Day Four - Yoyogi Park and Harajuku

Yay, Harajuku day! :3

I didn't get any pictures of Harajuku girls :< They weren't out posing like they usually would be on a Sunday, due to the 90% humidity that later turned into a downpour.

Mr. Black came back from China Saturday night, so he came with me and Mrs. Black to Yoyogi Park and Harajuku. We walked to the park from their house... only about 10 minutes, including stopping to get milky tea at the vending machine ^_^ It's a big park, and we only walked through part of it. There are a bunch of rules in the park and everyone actually follows them. You can, for example, only ride your bike on the path in one direction. I think it's kind of nice to read a sign like that (or like "don't let your dog pee and poo in this area") and know people actually follow it.

The park was full of picnicing families, amateur and pro photographers, tourists, children, and performers of all kinds. Along the outer edge of the park on a sidewalk, there were a whole bunch of full bands playing in a whole range of styles. There was one band about every 10 feet or so, so it's a wonder all the sounds were seperated enough to hear. There was one band of almost all steel drums and mostly all girls playing them... it was really cute ._.

Further down there were some food stands, and also... the "Elvises." They're not really supposed to be Elvis... they're more like greasers. They wear their hair really high and have high-heeled boots and black jeans and leather jackets. They do dances every once in a while, which I didn't get to see because on this particular day they were doing some kind of photo shoot. It was a good opportunity to get them all posed together, though. I especially liked some of the girls... they were cool.

We walked by the area where the Harajuku girls (and boys) usually hang out and let people take photos, but the weather was so oppressive, I wasn't surprised that there weren't any around. I got to see a lot of them shopping, but I didn't want to stop them in a department store for a photo, and later it was pouring. There's a good chance I'll be going back, though, since it's so close by and I want to get a better look at some of the shops.

We walked down the street that is the centre of young Harajuku activity, Takeshita Douri. It was completely packed with people and full of small stores selling all sorts of fashions. After making our way through we went to a shrine, Tougou-jinja. It was a pretty walk through the shrine grounds to the shrine itself; you pass over a Z-shaped bridge over a pond full of enormous koi and turtles. Also on the shrine grounds, they were having a shrine sale, which is like an antiques show with different people bringing their wares to the shrine.

We ate at a more American restaurant called Fujimamas. Mrs. Black and I had the same thing: a quesadilla with ham and spring onion, followed by a chocolate waffle dessert. It was all very delicious :< The Blacks left me after that to go home.

I went on to Kiddy Land, a huge store full of... well... cute things. There were maybe five different levels and they each had different things, mostly organized by character. There was a whole floor dedicated to Snoopy/Peanuts. I picked myself up a Miffy sandwich bento box, which are not very common, and it was reasonably priced.

I was wondering why it was so dark when I was leaving Kiddy Land to go down a few buildings to the Oriental Bazaar... then it started to rain... then it rained a lot. I only got a little wet before making it into the Bazaar, but after that it was really torrential. I shopped around for a bit, then bought a cheap umbrella and made my way through the wetness to Laforet, a big department store catering to the young Harajuku fashionistas. Several floors catered to the goth/lolita/punk/etc. group, which I could say I fall into taste-wise, so I mostly looked around there. There was also a book store that sold mostly magazines, where I picked up a manga magazine... it's about an inch and a half thick, and it comes out every month. There were also about a half an inch's worth of goodies tucked into the middle... some pencils, eraser, ruler, and writing board. Kawaii ^_^ There was also a music store dedicated to visual kei bands, which I also happen to like, but I didn't get anything there.

It was still raining when I left Laforet, so I looked for more indoor activities. I found a cool game center/coffee shop place. It was full of touch screens and some sit-down, keyboard-and-mouse screens where you could play casual games like jigsaw puzzles, etc. I played the jigsaw puzzle with another girl, but I couldn't figure out how to type in Japanese on the keyboard, so I couldn't reply to anything she was saying, heh.

I went to a miniature, three story mall back on Takeshita Douri. The first floor was stores, the third floor was another branch of the same cake buffet I went to, and the second floor was the food court, which was my favourite. There were a lot of cute stands... I ended up getting miso fried noodles, which were really good. They were like lo mein, but with a different flavour. Then for dessert (I always get dessert if I can :<) I went to Ocha-ken Cafe, which was so cute I could hardly stand it. They sell drinks and pancake-puff things... all in the shape of Ocha-ken, the adorable puppy mascot. I got a strawberry milk and pancake puffs with different fillings. They put ice cream on top of the milk and put things on it to make it look like Ocha-ken :< and the puffs were shaped like Ocha-ken, too :<<< After that I just walked home... things were closing down around the area.

