Day 7 (Sunday): Harajuku + Shibuya

I took my time getting up this morning as I didn't need to leave as early as the other days. Today I was going to Harajuku. I had wondered before my trip whether I was going to be able to catch any cosplay at Harajuku due to the season and temps in which I was going. Harajuku on a Sunday is basically a place where teens come to gather and dress up in the craziest costumes. It allows them to hang out and express themselves in ways they can't during the other days of the week in school. I think it has to do with going against the rigidity and traditions of growing up in Japan. Some of the costumes are anime inspired, cute or goth-themed, and some are just strange. Anyways, on the off chance that there would be some cosplay, I decided to visit the Harajuku area on a Sunday.
Many of the various subway lines run through Tokyo Station so I found myself many times throughout the week heading to Tokyo Station first before taking a connecting subway to my eventual destination. I had originally planned on my itineraries to walk to Tokyo Station from my hotel every time I needed to but it turned out to be too far of a walk to do each day. Instead, I simply walked to Ginza Station which was about a 5-7 minute walk from my hotel and then took the Ginza line to Tokyo Station.

Once I got to Harajuku Station, I got the impression that it was one of the older stations among Tokyo's metro system. It looks like an old fashion train station from the outside and the washrooms aren't as nice and modern as some of the other ones. Upon exiting the station, I was greeted by this gigantic Snoopy Store located right across the street. Just to the right of the station is the bridge where people generally gather and where cosplay usually happens. Unfortunately there was no cosplay going on this morning. It was still early and though the sun was shining bright, it was a little chilly. I walked across the bridge and was greeted on the other side by a majestic Torii signifying the entrance way to the Meiji-Jingu Shrine.

The walk to the shrine is a very peaceful and quant stroll along a wide gravel pathway. It took about 15 minutes to walk to the Shrine and the path cuts through a forested area, lining it with trees on each side. I encountered a small bridge and a rest stop of sorts that houses a small museum and a giftshop. Along the path they also had on display numerous sake containers that were presented to the Japanese royalty over the years.

A couple of ladies dressed in Kimono's shuffled along passed me and were in a hurry to get somewhere. This was another pocket oasis that made me forget momentarily that I was in one of the busiest cities in the world.

When I finally got to the entrance of the Shrine complex, I could see some commotion happening inside one of the bungalow like dwellings just outside the gate to the courtyard area. It turns out there was a wedding and the party was about to leave to do a traditional wedding procession walk. It was perfect timing that I arrived right then and there.

The first people out leading the procession line where what I could only guess were the religious figureheads overlooking the ceremony. The next to follow were the bride and groom who had a red umbrella held over their heads by someone behind them.  In line after the couple were the wedding guests and that's when I realized where those ladies in the Kimono's were shuffling off too; they were probably late for the wedding. The people around me, also realizing what they were witnessing, grew all excited and started taking pictures. It wasn't paparazzi crazy but anyone with a camera had it out and was snapping away. My first instinct was to not take any pictures and I momentarily frowned upon those around me who were. Here this couple was, on their very special day, partaking in a lovely tradition and I didn't want to add to the spectacle it was turning out to be for those outside the wedding party. However, even I couldn't resist this Kodak moment. I ended up taking some pictures and video in shame.


The procession proceeded to the inner courtyard and then indoors into one of the bungalow dwellings. Though the whole procession walked at a slow and methodical pace they were gone too fast for my liking. It was one of those moments where I wish I could stop time and examine who was who and what they were all wearing. I love traditional wedding ceremonies and it was so neat to watch this. I thought if I ever get married, I would love to partake in a ceremony like this...all I have to do is find a nice Japanese lady now.

Upon entering the courtyard, I was met with two of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen.

It was just a picture perfect day, although a little cold but the sun was brilliant and the place was so serene and calm it just made me feel at peace. While standing in the center of the courtyard, out of the corner of my eye, I saw that another wedding procession was about to leave from where the first one entered.

I originally thought that it was the same couple coming out for round 2. Only upon later examination of the pictures did I realize that it was actually a different couple when I compared their faces.

Like the first procession, they were led by a figurehead and proceeded to walk across the courtyard and into another smaller adjoining courtyard and then indoors. This wedding had professional photographers dressed in black suits taking pictures. I felt fortunate that I was able to see two weddings that day. Again, it made me want to get married Japanese-style! I was so glad to catch these weddings and though they weren't long lasting moments, they ended up being some of my favourite.
After spending sometime in the courtyard and at the main shrine, I took the path back. I passed some tourists speaking in English who were talking about hoping to catch a wedding procession. I was about to say that they had just missed 2 but decided to not say anything and kept walking. On the way back, I decided to pop in at the tourist shop I had seen earlier. It seems like once you visit one tour shop, you've visited them all. This place did have some unique items and I thought about buying something but nothing stood out that said buy me please!

