Our Thanksgiving in Tokyo II

Here we are enjoying some incredible ramen in a restaurant on the east side of Ikebukuro. This was some of the most delicious food we had ever eaten, and this restaurant is a known hotspot; people line up around the block daily to get inside.


My portion was an incredible, pork-garlic-bbq-chinese pepper concoction that was more than I could finish at one sitting.


We visited Meiji shrine during a period that must have been one of the prescribed special year holidays for kids; at age 2, age 5, etc., they have special celebrations where they dress up the kids in special kimonos and go to the shrine with the family. Here's a shot of a cute kid that Edie just had to take a picture of.


Two more adorable kids that Edie captured on camera.


Here's a photo of Edie looking back from the shrine to the main gate. This shrine was built in memory of Emperor Meiji, the first emperor to come to power after the self-titled Meiji Restoration, when the Tokugawa shoguns which had ruled for over 400 years lost power and Japan entered the modern age in the 19th century.


Here I am underneath the gate to the Meiji shrine. Nice door.


Here's Edie in front of the main building of the shrine. Shinto shrines are notable for having empty sanctuaries, unlike Buddhist temples.