One thing I love about Japan is their railway system. I love how efficient, punctual and comprehensive it is. I also love how the trains look so aesthetic pleasing. I do find the train/subway system to be a bit intimidating due to its complexity. But the bottom line about it is that it simply works and works very well.
My wife and I decided to walk to Yoyogi Park from Shinjuku. It was a pleasant 30 mins walk from our hotel as we enjoyed the quiet early morning before the rush hour crowd came out. Yoyogi Park is in the Shibuya area and is an expansive park, one of the largest in Tokyo with ponds, wide lawns and tree-lined forested areas. Along the way, we passed by the quiet neighborhood, several cafes and had our breakfast at Verve Coffee. We enjoyed strolling around the park in the chilly December morning weather. One thing I like to do in the park is people watching. You see people having picnics, cycling, sitting quietly, chatting, painting and simply enjoying themselves. It’s very chill, relaxing and refreshing to be in such an environment.
We then went to the Meiji Shrine, adjacent to Yoyogi Park. Meiji Shrine is a shrine dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. We were hoping to witness a Shinto / traditional Japanese wedding but there was none the morning we were there, instead we saw a dedication ceremony of some sort. The shrine was opened in 1920 and quite scenic. It contains incredible architectures and many Shinto themed structures.
After visiting the shrine, we stopped for a while to watch and appreciate this dixie jazz group busking outside the shrine/park area, We then walked to Harajuku to take in the urban architectures around that neighborhood and proceeded to the famed Shibuya Crossing before calling it a day.
All photos were taken with my Fuji X100VI using the Portra 400 film recipe. Do take time to follow, like, share and comment . Thank you and God bless, Stay tuned for Part 3 🙂
Daniel's Lighthouse 