I have decided to get off my lazy bum and update for our Japan trip back in Tokyo.
Maybe part of the reason why I didn’t update for this day is cos i feel really very bad at the events that happened. Fine – basically it was my fault and I screwed up the plan. UGH. it’s my fault. Also cos it was a super longggg day and i knew that it would take forever to update and upload everything…..
My and my itchy backside (i really like to use my bum as description for this post hey!) wanted to get all pics on FB and spam the rest of the Tokyo Band with them being tagged and surprise them that everything was done up already. However, it took wayyyy much longer than i expected and i crashed into bed at 4am with us supposed to be up the next morning to head to Tsukiji Fish Market (yes, the infamous tuna auction one!!!). We supposed to be up super early and be there latest 8am.
Come 8am, I was still K.O-ed in MST’s cosy little room with the heater on, hiding under the comfy doona and on the mattress… so it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that we missed the fish market as it was too late. *big haigh*
Us sound asleep in the room.. we took turns to wake up, go to the toilet and then go back to sleep. Somehow between turns these pictures were taken..
By the time we ALL were awake and the usual bathing turns, dolling up times and morning bowel movements were done, we trudged to the train station and started with our afternoon program.. Today was the only shopping day that we would have (as already planned right from the start) and i was dying to be back in non-sport shoe footgear that i insisted on wearing my ah-lian wedge heels out. After all, we would be heading first to Harajuku.
Pictures taken on the train ride…we are so touristy that we take photos on the train non stop.. love it!!
and oh! oh! oh! and since we were wearing suitable colours for it, i innocently suggested to MST that we should do a scarf swop.. of course the idea was turned down “there’s no way I’m wearing a pink scarf!!” Me: “but it matches your pink jacket!!” MST: “>.< my jacket is RED, not PINK!!” Me: “really?? It’s pink, your colour must have faded”. MST: “Shuttup B*!^%!!” (SEE! all the bullying i had to tahan!!!)
so i started scheming an evil plan to lure him in for the scarf swop.. whinge whinge whinge bug bug bug.. until he caved in.. for the one priceless shot.. proudly presenting: step by step instructions on how to get a straight guy in a pink jacket to wear a pink scarf:
Japan Guide:
Harajuku (原宿 “meadow lodging”) listen (help·info) is the common name for the area around Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan. Harajuku is known for the patrons that visit the area every Sunday. Every Sunday, many young people dress in a variety of styles that include gothic lolita, visual kei, and cosplay, among others and spend the day in Harajuku socializing. The fashion styles of these young people frequently vary and are rarely conformist to one particular style and are usually a mesh of many. Most young people gather on Jingu Bridge, which is a pedestrian bridge that connects Harajuku to the neighboring Meiji Shrine Area. However, Harajuku is not just known for its Sunday visitors. It is also a well-respected fashion capital of the world renowned for its unique street fashion. Harajuku street style is promoted in Japanese and international publications such as Kera, Tune, Gothic & Lolita Bible and Fruits. Many prominent designers and fashion ideals have sprung from Harajuku and incorporated themselves in to other fashions throughout the world.
The area has two main shopping streets, Omotesandō and Takeshita Street (Takeshita-dōri).
The latter caters to youth fashions and has many small stores selling Gothic Lolita, visual kei, rockabilly, hip-hop, and punk outfits, in addition to fast food outlets and so forth. Opposite Harajuku Station, Takeshita-dori is a narrow street packed with young fashionable people (ages 13-15) and lined with fashion boutiques and cafes. This is definitely the place to be seen if you are young Tokyoite, but well worth visiting as a tourist. Takeshita-dori represents the cutting edge of fashion in Tokyo where you can see all the latest in Japanese street fashion and then buy in the boutiques.
Afternoon program starts with… LUNCH!!!!!!!!!!! Desperate to find out the difference between the Yoshinoya-s in different cities, we hunted around for one… at one station that didn’t have, we didn’t want to settle for anything else.. poor Denny had to crack his brains and try to remember if there was one at Harajuku… fortunately for him, there was one and we found it after walking only a short distance.. yum yumm… authentic Yoshinoya.. here we come..
