Located at Tokyo's Shibuya district, Harajuku seems to be one of Japan's favorite tourist destinations when it comes to shopping. Wikitravel suggests that you go on a walking tour on a weekend so you could also witness the activities at Meiji Shrine. The itinerary that they suggest is to start at Shinjuku and walk south until you reach Shibuya. I did the exact opposite. Regardless of the direction, you will enjoy the experience.
Head north. You would see more of Shibuya and how it is like as you
cross its streets. You would then notice that the clothes somehow get weirder
as the crowd gets thinner. This means you are approaching Harajuku. There
really is no boundary because Harajuku is technically under Shibuya's
administrative control, but if you want some landmark to set some frontiers,
then that would be Omotesando.
Omotesando is a hilly portion of the district which is in a stretch
of long road, the northern side of which is where Harajuku is mostly
concentrated. You might want to wait for it to get dark at around 5:30 PM so
you could enjoy Harajuku's lights. For the time being, turn left at Omotesando
and go straight. You will end up at Meiji Shrine.
The area that Meiji's shrine and garden occupy is shared with Yoyogi
park. It is one huge green area that would definitely look awesome in autumn
when the leaves turn into a fiery red and orange, but looks like the setting of
the Blair Witch Project if seen with the leaves still green. It would be freaky
to stay there alone, especially in the dark. The woods look creepy. In any
case, head to Meiji Shrine, which is just a few cartwheels away from Meiji
Garden, which levies an admission fee of 500 yen. They say it has a beautiful
pond. I say I am not interested, and so off to the shrine I went.
The shrine was very active when I was there, with some tour groups
and people garbed in traditional costumes. Some of them were doing several
rituals while others were busy camwhoring. Japanese shrines tend to be a simple
mix of brown and green, which is just right because they have no business being
flashy. They are places of religious significance, not disco bars. Hello. I do
not know if I also walked around Yoyogi Park or I skipped it. The maps were a
bit confusing, and the whole place looked the same to me.
After the shrine, you could opt to head farther north and end the
trip at Shinjuku, but come on, would you really want to skip Harajuku? If it is
still a bit bright, then kill your time at one of the many food establishments
on either side of Omotesando. I had soms sweet pastries and iced choco at
St-Marc. Yummy. Anyway, even if you have a cheapo camera phone that has no
flash, it really would not matter as Harajuku's lights would suffice to take a
good photo or video.
The action is at Takeshita street. You would find two Harajuku
streets but they are not as lively as Takeshita. They are all pedestrian shopping streets,
by the way, with their own entryway marked by an arch with the road name on it.
Takeshita's stalls are mostly clothing items and anything you could connect to
vanity. The food stores are located mainly on the entrance in front of JR
Harajuku station. There are also some steady supply of K-Pop to be heard
blaring from the loud speakers (Sandara's Kiss when I was there) and anything
related to them sold through all types of fangirl merchandise imaginable to
mankind.
This is the place to snap that souvenir photo even though it might
be difficult to do so because of the crowd. You have to do it anyway! In front
of one of the lingerie stores if you want to be provocative! Or with one of the
cosplayers who seem to be mainstays in that area's landscape.
Cross the street to the two Harajuku roads if you want some peace
and quiet. Most of what could be found there are still related to vanity. Many
clothing shops still abound, but seem to be getting stiff competition from the
hairdressers, which are just as plenty. There are also some cafes that offer a
more intimate atmosphere for couples out on a date, or for singles who just
want to take a rest from half the world's population shopping outside like they
have received Sadako's ultimatum and thus only have seven days left on Earth to
swipe their credit cards.
Once you get tired from all the commotion, it is time to head to
Shinjuku, for more commotion. No, Shinjuku is mostly a transit area for
whatever line of the subway you have to take to get back home. However, if you
want more crowd and more shopping, Shinjuku also has a lot to offer and all you
have to do is explore. It seems as though that area does not sleep either.
Shinjuku is its own district by the way. By the time you get there, you are no
longer in Shibuya.
As the night was still young and getting back to the guesthouse to
rest would be a total bore, I decided to go south to Roppongi, which is in the
Mitano district. That was a very good decision because that night coincided
with the Halloween party madness that Tokyo residents take rather seriously.
Hey, they are notorious for being workaholic but they also know how to party,
and in costumes to boot! Unaware of the event, I came dressed as myself.
Apparently, I am not as scary as I imagine myself to be. In any case, Roppongi
serves as the favorite night time playground of choice for Tokyo's youth and
adults alike. Halloween or not, the party never ends there.
Spend a whole day for this itinerary if you want to maximize each
aspect of it. This is probably Tokyo at its most vibrant that you could
experience for yourself.
TAITO: 02 - Khaosan Tokyo Asakusa Annex
BUNKYO: 01 - A Stroll at the University of Tokyo
SHIBUYA: 01 - Party Party from Harajuku to Roppongi
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