Group Bonding

I am skipping breakfast today so managed to get up later than everyone in my room, so still haven’t seen anyone in my room – the mystery continues. Well, for about five minutes, because at breakfast I find out I am currently bunking with Amanda, Mark otherwise known as Mambo and Sarah. I manage to sneak in a cuppa before our morning briefing and we set off. We jump on the metro using the Pasmo cards that Rachel has handed out; she’s told us we are not allowed to lose these as she is on a six month run of no losses! Our first stop is Sensoji Buddhist Temple and Denboin Street, the market street in front of it. We meet our local guide by this massive lantern, which hangs inside a gate with two statues either side – Kaminarimon, Asakusa’s Thunder Gate, the main entrance to Sensoji Temple. To be honest it’s a busy street and my hearing aid struggles to pick up all that is said, but from my understanding the local temple allowed locals to set up a market here to promote growth and it has since been a tradition. So the group walks through the gates, touching the dragon decorated on the bottom of the lantern for luck and head in between a bunch of stools, with a mixture of handmade goods, touristy nicknacks and food stalls. We also stop to use a fortune teller box, after donating, one takes a box full of sticks and shakes it until one comes out. On the stick is a number/character that corresponds to a draw with your fortune in it. I get one titled normal fortune, but reading into it, it seems pretty positive, I get a bit jealous of Katie, a Guernsey Gal, on the tour who gets one titled “The Best Fortune”, until I realise there’s rule that if you don’t like your fortune you can tie it up and go again until you get one you like. Pretty good way to cheat the system if you ask me!

Kaminarimon – Asakusa’s Thunder Gate, the entrance to Sensoji Temple

We are quickly back on the metro heading for the Meiji Jingū Shrine, a Shinto shrine in Shibuya. I am excited, I haven’t really come across Shintoism before and look forward to learning about it. We reach a Torii gate and have to bow as we enter, which leads us to a beautifully kept path surrounded by tall, gorgeous trees. Our guide tells us that in Shintoism there is a belief that everything has a soul, even the path we a walking on, and so to show respect we need to walk on the side as the middle is for the soul. It seems a little extreme, but I like the idea that everything and everyone in nature is of value and deserves to be treated with respect. Down the path we come to a display of barrels on either side, on the left rice wine and on the right Japanese whiskey – donations by believers. Now, a religion that reveres and respects alcohol this much I can get behind. We continue along the path, walking into what feels almost like a national park or forest before reaching the shrine itself. We see a tree of hanging wishes made by many believers and tourists and have a little nosy. We then line up to make a wish at the shrine. There is a specific order in which one is supposed to do this, including three bows, three claps and throwing of a five yen coin into the offering box and then making the wish. I am so focused on getting the order right I forget to make my wish while at the shrine itself, so make a cheeky extra bow when I rejoin the group and add in my wish. It came true by the way: I wished for lunch, I was starving at the time.

Beautiful five storey Pagoda, part of the Sensoji Temple

To enter the shrine we are told by our local guide that we have to cleanse our selves in the fountain at the Water Ablution Pavilion. Not a full blown wash, but left hand, right hand and then wash our mouths out with water from our left hand. This is another reason I don’t stay jealous of Katie’s “ best fortune, as she seems to struggle with the mouth wash, part dribbling water down her chin in the attempt. Brooke the other Guernsey Gal, and Katie’s mate, and I burst out in laughter, which I double up, when Brooke lets me know she got it all on camera! Unfortunately, we have been forced to swear that this footage never sees the light of day! The shrine is impressive with amazing decorations, the two souvenir shops in either corner kind give it a commercial vibe, but this is something I am getting used to on my travels. After donating and paying our respects, the group is given a little time to take in the surrounding area, including the nearby pagoda and markets. I spend most of it soaking in the sun.

The new group

Statue of Sakara Ryuou Zou "The Dragonlord", King of Water (Water ablution pavilion)

Rows of barrels of Rice Wine

Denboin Street

My Fortune Stick

Asakusa Shrine

Torii Gate entrance to Meiji Shrine

Tree of Hanging Wishes

Lunch was the next stop, dreams do come true! After lunch we made our way to the world famous Shibuya crossing, the biggest pedestrian crossing in the world, it is an experience! Quite a busy place, and on Rachel’s recommendation, I suggest the group goes to a roof top bar next to it, for a view down below. It doesn’t take much convincing for everyone to come up! It is a nice little bar with a sunny, outside area, and a fun inside room where thousands of people have signed their names. The group obviously stop for a few photos and sign our names one by one. After the drink we have the option to head back to the hostel with Rachel before dinner, or make our own way there later after exploring a bit more. Luke and I decide to hang around and make our own way back, knowing if we head back to the hostel now we will sleep through dinner. We head to the nearby Nintendo store which tbh was a little bit of a disappointment, but we quell this by heading for a pint in a so called English pub, which to my surprise is actually pretty accurate.

This is where we plan on how we are gonna get our energy up for dinner and the karaoke bar the group is going onto later. Our solution, bowling. We google a bowling alley and find a multi-storey building a block or two away. This place would have been nirvana for me as a child, three floors dedicated to bowling alleys, two for ping pong and darts, two more for pool. Anyway we stick to our guns and go bowling: three games in and Luke is a hell of a lot better than me. However, I am able to squeeze a victory in on our last game, when I get lucky and he doesn’t.

Group shot at the Shibuya crossing

Shibuya crossing
(click on the top right hand icon)

Relaxing above the madness of the Shibuya crossing

Energised from our friendly competition and probably the pint, we head over to ‘Piss Alley’ for dinner. A small alley in busy Tokyo, once famous for its illegal watering holes. Nicknamed after the smell that was left in the mornings from drunken customers who used the street and local railway line as a toilet. Now a tourist attraction in itself, there are many mini-bars and restaurants. The group has booked as they aren’t used to groups of our size. The restaurant struggles to keep up with the orders a little, and Katie’s chicken comes out raw. But, it was one hell of a bonding experience for the group with stories swapped, drinks drunk and laughs had.

Piss Alley

With our new found friendships being forged, we head to a karaoke bar. This is where it starts to go down hill. They have a game called shot roulette which I instantly fall in love with, and probably play more times than I need to. Rachel and half the group make a potentially sensible decision to leave the bar for the last train, but the other half, including me decide to stay. It is a wild night with singing, drinking and bonding. Most of the bonding comes in the form of getting shocked by a group of other tourists in the middle of the bar who seemed to be about one more drink away from having an orgy. To be honest my memories get a bit blurry but I end the day with high hopes for the rest of the trip and many people I am once again quickly considering friends!

Shot Roulette
(click on the top right hand icon)