Another early home-coming.

Did the usual routine except with the added ingredient of mushrooms from a supermart in instant noodles. Oh and ready made miso soup too. Breakfast for the pauper again. Sigh.

If you had been following japanese culture for some time now, the areas Shibuya, Shinjuku and Harajuku would ring a bell. There are certainly places that appear on the must-see list of any avid japan fan, such as myself. Manga obsessed since primary school i was, back to the good old days of dragonball and doraemon, and more recently, all the animes that are saturating the networks even in tertiary institutions. Japan and the areas around tokyo had always been my destinations of choice since who knows when. So imagine me, with anticipation oozing through my pores, travelling down the Hikaru line with 2 minutes to go before i find myself down at the famous harajuku eki station.

With an image of teenagers in outrageous costumes and extravagant makeup lined up along the streets firmly etched in my mind before i stepped out of the station, i was mildly surprised when i spotted none of that kind parading around the station. Instead, the itenary for the day started off without a more contrasting theme - the Meiji-era built shrine for the Emperor was our first place of visit.

The place was nothing short of breath-taking. Trees of varying-shaded leaves lined up the entrance to the park that we had to walk through to get to the Meiji Jingu shrine. Leaves began spiralling down like snow when the chilly breeze broke them from their branches. A cooling brisk stroll in the morning with unexpected sunshine was nothing that i expected. We also passed by gigantic structures that confirms our arrival at one of the most sacred site in Japan - a Gate, pictured below. Once again this is not a picture that i took. Sad.

The shrine was not a disappointment too. It was huge, and i almost thought i was transported back into the Meiji era. We were even lucky to witness a wedding ceremony taking place. As usual, we sprang into 'tourist mode' at once and began snapping away furiously. For christ's sake i even took a picture of an old-looking tree.

Damnit 'i blog until shag liao so to cut the long story short - After we left the shrine i encountered a toilet that was seriously only meant for midgets and anyone below 1.3m tall coz the urinals are so short that i sprayed over the top of the urinal, wetting the sensor as a result. At the entrance to the shrine where the huge gate was, there were masses of weirdly dressed Cosplayers, finally living up to my expectation. Hesitantly, with much goading from my auntie, i took some pics with some of them who didn't look too scary. Then we went to the famous takeshita dori (street) where teenagers hang out during the weekends to buy their stuff. Alrite at least i bought something for myself coz it wasn't too expensive also. My best bargain is a 1000 yen t shirt!! $14 t shirt from japan! HA!!! I gloat at the misfortune of those poor sods who spent way more than me getting miserable items in japan (points accusing finger at brother).!! Feeling triumphant, we proceeded to Ometo-san chome where all the expensive boutiques line the streets. One things amazing about japan is that there are sooooooooo many boutiques of the famous brands here, each often occupying just one building by itself. Whereas in singapore you hardly find such things happening. Needless to say i can't afford any of those items so we finished that area quickly, and moved on to Roppongi Hills. Same thing there - all the big brands dominating the streets and i was so bored and hungry and tired after so many hours of walking and at 4 plus it was dark already so we left and took the subway back to Ikebukuro. Coincidentally its our place of stay, so thank god.

Ah.... shag days everyday and thanks to the companionship of my auntie and brother, i am spared the rigours of exploring the nightlife of Tokyo. Who says family trips aren't good? The camera is sucking the life out of my wallet here. 2 AA batteries bought at 7-11 costs around $6?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!!? Lucky i went Sony building yesterday and got myself 20 batteries for ard $11. Tan dio. Stupid japan technology.