« Happy New Year | Main | Weather proofing the apartment »
January 02, 2007
Meiji Jingu (明治神具)
Well, Laura and I did make it back to Meiji Shrine for some pictures. And we also went all the way through, which we may have reconsidered if we had known how long it would take! But the pictures are generally good and this is a not-to-be-missed chance to see the shrine at night, when it is very lovely.
We were in line for over two hours before we finally made it in, which was probably about one hour too long. It is incredible how many people were there. Laura tells me that over 3 million people visit Meiji Jingu over the new year's holiday, making it the most popular in Japan. It seemed like most of them were in line in front of us!
One thing that surprised me is how few locals were wearing traditional clothes. There were a few, however, and when I could, I took a picture. The picture on the left is at the entrance to the shrine. The one on the right is inside the temple grounds. They are both lovely, right?
Like I mentioned before, Meiji Jingu at night is absolutely lovely. This is sort of what it looked like, although the pictures do not really do it justice. The pictures below with the wide spaces covered in tarps show where people are expected to make their offerings. Really...that tarp is covered in coins!
After making an offering, people go to make wishes. Now that I think about it, it makes good sense to pay upfront. I didn'y make any, but this is where you go to do it...
And here is one last picture of the crowds inside the temple.
