Get Lost. Find Stuff.

Wow. Things just keep getting better and better. After dinner last night, I visited where some of my new friends work and was surprised to be introduced to the actual world’s greatest bartender who was visiting the restaurant. He won the International Bartenders Competition and is known all over the world. Super nice guy who was very humble.
About those trains though…
I ended up missing my bullet train to Mount Fuji this morning (I’ll go later in the trip now), so I made the most of the day after getting a suggestion to check out a northern area of Tokyo. I got so lost. I got on 5 trains, it was hot, and I couldn’t understand how to get where I needed to go. I was about to just sit down and put my head in my hands when I met the nicest guy. After asking a dozen ticket offices and them sending me to other places, I met a nice guy who worked with me through the translation app and told me how to get to where I was going without switching train companies. He showed me on a train map and explained how to get to where I was going and helped me to finally understand the train system. I was so appreciative, I gave him one of our shop coins. If he is reading this, THANK YOU! I was at my end. Ended up making it to a very cool area with tiny, handmade gift shops, delicious food, and a Buddhist Temple from 1629!! The Taishakuten Daikyo-ji Temple is absolutely breathtaking. I felt like I was in a Samurai movie. They invited me to take off my shoes and see the inside of the temple but I was not allowed to take pictures. It was stunning with hand carved wood and gold everything. I was invited to walk around the gardens and meditate which was a humbling experience. Very relaxing and a lot of history to take in. I bought a small journal and they signed it for me using a long long brush and a small bowl of ink, beautiful to watch. Stumbled upon a small noodle shop and had some lunch and a refreshing dessert.
Let’s see what the rest of the day brings!