Today I'm going to be around the house for part of the day, washing some clothes, organizing, and packing for my journey to Hiroshima and Kyushu. We're leaving tomorrow morning for Hiroshima and staying overnight, then I'm going to keep going. I don't know when and if I'll have internet access on the way... my guide books show some internet cafes so I'll try to pop in a few.

I hope everyone at home is having a good start to the school year! Or work! Or whatever! ^_^;

Day Three - MOC and Akiba :3

Hellooo everyone. I didn't get a chance to post last night because I didn't even get home til almost 1am >_> So I'm doing it now!

Yesterday started off a bit rocky, but it was still good. I decided to go pretty far out from Shibuya to Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, which is out in western Tokyo, to the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. The first bump was that I realized I left the battery for my camera on the charger -_-;;; so I had to use my cell phone camera. Then I sort of got lost for about an hour :< but to be honest I didn't try particularly hard to get un-lost til a little later, because it was nice just wandering around the area. I found a little stand that sold bento, so I got a tonkatsu curry bento (nom) and carried it around, eventually eating in the cool air conditioning of a grocery store. The only thing that made the wandering unfortunate was the extreme humidity, but that's clearly going to be a constant problem so I can't mind it too much.

On the last street to the museum, there were all these sort of... dolls? I guess? Along the street. They were about 3-4 feet tall each and it looked like local businesses or groups of people or individuals or... something... made each one, so they were all different. One of my favourites was a Moomin :< I'm not sure why they're out there but they were cute.

I finally made it to the museum, which was big and had cool architecture, which was almost worth the trip in itself. I was extra happy after I walked into the lobby and saw a sign for a Studio Ghibli exhibit...!! It cost about ¥1500 for entry to the regular part of the museum and the special Ghibli exhibit, but honestly either one of them would have been worth that much on their own. The Ghibli exhibit consisted of hundreds, I'm sure, of drawings from a particular part of the anime creation process, which I can't remember the official name for (and most signage was in Japanese). It's where the director or maybe some others make drawings of shots they want, like a storyboard, and write little notes on it and such. Some are black and white and some are coloured in completely. There were probably about a dozen rooms full of these to wind through, organized by the movie. The museum was really crowded, so being tall paid off because I could stand behind the stream of Japanese people and look at the pictures at more my own pace :3

At the end of the exhibit was a little area where you could take photos, such as on Totoro's tummy :< which I did :<<<< They had a woman from the museum there to take your photo with your camera so that everyone could get in on the tummy action. I had my photo taken with my phone, so the picture is really really tiny as you can see, but at least it exists. They also had a huge wall where you could colour a round sticker to make your own version of those little dust ball guys from Spirited Away, then stick it on the wall. I didn't end up doing it because I got distracted by the store, where I refrained from buying anything except exhibit-only souvenirs since I'm going to the Ghibli museum later.

The rest of the museum was really nice. It had very, very modern art, including a Lichtenstein(!) which was cool.

I came back to Shibuya for eating and showering before embarking on my evening journey. I ate at a cake buffet (they exist!) although this one also had pasta (spaghetti, udon, etc), some soups and curry, and a few salad items. It was a casual cafeteria style place and was totally full of packs of teens/20-somethings. I was the only gaijin there :< I think people were laughing at me because I didn't know how to buy the ticket or anything, and I entered through the exit door... oh well. Delicious desserts abound.

I spent the night in Akihabara, which was bright and loud and really awesome... I'll be going back later when more things are open, because a lot of the electronic stores were closed or closing when I got there and many of the bright lights were out. However, still open late at night were tons of game parlors, anime stores, and cafes. I made it to one of my maid cafes! Jam Akihabara (look at my maid doll all cute on top of the sign). They have a page in the menu called the "Fairy Menu" which is where they put all their Jam-specific food and drinks. I had a Berry Berry Milk, which was berry-flavoured milk topped with whipped cream, berry sauce, and sprinkles. An adorable drink. :3

I also spent a while playing crane machines (:<) and just wandering about. There are no ATMs anywhere here... or I guess there are, but they're hard to find. The girls at Jam actually got me a little map and circled some ATMs on it. The map also had the locations of other maid cafes on it... thanks Jam maids! :<

When I left Jam, there was a Jam maid and another maid in a nearby building taking photos. I don't know what cafe that girl belonged to but maybe she's new, so they needed her photo. I sort of discreetly watched for a few minutes, then I left. She was really cute :<

This post is full of :<.

