Shibuya & West Temple

Landing.

Finally on the ground and able to stretch fully. The revivification process has started. Being pigeonholed into the seat for half a day puts a strain on my body and leaves me sluggish. Is this how treants feel?

There was no euphoria after exiting the plane. Still as stiff as a zombie and almost as brain dead from lack of proper sleep and jet lag, I trundled ahead through customs. Slow pace and scores of tourists didn’t contribute to swift exit either. I’ve managed to secure tickets for the express train to the city, and admittedly the queue for the tickets was long but progressed smoothly.

Such a “business as usual” feeling. Oh well, no choice but to keep moving. Plenty to do, after all. And onwards it was. The first joy of the trip came unexpectedly from a hot can of corn soup. Oh how I wanted to try out all of the available coffees in the vending machines, but currently - just as in typical anime cliché - my stomach was growling. Yay, got to experience a trope within an hour of landing.

Ouch! The can was hot! I had some time left before the departure so I could kill the departure wait time by waiting for the soup to cool down. Ironic, no escaping the wait.

Done with the soup, I boarded the express train, secured my luggage and found my place. With nothing left to do but surrender to my exhaustion, I closed my eyes.

Shibuya, Hachiko, and the west temple.

That’s my stop. Just let me sleep.

The hardship of the journey was creeping up even more. Half awake, I found myself in Shibuya.

Some kind of a gear started to grind in the back of my mind. I took myself a few dozen meters forward and… I expected more. I had seen this place so many times yet standing here, I felt nothing. Just a small flicker of happiness, but no rush, no thrill. I just didn’t feel much while staring at the famous crossing. Even walking across didn’t help. Maybe I just needed a different angle? After climbing a few floors of the nearest shopping gallery, it became obvious that’s not it either. Feeling my options exhausted I carried on to the nearby Hachiko memorial.

Hachiko! Finally something hit me. I already knew the story behind the statue and reminiscing it made my eyes water. Other tourists came and went, laughing, enjoying themselves. Was I too somber, or were others just seeing a statue, not the story behind it?

I wondered as I walked towards my next stop. I saw the big torii looming behind the trees, leading to the Meiji Jingu shrine. And just like that, it hit me - I was in Japan. The gear finally clicked in place. Either that, or the 20 minute walk that forced my blood and heart to wake up while bombarded by the sounds of the city.

“I’m here”.

I took a leisurely stroll through the temple grounds admiring all that I could lay my eyes on. Everything is different from what I’m used to in Europe. It was early march and I was too early to watch sakura bloom - frankly - it felt cold. This only elevated the temple’s charm - traditional and raw.

I was glad that I reached my destination, yet not fully satisfied my wanderlust I had contemplated whether I should take another round at the temple. Yet I felt I was pushing myself and it didn’t feel right. I went back to the hotel after paying respects at the temple and prepared for my next day’s adventure - I was thrilled to see Fuji from up close.