Meiji-jingu shrine and bullet train to Osaka

Friday March 24

We woke to a cool and cloudy day. Having a few hours to kill before our train to Osaka, we decided to take the ten minute taxi to the Meiji-jingu shrine. The grounds are lovely with huge trees and a feeling of serenity. Unfortunately they were busy redoing the roof of the main shrine so there was scaffolding but we were lucky to stumble across a young group of novices entering the building.

It is Tokyo's grandest Shinto shrine dedicated to the emperor Meiji and empress Shoken. Initially built in 1920 it was destroyed during the war. Rebuilt in 1958, they used a 1500 year old Taiwanese cyprus for the 12 metre high torri gate. The surrounding grounds have an iris garden and ponds. It was very serene. 

On the drive back to the hotel we drove down Omote-sando which could give Michigan avenue a run for it's money, full of western designer shops all very sleek and luxurious.

We checked out at noon and took a cab to Tokyo station. The short drive took us through the business district full of tall, beautiful glass skyscrapers. As the roads are wide you have lots of light and space and everything is very clean.

Tokyo station, again, is a sleek, modern building. We entered through the north gate but the instructions given also allowed for the south entrance. The possible reason being that the bullet train is so long (ours has 16 wagons) that it runs the entire length of the station. Waiting, we noticed ladies in pink with mops. As soon as the train pulls in, an army of cleaners boards. Platforms are well marked with signs for your wagon and everything is of military precision as well as punctuality. The trains are beautiful. Very sleek and modern with reclining seats, foot rests and outlets to charge phones. A smartly dressed attendant came by handing out hand towels giving you the feeling of being in a plane. The ride south west to Osaka takes two and a half hours with stops in Nagoya and Kyoto after two others just outside of Tokyo.

The landscape was a very disappointing urban blight. I had hoped for pretty scenery but we saw miles and miles of industrial sprawl, and soul destroying suburbs. Perhaps not surprising considering Japan has close to 120 million inhabitants. It is the first time I have been on a train for over two hours and not had a bit of unbroken countryside. The only interesting thing we saw during this ride was the sight of some snow capped mountains in the distance.
Osaka was a bit of a shock to the system as well. Very uninspiring buildings and lacking charm.
To cheer ourselves up we decided to go and visit the aquarium which has been written up as "the best in Asia"right by the port. (Osaka is on the bay of Osaka and has always been a big trading partner of China and Korea). We were surprised to have to get on a very long escalator ( think Canary Wharf!) to the top of the building as this aquarium has giant tanks so you walk your way downwards in a spiral and get a view lower and lower into the tank so you see the bottom crawlers and the top skimmers winding your way down the walkways. Very interesting concept. The biggest tank which had several sting ray, a hammerhead, and two HUGE whale sharks, was over 9 meters tall. It was an interesting aquarium  as there were also mammals such as seals and penguins and  a very big cavia type of animal, coypu, a water rodent, which weighed over 70 kilo and huge. The photo does not really show the size.

And then there were the jellyfish. Mesmerizingly beautiful. All in all a huge hit.

 On the way back we asked the cab driver to take us to a Japanese curry restaurant in a Soho-like neighborhood full of restaurants and lights. We went round and round in circles trying to find it only to discover it was very cafeteria like so we ditched that idea and had him take us back to our hotel Granvia right by Osaka train station where we knew there were tons of other restaurants. We ended up having a nice tempura-sushi in a restaurant in the Hilton Plaza. Tomorrow we meet with the group in the late afternoon.

We might catch a train to Kobe during the day to see the sights there, depending on how we sleep. This hotel is much more basic, very small room, and none of the wonderful toilet seat accoutrements. The bath is so tiny you would have to sit with your knees drawn up!
Tomorrow we meet up with the group and the photography tour starts.