2 posts tagged “harajuku”

With a bit of a shake this morning, I woke up. Not much of a quake, really, but enough to wake me up for a bit. I then drifted back to sleep again until the bathroom door blowing in the wind and smashing into the wall got me out of bed. Ah, older houses can be funny things.

Much like Christmas holidays with it's weird schedule and proximity to New Years, Golden Week is several holidays with days in between. Many Japanese take those days off entirely and hordes of people leave Tokyo to travel. Technically, this year, the holidays are Monday, Thursday and Friday (as today was the actual holiday, Greenery Day, a lieu day is given for monday). Next Saturday is also a holiday. I can't imagine what the train stations and airports looked like on Friday or Saturday, or even today.

So, today having absolutely beautiful weather, I decided to go for a bike ride on the new bike I bought last weekend. I'm so reliant on the subway, that I figured it'd be a great idea to get to know the city a bit better by being above ground and on the streets. With nothing much other than my bag, and thankfully a compass, I set off to find my way to Shinjuku.

It was mostly uphill and I did get lost a couple of times, but got my bearings again with the compass and managed to find my way to the skyscraper district. I actually amazed myself, really. The roads aren't exactly predictable here, let alone named much of the time and traveling through uncharted areas for me requires almost pure dead reckoning and luck. But, I did make it.

I was going to buy a bike-basket at Tokyo Hands, one of my favorite stores, but didn't find anything that I liked that seemed like a reasonable price. But I was in Takashimaya Times Square, so I decided that, hey, maybe there's some clothes I might like at Takashimaya. Uh, no. Nothing within my meager budget. Not a chance.

After the slow wander from the top floor to the basement, I figured I'd slowly make my way home, via Harajuku. Sunday afternoons by the Meiji Bridge are always full of incredible color and costumes of all the girls living out a fantasy of manga or anime, and as just about any travel guidebook might tell you, not really to be missed. Having been there a few times, I already knew the spot and just how crowded it can get. Well, I had neglected to think about that or that it's the beginning of a rather busy holiday week while pushing my bike through the crowds out in front of the JR station along Jingumae Dori. Wow.

But after all of the shoving and people falling on my wee little bike because they're not looking where they're going, I arrived at Meiji Bridge. All the primping and preening. It was better than ever. The last time I'd been up here it was still kind of cold.

Today was a nice and warm day, so the "Harajuku Girls" weren't wearing perfectly matching coats anymore. Seemed far more civilized if you ask me. And they'd multiplied. I knew there was a reason I'd waited to take pictures. Ah, but the crowds were rather thick making it a challenge to take photos with my point-and-shoot camera and still getting a good angle. I'm more of a fan of candid photography, so patience was really the key.

But, I did tire of trying to get a great shot, as I'm not always the most patient. There will be other weekends to gather more photographs of pretty people in pretty costumes. So, bike in tow, I continued on my merry way, along Jingumae Dori alongside Yoyogi Koen where I found the rockabilly's.

So much fun. Some of them looked like they've been doing this for 10-15 years. No doubt that's the truth. Past the food stands and bands playing, these guys just rock out to brutally distorted 50's rock blasting from an ancient portable stereo in their black leather gear. Must be terribly hot, as I was sweating in jeans and a t-shirt.

The light was changing, and my camera battery died, so I meandered my way through the crowded, twisted streets down through Shibuya and Daikanyama and once more found myself at the front of my house.

And wow, it's suddenly very late. Guess I should head to sleep. Fun times!

Yesterday, nursing a hangover from the night before (another story), I decided to take a peaceful walk through Yoyogi park and see the shrine. The serenity in the park is quite a contrast to the frenetic pace of the youthful shoppers and energetic shop keepers in Harajuku next to it. Even in the middle of a weekday it's quite busy.

The park is also busy, but in a much calmer way. A nice respite from the flashing lights and loud speakers that I've become accustomed to. It's a popular place for couples and tourists, both foreign and from other cities around Japan.

I walked up and into the shrine itself, marveling at the wood paneled buildings and catching glimpses of monks cleaning the shiny floors of areas off limits to visitors.

This park is very large, with only a small portion of it dedicated to the shrine itself. I didn't want to waste the opportunity to see more of the Yoyogi park itself so I left the shrine to wander down another of of the many pebble-covered paths twisting through the trees. It seemed and felt like the park went on forever. At points it feels like you're not in a city at all anymore. Not a sound other than the wind blowing leaves and crows screaming at each other high in the treetops.

I came upon a large clearing while walking, and the stark yellowness of the dried grass compared to the lush green trees was amazing. It served to remind me that it is still February, despite the fact that I'm accustomed to -2º temperatures this time of year, not the 12º ones that Tokyo is experiencing. It was also the first time in almost an hour of walking that I  was reminded so effectively that I was still standing in the middle of one of the world's largest cities.

I laid down in the grass to soak up the wonderful sunshine and breathe in the fragrant early spring air. A group of university-age students were practicing, it seemed, a play. Couples sat and talked or walked and talked. A woman sat and tapped away frantically on her keitai.

I got up to walk further around the park and discovered these two older men quietly enjoying the day by drawing. I slowly made my way out of the park, back to the bustle of Harajuku, back to a reality that I have become more at ease with.

Today it's raining, so I might not have anything interesting to photograph. The light, well, with this point and shoot camera, it's quite important to have a nice natural light to begin. Now I'm off to negotiate in the city ward for my Alien Registration Card. Paperwork, ho!

Update: Paperwork complete. Now I have a form that says I've registered and have to go back next week to get my card. Fun times. I only got lost twice on my way there. Not bad for not having a map. At least I know where the Tax office is, too.