Just before the bridge, I took a right and headed down to Yoyogi-Koen Park. Along the way, there were outdoor food stands (kind of like hotdog stands) that were selling things such as beef skewers and what seemed to be more Chinese oriented food items. The park is suppose to be more active and full of life when it's warmer with street performers and so forth but there wasn't much to catch on this day other than some joggers and Tokyo's homeless. As a result of that and the chilly weather, I didn't go all the way in to the park and made a U-turn back to Harajuku bridge.

The bridge at Harajuku was getting quite crowded as it was close to noon now. There were several people in cosplay and some tourists taking pictures from a far but it was nothing to really write home about. They were dressed in goth but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary that I atleast haven't seen in city of Toronto. As I crossed the bridge, I saw several foreigners wearing the same t-shirt and handing out flyers to the crowd. One approached me and started to speak Japanese. When I told him I couldn't speak in Japanese, he spoke in English about how they were there today to raise awareness about one of their friends who was murdered in Tokyo. They were distributing flyers with the murderer's picture on it to see if anyone had seen him. The murderer was identified by the police but they felt frustrated by the results or movements they were getting with the case. I wished him and his friends all the luck in finding the killer. For more information, please visit: http://www.lindsayannhawker.com.

Close to the Harajuku Station is Takeshita Dori. It's basically an ally lined with shops on both sides catering to all the desires of Tokyo teens. They were shops selling the latest in trendy and hip teen clothes, confectionary shops selling cool desserts such ice creams and sweets, arcades, cosplay stores that sold various outfits and so on. I didn't go delving into any of the stores but just "window shopped" to browse and see what each had to offer. It's a different vibe than let's say downtown Ginza. It kind of reminded me of Ameyoko Arcade but with teen stuff rather than grocery and household items. At the very end, there was this guy dressed in a frog outfit on a megaphone selling something.

I kind of took this picture incognito and felt bad doing so actually. I felt the same with the Cafe Maids I saw earlier in the week which I refrained from taking pictures of. In Ginza, I saw this guy every night in a suit on a megaphone screaming at the top of his lungs trying to get people to come into the luggage store he worked at. They all would have made great pictures and memories of the unique and quirky things that make Tokyo but these were jobs and I didn't feel right in capturing what they were all trying to do, which was to work hard and earn some money and a living. I'm not trying to be all righteous and everything but I just wondered how I would feel if I was in those costumes and people were coming up to me and taking my picture as if I was some spectacle. I bet these people were working just as hard if not harder than most of the people I know back home.
I walked down Meiji-dori and proceeded down Omote-sando which is known to be a chic shopping district. I didn't really have any interests in any of these stores but the one I was looking out for was called Kiddy Land, a 7 story tall toystore.

You really could spend the entire day looking at all the things they sold. Each floor is laid out so certain genre or titles are grouped together. So they had a section for Ghibli stuff, Hello Kitty! stuff, classic toys, etc. One of the floors had a section dedicated to overseas toys and cartoons too. This is where I found Barbarapapa and Pingu items. I even saw a Barbarapapa umbrella and I probably would have bought it too had it not been child-sized. They had a small Miffy section which was actually what I looking for and where I ended up buying a Miffy cellphone strap for my phone.

I can't say how much I love Miffy, he really is the sweetest little bunny. I was tempted to buy more things but I knew that the novelty would wear off and the stuff would just end up accumulating in a box somewhere. This really is one of the coolest stores!

I walked back down the street towards Harajuku Station so that I could now visit the Snoopy Store that I saw earlier.

I know Japan loves Charlie Brown and this place has EVERYTHING you can think of. I definitely wanted to pick something up from this store. They had a rack of Snoopy ties and they were actually pretty decent looking ties unlike the Astroboy ones I saw earlier in the week. I picked up a pink one and a grey one. I thought it would be easy but I'm finding it hard to match the grey tie with the right coloured shirt. One of the things you will notice when shopping in Tokyo is the amount of "irrashamassen" greetings that are said when you walk into a store. Sometimes you will get an "irrashamassen" from every employee in the store. Sometimes they are directed to no one in particular but just to the general crowd. They say it in a whiny manner like "irrashamaseeeeeen" with the last part going up sometimes. You may find it annoying after a while like some but I loved hearing it. One of the staff girls was on fire saying it like every 20 seconds as she walked around the store, not particularly looking at anyone but just saying it aloud just the same. I was watching her and sometimes she had her eyes on the floor and was saying it. Funny.

