I'm back... with a brand new post that is. Hope that I didn't kept everyone waiting until your necks grew long.
A nightful of rain and a very goodnight of sleep, waking up to the sunshine of Japan gives a totally different feeling... the feeling of joy looms in. As I rolled myself in bed to face the window around 8am, looking out of the window to look at how wonderful the weather has turned out to be and the view of Tokyo is magnificient! How come weather changes so fast in Japan!? One day of rain, the following day is sunny. Hmm...
After shower, we head down to the cafe for breakfast. They have English breakfast which consists of multiple range of cereals, juices, breads, yogurts and hot items such as omelette, pancakes, sausages, etc.
And also Japanese which consists of tofu, steamed vegetables, porridge, soba (orderable from the counter), etc.
Did I mentioned that you can name your favourite type of how your eggs to be done and the friendly chefs will cook it up for you?
Even the Orange juice are freshly squeezed!
Seated next to the window near the yard, it's the best way of enjoying spring in Japan. You got to love Spring time where all the flowers bloom and the pollens are extra high in quantities too.
The yard is open for the customers to sit and enjoy the weather and a great variety of flowers are being potted and planted, displayed for the customers to enjoy. The flowers bloomed marvellously during this time of the year.
With plenty of rain that came down last night, the flowers are certainly in a good mood today eh? (And Yes! This flowers are real...)
Now the cafe does sell a range of chocolates which were crafted and made by their own chefs. These chocolates aren't like any other chocolates you can buy off from the Supermarket. A piece of these babies can costs from as low as 300Yen to a high of 1500Yen a piece. Hmm, I wonder who would buy such expensive chocolates?
After breakfast, we toured around the lobby area and managed to capture a few pictures of the magnificent area where it is decorated with modern european design.
Walking out of the hotel and feeling the morning Tokyo air is another highlight as the tempreature for the day is crisp and chilly, a good day for a walk. 
As the rain deterred us from taking a real look on how nice the Ebisu surroundings are, hiding ourselves in the underground passage... with such nice weather today, we walked out to enjoy the scenery Ebisu has to offer.
The flowers bloomed beautifully around Yebisu Garden Place and the buildings surrounding the area are authentic. I'm starting to fall in love with the place. Hehe!
As we reach the Ebisu train station, time for us to hop on the JR Yamanote line (山手線) to head over to our destination. The JR Yamanote is owned by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and it is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important commuter rail lines. Running in a full circle with 29 stations in its path, it connects most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres. Riding from one station to another is considered cheap, comparing with riding a cab. 
During rush hours, you will definitely see the classical sardine way of Japanese riding the commuters. We will try to avoid those period if possible, we do not want to end up being in a can like those Japanese sardines. Hehe!
My first ride on the JR Yamanote line, and of course it's my very first time feeling lost too. In the train, you'll see a picture of the train line which is offered around Tokyo area. Trying to find the JR Yamanote line itself was tough, imagine trying to find other commuter lines that serves around Tokyo? If you are new to Tokyo, you'll definitely get lost on the rail.
I'll post up the next blog the destination that I headed to. Nothing secretive, but just a thriller to keep my readers on the edge. Till then, have a good day.
The train stopped at the Harajuku Station (原宿駅) where dad forced me and mom to exit the train quickly. One thing I found out about the JR Yamanote line is that either you leave the train quickly or else you will overpass the station you intend to stop. Dad told me that Harajuku is the place where you will see all the weird Japanese people with their fashion (either you want to see a barbie doll or a durian punk), you can find it here. However, due to the reason it's the weekday and school are in session, I told my dad that it will be advisable to go back on the weekends.
Instead of turning left to the Harajuku streets, we turned right to head towards the Meiji Shrine. Meiji Shrine (明治神宮) covers a vast area of 700 000 square-meters of land where the area is covered by an evergreen forest. The land coverage itself is huge, wait until you make your way into the shrine, which is located right in the middle of the forest.
Meiji Shrine is a Shinto Shrine. The construction of the shrine began in 1915 and completed in November 1st, 1920. The Shrine, is build to dedicate to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji (明治天皇) and Empress Shōken (昭憲皇后). When Emperor Meiji died in 1912 and Empress Shōken in 1914, Japanese people wished to pay their respects to the 2 influential figures and that's the reason that the Shrine was built.