Today I'm going to Yoyogi Park, where the Harajuku girls hang out, and also where there is a big shrine sale. Mrs. Black is coming with me for a while, mostly for the shrine sale, hee. Good night America, and good morning Japan ^_^

Day Two - Asakusa & the "kitchen district"

So by this morning, I still couldn't decide what to do today :< The weather was still ridiculously humid, like yesterday, and it could rain any moment (though it didn't end up raining at all). Mrs. Black offered to come with me to wherever I was going and so, still being indecisive, I went on her suggestion to go to Asakusa, then walk to the kitchen district, which is nearby.

The main attraction of Asakusa is Sensou-ji, a very big and very pretty temple. It's one of the most well-visited in Tokyo, and the five-tiered pagoda is the second tallest in Japan. We took the Ginza line, which starts in Shibuya, all the way to its opposite end to get there. Everything you've ever heard about Tokyo subways is true... very clean, fast, efficient, and crowded. We found a prime spot under the air conditioners in the centre of the car, which oscillate back and forth.

Lunch was a sandwich at Starbucks, since we were hungry but not starving. They heat up the sandwiches to a ridiculously hot temperature, and give it to you on a plate and tray. After we were finished eating there was a man standing directly behind us, waiting for us to hand him our trays, which was really nice. Also, the little juice I got there was really cute :3

We went to the temple, which starts off with a huge gate housing a gigantic lantern. That's me under the lantern...! (Also, you can click to make it bigger.) (Also also, notice how all the girls in the picture look so well-dressed... it's a theme in Tokyo :<)

After that is a covered area with dozens and dozens of little stalls selling all manner of souvenirs, from kimonos to keychains to rice crackers. A particular highlight were the freshly make rice crackers that we got hot off the grill, ¥100 each. They were crunchy and salty and yummy. I picked up a bunch of things in the stalls, some for me but mostly for other people. Most of the things they sold were very Japanese, as it were, so they make good gifts.

After meandering through all the stalls, there's another gate and then the temple. Well, actually, before the temple there are numerous stalls to get your fortune, as well as to buy charms for luck, etc. Then there's a giant bowl of incense, which people wave on over and rub into their bodies for health. There's also the fountain for purifying oneself before entering the temple. Finally there are the stairs up to the temple itself, which houses a fountain for throwing in coins (before praying), more charm and fortune stalls, and the contents of the temple, which were beautiful although I don't know what they're all for. Even the ceiling was painted with really nice pictures. One of my favourite things about the temple besides just how nice it was in general were all the little shrines nearby. They were for various things, from a famous samurai to Buddha, and they were peaceful and charming. Near those shrines we got some really delicious popsicles and headed over to the big bell, which was at its own shrine.

We stopped in a few other shops down side streets on our way back to the main intersection in Asakusa, selling goods made from washi (hand-made paper), fabric prints, and other pretty things. We also walked back through the covered vendor path to make our final selections. I also found a Hello Kitty vending machine, where I got a little canvas tote bag featuring Kitty with a gyoza head :< It's so cute...

We ended up taking the train to the kitchen district, which is one main street and some side streets dedicated to the sale of all things cooking, baking, serving, and selling food. I got a few things but I decided to save other purchases for later, since it's easy to get to and only my second day here (and yet, the marathon blog posts still...). There are lots of ceramics and other serving things, chopsticks and holders, pots and pans, signs, displays, and a billion other things. I found a couple of cute bento things at a 6-story grocery/general goods store. Mrs. Black showed me where to get bargains on some of the Japanese items we saw in the stalls at the temple, although at many of those stalls, the prices were very good also. I got a Miffy spoon and a rice mould, and what's essentially a taller, stronger cookie cutter... you push things like carrots through it to make them a shape when you slice into them.

They also sell those awesome plastic food models that you see everywhere in Tokyo outside of restaurants. They're expensive, but so cool. After seeing a tonkatsu (fried port cutlet) curry model, I was hungry for it... which made Mrs. Black hungry for it... so we went back to Shibuya (and, during the ride, I managed to fall on top of a Japanese business man... oops >_>) where she took me to a great little curry-only restaurant. It was called CoCo Curry, which I thought was really nice. I wanted a kids meal because it looked so cute, but of course we both got tonkatsu curry to get our fix... it was really good.

