New Years Day in Tokyo City

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!

Our final day for getting out and about - so we just went wherever luck took us.  Year 2011 - the year of the Rabbit.... this one was a store window size cut out, just one paper fold down the middle of the sheet; every window had a different style of paper cut out - a fabulous display of craftwork.

Another amazing paper cutout - thought this might be a nice touch for weddings; instead of the usual flowered archway, the bridge and groom could burst through something similar to this?

A New Years celebratory dragon

The queue for equivalent of our  'Currys' store - it wove all around the building and back towards the next building block! 

And the queue at the front for the checkouts was just about the same..

A masked statue in front of the National Theatre

The entrance to the TOEI cinema in Shibuya where we watched our second Japanese film; the cinema was on floor 7, the rest of the floors consisted of shops, food chains, amusement arcades, offices, etc.

The film we watched: Aibou (www.aibou-movie.jp)

Yasukuni Jinja shrine entrance; part of the queue leading up to the shrine where visitors were still patiently awaiting their New Year blessings.  These were people seriously taking part in their New Year traditions, not just tourists seeking photo opportunities - we did not try to get close to the inner shrine

One of the banners hanging on the outer shrine entrance

A view above the crowd through to the inner shrine where people take their blessings, and say their prayers.  I'm not sure of the significance, but arrows were being given by the shrine as thanks?

Just one of the many food stalls leading up to the shrine.  It seems that as well as celebrating traditional beliefs, the celebration of food runs parrallel.  The food stalls were a combination of delicacies such as 'a fish on a stick', the sweet variety of 'chocolate coated banana on a stick', noodles, fish dishes, shredded cabbage with pancacke, etc... the list just goes on.... The smell, chatter and general goings on were an absolute delight.  We did partake in a bowl of noodles (our first experience of eating alfresco with chopsticks!) - I think we've got the hang of it, just in time to be going home.