Day 4 in Japan
Right-ho, I may be slow but I'm getting there. Bit the next of my Japan trip with loads of photos.
Japan Report day 4
Sunday 21st March
We were off bright and early on another sunny Tokyo morning, with several members of our group in full cosplay rig. Later on today we would be visiting Yoyogi Park, which is a haven for cosplayers of all genres. (Though I didn’t think turning up in the Daedalus flight suit was going to win me any points!)
Phil took us for a leisurely stroll around Shinjuku, where there is a quirkier feel to this “Leisure” side of the city as seen in its architecture. This building is made to look like puzzle pieces.
While another would seem to have relocated from Disneyland Tokyo.
This Manga cafe was open 24hrs a day and those of our party who went back later said it boasted an extensive library, sumptuous leather chairs, vending machines with everything from coffee to alcohol; a small cake counter, internet facilities and showers! I went down the stairs to the entrance and it was all glittery blue in there! )
Phil commented that the main road is almost a divide. On our right the gleaming corporate monoliths of Tokyo city, on our left are the restaurants, bars, shops, karaoke bars, pachinko parlours, (a form of vertical pinball/ slot machine that is nearly a Japanese sport,) and Manga and Maid cafes of Shinjuku.
The salarymen work hard by day in their office blocks, then come over to Shinjuku and party hard in the evenings, before finally going home. (We saw evidence of this later!)
We trooped into Shinjuku station and caught a train for Harajuka.
The bridge from the station there is the start of cosplay heaven but to the left was the huge wooden O-Torii (gate) of the Meiji shrine, hidden amongst trees.
We walked along the avenue from the outer gate, passing a pretty little bridge and the lovely lanterns that are set along the way, to reach the inner gate. This walk is supposedly so that one can dwell on things spiritual, before reaching the Shrine itself. Given the holiday atmosphere and chattering crowds of tourists and groups of girls in full kimonos, it was more festive than meditative.
The second gate is a recreation of the original rebuilt in 1975. The gate stands 12M high and is made of 1,500-year-old Japanese Cypress from Taiwan.
On either side of this gate are racks filled with barrels of sake, offerings by various pious souls to the Temple. On the other were racks filled with barrels of French wines, a gift from the French Government. There was a lot of good stuff there, judging from the number of “Grand cru” and Single Chateau Domaines. Sadly, that’s probably the nearest I’m going to get to a 1er Cru Nuits St. Georges. Even more tragically, the wines have probably been spoiled through being stored in the open for so long.
We were lucky enough to see a wedding party passing through, complete with Priests and shrine maidens. The Bride and Groom were most splendid in full traditional rig and the wedding party behind varied in dress from full formal morning suits, (with white gloves!) for the men while the ladies were either in beautiful kimonos or designer Western dress. Phil told us that getting married here is very expensive as it’s one of the most popular shrines.
Photography is not allowed in the shrine itself and so we made our offerings and prayers, (Throw your money in the box, bow twice, clap twice slowly, pray and bow once at the end.) in relative peace.
As we came out the wedding party was back, the bride having changed into a white hooded outfit. The priests turned and bowed to the wedding party then left. We saw the wedding party lined up later to have their photos taken.
The shrine is set amongst trees and gardens (including the Empress’ iris garden, which wasn’t in bloom while we there,) but peeking over the oriental rooflines is the Tokyo clock tower, a reminder of how close we were to the City proper.
Here’s a photo taken by Sio. Me on the left and our guide, Phil (in the snazzy sunglasses) on the right.
We left the shrine and walked back to the railway bridge. Here Phil turned us loose with a hand drawn map, showing the two main roads and the locations of good restaurants and interesting shops.
Our first stop was “Chicago” a fashion shop with a second-hand kimono section. A tiny shop at street level, it goes downstairs and round and round on itself turning into a huge basement level area. They had second hand kimono, yukata and furisodes, complete with obi sashes, cords and hair ornaments. Some of them were absolutely gorgeous.