Pictures taken right when we arrived at the station…
Our trusty navigator trying to locate the Yoshinoya (or maybe just looking at sunnies) and our resident Luvo finding time for a serious Luvo..
YO-shinoya.. where are you??
Yeah!! Found!!! The 2nd picture is actually a traditional menu board.. so cool.. like from the 70s or something… retro or wat??
It was so crowded that we had to wait to be seated…
Waiting excitedly for our food orders to arrive.. and the boys looking cool in their sunglasses.. we’re indoors dudes!!!! helloooooo???
erm… no pictures of the food were taken.. unfortunately.. the food.. was… nice.. but i think the food quality at the Singapore outlets are comparable..
Move onwards.. to SHOPPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Staring with – takeshita-dori (harajuku street).
Check out the whole street full of humans behind.. YES, it was that crowded.. we were pushed and jostled around whilst walking from shop to shop. The poor guys had to stand outside whilst waiting for us with the challenge of finding a spot where they could stand and wait for us without being stomped on by the crowd. Also, that spot had to be noticeable for us girls to come out of the shop and signal to them to move on to the next shop.
the first few shops we couldn’t find them and with us loitering outside trying to find them we almost got swept away by the crowd.. then they would have to somehow get our attention to ensure that we weren’t split up.. it’s always great shopping with a gal pal to get the best bargains.. the first shoe shop we were at were having this promo. buy1 pair of shoes, get the 2nd pair at 50% off. no prizes for guessing that Jo and I left the shop with a pair each!!
Old aunty stocking up the ciggy vending machine.. don’t play play.. she also have uniform one le..
The street was full of gothic wear or punky funky shops that were err… a little too young-ish for us.. so we went with the flow (literally) and finished tat street rather quickly. Meanwhile the boys entertained themselves with Green Tea McFlurry from Maccas.
MST led us to the back streets of Harajuku which had shops too.. not so crowded and we could finally breathe and chatter to each other again.
I liked this style of dressing…
Jo shopping…
a shot in the back streets…
Luvo whilst waiting for Jo and Shi Fu to finish shopping..
Waiting.. the clothes shopping didn’t really entice me cos they were expensive (STUPID EXCHANGE RATE) and totally not worth the price.
Walking to go past the art design building… MST was very proud that he stumbled upon this a few weeks ago and wanted to share this find with us…
It was this red building with lots of pipes outside. The interesting thing about this Art Gallery” was that it was full of rooms with individual artists designing and showcasing their artwork in the room. In some rooms the artist would actually be inside too so that you could chat with them abt their artpiece. Very interesting concept!!
The front of the building and MST standing at the entrance. He looks petrified in this pic which is funny cos he ends up looking very scrawny.
The back garden of the art gallery which was actually a cafe area too. Then Jo decided to take some artistic shots…
with the tree…not bad!!
The back part of the gallery and the route leading down to our next shopping area Omotesando…
The “biggest winner” of our shopping trip had to be shi fu!!! we walked past this shop on the way and went in to take a look at their jackets as shi fu was interested to get a trench coat for winter.. that was the “before shot”
Here are the “during” shots..
Very matrix like!! nice jacket!! woots!!! plus Jo primping him up…
my attempt at artistic mirror shots..
MST modelling the sunglasses.. side view, front view. wat a great sport…
Not so great attempts at mirror shots whilst waiting for Jo and Shi Fu to finalise their purchases
Ha ha…these impromptu shots were taken of MST whilst he was standing around waiting for the trench coat purchase.. happily snapping away whilst he was “posing” around.. before being OPPS!!! Caught in the Act!!! Check out his “GRRRRR!!!!!!” face!
and of course.. the “after” shot of shi fu being very satisfied with his major purchase!! More major than Jo and my shopping for the entire day added up.
We then continued walking, it was like awesome walking through the back lanes which were dotted with interesting boutiques, stopping to browse through them, then somehow crossing a road and you find yourself in another shopping street with a totally different feel. Unique blend of shops that cater to different age groups someone co-existing beside each other in harmony. Unlike Singapore’s commercialised shops, with most places selling exactly the same style, the same designs of clothes with absolutely no individuality at all.
