The day began with the usual curious array of breakfast foods that tells you you can only be in Japan. Aside from the usual assortment of pastries and bread, there was spaghetti, something resembling bacon, cheese slices, ham, fruit and a selection of Japanese food that I was too cowardly to taste. The tea was good, the coffee not so much.
A punctual 9am departure for the train saw us arrive at Takeshita Street, Harajuku - a teen shopping mecca. We were there as the stores opened. It was Tokyo fashion at its teen best. Later in the day it was impossibly crowded. Not really my style at all. We checked out a Superman T-shirt for Dan, the logo was actually velvet and they wanted approximately $53 AUD for it. Seriously! When we went to walk away he dropped it to $44. Still not interested, his boss asked what we wanted to pay. No deal. Some of the T-shirt emporiums in this part of teen-Tokyo have been taken over by Afro-Americans, who tout for business in the main street and then whisk you away to a side street for the hard sell on an over-priced T.
We decided to reconnoitre the entire area of the morning's escapades and headed for Omotesando, an area that is supposedly Tokyo's answer to the Champs Elysee. Ah, no. Matches it with crowd numbers only and the over-supply of high end retailers, Gucci, YSL, Dolce et Gabbana and so on. The fashion tip from Tokyo is, tartan is back. No really, tartan, and tartan on tartan. The one thing about fashion in Tokyo is that it is OK in Tokyo and wear it anywhere else and you look like a prat.
We walked the length of the 'Champs Elysee' and back down the other side. Most stores don't open until 11am so it wasn't too crowded. Then I espied an Asics store. The one thing I tried to buy in Paris was a pair of running shoes. I lost count of the number of stores we visited. In Tokyo, first store, first pair I tried on and the special socks. And the shoes were on special- 30% off. And there was a 10% discount for tax. Awesome.
Back to Takeshita Street now that the shops were open. Urghhh. Over crowded with dawdling teens, drifting across the pavement like mindless drunks. It was a difficult street to navigate. Up to the top and back again and out.
We visited Omotesando Hills. Just for coffee. Well, it was called coffee. A tad on the weak side, but we sat and rested our feet for a while and pondered the monstrous queue we saw for a restaurant. You would need to plan well in advance, as in send someone in the morning to get in line for a lunch engagement. It was fascinating and the line had grown longer every time we walked past it.
As is usual for these areas the back streets held far more appeal than the main thoroughfare and there were some amazing shops. For instance, Barbie. No more needs to be said. And , no, I didn't go in.
We rendezvoused at 2pm on the main corner. The crowds were getting larger as were the curious (read dubious) fashions. Sadly, the crowds prevented many photos being taken.
Once assembled we departed for Shibuya on foot, thankfully one street back from the crowds. At Shibuya we divided ourselves into three groups and went off in search of bargains and food. And there was spent an aimless 3 hours or so, many purchases were made, many kilometres covered. We criss-crossed the area, occasionally running into other Gilroy people.
At 6:30pm we met at our agreed spot, post dinner and wandered back down to the statue of the dog in Shibuya square, to meet the other groups. More people I have never seen. The population of Tokyo is 13 million - half that of Australia - and most of them were meeting someone near the statue of the dog that night. Oh, you want the dog story? Nothing unusual for Australians, its like the dog on the tucker box at Gundagai.
You want interesting dog stories? We saw people pushing a pram and there was a dog in it, not a child. Not once, but on a number of occasions. For the younger reader, there may be some merit in that. #all I'm saying.
Once again, to the train station and the crowded trains. Once again we made it back together as one group. A considerable achievement given the crowds we have to sift through.
The large bags have been packed and are being sent via courier to Toyota tomorrow while we visit Hiroshima.
And so, to bed.
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