I fell in love with a pearl grey-fading-into pink kimono decorated with cherry blossom, a snip at 4,000Y (£32). Unfortunately, while the kimono reached down to my ankles, it wouldn’t go round my hips! Sadly this proved to be true of all the items I tried on. There was also a section with some very heavyweight, padded gowns in gorgeous patterns and vibrant colours, coming in at about 28,000 Y.
Here’s one of the side streets in Harajuka.
Sio and I walked about for some time before settling on a sushi-go-round restaurant that Phil had recommended. Unfortunately, it was so popular that we had to queue for quite a while to get in. Seated at the bar, we watched as dishes circled endlessly around the sushi chefs in the middle who were creating more platefuls as we watched. The plate colour indicated the price, from the very reasonable blue = 200 Y to the more exotic gold-and-black =900Y. We picked and mixed our way through quite a pile of dishes, including grilled fish, fresh prawns, tofu, purely vegetable dishes, such as edamame beans and pickles and fish topped salad and even actual sushi (fish with vinegared rice) all beautifully laid out on the plates. A tap at each seat provided boiling water and a tiny caddy of powdered green tea with a dainty scoop just served to increase my liking for o-cha.
There was a vast menu of dishes with photos so even if you couldn’t pronounce /read the dishes’ name, the point and say “Watashi wa kore-o, kudesai” (I would like that one, please) technique worked pretty well.
The waitress totted up our bill by adding up the dishes as we finished with a plate of beautifully sliced fresh orange and we sallied back out onto Omotesando, well fortified for an afternoon’s shopping.
here is a dragon urn we saw in a shop window.
Next was the Oriental Bazaar. Here we found an amazing collection of ceramics, prints, crafts and just beautiful things. Also, being clever retailers they had kimonos and yukata in Gaijin sizes. Result!
I had a splendid time trying things on before buying a cotton kimono in raspberry and white with gold-decorated cherry blossoms, a white obi sash, white tabi and matching red sandals to complete the outfit. (This came in at just under 10,000Y =£80, which I was pretty pleased with!)
The most amazing tiny saleslady helped me. Her English was pretty good and after she’d helped me into the kimono and obi, asked if the young lady with me was my daughter? I said yes and she then shot off and collared Sio, saying that of course she needed to see me in the outfit and say if it looked all right.
This lady was so good that Sio ended up buying a kimono in red as well, with a matching sash! She also showed us how to tie the sash properly, a talent that came in useful at the Ryokan, later.
This shop also had kimono of the credit-card-melting, wall art level. There was a bamboo and wood platform with a seamstress sitting on it adjusting them, in the middle of the shop. I looked at the price on one and decide to retire from the field!
We also bought quite a few other bits and pieces, including Sio’s tiny red fabric teddy which now rides on her handbag everywhere.
We then walked along to “Kiddy Land”, five stories worth of everything from “Hello Kitty” to Pokemon. Going past the first couple of floors, which were clearly aimed at pre-school ages, (shudders-too much PINK!) we reached the top floor, which had merchandise from all the major Manga series. If you think Disney can merchandise, these folks are better! There were not just figurines and models, but lunch boxes, handkerchiefs, notepaper, plushies and tea sets of everything from Death Note to Naruto. Never mind the cutesy stuff like Tokyo Mew-Mew, or Fruits basket. There was Studio Ghibli stuff too.
I dragged Sio out after a while, and we went to get ourselves a Harajuka crepe as “pudding”. Sadly although we found a lovely little shop in a side street, it was full up and we had to go back to the station bridge to meet up with the group.
Our cosplayers had had a blast in Yoyogi Park and we saw a few of the amazing outfits on show.
Back onto the train to Shinjuku and the Hotel for a quick cup of tea in the room and we were out again with Phil to Shibuya, which is a short subway ride away.
