On the 3rd, we decided to get out early and head out to Machida.
It is still part of Tokyo, and we'd never been this way.
I was interested in checking out the Pokemon manholes that they had.
There are 6 of them in one park, Serigaya Park.
The google map points are spot on.
There were many sasanqua trees around the park
There was a graphic arts museum, but they were not open.
Enjoyed seeing some street art
And thought we could check out Maruya's taiyaki, but the info they had on social media was wrong...boo
and wouldn’t be open for another two hours
We ended up trying these croissants filled with sweet bean paste and butter...I tried the one with pumpkin and butter...the girl working the stand said she was giving out the warmest ones...ha! this was ice cold...boo!
We also went to Machida Hachimangu
And went through the "chinowa", to pray for good luck and good health
In front of the Machida library we watched a taiko & shinobue (bamboo flute) performance.
Chinowa is a huge ring made of grass like Chigaya and you need to pass through in a figure 8 pattern, 3 times, left, right, left, bowing each time before going through
Then on the 4th time you bow and then walk straight through the ring to the altar and say a prayer
We were glad we got to check this area of Tokyo out.
It was still a bit too early for lunch, so we decided to check out Hachioji...