Ta-DAH!!! we walked past this Hello Kitty MAC shop.. and i rushed in.. only to find that all the Hello Kitty limited edition make up sets were all sold out. RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH… the best i could do was take a photo with the display window.
After what seemed like ageessss, we reached our 2nd main stop (not so much for shopping though cos it was a really high class shopping centre (like Paragon)..they had all the.. elite brands and some were so elite that i have never even heard of them. but with only one sales girl with no one in the store with their black gloves to handle the jewellery, i don’t think it was the perlini’s silver sort. hur hur hur.
MST wanted to show us the famous shopping centre cos it was very beautiful inside.. and then all of us decided to make the best out of it by using the toilet. wahhh.. even the toilets were so nice and atas…
Japan Guide:
Omotesando Hills (表参道ヒルズ, Omotesandō hiruzu) was built in 2005, in a series of Tokyo urban developments by Mori Building. It occupies a two hundred and fifty meter stretch of Omotesandō, a famous shopping and (previously) residential road in Aoyama sometimes termed Tokyo’s Champs-Élysées. It was designed by Tadao Ando, and contains over 130 shops and 38 apartments.
Construction wise, Hills, with its angled, continuous floor running around the perimeter of a large hollow space gives the building its ‘space’ – is a phenomena. Not because if its size – but for its ambience – an oft-ignored comodity in Japanese department stores.
None of these facilities ever appears as ‘in-yer-face’ as similar outlets seen in department stores elsewhere around the city. Instead, as with everything else in Hills, the shops here are a part of the larger experience, and it is always the experience that comes first.
Omotesando is about class, delivers class, and, you get the feeling, expects visitors to be just that little more ‘up-market’ than the youngsters down the road in Harajuku or Shibuya.
Jo showing off her long legs at the entrance of the shopping centre..
I have no idea wat I was doing in this pic..i think i was trying to get permission to go to the toilet or just doing a random funny “i need to smell my armpit” pose…
The interior of the shopping centre.. was like fancy lights galore.. like the interior of Crown Casino.
There were signs placed all around that informed us that photo-taking was not allowed.. In true rebel form, we took a photo of the sign before posing for another picture with the sign too!! just cos we are special like that..
With MST and MTB outside the shopping centre.. before.. we continued walking..this time our goal was to get to.. “Loft”… before being distracted by more little shops on the way..again….
we stopped at Uni-glo for them to buy stuff (not really my kinda style) and hung around outside the shop to just people watch and i did the ta-glam thing of changing into my havis cos my feet were getting tired and we were only half way through our shopping day. Once done, “battery” recharged and raring to go again to more shops! more shops! more shops!
MST led us to.. SHIBUYA!!!! here’s where we start getting confused by all the names of the places.. Shimbashi, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku… everything sounds the same and we had to correct each other like all the time…
Tokyo Guide:
Shibuya (渋谷区, Shibuya-ku?) is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. The name “Shibuya” is also used to refer to the central business district of Shibuya Ward, which surrounds Shibuya Station, one of Tokyo’s busiest railway stations. Shibuya is known as one of the fashion centers of Japan, particularly for young people, and as a major nightlife area.
Shibuya is famous for its scramble crossing. It is located in front of the Shibuya Station Hachikō exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection. Shibuya crossing is one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in the world and is a vibrant place where just standing on the corner and watching the people will give you a sense of modern Japan. Three large TV screens mounted on nearby buildings overlook the crossing. Video screens on each corner vie noisily for your attention along with bright blinking neon billboards and vibrant advertisements that seem to cover every available building facade and roof top.
Shibuya has achieved great popularity among young people in the last 30 years. There are several famous fashion department stores in Shibuya. Shibuya 109 is a major shopping center near Shibuya Station, particularly famous as the origin of the kogal subculture. Called “Ichi-Maru-kyū,” which translates as 1–0–9 in Japanese, the name is actually a pun on that of the corporation that owns it — Tokyu (which sounds like 10–9 in Japanese). The contemporary fashion scene in Shibuya extends northward from Shibuya Station to Harajuku, where youth culture reigns; Omotesandō, the zelkova tree- and fashion brand-lined street; and Sendagaya, Tokyo’s apparel design district.