At the station at Shibuya is the famous bronze statue of Hachiko, the faithful dog who kept coming to meet his master’s train for years -even after his death. The statue is set on a plinth in a small garden and is very much “the” meeting place for people (like the clock at Waterloo). Just outside is a four-way diagonal pedestrian crossing, which Phil said we had to go across for the experience! It’s pretty terrifying to have people and cycles rushing at you from three directions in the middle of a busy main road! The whole area is a bustling neon lightshow and it features in any number of Manga series.
We had supper in a little side street café, with Phil, Mike and Gavin from the Group. We had Donburi (rice and curry) that came with a breaded pork cutlet and although we ordered the spicy curry it was quite fruity, almost sweet with a hint of chilli building as we ate. It was oddly like the Vesta curries that came out in the seventies!
Then we went back out to the “109” building which is a department store for the ultra-trendiest fashions. (The photo shows Sio in front of it!) We had already been warned not to bother trying anything on- sizes are definitely not Western and prices are sky high. The place is amazing, however. Firstly it’s more like an exclusive nightclub than a Department store with various pounding rock tracks and flashing lights. Each floor has various franchises, each competing for attention. From handbags to shoes, makeup to avant-garde fashion, whether your taste runs to Gothic, Lolita or just Retro, it’s here. We also discovered the fashion for English names, (rather badly translated) as the sign for “Titty & Co.” had male members of the group who ventured in sniggering, and the flashing fluorescents of “Snob Eternitia” puzzled a few of us.
We retreated from the sensory overload of the “109” and went back out onto the streets. And then I had a little moment…
It was beginning to rain and people and cyclists were scurrying past. Neon adverts flashed out above me, playing music and calling out in Japanese. A moving screen showed a smiling young Japanese lady popping a health supplement.
All it needed was a dirigible overhead going “Join the Off world Colonies today!” and I was smack in the middle of the “Blade Runner” set.
Bloody awesome!
Phil dragged us off down a side street, just as brightly lit as the crowded main road and we found a Taiyaki stand. Sio ticked another item off her “Must do in Japan” list with a huge smile as she demolished a custard cream Taiyaki. (These are fish shaped waffles, served piping hot and freshly baked by machines that turn and fill moulds with waffle mix before injecting fillings, both savoury and sweet.) Various Manga characters earnestly debate the correct eating etiquette; does one eat from the head or tail end first? Sio’s technique started from the head as it was handed to her head up wrapped in paper. I tried a bite and it was delicious!
I found it quite strange to be walking around a city late at night; there were traditionally dressed vendors holding up signs and yelling out their messages and quite often we were offered free gifts (usually tissues), with bars, pachinko parlours, shops and restaurants going full blast and more foot traffic than you’d find by day in the average British city.
Phil actually had to reassure the female members of the group that in fact we were quite safe to be doing this, even walking in smaller side streets as Japan has a very low crime rate. Because of course no one in their right mind goes near a British city centre late at night for fear of encountering some drunken yobs out for trouble. Isn’t that sad? And of course, I don’t have to say that the Japanese streets are spotlessly clean, without so much as a hint of litter, either.
Pretty well tired out by now we took ourselves back to Shinjuku and made a run for the Hotel through the increasingly cold and wet evening.
Our adventures didn’t quite end there. About 04:30 we were woken up by something banging randomly in the by now quite high winds battering our 15th floor eyrie. It sounded as though a fire door or something similar had come loose and was slamming back and forth. After a few moments of hoping it would stop, I hauled myself out of bed and went down to Reception to see if anything could be done about it.
And here I give you one of the most useful phrases you can learn in Japanese. A polite “Domo sumimasen?” (Excuse me, please?) brought the lady receptionist out and despite being confronted by a pyjama’d gaijin she dealt with it promptly, coming up to our room to hear it for herself, and causing blissful peace to descend less than twenty minutes later.
Of course I didn’t get much sleep but it was quite an experience to lie in bed and feel the building sway gently; it was oddly vertiginous but not at all unpleasant, rather like the earlier stages of being drunk.
