Day eleven

Harajuku – Clearly marked by an archway decorated by a motif that looks like a meld of flowers and fried eggs. Harajuku is perhaps the most eclectic and exciting place in Tokyo to wander through shops.

I was a little overwhelmed at first. Peering out into the streets from a little side café. I saw teens dressed in the funniest, loudest and most gothic outfits imaginable. Almost every other person had some parts of his or her body pierced. Noise chains, huge pierced ear loops, lip rings, belly rings.

Chills down my spin…

The shops carried very interesting buys. Lots of glorious gold and silver bags, belts, and shoes. Cute little tops with the funkiest Japanese cartoon designs.

I bought myself a little tote bag made up of double picture reflective film of Astro Boy. Has to be one of my best buy ever. I get asked about it everywhere I go! I love it.

Tokyo is a lot warmer than Kyoto. By noon, I had striped down to just my sleeveless top and folded up jeans. It felt good to feel the warmth again.

We managed to cover quite a lot of grounds. Starting from Harajuku. We made our way on foot to Shinjuku, Shibuya and back. Our feet were killing us, but our eyes still hunger for more.

We stumbled into a park with several [white] Cherry Blossom trees! In full bloom! Beauty!

We took the train back to our hotel for a much needed afternoon nap. After 2 hours. We were replenished and back on the streets again.

The neon lights of Kabukicho are really illuminating. You could hardly see the buildings, as they are all hidden behind millions after millions of bright signboards. I don’t think anyone actually pays any attention to what they are advertising. How could they? There are so many!

The streets are jammed packed with people. People in black suits, dolled up partygoers, teenagers with their baggy pants and skateboards, and vendors shouting to passing crowds. All seemingly rushing around with a purpose, and a destination. You almost feel lost not knowing what your next move would be!

One cannot walk along a street without getting a pamphlet waved at your face. Browsing along Kabukicho is quite a task. We got invitations into restaurants, bars, doggy clubs. Young men coming up to me asking if I needed a companion for the night! You could walk along a street for less than 300m and collect at least 5 packets of tissue paper! Fantastic!

We found ourselves a restaurant [with the best looking plastic food displays] and had Shabu Shabu dinner. [Shabu Shabu - a selection of tofu, mushroom, beef or chicken, udon and veges cooked in a big steamboat. Delicious.]

After dinner. We made our way to West Shinjuku. Park Hyatt Tokyo - The New York Bar, made famous by the movie Lost in translation starring Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray, directed by Sofia Coppola.

The view of Tokyo is incredible. The night-light stretches over the horizon showing the scale of this magnificent city. And the softly lit cool piano bar atmosphere made me feel like I was hovering over one of the most talked about cities in the world.

I stood for a minute by the huge glass walls that encase this bar and starred into the night-lights. It is truly stunning.

We were seated right next to the jazz band. With the skylights beneath our feet and the soft music by our side. We sipped our expensive cocktails and puffed on a Rey Del Mundo cigar.

What a beautiful way to remember Tokyo by.