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Japan trip
Day 3 - 8th June - Meiji jingu gardens, Freaky people (Harajuku), Tokyo (Part 2)
After the shrine it was still a bit early, so I visited the gardens. Entrance was 500Y - it probably cross-subsidises shrine entry, which is free.
Teahouse and blurb
Fishing spot and blurb
Placid surface of South Pond
As you can see, compared to the shrine most of the people in the garden were Japs.
South pond sign
Teahouse and environs
Map of gardens
There was the "Azakun garden" (I think I transcribed it wrongly since there're no results for that search) but it didn't look very nice; probably it was the wrong season.
Lillies in the Azakun (?) garden
The way they plant them, it looks like rice planting
I don't know what the bamboo tubes do
Forest
The Kiyomasa-ido well should be called a spring instead
Guy
Well sign: "No drinking"
Forest
Path
Flowers
Gardens sign
The French wine for the shrine
After that, the freaky people were finally out.
A lot of the freaky people were pulling trolley luggage behind them. I'm guessing that means they don't leave the house freaky.
On the other side of the road
Free hugs guy. I gave him one. Apparently they're there all the time.
If you do a double take at these ang moh-looking girls, I don't blame you, since I did one too. And yes, they are REAL ANG MOHS.
Antisocial freaky people
I never expected to see the dancing figure scam here. It's a global menace, I tell you. Maybe I can set up the Singapore branch of the franchise.
You want to be freaky?! I can be freaky too okay!!!
Priority seat sign on the JR Yamanote line. So they didn't swap it out after all.
My lunch. I chose something that didn't look familiar (ie no kitsune, inari or tempura udon) and was too cheap to be cod sperm. With digital photography, a good way to order food when the Japs are either unwilling or unable to speak English is to take pictures of what you want and point to it. I later discovered that this was preserved eggplant udon. 680Y, including my mountain vegetables crisp.
"Watch out" for terrorists? Or for ways they make our lives difficult?
Like the French, the Japs have an incredible ability to talk to you on and on even when it's obvious that you don't know the language. Combined with the Jap penchant for talking a lot, this leads to interestingly one-sided "conversations".