Next;Day 5 -The Tokyo Tower!Godzilla and Mothra were sadly absent but there was someone else there ...
Japan Report day 4
Sunday 21st March
We were off bright and early on another sunny Tokyo morning, with several members of our group in full cosplay rig. Later on today we would be visiting Yoyogi Park, which is a haven for cosplayers of all genres. (Though I didn’t think turning up in the Daedalus flight suit was going to win me any points!)
Phil took us for a leisurely stroll around Shinjuku, where there is a quirkier feel to this “Leisure” side of the city as seen in its architecture. This building is made to look like puzzle pieces.
While another would seem to have relocated from Disneyland Tokyo.
This Manga cafe was open 24hrs a day and those of our party who went back later said it boasted an extensive library, sumptuous leather chairs, vending machines with everything from coffee to alcohol; a small cake counter, internet facilities and showers! I went down the stairs to the entrance and it was all glittery blue in there! )
Phil commented that the main road is almost a divide. On our right the gleaming corporate monoliths of Tokyo city, on our left are the restaurants, bars, shops, karaoke bars, pachinko parlours, (a form of vertical pinball/ slot machine that is nearly a Japanese sport,) and Manga and Maid cafes of Shinjuku.
The salarymen work hard by day in their office blocks, then come over to Shinjuku and party hard in the evenings, before finally going home. (We saw evidence of this later!)
We trooped into Shinjuku station and caught a train for Harajuka.
The bridge from the station there is the start of cosplay heaven but to the left was the huge wooden O-Torii (gate) of the Meiji shrine, hidden amongst trees.
We walked along the avenue from the outer gate, passing a pretty little bridge and the lovely lanterns that are set along the way, to reach the inner gate. This walk is supposedly so that one can dwell on things spiritual, before reaching the Shrine itself. Given the holiday atmosphere and chattering crowds of tourists and groups of girls in full kimonos, it was more festive than meditative.
The second gate is a recreation of the original rebuilt in 1975. The gate stands 12M high and is made of 1,500-year-old Japanese Cypress from Taiwan.
On either side of this gate are racks filled with barrels of sake, offerings by various pious souls to the Temple. On the other were racks filled with barrels of French wines, a gift from the French Government. There was a lot of good stuff there, judging from the number of “Grand cru” and Single Chateau Domaines. Sadly, that’s probably the nearest I’m going to get to a 1er Cru Nuits St. Georges. Even more tragically, the wines have probably been spoiled through being stored in the open for so long.
We were lucky enough to see a wedding party passing through, complete with Priests and shrine maidens. The Bride and Groom were most splendid in full traditional rig and the wedding party behind varied in dress from full formal morning suits, (with white gloves!) for the men while the ladies were either in beautiful kimonos or designer Western dress. Phil told us that getting married here is very expensive as it’s one of the most popular shrines.
Photography is not allowed in the shrine itself and so we made our offerings and prayers, (Throw your money in the box, bow twice, clap twice slowly, pray and bow once at the end.) in relative peace.
As we came out the wedding party was back, the bride having changed into a white hooded outfit. The priests turned and bowed to the wedding party then left. We saw the wedding party lined up later to have their photos taken.
The shrine is set amongst trees and gardens (including the Empress’ iris garden, which wasn’t in bloom while we there,) but peeking over the oriental rooflines is the Tokyo clock tower, a reminder of how close we were to the City proper.
Here’s a photo taken by Sio. Me on the left and our guide, Phil (in the snazzy sunglasses) on the right.
We left the shrine and walked back to the railway bridge. Here Phil turned us loose with a hand drawn map, showing the two main roads and the locations of good restaurants and interesting shops.
Our first stop was “Chicago” a fashion shop with a second-hand kimono section. A tiny shop at street level, it goes downstairs and round and round on itself turning into a huge basement level area. They had second hand kimono, yukata and furisodes, complete with obi sashes, cords and hair ornaments. Some of them were absolutely gorgeous.
