strings. These are the fortunes that are drawn by lot at the temples that are, shall we say, less than fortunate. If you draw a bad fortune you then fold it up and tie it in these designated areas. These bad fortunes are then taken by the priests and ritually burned to dispel the bad luck so it does not follow you.

At Senso-ji I drew a very bad fortune this year and when I went to tie it up, the horizontal pole came lose and I had to fumble to catch it quickly so the entire rack did not go flying across the hall. I hope they have strong prayers and hot fire for that level of bad juju!

After that encounter, I went over to the temple office to visit the monks and request a goshuin for my book. The office was in the same location as before and despite the crowds outside I was quite surprised to find no line at all – especially after my day of crowded shrines!

After leaving the office, I was contemplating trying to go out to eat but I was fading really fast and the sun was setting, so I decided to go back to my room and just grab something quick and easy to eat on my way back. I was going to stick with familiar (egg sandwich again?) but something caught my eye and made me double back my steps on my way to the train station. It was a katsu shop that had pre-made premium katsu sandwiches for sale. I decided to grab one since I felt like I was depending on the convenience store failsafe a little bit too much (although admittedly their food quality tops most US restaurants).

Of course after all this talk about my goshuin collecting for the day, I can’t close out this update without showing you my collection for the day now can I?

Next update I’ll be getting to the Ueno Park Pilgrimage Adventures!