Nezu Shrine, Yanaka Ginza, and Shibuya with Andy's fam

When I moved here I started a collection of Kokeshi dolls.  Kokeshi dolls are traditional dolls that farmers used to carve for the little girls in the village.  They have different kinds, some antique and some more modern.  There are shrine sales that are held, mostly on Sundays, where the dolls are sold.  Being sold held on Sunday, I haven't made it to a shrine sale yet but I've found kokeshi dolls at other random places, like the antique store on base (that is closed now) or at the yearly boutique held at the Tokyo American Club.  When we visited Korea I gave Lau a traditional antique version of the doll and when she came and saw my collection she decided she really wanted to buy one.  I honestly wasn't sure where to take her because they are often just found at random places.  I figured that Heavenly Father probably didn't care about us finding a kokeshi doll but I decided to pray about it anyway because she mentioned it a few times through the week and Andy even took me aside at one point to express their desire to find one of the dolls.  So, I prayed that Heavenly Father would help us find a kokeshi doll.  That day we went to Meiji shrine and as we were walking to the restrooms we passed a souvenir shop and Lau found a doll!  She was still interested in finding a specific kind like I had and the only place I could think of where she might find one was at Yanaka Ginza.  I had visited the neighborhood with some friends a month before and remembered seeing one vendor with a box of kokeshi dolls.  We set out the following morning and thankfully, the vendor was there and she found a doll she wanted.  

Nezu Shrine is close to Yanaka Ginza so we walked through the windy roads to Nezu Shrine.  Nezu is famous for the azaleas that bloom in April.  We got there a week or two early but Nezu is beautiful at any time of the year, in my opinion.  I was worried that they were shrine/templed out but after Andy said, "I'm glad we came here.  I thought maybe I'd seen enough shrines already but this one was the perfect one to visit."  

We waited for the kids to get home from school and we all hopped on the bus and rode to Shibuya so they could see the wildness of Shibuya crossing and buy interesting treats and of course, all the kids wanted drinks from the vending machines.