I fell in love with a pearl grey-fading-into pink kimono decorated with cherry blossom, a snip at 4,000Y (£32). Unfortunately, while the kimono reached down to my ankles, it wouldn’t go round my hips! Sadly this proved to be true of all the items I tried on. There was also a section with some very heavyweight, padded gowns in gorgeous patterns and vibrant colours, coming in at about 28,000 Y.
Here’s one of the side streets in Harajuka.
Sio and I walked about for some time before settling on a sushi-go-round restaurant that Phil had recommended. Unfortunately, it was so popular that we had to queue for quite a while to get in. Seated at the bar, we watched as dishes circled endlessly around the sushi chefs in the middle who were creating more platefuls as we watched. The plate colour indicated the price, from the very reasonable blue = 200 Y to the more exotic gold-and-black =900Y. We picked and mixed our way through quite a pile of dishes, including grilled fish, fresh prawns, tofu, purely vegetable dishes, such as edamame beans and pickles and fish topped salad and even actual sushi (fish with vinegared rice) all beautifully laid out on the plates. A tap at each seat provided boiling water and a tiny caddy of powdered green tea with a dainty scoop just served to increase my liking for o-cha.
There was a vast menu of dishes with photos so even if you couldn’t pronounce /read the dishes’ name, the point and say “Watashi wa kore-o, kudesai” (I would like that one, please) technique worked pretty well.
The waitress totted up our bill by adding up the dishes as we finished with a plate of beautifully sliced fresh orange and we sallied back out onto Omotesando, well fortified for an afternoon’s shopping.
here is a dragon urn we saw in a shop window.
Next was the Oriental Bazaar. Here we found an amazing collection of ceramics, prints, crafts and just beautiful things. Also, being clever retailers they had kimonos and yukata in Gaijin sizes. Result!
I had a splendid time trying things on before buying a cotton kimono in raspberry and white with gold-decorated cherry blossoms, a white obi sash, white tabi and matching red sandals to complete the outfit. (This came in at just under 10,000Y =£80, which I was pretty pleased with!)
The most amazing tiny saleslady helped me. Her English was pretty good and after she’d helped me into the kimono and obi, asked if the young lady with me was my daughter? I said yes and she then shot off and collared Sio, saying that of course she needed to see me in the outfit and say if it looked all right.
This lady was so good that Sio ended up buying a kimono in red as well, with a matching sash! She also showed us how to tie the sash properly, a talent that came in useful at the Ryokan, later.
This shop also had kimono of the credit-card-melting, wall art level. There was a bamboo and wood platform with a seamstress sitting on it adjusting them, in the middle of the shop. I looked at the price on one and decide to retire from the field!
We also bought quite a few other bits and pieces, including Sio’s tiny red fabric teddy which now rides on her handbag everywhere.
We then walked along to “Kiddy Land”, five stories worth of everything from “Hello Kitty” to Pokemon. Going past the first couple of floors, which were clearly aimed at pre-school ages, (shudders-too much PINK!) we reached the top floor, which had merchandise from all the major Manga series. If you think Disney can merchandise, these folks are better! There were not just figurines and models, but lunch boxes, handkerchiefs, notepaper, plushies and tea sets of everything from Death Note to Naruto. Never mind the cutesy stuff like Tokyo Mew-Mew, or Fruits basket. There was Studio Ghibli stuff too.
I dragged Sio out after a while, and we went to get ourselves a Harajuka crepe as “pudding”. Sadly although we found a lovely little shop in a side street, it was full up and we had to go back to the station bridge to meet up with the group.
Our cosplayers had had a blast in Yoyogi Park and we saw a few of the amazing outfits on show.
Back onto the train to Shinjuku and the Hotel for a quick cup of tea in the room and we were out again with Phil to Shibuya, which is a short subway ride away.
