Day 147: A Snowy Day in Tokyo (2nd Full Day in Tokyo)

Today focus on two major activities: the Meiji Shrine and the Studio Ghibli museum. With the inclement weather, that's about all we could handle.

We began the day with room service: "American" breakfasts, which were actually pretty good. It was nice to have scrambled eggs and butter again. I was going to watch the Vikings in the NFC Conference Championship while we ate--that was the plan--but Fox here was showing something else instead, so I just followed along with the game on Facebook. It's just as well--the Vikings lost to the Eagles 38-7, anyway. I will still root for the Eagles over the Patriots in the Super Bowl--the Patriots are just SO spoiled. I often root for the underdog.

Anyway, soon after breakfast, we went to Harajuku again. But this time we went to the shrine. It snowed all day today, basically: I think Tokyo got somewhere between 4-6 inches. The walk to the shrine was long, but one great thing about the snow is that made for a lot of beautiful photographs. The shrine was large and impressive; we got to hear a drum being played and to see Shinto priests. They were very big on rules here: twice I got asked to lower my umbrella when I was standing in an area that had covering already. After looking around a bit, Kerry and I made a "wish" by writing it down and placing an offering (aka $$$) in an envelope. We also bought a couple tailsman souvenirs, including something for our friend Pat.

Here are some Shrine pics:

Entry to the shrine.

View inside the main shrine.

Prayer left at the shrine.

Selling tailsmen at the shrine.

Snow in the branches.

Another wintry view.

Next, we went to the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. The subway ride there was a bit long, but fortunately a shuttle to the museum was provided, too. When we got there, though, the horror story began. THEY WOULDN'T LET US IN TO THE MUSEUM. The woman at the gate insisted that we needed a paper ticket, and showing proof online that we paid wasn't sufficient. "Please contact your agency," she said, politely. I was dumbfounded--we paid $100 for those tickets--and we just walked away when she told us to make a phone call. And then the phone we went to didn't work. So we're standing there in the snow, about to give up. Then I say to Kerry, "Let's try one last time. Maybe if we're really polite, she'll let us in." So we went up there, and I explained that we were from the USA, we really wanted to see the museum, we had no idea that we needed a paper ticket. All of this was true. I even worked up some tears, for good measure. I asked, "Would you please be so kind as to let us in? We'd really appreciate it." She replied, "I will let you in, but for 2000 yen (about $20).." We figured it was worth it, because she was breaking the rules for us. After making us wait a few minutes, she let us in. We saw an animated short film about a spider and a dragon-fly looking-creature becoming friends in the water. Then we perused the museum itself. It was very quirky, with examples of animation, animated cells, small doors to walk through, and even a big cat for children to play on. I liked their store, too, and I made some good purchases there. But honestly? To me, it wasn't worth either $50 or $60. I've been to some museums for free that I enjoyed much more than this one. We were able to spend only about 90 minutes here, after all the craziness we went through.  We did get to take some nice photos on the outside.

A couple museum pics:

More of the winter wonderland.

Outside the Studio Ghibli Museum.

Another shot outside the museum.

In the line for the shuttle bus, we got to talking with two Americans from New York City: a woman named Roberta, who runs a rental property business in New Orleans, and her daughter Victoria, who just graduated the New School in Manhattan. At the subway station, Victoria had some sort of problem with her subway card, so we chatted with Roberta while Victoria took care of it. We chatted with them all the way--mostly comparing travel experiences in the East--until we parted ways at Shinjuku station; Roberta even sent me her cell phone number. Interesting! You never know how or when you'll make some sort of contact. The whole experience reminded me of the film Lost In Translation a bit. Foreigners from the same country just gravitate towards each other!

One last pic of Kerry at Shinjuku:

Kerry in the purple snow.

Once we got back to the hotel, we were STARVING. We had had nothing to eat all day. So I polished off calamari, salad, burger, fries, and a dessert for dinner....and Kerry also had a meaty appetizer, a burger, fries, and a dessert. Soon after that, we were ready to turn in. Kerry did much earlier than I did, though.