Harajuku is an area between Shibuya and Shinjuku. It is most famous for it's wild street fashions which range from the uniquely fashionable to the utterly bizarre. On Sunday afternoons hundreds of cosplay enthusiasts flock to the area around Harajuku station to display the artistry of their intricate costumes. Unfortunately, we got their quite late in the afternoon and missed most of the more bizarre cosplay. Still it was a good experience. We did see the rockability dancers who are all dressed like characters from Grease. There were also plenty of people showing off their musical talents which range from Christian gospel to funkified Japanese rock. And there was a group of people with bongo drums performing some kind of strange tribally inspired dance.
We also visited Yoyogi park which lies right next to the Harajuku area. Yoyogi park is another impeccably clean and well maintained park. It is home to the Meiji Shrine. Another Shinto, a religion that differs greatly from Buddhism and is much more pagan in origin, shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his wife. Again the shrine was marked by beautiful wooden Tori gates, and the shrine itself contained relics of the emperor and empress along with dozens of beautiful murals. Enjoy the pictures everyone. ;)
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| Conveyor belt sushi. Cheap and delicious. |
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| Me and Tim at the gardens around Meiji Shrine. |
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| Chantra and Tim in Yoyogi park. |
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| Harajuku station. |
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| Tokyo national stadium. |
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| The entrance to Meiji Shrine. |
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| Not sure what these barrels are for but thought it was a cool picture. |
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| The main complex of Meiji Shrine. |
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| Local artist being inspired by the scene at Yoyogi park? Dunno but it was very picturesque. |
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| One of the local Harajuku girls. Or was it Shibuya? |
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| This is the baby doll cosplay look thats so common in the Harajuku/Shibuya area. |
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| Tuna Charashi, miso soup, and green tea. |
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| Rockability dancers dressed like Grease characters. |
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| Me and Tim thought this guys was smoking the worlds biggest bong but it was some weird instrument that made a twanging sound. |
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| Even the toilet are high tech in Japan. |
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| Some graphic art from a pedestrian bridge in Harajuku. |
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| Chantra and Tim in front of the entrance to Meiji Shrine. |
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| Some kids on the way to Archery practice at Meiji Shrine. Man why didn't my school have that as a sport?! |
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| Some locals jammin to the sound of bongo drums. Felt like I was in Berkley. |
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| Beer anyone? |
I believe those are saké barrels. :)
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