I spent a good amount of time in Loft, which is a really cool 7-story store that sells all kinds of things, from office supplies to furniture to general cute stuff. Oh, and also... BENTO! Holy crap, an entire bento section, and it was awesome. I'm saving it for my last few days when I see how much money I have left... otherwise bad things would happen >_> Another cool thing they had at Loft that's just going on until Sept. 11 are little booths where designers and artists set up a display of items, along with some business cards, etc. They are unmanned booths, but the art ranged from more well known/professional artists to lesser or unknowns of varying levels. I picked up all the cute little free handouts I could, as well as the free fan/advertisement and booklet about the show. I wandered around for a bit afterwards... got some pineapple aisu (ice cream) which was yummy and played a few more crane machines (I'm addicted... ._.).

That's it for today... I just had a nice toasty shower ^_^ I know these posts are really long but when I come home I'm going to use this as my record for what I did, so I want to write about everythingeverything.

Oyasumi...

First Day

Today I spent the entire day in Shibuya, which is where the Blacks live... it's just as well because the weather ended up being bad today anyway. It was sort of drizzly in the morning and late at night, and humid the rest of the time.

I ended up buying a whole bunch of stuff, which I was planning on doing so it's okay... graduation money ftw. I chose a few clothing pieces I really like, which were expensive, and the rest was spent on little things.

For lunch this afternoon I went to a place called Ducky... or was it Ducky Ducky? Anyway, it's a nice cafe on the 2nd story of a building, and I sat at the bar facing out the big curved window, so it made for nice people watching. I had curry omelette rice, which I've never heard of before... but it was really delicious. It's a little mound of (maybe ketchup flavoured?) rice covered by basically a scrambled egg, and then they pour the delicious sauce on. Delicious, delicious sauce.

I really like hearing "irrashaimase!" every time I go in a store :< The 109 department store takes "irrashai" to a whole new level, though, I have to say. Typically when you go into a store, the person working or the person nearest the door will say "irrashai" or "irrashaimase" to welcome you. As you walk through, other people who work at the store will usually say it, too, when they first see you. Sometimes there's a fun irrashai chain, where one worker says it loudly enough for another to hear, and so they say it... and it sort of continues on like that.

Japanese department stores, like 109, are not like ours... it's basically level after level of individual small shops for each brand. You pay individually at each place. There's usually at least one wall open to the hallway, so even as you just walk by, "irrashai" rings throughout the land. At 109, they're catering basically to 20-something-year-old girls... so I guess the 20-something-year-old girls that work at the stores are especially enthusiastic.

After coming home and dropping off all my stuff, and showering off all the icky humidity ._. I went back out for dinner, which ended up taking me into the middle of Shibuya again. I got distracted almost immediately by crane machines... crane machines! I can't even believe I forgot about the crane machines before I came over here. I love love crane machines, but the ones in the US are rarely worth playing thanks to crappy (often terrifying) prizes and terrible claws. I sort of made up for a long time's worth of not playing crane machines, I guess.

The cranes are more difficult than the claws you're used to... these only have two 'fingers' to pick up your prize. But many of the machines are set up more like a puzzle than just a pile-o-stuff; they'll place one large prize in a spot and you have to try to figure out how to get that stupid stuffed bunny thing off of there. Some of them are clearly impossible, but others are a fun challenge for which you actually receive a reward. The puzzle/crane/cute thing combo pretty much did it for me. I wound up with a bag, a pillow, and some candy.

I took a photo of those things and a lot of other things, but I can't post photos yet because I'm still trying to work stuff out with the computer here so... big block of text posts for you! For now :<

After the crane machines I had a really inexpensive and awesomely good dinner of gyoza dumplings and fried(sortof) rice. Everything was greasy which is probably why it was so good. Only ¥450! A good price especially after blowing so much money all day long .____.;

I'll stop going on about shopping day now. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow yet... I'm going to go to bed and look at my books. Mrs. Black helped me get a subway pass yesterday so it's pretty much up to the weather to decide what I do. I'll probably stay within the city... maybe it's time to find a maid cafe :3

First Post Test Post Toast Post

My toast :<

I'll try to update as much as I can while I'm in Japan. Thanks for checking in on me everyone ^_^

-Katie