By this time I was really hungry and lucky for me, I spotted a sign for "To the Herbs" restaurant in the building beside the Snoopy Store. This was the same chain of restaurant that I had visited earlier in the week in Ginza near the Kabuki-za theatre where I had the amazing carbonara and lemon soda. I had been out and about for a long while so I didn't feel like looking around for something different so I headed upstairs where the restaurant was located. The restaurant was full so there was a little waiting area inside the entrance with chairs. I waited for my turn to be seated and I didn't have too wait long as the line went pretty fast. I ended up being seated at the bar of the restaurant and ordering the same dish as last time with the yummy lemon soda. One thing I noticed is that when you order drinks at a restaurant in Tokyo, they will ask you whether you want the drink before or after your meal. There was a middle-aged woman sitting a couple of seats down from me having lunch by herself and I would look over at her every once in awhile and she had "I'm so lonely!!!" written all over her face. It made me wonder what I looked like.

Once back at the hotel, I popped a couple of Tylenols and reapplied this Deep Heating ointment I bought earlier in the week at a pharmacy in Ginza all over my legs and feet. I did a lot of walking and wanted to rest up.

I waited till dark at around dinner time to leave and head for Shibuya Station where the world famous street crossing is located. Just outside the station, it seemed dark despite the buildings in the short distance giving off emanating bright lights.

The area was alive with people. There were many people hanging around the statue commemorating Hachiko the Dog. The story goes Hachiko use to come here on his own and wait for his master, a professor, to come home from work every day. When his master passed away at work to never return, Hachiko continued to come to this spot and wait. Poor dog! Anyways, around this statue is the most common meeting place when you need to meet up with someone in Shibuya. Just past the statue was the actual crossing and the best way to describe it is ordered chaos. Normally, a street crossing has 4 sides like a square but this crossing seemed more like an octagon. When the lights are red, each side starts to accumulate more and more people waiting to cross. Finally, when the lights turn green, it's like the opening of the flood gates and becomes a swarm of people crossing every which way through the middle. It is quite the sight. It's a long crossing too distance-wise so the lights stay on for a while.

On top of that spectacle, there is so much light and sound pollution everywhere. The whole area is brilliantly lit up by the lights of the buildings surrounding the crossing. Not only do you have brilliantly lit store signs but the faces of buildings act as giant TVs which play commercials with sound as well. It is quite loud.

If you go back into Shibuya Station and head for the 2nd floor or higher, you can look down on to the crossing from a distance and watch the mayhem at a more elevated level.

Once you are at the crossing, there are many streets to choose from to go down and venture. I saw HMV in the distance down one street so I chose to travel that way. I browsed the store for a while and continued walking further looking for Tokyu Hands, a store that is known to sell everything and anything. Maybe I was looking in all the wrong places but I didn't see too many interesting things in the store that really caught my eye. I was a little disappointed after reading so much about the store and all the little quirky things you can find in it that scream Tokyo. Oh well. I headed further down the street and farther away from the crossing. The lights of the stores became smaller and dimmer as I walked and figured there wasn't any point to continue on so I headed back towards the crossing.

I was getting hungry at this point so I started looking for a place to eat. I found this one ramen shop and decided to enter. I waited to be seated but no one was really attended to me. Finally someone came up and pointed towards a machine located at the front of the store. It was like a mini vending machine with pictures of all the dishes they sold with the prices beside each. I looked at the machine and chose a ramen dish and pointed it out to the lady saying this was the one I wanted. She kept pointing back to the machine and I really had no idea what she was trying to convey. It took a while but I eventually figured out what the machine was for. The machine has mini pictures of all the dishes (many of them looked to the same to me!) and once you make your decision as to what you want, you insert your money and press your selection. It then spits out a ticket which you take to your seat (self-seating). A waitress will come along and take half of your ticket and then return with your food. No money is ever exchanged with an actual person; it's all done through the machine. I had seen similar machines outside of restaurants during the week and now I knew what they were for. Some had theirs inside, some outside. The nice thing about eating ramen in these ramen shops (which I learned from watching others around me) is you don't have to be so discrete about eating it with care like you would if you were eating noodle pasta at a restaurant. None of this twirl with fork and spoon nonsense. You can eat the ramen with the same freedom as if you were eating it at home, meaning fast and loud! I slurped up the ramen alongside the salary men of Shibuya and then headed back to my hotel.