Dinner in Shibuya

After nap time, we headed out to Shibuya, one of the hip districts in Tokyo. Shibuya is known for fashion on the streets, hip department stores, and great food. It's a favorite area for dinner and hanging out, especially among singles. Shibuya is also pretty central, so it's easy to get to.

Taking the metro to Shibuya on a Friday evening during rush hour can be quite challenging but we made it.

We met several of Maki's cousins at a beautiful restaurant (that I can't name, sorry). It was a traditional Japanese restaurant with private rooms featuring tatami mats and traditional screens. There was a little stone pathway within the restaurant leading to the private rooms. Very pretty.

We had dinner with Hiroko, Fumiko and Koji. Maki's cousin are all really accomplishes. Hiroko works for an organization that brings opera and ballet to Japan; she negotiates the contracts. Fumihiko is a successful surgeon. He says colon cancer is on the rise in Japan as the Japanese diet is becoming more Western. Koji is an ad buyer for Fendi. He's ridiculously stylish with his hair, skinny jeans, and velvet jacket. Maki was so glad to see his cousins and spend time with them, just the cousins. Maki is the oldest of all the cousins.

Check out these photos of some of the dishes we had at this restaurant. As usual, the food just kept coming and coming, all of it fresh and all of it delicious.

After dinner, we asked Koji to take us to Hachiko. Hachiko is a statue created in honor of a dog during the 1920s who became famous for continuing to come to the train station to meet his master, long after the master had died. The area where Hachiko stands is a popular meeting spot.

The Hachiko story is a popular one. For the trip, I bought the movie Hachi starring Richard Gere, which is set in America, but based on the Hachiko story. I also bought the book.

Afterward, we went back to the metro station to see the Myth of Tomorrow mural, which Fodors.com highly recommended that we see. We didn't really understand the significance of the mural but it was fun to see.