Harajuku

Dereck and I decided to spend our Sunday going to Harajuku. Harajuku is an area of Tokyo that is known for its unique residents, shopping, and "people watching". Sunday is known for being the busiest day in Harajuku, since that is when most people have the day off, so we knew we would be in for a crowded and bustling day. Combine that with 70s and sunny weather and its gonna be a crazy day!

We got on the train and headed into Tokyo. We are getting pretty good at the train system, and I have to credit the iPhones we have to helping with that! You can look up train schedules and there is a website that gives you routes from point A to point B which helps take a lot of the guesswork out of it. So after about an hour or so on the train we got off at Harajuku station. I was expecting to be in sensory overload right away, but being that it was only 10am it was still pretty tame. That was nice because we got to go see a beautiful Shinto Shrine that is in a park outside the train station. It was called Meiji Jingu and it was really pretty and serene. The trees were so tall and old, it was amazing to see that it was right next to such a busy part of the city. If you look close, you can see me in the pink in the left corner of the picture!

There was a special ceremony going on for the Empress Shoken that was much loved by the Japanese in the late 1800s, early 1900s. We watched a little bit of that then continued to walk around the park. I bought a few gift charms that are said to bring good luck and were blessed. Here are a few more pictures at Meiji Jingu:

After the park we started walking around the streets of Harajuku. We were hungry but had to wait about an hour for the street side cafes and restaurants to open up. It was different in Harajuku because we were not automatically assumed to be American's from the Air Base in Fussa. We were just foreigners and could have been Italian, German, or any of the other languages we heard from the other white people in Harajuku. We also could be Americans just on vacation. So it was neat to not feel like we fit into that label anymore.

I was able to bring my Frommer's Japan travel guide with me which highlighted some things to see in Harajuku. One of them was an Oriental Bazaar that is known for its quality authentic Japanese gifts, so we had a good time walking thought that. It was so strange though because this very pretty Oriental style building was right in the middle of very modern and high end stores such as Ralph Lauren, Coco Chanel, and other similar establishments. By the time we were done shopping the cafe we wanted to eat at had opened up. It was a very tiny place and was on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a building down a little side street. The side streets were such contrast to the main road because they were narrow and quaint. Only foot traffic was on them and it was really so nice. Then you walk out to the main road and its just seas of people. Here are some pictures:

We really enjoyed our lunch (Dereck had some Korean style bbq and I had some breaded chicken that has this delicious "wine" sauce on it) and it was fun to sit and relax up on the tiny 3rd floor and get the fresh air from the open windows.

I'd like to go back to it sometime! We even found something on the menu that Dereck's dad would like (yes, they had an English menu available, which was surprising because this place was so tiny!) Do you see that? SPAM!:

After lunch we went to walk down the busy pedestrian only street and see all the shops. This is the street that people think of if when they think of Harajuku, and its called Takeshita Dori. Its full of teenagers dressed in strange styles and outrageous "costumes". It was fun to just walk around and see everything! I stopped and got a crepe filled with chocolate cake and whipped cream (yup, its as good as it sounds...) and we headed over to Yoyogi Park. Here are some pictures at us at the end of Takeshita Dori:

It was about 1:30 in the afternoon and the park was hoppin! Back in the states you'd think that there was some sort of festival or event going on with that many people, but in Japan its just a beautiful and sunny Sunday. There were street performers, children playing, people playing instruments, kites, pets, sports, and plenty of picnics. You name it and it was probably at the park. We walked over by the very big dog park area and had fun seeing all the Japanese dog owners and their dressed up dogs (they put clothes on the big dogs too!). Here are pictures at Yoyogi park:

Dereck got some street vendor food (his favorite) and finally we were worn out and ready to head home. On the way back to train Dereck stopped to get his "free hug". It was hilarious.

The train trip home was even easier because we caught an express train that skips some stops so it went faster. All and all it was a great Tokyo day and I had a blast. So far Harajuku is my favorite thing we've done so far!

Sayonara!
Jane