Tokyo: Meiji Jingū Shrine

The good thing about jetlag is waking up early and getting up to go sightseeing. If you don't get up, it doesn't count. 

I would count this as Day 1 of our trip because we finally saw daylight for the first time in Japan after arriving late the day before. 

It felt like Spring that day! We took the subway to Meiji Shrine without getting lost. The first thing I saw when I entered the sprawling grounds was the Torii. I loved the wooden gate. It's impressive! 

And after that, I saw the wall of sake (empty?) sake barrels and that was for me a dream because I've seen it all over instagram..haha. So of course, I had to take a picture of it and with it. 

Ok, back to the impressive Torii gates; it is a massive 40 foot high structure made of 1,500 year old cypress!

I loved walking around the grounds because it's surrounded by a park. It was so peaceful aside from a few tourists milling around. I felt zen right away. 

The details of the wooden buildings/architecture were just stunning. I really love wooden structures and I was quite enamoured by it. 

Most shrines are strict about not allowing photos inside. Signs/rules must be respected so take pictures outside instead.