At the station at Shibuya is the famous bronze statue of Hachiko, the faithful dog who kept coming to meet his master’s train for years -even after his death. The statue is set on a plinth in a small garden and is very much “the” meeting place for people (like the clock at Waterloo). Just outside is a four-way diagonal pedestrian crossing, which Phil said we had to go across for the experience! It’s pretty terrifying to have people and cycles rushing at you from three directions in the middle of a busy main road! The whole area is a bustling neon lightshow and it features in any number of Manga series.
We had supper in a little side street café, with Phil, Mike and Gavin from the Group. We had Donburi (rice and curry) that came with a breaded pork cutlet and although we ordered the spicy curry it was quite fruity, almost sweet with a hint of chilli building as we ate. It was oddly like the Vesta curries that came out in the seventies!
Then we went back out to the “109” building which is a department store for the ultra-trendiest fashions. (The photo shows Sio in front of it!) We had already been warned not to bother trying anything on- sizes are definitely not Western and prices are sky high. The place is amazing, however. Firstly it’s more like an exclusive nightclub than a Department store with various pounding rock tracks and flashing lights. Each floor has various franchises, each competing for attention. From handbags to shoes, makeup to avant-garde fashion, whether your taste runs to Gothic, Lolita or just Retro, it’s here. We also discovered the fashion for English names, (rather badly translated) as the sign for “Titty & Co.” had male members of the group who ventured in sniggering, and the flashing fluorescents of “Snob Eternitia” puzzled a few of us.
We retreated from the sensory overload of the “109” and went back out onto the streets. And then I had a little moment…
It was beginning to rain and people and cyclists were scurrying past. Neon adverts flashed out above me, playing music and calling out in Japanese. A moving screen showed a smiling young Japanese lady popping a health supplement.
All it needed was a dirigible overhead going “Join the Off world Colonies today!” and I was smack in the middle of the “Blade Runner” set.
Bloody awesome!
Phil dragged us off down a side street, just as brightly lit as the crowded main road and we found a Taiyaki stand. Sio ticked another item off her “Must do in Japan” list with a huge smile as she demolished a custard cream Taiyaki. (These are fish shaped waffles, served piping hot and freshly baked by machines that turn and fill moulds with waffle mix before injecting fillings, both savoury and sweet.) Various Manga characters earnestly debate the correct eating etiquette; does one eat from the head or tail end first? Sio’s technique started from the head as it was handed to her head up wrapped in paper. I tried a bite and it was delicious!
I found it quite strange to be walking around a city late at night; there were traditionally dressed vendors holding up signs and yelling out their messages and quite often we were offered free gifts (usually tissues), with bars, pachinko parlours, shops and restaurants going full blast and more foot traffic than you’d find by day in the average British city.
Phil actually had to reassure the female members of the group that in fact we were quite safe to be doing this, even walking in smaller side streets as Japan has a very low crime rate. Because of course no one in their right mind goes near a British city centre late at night for fear of encountering some drunken yobs out for trouble. Isn’t that sad? And of course, I don’t have to say that the Japanese streets are spotlessly clean, without so much as a hint of litter, either.
Pretty well tired out by now we took ourselves back to Shinjuku and made a run for the Hotel through the increasingly cold and wet evening.
Our adventures didn’t quite end there. About 04:30 we were woken up by something banging randomly in the by now quite high winds battering our 15th floor eyrie. It sounded as though a fire door or something similar had come loose and was slamming back and forth. After a few moments of hoping it would stop, I hauled myself out of bed and went down to Reception to see if anything could be done about it.
And here I give you one of the most useful phrases you can learn in Japanese. A polite “Domo sumimasen?” (Excuse me, please?) brought the lady receptionist out and despite being confronted by a pyjama’d gaijin she dealt with it promptly, coming up to our room to hear it for herself, and causing blissful peace to descend less than twenty minutes later.
Of course I didn’t get much sleep but it was quite an experience to lie in bed and feel the building sway gently; it was oddly vertiginous but not at all unpleasant, rather like the earlier stages of being drunk.
Next;Day 5 -The Tokyo Tower!Godzilla and Mothra were sadly absent but there was someone else there ...