Cheap shopping? Tranquil gardens....

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After a restless night sleep I decided today was the day I venture out and get some sightseeing in Harajuku and maybe squeeze in some shopping at Shibuja's famous Shibuya 109 hehe. Armed with my trusty metro map and Lonely Planet Tokyo guide I walked out of Ark Towers and towards the Tameiko-Sanno which housed the line Ginza which I needed to get to my first stop which is Shibuya.

At the station having read from other websites the best option is to get a Passo card which is similiar to the Oyster card which we have in London. In order to purchase this card all you need to do is go to an automated machine (which thankfully is translated into english) click on purchase new card and you also have to top up there and then as well so I purchased a 2,000 yen card which included a 500 yen deposit needed to get the card. Once I paid my card pops out and there my adventure starts.

I walked towards the Ginza line and I have to say the signs are well marked and clear so it is actually quite hard for you to get lost. Once I reached the line I boarded the train marked for Shibuya and it was 5 stops from Tameike-sanno.

The train pulled into Shibuya and I walked off the train, through the ticket barrier and into an actual shopping centre! Here I have to say took me awhile to get out and onto the streets of Shibuya as this place is HUGE! The signage here is a problem as there are no clear exit signs and the street exit is actually on the 1st floor (I was on 3rd floor which is where the train line pulls into) so you can see that is rather confusing.

Once I found the exit I was amazed by how many people there were walking the streets. I passed the famous Hachiko Statute is a very famous meeting spot and there is a touching story behind it. In the 1920's a professor who taught at what is now Tokyo University kept a small Akita dog named Hachiko. Hachiko accompanied the professor to Shibuya station every morning, the returned in the afternoons to wait for the professor's arrival. One spring day in 1925 the professor died of a stroke while at the university and never came home. Hachiko continued to turn upat the station daily to wait for his master, until Hachiko's own death 10 years later. This touched the locals and they decided to erect a statute in honour to his memory and in the place he died. Nowadays the Hachiko statute is favourite meeting spot and usually he is surrounded by people waiting for their someone.

My first stop in Shibuya was the famous Shibuya 109, which is the local girls favourite pit stop for the latest fashion and trends. The building is 8 floors high and every floor were filled with young girls all dressed up. Their attire mainly consisted of very short skirts or shorts, long dyed brown/blonde hair, very high heels and face made up to perfection. I read from a website that the girls who work at Shibuya 109 are idolised by the young girls and to work there meant that you were the coolest person in Tokyo! The clothes here I thought were ridiculously expensive with a t shirt, plain t shirt being priced at 10,000 yen! If you are after a bargain I have to say Shibuya 109 is definately not the place to go to. But if you want to see what the latest trends are then do make a stop here. There is also a male version of Shibuya 109 which I did not go into but I assume won't be as busy as this one considering men/boys do not like to shop.

After spending an hour here looking around and not buying anything I decided to walk around Shibuya and look for the shop called Loft and Three Minute Happiness which my guide book recommended me to visit. Unfortunately after walking around for an hour I still couldn't find the place even though I had a map and the name of the street it was located I still cannot find. This is due to the fact that in Tokyo there are no visible street signs like in London which tells you what street you are on! Because of this I decided to give up and go to the next stop which is Harajuku one stop from Shibuya.

Harajuku, in order to get there I need to take the Japan Rail which is London's equivalent of national rail but obviously more puntual and efficient.

Harajuku is famous for the Meiji-Jingu which is a park and in that park there is the garden Meiji-Jingu-Gyoen which is a beautiful garden created by Emperor Meiji as a gift to the Empress Shoken. There is also a Treasure Museum which I am hoping to see.

When I got onto the streets of Harajuku there were loads of people and they were going toards this alleyway which from where I stood looked very busy and popular so I decided to follow the crowds. There in the alleyway were full of more people, mainly the younger genration of Tokyo walking and looking at shops which sold mainly clothes and accessories. Here I have to say was my idea of heaven and the prices were much more resonable that Shibuya 109. Items here started from 1,000 yen and you can also find smiliar items that Shibuya 109 sells but at a fraction of the cost! I spent about 2 hours walking here and picked up 2 items for 6,000 yen which I thought was a bargain.

Whilst walking down the street it is like the old generation of kimono girls and the cyber generation all warped here. It is very common in Tokyo especially to see females wearing kimonos and walking the street and there wouldn't be anything odd to it. I really do like how tradition is still very present here in Tokyo and possible the whole of Japan.

Also in Harajuku is home to Harajuku girls, these girls are also known as cosplay-zoku (costume-play gang) and they mainly show up on the weekednds, but I was lucky enough to see 2 girls walking down the street. I was too shy to ask to take a picture but have attached a link which I found on google which explains this more in detail.

http://www.mookychick.co.uk/style/harajuku_girls.php


I spent an hour walking the Harajuku street and my feet were beginning to ache and the crowds were starting to get to me so I decided to head towards the Meiji-Jingu which is next to the Harajuku station. So to be safe I headed back to the station and followed the signs which fortunately were clearly marked. I arrived at the park and was greeted by a huge majestic torii (shrine gate) and each one oyu pass in the park meant that you are going further into the grounds. The walk through was a totally different experience itself, I felt very peaceful walking through and it felt like an escape from the busy Tokyo streets which Tokyo is reknowned for. The day was warm and sunny but a cooling breeze made the walk ever so pleasant. On the weekend there might be a good chance to catch a wedding proceeding where the couple are dressed in full on kimono and walking through the park.

After passing a second torii, I came to the Meiji-jingu-Gyoen and I paid my 500yen to walk into the garden. The pictures I took does not do it any justice but all I can say is if you ever get a chance to visit Tokyo then this garden is a definate must see.

As I came to Meiji-jingu quite late I could not visit the musuem and the shrine as it closes around 4.30pm but next week will try and squeeze it in as it is meant to be quite spectacular.

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