Meiji Shrine was destroyed in the World War 2's Tokyo Air Raids. It was then rebuilt through public fund raising effort and compeleted its construction in October 1958. This place is packed with tourists from around the world and normally it is flocked with tourists in the morning hours. 
The grounds consists of two areas, the Naien and the Gaien. The Naien, or the inner precinct/garden, centred on the shrine buildings, which include a treasure museum that houses articles of the Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. The Gaien, or the outer precinct/garden, which includes the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery that houses a collection of 80 large murals illustrative of the events in the lives of the Emperor Meiji and his consort. It also includes a variety of sports facilities, including the National Stadium, and is seen as the center of Japanese sports. It also includes the Meiji Memorial Hall, which was originally used for governmental meetings, including discussions surrounding the drafting of the Meiji Constitution in the late 19th century.
What we did was to visit the Naien area only, minus the treasure museum. Walking to the shrine is a long tedious walk, but with all the lush greens, great scenery and calm environment; serenaded by the chirping sound of birds and rustling leaves, taking your mind off from the busy life of Tokyo, it was all worth it. 
There were several of these Torii (鳥居) wooden gates erected along the way. These Japanese gates are commonly found only at the entry of a Shinto Shrine. 
There's also a display of Nihonshu (日本酒) or known as Japanese Sake which is used to offer to the gods. Donated by major companies from around the world (no kidding!) for prosperous business and good luck, no wonder there's so many barrels being displayed.
That's the main Torii before entering the Shrine.
Before entering a Shinto Shrine, stop over the Chōzubachi (手水鉢) for self purification. How to do it? First take the wooden dipper with your right hand and fill it with water. Pour the water over your left hand. Then take the dipper in your left and pour water over your right. Third, pour some water from the dipper into the cupped palm of your left hand. Rinse your mouth with this water, spitting it back out into the palm of your hand. Tough, but you'll get used to it like I did. Where did I learn this? From the internet. Hehe!
As I made my way to the main shrine in the center, suddenly something caught my eyes, as well as many tourists eyes. A Japanese traditional wedding. Meiji Shrine is famous for active Shinto wedding proceedings which can be seen on the inner ground of the shrine. This is an amazing sight to see with the bride in the traditional Japanese wedding kimono (Uchikake), shrine maidens, Shinto priests and the women wearing gorgeously crafted kimono. During my visit, there were 2 wedding proceedings that took place that morning.
Now the Shrine area is a huge place. The materials to make the shrine are mainly plain Japanese cypress with copper plates for the roofs. A few pictures from the outer shrine area. 
How to make your worship at the Shinto Shrine? If you watched Japanese films or Anime, probably you might have learned a few things or two from there. Make your way to the Inner Shrine. Throw your coin in to the sasenbako (offerings box). Then ring the suzu (bell) firmly a couple times, but in Meiji Shrine they don't have a bell. Take a step back, bow twice, then clap twice. Spend a few moments in prayer, if you like. Then bow again. Simple right? Do it the Japanese way and the locals will have a respect for you.
Once done, I headed out of the inner shrine to tour about the outer shrine grounds. On the left, there's a big tree with many Ema's (絵馬) being placed. These small wooden plaques were written by worshipers as a prayers or wishes. What made me surprised is that I can find ema in many languages, as tourists from around the world leave their own wishes and prayers. Ema's can be purchased at 500Yen a piece at the Shrine giftshop.
I made my way to the Shrine giftshop to purchase a few Omamori (お守り). It's Japanese amulets usually made of cloth and encloses papers or pieces of wood with prayers written on them which are supposed to bring good luck to the bearer on particular occasions, tasks or ordeals. Omamori are also used to ward off bad luck and are often spotted on bags, hung on cellphone straps, in cars, etc. for safety in travel. 
The Meiji Shrine visit took almost an hour or so as walking to the Shrine already takes a quarter of the visiting time. However, the visit to the shrine is worth it as it's one of the most beautiful shrine that Tokyo has to offer. I end my post with a few pictures taken from inside the shrine. Will blog again soon.