Tokyo, Winter 2008 – Day 3

(28 December 2008)

Harajuku Day.
Around the corner of the apartment building was a man asleep on the ground, most probably drunk. This is a pretty common sight in Tokyo.

Heading towards platform 14 in Shinjuku Station for the JR Yamanote Line train going in the Harajuku, Shibuya and Shinagawa direction

at the platform

We headed for Meiji Jingu, which is just beside the train station. There was an American family (taking photos near the stall in the photo below) beside me when i was capturing the wooden torii gate. I could tell that the dad was looking around for someone he could ask to take a family photo for him.
I asked “Do you want a photo taken for you?”. His reply was “Yes…you speak good english”.

entering Meiji Jingu compound

Japanese alcohol

and directly opposite, French alcohol

set-ups to usher in the New Year in a few days time. It is exactly the same as when we last visited, 2 years ago.

cleansing area

It seems that the Japanese has a zodiac system similar to the Chinese. They too will be welcoming the Year of the Ox. Just that their New Year falls on 1 Jan and the Chinese’s is according to the Lunar New Year

This is a corner selling charms of all sorts

a closer look

the New Year animal with a bell in its body

Ema. It cost 500 or 1000 yen each from memory. You write your wishes or hopes or complaints and hang it up. We didn’t hang one up this trip.

The interior of the shrine. The Japanese pray a little differently. They throw coins into the boxes provided and then clap their hands twice (i think).

Meiji Jingu is a Shinto Shrine. From my own observation, there is no figures to pray to in Shinto shrines, unlike Buddhist or Taoist temples. Instead, tt is usually a mirror-like object housed in a case.

miko or Shrine maidens

A quick stop at the toilet, on the right

back at JR Harajuku station

from across the road, with Takeshita-dori further down on the right

looking straight at Takeshita-dori

packed

Daiso Harajuku, one of the larger 100yen chains, not far down

wonder what a ticket shop is…

the other end of Takeshita-dori

the recently opened H&M store

In Tokyo, if not Japan, there is a queue for almost everything and everywhere. This obviously includes H&M

ABC-Mart next to H&M. ABC-Mart is a shoe retailer chain with lots of nice and not to pricey shoes, especially for the guys

a crepe stall

We decided to join the queue. It wasn’t that bad really. We were inside within 5 minutes. I guess they just wanted people to enter in an orderly fashion instead of shoving and pushing.

The clothes in H&M are affordable but aren’t that interesting. We left the store empty handed.
Walked around the backstreets near Harajuku Street, behind Omotesando.

people standing on the street with a sign or flyers in their hands, promoting their store, is a common sight. This guy on the right is promoting Freakstore, a few steps away

this is it. Freakstore..freaking expensive

a food mobile

a typical pharmacy in Japan

We headed back to Yoyogi Park, not far from the entrance to Meiji Jingu. A group of Elvis-otaku were hanging around there.

Have a break, have a Calpis hotto-lemon , at Yoyogi Park. I love the hot lemon drinks from the vending machines.

There are plenty of activites at the park. People walking their dogs, playing frisbee, practising their dancing with a portable radio, playing ball sports, one man playing the Chinese er-hu and one young man playing on his drums which he had dragged to the park. I guess because there is not much space in a typical Japanese home, people go to the park to get some space.