In January of 2019, I took an amazing trip to Japan. After exploring Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka for a week, I had the unique experience of starting a second leg of the trip that took me to the beautiful prefectures, or states, near Tokyo. What I saw and experienced there blew my mind and I can’t wait to share it with you!

My day started at the Meiji Jingu Shrine, a Shinto shrine in Tokyo. The forest surrounding the shrine isn’t natural; citizens donated the trees here to the emperor to make the grounds beautiful. It was another cold day in Japan, but I couldn’t wait to visit it!

Shinto shrines always have large, imposing torii gates and I came across a massive one on my way up the forest path toward the shrine. It had to have been at least 100 feet tall! There were also 200 sake barrels representing different breweries that gave sake to the shrine. The barrels are beautiful!

Once you pass beneath the torii gate, you’ve entered the sacred area, so you have to bow. You must bow every time you pass beneath a torii gate. The gravel path leading to the shrine actually has a purpose. The soft crunching sound of footsteps on the gravel is said to calm you, so you’ll be completely calm by the time you reach the shrine.

Outside the shrine is a fountain, where you must cleanse yourself before you enter. Take the ladle, dip it into the water, and then rinse your left hand and right hand in that order. Pour some water in your left hand, transfer it to your mouth to cleanse it, and then spit the water into the trough. Then you rinse your left hand again and let the water run down the ladle’s handle to cleanse it as well.

The woodwork at the Meiji Jingu Shrine is stunning. There’s a massive courtyard with the main hall straight ahead. I couldn’t film in the main hall, but inside, you throw a coin, bow twice, clap twice, and then bow again. It was a great experience! There’s also a wall where you can leave your wishes.

From there, we left the shrine and arrived at Takeshita Street in Harajuku, where they serve sweets like giant cotton candy and crepes. Harajuku is the “cute” area of Tokyo, and you’ll find lots of sweets, souvenir shops, clothing stores, and more.

I stopped at Santa Monica Crepes, which serves over 100 different varieties! I went with a whipped crepe with whipped cream and chocolate fudge. It’s a nice, thin crepe with sweet filling. It was so fluffy, fatty, and delicious! It was a little too sweet for me, though!

Our next top was Shinjuku Station, where I got my train ticket (2,570 Yen/$23.19 U.S.) and a pair of bento boxes and an onigiri for my journey!

We boarded our train, the Kaiji Express, which had assigned seating. If you’re traveling with a group, you can turn your seat around to face your friends and there are food and beverage options available to order as well.

My seat was in Premium Economy, right behind the Green Cars. One of my Bento Boxes contained salmon and roe, while the other was tuna a roe. My onigiri contained salmon roe and seaweed. The first Bento Box looked delicious! When you come to Japan, I recommend keeping the boxes as souvenirs.

The tuna was nice, fresh, and raw. I mixed the roe with the rice and tuna. It was such a delicious combination! The roe explodes in your mouth and is so tasty! Having a Bento Box while you travel on the train is such a unique and quintessential Japanese experience that you have to have when you come here!

You can also have open containers of alcohol on public transportation there, so have a beer or a sake with your meal!

Then I went with my salmon roe and seaweed onigiri, which is essentially sushi without the vinegar. It was nice and sticky with a good amount of salmon, and a little spicy! It was a little too much rice!

I followed that with a Japanese craft beer I ordered on the train. It was my favorite beer so far in Japan and was like a red ale!

After an hour ride, we arrived at Otsuki Station in the Yamanashi Prefecture! I’d be spending 3 more days there and couldn’t wait to explore it!

I hope you enjoyed my Meiji Jingu Shrine visit, my brief stop in Harajuku, and my Bento Box review on the ride to Yamanashi Prefecture! If you did, please give it a thumbs up, leave me a comment, and subscribe to my channel!

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Japanese TRAIN FOOD Review - Fish Bento Box + Meiji Jingu Shrine | Tokyo to Yamanashi Prefecture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL_dgZTs4I8