Japan Day 9 - Harajuku

I have to admit that I don't think I've ever visited Harajuku before. I've been to nearby Meiji Shrine  two or three times, but have never bothered to venture the few hundred meters on over to nearby Harajuku (funky, eclectic teen culture doesn't really interest me). But thanks to my brother, who very much wanted to visit a few sites in Harajuku, it was on the next day's itinerary. I ended up really enjoying it, and wishing we had spent a few more hours there cruising the rest of Harajuku and Omotesando's architecture.

We were only about 20 min away from Shibuya Station from Harajuku, and the walk we took meandered past this wicker basket-ish building.

But before we crossed the street over to Harajuku, we wanted to take Joey, Ryan and Marc over to Meiji Shrine first. 

Ryan found a pair of wheels just his size!

My parents found this tiny dango stand and really enjoyed their fire-roasted age-mochi. If you look closely at this top picture, you can see the mochi (dango) stuck into a straw ring, being warmed by a tiny charcoal fire in the center.

His second (of three) dango on the trip...

This tiny cafe at the entrance gate to Meiji Jingu is a model for a dream home for me in the woods. Plate glass windows, cedar wood...I'm ready to move in here too!

I think I read that there are over 20,000 trees imported from all over Japan planted on the grounds of the shrine.

Sake barrels that have been given as gifts to the temple from around Japan

Meiji is one of the more austere temples (although on that day we were fortunate to be able to see two wedding parties, decked out in celebratory kimono), so we weren't there long. We soon crossed over to Harajuku, and made two visits to two different cat cafes for Ryan's sake (the first one required a minimum age of 13). I'd promised him that we'd try to visit one while we were there, and since there were two, I needed to make good on my promise.

Crowded Harajuku. Average visitor age by my eye: 18-20 years old. So we were 'seniors' there, and my parents were dinosaurs. ;-) 

As adorable, cozy and fun as Mocha was (the cat cafe), they're running a bit of an overpriced racket over there. The average visitor that I observed, darts in and out for a short visit, as the cost is a bit ridiculous. It cost Rich and Ryan $17+ for a 10 min. visit! Thank goodness I didn't go in too (as I'm allergic to cats), or it would've been another $8. It worked like this- $2 per person, for ten minutes, plus $5.50 each for the required drink (of which Ryan drank one sip, as it took time to get the drink, and he only wanted to play with cats of course). But because they started the timer the second you walked in the door, you were being unwittingly charged for the time it took to store your belongings in their locker, wash your hands, and change your shoes into sanitized slippers.

Once we left the cat cafe, nearly $20 lighter in our pockets for ten freaking minutes for Ryan with the cats (grrrr), we hit the main shopping street in Harajuku in search of the 3-story Hyakuen Daiso store (largest in Tokyo), and some delicious crepes (what they're known for).

Crepes as far as the eye could see down that street!

The cutest cotton candy you could ever imagine...Harajuku!

We chose a crepe shop advertised as the 'Oldest in Harajuku,' and as tiny as it was (think of a food truck), I think I counted 11 or 12 women crammed inside working. The boys graciously let a waaaaay too enthusiastic me pick our crepe flavor. So it was a no brainer for me...strawberry cheesecake!

Not surprisingly, Ry was not a fan (MORE FOR ME)!!! He's not such a lover of sweets. He's definitely much more of a french fry, potato chip kinda guy.

Case in point, after leaving Harajuku later that afternoon, we all met back up at our second round at Uobei sushi! I'm not such a fan of sushi, as I don't eat seafood (Rich does, and gets to go crazy). But I still found a few things I could order and enjoy (corn salad, inari, desserts).

Yes, that's my son at a sushi restaurant eating fries and karaage. Don't judge. Fries make him happy. Fries make me happy. So fries it is, no matter where we are.

Like the hat? I don't either. But when you have heinously, badly-colored hair on a vacation, that hat goes EVERYWHERE. The hat becomes your best friend.

We spotted so many coin lockers at train stations and airports. I kept joking to Ryan that if he was naughty, it'd be all too easy to store him for a few hundred yen.