Sunday – Omote-sando, Harajuku and Ikebukuro

A rainy, rainy day. Fortunately one of the hotel boys offered us umbrellas as we were leaving, we sure made use of em.

We got breakfast from a very, very tasty bakery down the road and got the subway to Omote-sando. There is a quite European wide boulevard there, full of expensive shops. Also some chic, if extortionate cafes, we stopped at one for second breakfast (well, for a coffee for Martin anyway.) Across the road from our window vantage point we spotted a huge toy shop, so we crossed over and went in. Lots of people and LOTS of stuff. All the possible variations of hello Kitty, Miffy, Snoopy, Madeleine etc etc etc you can imagine. Plus other cooler stuff like Star Wars things to keep MM amused.

Once we came out of there, the streets were quite full, streams of people all with their umbrellas (clear umbrellas are very popular here). We walked up, through some of the little side street shops, to Meiji-jingu, a beautiful temple in a big park.

Generally, Sunday’s here bring out “the flamboyant and outrageously-clad cosplay-zoku (costume-play gang)… mostly teenage girls, often those who are bullied in school. By inhabiting alter egos, they find freedom and acceptance in subcultures whose ‘official’ garb is wildly creative…” Only not in the rain. None at all. So we slooshed our way into the park and found the temple.

It is very beautiful, maybe even moreso in the rain. And to intensify the fairytale quality, we arrived just as a couple were being married. They came right past where we were standing and I missed a photo of the girl absolutely beaming, as some of the other guests jumped right in front of me to snap it. Fair enough! But it was all lovely to watch, plenty of kimonos and thongs, even in the rain.

In a different corner of the park, were a group of Japanese rockers – leather and quiff clad and all earnestly rocking to the classics, in a big circle. Very funny. Hey, at least they’re out there doing their thing, right?

From there we caught the subway to Ikebukuro, where, as it started to get dark, all the advertising lights shone out. At least it had stopped raining by now, though my shoes and bottom of my jeans were sodden. Again, lots and lots of people, all cruising on a Sunday afternoon. We checked out some shops and then eventually found a place for dinner. More dumplings, chicken and beef dishes and perfect, perfect boiled rice.

We made our way home on weary legs and I was so tired I fell asleep in the bath. Then transferred to bed and slept some more.