For my second day in Tokyo, Nanae, a newly-made friend, planned for us to visit the Meiji Jingu Shrine in the northwest area of central Tokyo.

Before you cross the gate, you must bow to show respect to the Gods of the shrine. You must also not walk in the middle of the approach to the shrine. The center is destined to the Gods.

You must take a water scoop on your right hand, wash your left hand, switch the scoop to your left hand, wash your right hand, switch back the scoop to your right hand, pour water on your left hand, wash your mouth, then hold the scoop vertically pointing upwards to dry the remaining water, and place it back exactly the way it was initially.

Once in front of the shrine, you can make your prayer or wish, drop a coin, make two bowings, two claps, and one more bowing for the Gods to listen to you.

Visitors of the shrine write a wish on a wooden board and hang it by the entrance of the shrine.

"I hope everyone in my class will pass the exam to enter the universities they want to get into." By a high school student girl.

We were lucky to witness two Japanese weddings, happening one right after the other, minutes after we arrived.

This is a stall selling Omamori. These amulets are meant to be bought for oneself or for a relative, and you must write a wish or a prayer on a piece of paper and place it inside the Omamori. After a year you must replace your Omamori to ward off bad luck.

Back to Shibuya
We walked from the shrine to Shibuya to meet a friend of Nanae's, who was having his birthday party. And after that, we continued the night with more drinks and sushi with the newly made friends.

The legendary Masa, who welcomed me on my first night in Tokyo and took me out with his friends.

My PASMO pass for the Tokyo Metro. You can get it in a minute on the ticket machines with your name and phone number printed on it.