Since we are staying at the same hotel that the tour uses, we had no travel to worry about today. We awoke to bright skies and were ready to start the day.

We met up with the group at 8:30 am for our private bus ride to the Taiko-Lab for our drumming session. We reached our destination just before 9:00 am and were ushered into the drum room. After a little bit of explanation, we all took our places and the fun began.

It was a little dodgy sounding at first until we all found our rhythm. Once we did, we were banging out some great sounds. Ok, it was just so-so, but at least we were in sync.

Our instructor – Ichi – was very patient and encouraging. Personally, I assumed he had earplugs in place.

Well, that was both invigorating and fun.

Next we were off to visit the Meiji Shrine. It was built in the center of a man-made park to honor Emperor Meiji and his wife. Yes, the park was created by the planting of this forest of trees, bushes and flowers that were all donated from throughout Japan.

The walking paths provide a beautiful and tranquil route on your way to the temple complex.

Before heading through the Torii Gate, we made a brief stop at the donation area. Here they displayed the barrels of wine and sake that were contributed to the shrine.

Back on track, we made our way through the Torii Gate and up the path towards the shrine. Along the way were displays of chrysanthemums, which happened to be Meiji’s favorites.

As we neared the bend in the pathway, we were asked to step aside as the Monks were walking in a ceremonial ritual and coming our way.

After they passed, we continued up towards the shrine. There was a display which included a poem written by Meiji for his wife.

Finally we neared the Torii Gate that led to the shrine. Passing through, we were able to see the entryway to the very busy courtyard. There were chairs and a platform set up for a “close to beginning” ceremony celebrating the start of the new month.

There was a dance performance along with a musical performance. Both were nice and the crowd was pleased with the welcoming ritual.

Needing a place to sit for a few minutes, we found some benches in a historical display area. There were two large displays that we found interesting.

It was a delightful visit to see the shrine, but also to enjoy nature on such a beautiful day.

Next on the agenda was a bit of lunch before we explored the Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa. The group split up based on what they were interested in eating. Two of our travel companions joined Sue and I as we were headed to an Udon noodle shop. Unfortunately, our directions were confused, so we ended up going to a Sukiyaki restaurant instead.

It turned out to be very good. Sue and I both had the sukiyaki beef bowl with rice and by some miracle, we were able to enjoy it while eating with chopsticks. I not saying that we’ll be giving away our silverware when we get back home, but we did finish every bit of lunch.

Having staved off starvation, the group gathered back together and made our way down to the temple.

We entered the road to the temple via the Kaminarimon Gate. (Aka The Thunder Gate)

The temple area was extremely crowded so it took some extra time to get to the Temple. All along the road are vendors selling merchandise, foods and crafts, which mean the crowds gather around each shop to peer in or make purchases.

As we finally approached the Temple, there was an incense burner where you could stop to purify yourself with the smoke before continuing up to the Temple.

Inside was an altar area where the monks and worshippers could engage in prayer.

Following our walk about, we headed back to the bus to be returned to the hotel.

Sue and I decided to hang back from dinner and just rest up. We needed to be up early to get our luggage down to the lobby for transport to Hiroshima in the morning.

After packing up the items we had to have, we set off to get a good nights sleep.