Day 5 - Harajuku, Shibuya, Ginza

Today I had plans to meet up with a friend to walk around Harajuku with, however we ended waiting in different spots and missed each other completely. The heat was very bad, but still there were many people hanging out in Harajuku. I hung around the station for about 25 minutes before I turned around and decided to head to Ginza.

Some harajuku fashion

Before I got to Ginza, Shouma took me around Shibuya for a little while. When we first came out of the station it was bewildering as I realized at was at the Hachiko crossing that is so famous in movies and photographs. So after I stared dumbfounded a bit, I took a couple pictures and the light quickly changed. Then people were going every which way, in front of you across, around and there were also bicylces zig zaggin through. I wish I could have talken a photo or video like other people, but photos and videos just don't capture the feeling right. Especially if you have been waiting to see it, it's something very different for anything else. Well after I crossed I walked to Center Gai.

Famous image of Shibuya

Walking down Center Gai was very interesting as well, there were girls and guys dressed very Shibuya kei everywhere, hip hop music blasting and men shouting to get people into their stores. It was rather narrow and a but shabby but also very exciting. Shouma dicided to eat at Lotteria and just wandered over, so I quickly took a pic of the exterior before someone ran me over from behind. I got inside and I saw a Center guy!

Center Gai

Center guy inside Lotteria

I got the gourmet cheeseburger, it was really small but just like everyone says - amazing. The meat is tender and the cheese is real cheese. It's really good for a fastfood burger, but it is expensive as well. I had a melon soda to drink with it and fries with butter and soy sauce flavor. After we finished eating we headed back to Shibuya Station and got on a train to Ginza. I wanted to go to Tokyu hands, and the one in Ginza is closest to my hotel. You can really tell you are in the fancy part of town as soon as you get out of Ginza station. Everyone is impeccably dressed in designer wear, and the shops look so polished and have many attendants. Well Tokyu Hands in Ginza, or Ginza Hands as it's so called was small compared to others so I didn't find much to buy.

A street in Ginza

After Ginza Hands we went shopping at the Bic Camera in Yurakucho, and that was crazy busy! Especially the first floor, where all the new phones are and the aisles are narrow and everyone is trying to get up to the next floor. It was fun to look around but I felt pretty sad that I didn't have enough money to get something. The Laptops and cameras are so amazing and far ahead of what we have in America! After that we went to a Starbucks, I got a matcha frappachino and we drank our drinks at the Imperial Palace Gardens again hehe.

We went back to the hotel and rested until about 8 pm when we went out ot have dinner at an Izakaya near the hotel. It was very fun, the interior was a traditional wood and there were a good amount of people inside. There was a group of oyaji and they were very noisy. We ordered salmon fried rice, gyoza, yakitori, salad, ochazuke, tamagoyaki and I had black sesame ice cream. Of course afterwards we visited some conbini and went back to the hotel and to bed.

The Izakaya

Yakitori

Shouma buying some vending machine drinks