It was such a relaxed for us.. that we kept on strolling along, stopping to take photos, stopping at shops…i think the only stressed one was MST cos he had never shopped so slowly before, and also cos he was the only one that knew where we were going… it was so much fun.. just walking around people watching and experiencing a day in the life of a Japanese.
Photos taken on the go… captured snapshots of shi fu looking trendy in his andy-inspired scard, jo looking pensive and capturing a few more luvos, MST hamming it up for the camera and posing around like an experienced model for the day, and me frantically trying to contact hiro-san for a meet up. just followed MST around leading us through the streets and alleys (till we had no idea where we were)…
So finally! we arrived at the massive Shinjuku Crossing and waited for the madness…obviously for more photo memories.. so basically it’s this huge traffic junction where the pedestrians can cross in ALL directions to get to watever side they want to. So once the green man flashes, all hell breaks loose at that junction.. where the crowds just suddenly magically appear from somewhere. everywhere you turn at the junction, you see neon signs and flashing adverts.. it’s true. i would be freaked to drive there, it would be highly distracting and stressful!
So here we are… i was ordered to stand there and take a photo.. but then the lights changed and everyone started charging in all directions and somehow behind and towards me..i literally went “HELP!!! someone else join me in the photo!!!” and then MST calmly walked over and posed together with me. Like, he must have been there so many times that the sight doesn’t faze him anymore. It seems to be over as suddenly as it starts.. and the people flow just stops and traffic starts again…
Jo and Shi fu’s turn at a human jumble crossing shot. very candid! i like!
After experiencing the whole fantastic madness of it all, we all felt that it was time for a sit down snack time! so the experienced MST led us to this sushi train place that is like eat all you can for a certain price (since we were slightly earlier than the dinner crowd).
yes, it is the sushi shop under Man Boo Cafe (cheesy name) and they have the best fatty tuna EVER!!!!!!!!! i would have posted more pics of the sushi there but uploading pics on wordpress is sooo painful. It was here that the sushi chef REFUSED me my standard Mayo… like he got seriously insulted that i actually had the cheek to ask for some. rah.. so had mayo-less sushi (other than the drizzle on top that he used for some sushi designs). it’s like.. you have mayo wat.. so why can’t you give me a saucer full. not as if i’m trying to insult your sushi mah.. literally stuffed ourselves silly. maybe that’s why i swore off sushi for a month upon coming back to Sydney.. but also cos the standard pales in compairson. hee…
Nothing beats heading towards.. MORE SHOPPING.. i was like “can we ever make it to “The Loft”. highly anticipated place of the evening… ahhh..but it was only a few corners away.. and we finally reached it..
It was like 5 levels of watsons/Muji/Departmental store.. ok..something like Mustafa Centre.. but of course more atas. They sold everything, from an entire level of cosmestics, entire flow of stationery and even furniture and toys!!! It took us like so long to get past the first 3 levels.. we spent a good 45 mins on each one (the stationery, cosmestics and other girlie stuff departments) and then spent like 15 mins on the other 2 more boring levels. as if we were going to buy a sofa home from there.. right? stuff there wasn’t exactly the cheapest anyways.. realised that most stuff have the disclaimer “made in China but for Sale in Japan ONLY” hmm.. strange. .
Shi Fu and Jo checking out all the stuff to buy…
Jo promoting the beanies there.. i told her not to buy this one cos it makes her look like a dying nana with lukemia. but still she thought it was pretty…
On instructions from another friend to buy this “slimming” bath soak.. from MTB and Shi Fu’s friend.. we went on the hunt for it.. and finally found it and went crazy deciding which one to buy cos there were so many various sorts.. spoilt for choice.. but not sure if it even works in the first place…
After much hurrying from MST (Cos we had taken centuries in compairson with his other friends) we left Loft and proceeded a few streets down to Shibuya 109.
Japan Guide:
As the symbol of Shibuya, Shibuya 109 rises into the sky and marks the center of a district that has long since come to be the gathering place for young people in Tokyo. Located near Shibuya station, Shibuya 109 is unique in that it caters only to young people and the building itself has become a word used often to describe the fashion of the teens who shop there and walk the streets of Shibuya. Often times, a new fashion trend started in 109 will spread rapidly across Japan as teens clamor to pick up on the newest crazes out of famed hub of teen style.
