Nihon - Day 10

Day 10 - Shibuya

Today's plan was to stop off quickly in Harajuku and score some Hangry and Angry and a bunny hoodie then head to Shibuya to check it out. But the plan came unstuck when I discovered Hangry and Angry were closed. Blast!

So I caught the train to Harajuku and went to Richards and got my bunny jacket. The sales lady also gave me a free Patch and a half price arm band that matched the jacket. So I gave her a koala to say thanks (now I'm down to just 2).

I then walked to Shibuya, which was not far away, but headed down another street looking at all the shops and accidently ended up back in Harajuku. Oops! So I walked back to Shibuya on the other side of the road and went down another street. This time I stayed in Shibuya.

I got a little distracted from my mission by a childish delight. DISNEY WORLD! A 3-storey store with just Disney stock. I bought an Alice in Wonderland umbrella, cheshire cat ear phones and a big cuddly Scrump (lilo's doll from Lilo and Stitch).

I was then kinda lost as this was on a different street and I started heading off in the wrong direction. What kind of city guide leaves out the Disney store???

Anyway I eventually stumbled across something in my guide, Tokyu Hands, and bought some more halloween stuff (you would think they don't have halloween in australia - HAHA). I then headed to the subway via Tower Records (also in the guide), as I had had enough of the weather today and headed back to my hotel.

Now I see a lot of Lolita's and Gothic Lolitas and the like in Harajuku, but whenever I am there they are never just standing around, they are always on their way somewhere. I know that they would more than likely say yes and let me stop them and take a photo, but unless they are just standing around it seems rather rude to do so. So I have no photos of the Harajuku youth clothing culture, but you can find many examples by googling it.

Nihon - Day 9

Day 9 - Photo Booths

So my mission today was to find Nanette Lepore and check out the Tarina Tarantino jewellery. Don't get me wrong, they definately had some there, it just wasn't anything I would have bought. So that was a big dissapointment. Then I headed to Harajuku to find Hangry and Angry store, but i couldn't find it. I should have looked in my book because I was so close.

I did however go into one of those photo booth things that are so popular with the teen girls here in japan, and had a blast. It was a little difficult as the machines were all in japanese but it was fun anyway. You stand in a very bright booth to take the photos, these booths are rather large so many girls can fit into one booth. It puts these photos into different frames and shows you each in turn. You then select the photo or photos you liked and then go into the second smaller booth. All the screens are touch screens, but you get pen like things in the second booth.
In the second booth you select your photo and then draw on it or put little sticker things on it. Do this to all the photos till you are done and then press done (or something like that anyway) You then select the layout of your photos to come in a bookmark shaped printing. It will then give you the option of printing more (i think that what it was doing anyway), for Y200 each. It then prints out 2 copies of your photo selection. There are a pair of sissors out the front of the shop to cut up these photos and stick in your photo albulm (or what ever you want).
These places do not allow boys inside.

I had a buffet lunch for Y1300, then caught the train to asakusa and for some reason thought i would walk to roppongi.

When I cam out the train station I was inside the TV building, so I took a few photos of some characters then walked to Roppongi. Only problem was, when I finally got to Roppongi I had forgotten why I was going there in the first place. :-( So i caught the subway back to the hotel again.

I went home via family mart and bought some chips and a bottle of wine, and settled down in my room with my aching feet to relax.

Nihon - Day 3

Harajuku (part 1)

Today it is raining!
the weather report says it should be all day and gives a typhoon warning for Okinowa.

I decided to scope out Harajuku today, see what its like before heading there on sunday for people watching. Despite the fact that this is my first time on the train system on my own, transfering between two different train company lines, it turns out its not that difficult!

I had a little issue finding the english button on the JR ticket machine, but some random (very helpful) buisness man stopped and helped me out. He even wrote my stop down in english and asked the man at the gate what number stop I was to catch the train at. Super helpful!

People are so quiet on the train, and i noticed the no phones sign. People back home would probably just ignore this. The trains are also so clean, as are the train stations. If fact while I waited for my train a cleaner scrapped up something that was stuck to the floor, then wipped the area clean again, Amazing!

Harajuku was great!
Although I was a little dissappointed Kiddy Land has now closed, I was relieved to find out from the girl at the information booth that it would have a reopening tomorrow! Even managed to score an invite to the opening...... not that i will be going, could you imagine all those kids!

I had a look in the 100 Yen shop and the tamagochi shop, where you can connect your tamaggochi to a machine and ....... well i don't know what it does exactley, but I hear this is simular to the pokemon shop too.
I saw the louise vitton, channel, issey myaki, and other big name shops. Had a good look in this gorgeous gothic lolita shop called Kithards. There was so much stuff I could have filled my wardrobe with had money been no object.

Stumbelled across Togo-Jinja, which has a beautiful moat around a ornate pagoda, like something in the final scenes of a romanitc japanese movie. I was a little lost at this point but found my way back to a place i knew, past a gorgeous chocolate shop that was painted like dripping chocolate.

I bought a few things here. I got myself a cool purple skull mug (plastic), a headband with a cool mini-hat and skull detail on it. Some miniture things, A laughing puimkin man (its halloween time in Harajuku!), a little cat thing from a gumball machine, lollilies for the kiddies back home and some things for my sister.

I don't think however that I will ever walk again! My feet are covered in blisters from these new bloody shoes, that I thought i had broken in but obviously not. If I could have done the day over I would have worn the same shoes i had been wearing the last few days again.
New shoes = Bad Idea!

The train trip back is even easier as I now know where I am going. I did miss my connecting train but in next to no time another one came, so no loss there, no wonder there are no seats in the subway, you would have to get up pretty much as soon as you had sat down.

I stocked up on food at family mart on the way back to the hotel, not intending to leave my room again today.

So now I sit in my room watching kids shows eating dinner, and drinking a beer from the vending machine in the hall, wondering what i will do tomorrow (if anything with all these blisters)