It’s hard to believe that our last full day with Adventures by Disney in Japan has arrived. This morning we visited the Meiji Jingu Shrine with our local guide Yuki. It was a rainy morning, but we enjoyed the forest canopy of the gardens leading up to the shrine. There are three sacred trees on the grounds, two of them tied together which are a place to wish for a long marriage with your spouse.
Inside the temple, we attended a traditional Kagura ceremony. No photos were allowed and those wishing to opt out for religious reasons could explore the grounds on their own. The ceremony includes a wish for the safe travels of our Adventures by Disney group. At the end, we were given a sugar chrysanthemum and sake to cleanse our soul. Tomomi was given a tablet with the wish written on it and she is going to bring it back to the shrine in the new year for the bonfire so our wish goes to the heavans.
After the ceremony, we walked by a corridor of sake barrels on one side and French wine barrels on the right. Sake barrels are standard for a Shinto Shrine but wine is uncommon. Emperor Meiji for whom the shrine is named had a good relationship with France and loved wine.
Our next stop was the famous Harajuku district, once known for its outrageous fashion. While that trend isn’t exactly dead, it’s not more famous for kawaii desserts. It’s there that Tomomi, one of our Adventure Guides, handed out our pin for the day. It features Minnie Mouse in bright colors with the day’s title, “Tokyo in Color.”
There is a small Disney Store in the street, which is how we spent the majority of our free 30-minutes. It was small compared to the others, but we found Disney branded Kit-Kat’s, a perfect gift to give our fellow Adventurers as an end of day surprise.
Our travels back to The Peninsula were impacted by the new emperor’s coronation, which was right by the hotel. Our bus has to drop us off several blocks away in the rain, but to our surprise the staff of The Peninsula was waiting for us with umbrellas to escort us back. The level of service in Japan is incredible, but The Peninsula really kicks it up a notch.
On our own for the afternoon, we took a local train to Palette Town to experience Team Lab Borderless, a projection mapping museum. The signs and spiels were available in English and the exhibit has no maps. The rooms can change drastically, making it feel like a never ending maze. There are even hidden rooms and not everyone starts in the same spot. Our first room was one where butterflies flew from our feet up to the walls and if we wanted we could have followed our butterflies all over. My favorite room features lily pads above your head with projections on them, but they got shorter as you went further in and then there were lots of paths leading out of the room into other spaces.
On the man made island there were lots of exhibits and shops, including another Disney Store.
Japan also still has Toys “R” Us, which was nostalgic for us to explore. They play the theme song in Japanese inside.
Back at our hotel, we boarded a bus for our farewell dinner at a hotel called Happo-En. The resort is a popular spot for weddings and we dined in one of their banquet rooms. James and Tomomi wore traditional Japanese kimonos for our farewell dinner.
After dinner, we got to paint Garuma dolls. You make a wish as you paint the left eye and you leave the right eye blank, filling it in when your wish comes true. Afterwards, you should bring it to a shrine so it can be sent to heaven with the new head bonfire. We were encouraged to get creative and many in our group made Disney themed dolls. I chose Sailor Moon because if felt right in Tokyo.
James and Tomomi had worked hard during our free time to put together a 15-minute slideshow of pictures from our entire adventure. Even though it was just ten days ago, it felt like a long time. It was fun reliving the memories and the video was shared with us all immediately, along with a link to download all of the photos that were taken by our incredible guides. We also received a final gift, an illustration of ourselves in manga style.
While there were tears at the end of the evening, it was also joyous as tomorrow we will be transferring to the Tokyo Disney Resort for our add-on package. This entire Adventures by Disney trip to Japan has been magical, but we’re about to go to the happiest place in all of Japan!
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