For many years now, the streets of Shibuya have been the center of many new fashion trends, as female college students started gathering there in the 1980s, followed by the development of Kogyaru fashion in the 1990s and the Ganguro and Yamamba fashions of the last decade. These fashion styles continue to evolve and reflect in the youth and products of Shibuya and in turn Shibuya 109
Us doing a luvo when we just arrived. The girls were so excited cos this was the place for girls to shop… a whole shopping centre dedicated to FEMALES!!!!!!!! but when we got there, we were sorely disappointed.. the shops catered to the funky youngsters (something like far east and bugis village) so there wasn’t really anything much that caught our eyes, we didn’t spend much time in any fashion clothes shop..
Plus the prices weren’t that cheap either.. in fact i thought there were really pricy.. PLUS made in Cheena… We did stop at 1 shoe shop though.. which had pretty nice stuff (but once again really expensive).. Jo managed to get a pair of trendy leopard print heels that was on sale.. so that was pretty good. just when the boys thought that their lucky star was out and they could get out of the shopping nite already.. (by that time they were pretty bored)
We were already heading out of the shopping centre.. resigned to our fates that we were to leave pretty empty-handed.. the boys led us through wat they thought was a short cut to the exit.. however, we found ourselves at this basement level that we hadn’t seen the shops at before.. tucked in the corner was this really nice little shoe shop (http://shibuya109press.com/0905/e_index7.html) called REZOY. the shoes there were beautiful. Taking into consideration the conversation rate, they were slightly on the pricy side, but the price of a pair of 9 west shoes were still pretty affordable.. considering we hadn’t really bought anything much that day (on hindsight, i only bought shoes on the trip!!)
So you can imagine.. we were stuck in the shop.. irritating the sales gals by trying on shoes of every style in every colour.. but being true blue Japanese, they still remained polite and friendly. 20 mins later, we were given the timer countdown treatment from the boys and settled our final purchases and headed out. Little did we know that whilst we were busy trying on shoes, the boys were actually coming up with their own strategy.. planning the exit route. Never would they make the same mistake and bash through the jungle blindly trying to find the short cut exit (which in the end extended their shopping torture by a further 30 mins). Once we walked out of the shop, we were promptly ushered into the lift by them and 10 steps later we had exited the building. The boys heaved a sigh of relief that the shopping part of the day was over. The girls set themselves up to cam whore with all the purchases of the day!!! WOOTSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!
Jo and I with all the shopping done that day!!! shoes! shoes! shoes!
We were finally done with that, and headed to the Shinjuku Red Light District (purely for the boys now) – Kabukicho. Which we all joked abt when MST revealed that the first dinner that he had when he arrived at Japan was taken there.
Jo and Shi Fu’s night shot at the mad scramble crossing.. Compared to the earlier shots taken, there were so many people!!! it was like.. crazy!!!! somehow they all manage to merge past each other to get to the corner that they need to go to.. (i remember this scene from an Amazing Race episode and how i really wanted to see it for myself)
Japan Guide:
The east side of Shinjuku is devoted to shopping and nightlife, including Tokyo’s largest red-light district Kabukicho (歌舞伎町) and gay nightlife central Shinjuku ni-chome (新宿２丁目). Its proximity to the railway station is the main reason for the proliferation of sex shops and clubs that started appearing in the 1970’s. It caters not only to both sexes, but to all sorts of sexual fantasies and fetishes.
What Sort of Entertainment is on offer in Kabukicho?
Kabukicho is an area of just 600 square metres, but it is, nevertheless, home to over 300 sex shops, nearly 200 clubs, 80 hotels, and hundreds of bars and restaurants. It is estimated that around 150,000 people pass through it each day. Kabukicho got its name from the Kabuki theatre originally planned for the site, but eventually, plans for the theatre were abandoned.
When to Go and What to Do.
