What we did on Sunday

So on Sunday Mike and I went to Harajuku. LP says it’s where all the cool young things hang out and strut their stuff on a Sunday afternoon, so we went to see what all the hype was about. Definitely a Very Cool place. We spent a lot of the time taking photos of funny signs and names of shops, I don’t know whether we just didn’t find the crazy looking people or whether LP is written by someone way older and more conservative than me or what. But the people weren’t that out there. Still, it was interesting and we had a great time.

The first thing we did was actually nothing to do with teen fashion however. We went to the Meiji-jingu shrine first up which was rather serene and peaceful and quite different to the temples in China. Far less ornate and less people too. The shady paths on the way from the entrance to the shrine itself were very welcome – even at 9am the sun was beating down and it was HOT.


This meant that we saw lots of people in all sorts of get-ups trying to avoid the sun. The most common method seems to be wearing white gloves which go all the way up to your elbows (or higher). Until now, I’ve really only seen women wearing these gloves, but I guess in Harajuku you get all sorts: here’s an old dude sporting the sexy gloves on Sunday.


Well after the shrine we went straight on down to the good stuff: Takeshita Dori. No joke. That's really the name of the street. The first thing we did was get a burger from STRAIGHT BURGER. Very nice. Not sure whether that was actually the name of the place but that was the most prominent sign in English so that's how it will forever be known to Mike and I. We ate our burgers up on the 2nd floor and people watched for a while before braving the crowds ourselves.


It still wasn't quite lunch time but there were plenty of people around. The later in the afternoon it got, the more interesting people we seemed to find. But what I was really interested in was THE SHOPS. Of course! We had a walking tour courtesy of Frommers which was great for pointing out a few "shops of note." We probably would've found this one on our own, but we I doubt we'd have ventured into Kiddyland without some prompting! We did find a couple of fun things in Kiddyland though. Like a banana protector. Yup, a plastic cover to protect your banana. Actually, I think it would be rather useful!


So that was Takeshita Dori and Omotesando Dori. We were getting really hungry so we went to this French restaurant that specialises in crepes for lunch. When we arrived the waiter told us it'd be about 20-30mins before would could get a table (!) so we bravely said we would sit outside. I'm not sure what was worse - the searing heat or the fact that everyone else queuing for a seat inside was watching us eat (and sweat). Oh yeah, did I mention it was French? The menu was conveniently written in French and Japanese .. but not English. Still, we managed to decipher it enough to order a ham, cheese and tomato crepe each. And ginger beer.

On the way back to the station we flagged the rest of the walking tour and just explored the side streets. That's where we found the really interesting shops: shops full of care bears and popples (remember those?!) and barbie stuff, and another with shelves full of Simpsons toys and stationery (Mike was stoked). As we walked back down Omotesando Dori we passed this store front with a guy outside promoting something (still not entirely sure what). People were LINING UP to go into the "store" and get a bag with a free cereal bar and a credit card application form. Nuts. But true.

Just a wee bit further down the street from there was the entrance to a carparking building. With no less than FOUR attendants directing the traffic and pedestrians. Two for the cars and two for the pedestrians. And we thought it was overkill having one guy in Hong Kong. But there were four. With white gloves on of course.

Anyways, I loved it all. And I'll definitely be going back there with Julia next month! With a lot more spending money!!!