Japan’s Kabukicho comes to life only after six p.m, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, and needs to be explored with caution, despite the many closed circuit televisions that are on view. People should beware of exhorbitant fees (always non-negotiable) and the fact that it is widely reported that the area is home to virtually every crime syndicate known to the police, including yakuza and triad gangs. Many of the locals deny this, stoutly insisting that the authorities confuse sponsorship with criminality
In 2004 it was estimated by the governor’s office that there were more than 1000 Yazuka members in Kabukicho. The Tokyo governor, Shintaro Ishihara, has recently managed to clear the area of the Triad (on Visa violations) but the latest menace seems to be Nigerian criminal syndicates.
What Sort of Bars and Clubs Operate in Kabukicho?
Some of the bars are ramshackle looking places but they have long been tolerated as a place where (sexual) pleasure-seeking Japanese – and visitors – let off steam. Anyone expecting the sort of sex clubs found in American or European cities could be in for a surprise. Here are entire clubs populated by pretend nurses, govenesses, secretaries, dominatrices – everything is available in Kabukicho. Here also can be found “naked karaoke”, life-size latex dolls (for the use of), a reconstructed train filled with short-skirted schoolgirls (guaranteed not to press charges) and even a giant tank outside of which businessmen in suits can watch naked girls swim underwater.
But the boys weren’t in luck.. and it started raining.. PROTECT THE PURCHASES!!! we noted that some people were carrying paper bags which had a clear plastic bag over them.. how thoughtful of the Japanese eh!!! to even have a special packaging for shoppers when it was raining!! We took shelter a while at a huge BIC camera electronic shop and MST wandered off to buy empty discs to burn all the trip’s pictures onto. considering that there were SO FREAKING MANY!
After payment, they gave me this jackpot token card and all i understood from my terrible command of Japanese and plenty of hand signals and their terrible command of English was that i could like get an attempt at some game station.. no idea.. but on our way down (5 levels of escalator) we saw this little touch screen machine and MST was like “eh, i think this is it le.. why don’t you try”… I had no idea wat happened, but just followed the prompts and gained more points.. i think i had like 3 tries and then some wierd error message appeared.. but neither of us could decipher it… so we just took a pic of error msg and walked out to join Jo and Shi Fu again.. how random rite? i dont think MST used the points in the end and the game was so pointless!!! ha ha ha…
OK, so we were finally done for the day and since we didn’t manage to view anything other than plenty of men in black trenchcoats giving out like name cards (they were pimps) to only the local Japanese.. they even have matching black umbrellas. so anyway we found out that they mainly entertain only Japanese locals cos the westerners are too kinky and tend to abuse the prossys. *sigh* sick sick society we live in man.
The sushi had all digested and we found ourselves searching for food again. As this would be our final supper in Japan, we did want to try out the shabu shabu.. but it was late and we weren’t sure of wat would be available near MST’s house. If we had stayed out any longer, we might have missed our last train back. We settled on this restaurant opposite the Shin Egota train station where we were keeping our fingers crossed that they would have that on the menu..
We weren’t in luck for the shabu shabu but everything else on the menu looked yum.. and everything we ate was simply delicious.. good choice!!! the food in Japan is really wonderful!!!!!!!!!! how on earth do they remain so skinny? Yes, sometimes life is unfair.. hee hee..
Posing around with the menus whilst deciding wat to eat.. and drink (like true blue alcoholics)
I was made to go out to view a poster that looked like it had the picture of shabu shabu on it.. turns out it was more of like a party menu and you had to pre-order.. duhhhh… so this picture was when i was on the “outer rim” .. almost starved to death it should have been a crime.
MST once again doing the honours of ordering the food..
Tired faces from the shopping day…
Tuck in!!!
I must have been whinging around at MST tat my hot pot was taking so long to boil.. and then Yeah!! it’s done.. time for cam whoring again.. just looking at the food pictures makes me hungry again…
MST distributing his hot pot stuff…
YEAH!!! Finally my Kewpie Japanese Mayonese!!!
All done.. it’s time for dessert!!
The desserts… more green tea, black sesame and red bean!! With a little chocolate orange cake.. VERY VERY NICE!!!
By the time we crashed back home was 1ish and all of us were exhausted.. see! whole day shopping is good exercise!!! why doesn’t anyone believe me???
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The world through my eyes... 