Day 7 - Harajuku or bust!

It's our last full day in Japan. I can't believe the day is here. So many places we can visit, but where shall we go? The first plan was to go back to Harajuku, then make our way to Odaiba, and then meet up to go to Shinjuku with Jayson. After Jayson showed us how to get to Odaiba from Harajuku, we had second thoughts about going. It seemed like a long ride and we wouldn't have much time in either place if we did try to go. In the end, we stayed in Harajuku for the entire day, well more like 6 hours.


Harajuku is much different when it's not rainy. You see more Gothloli's out in their outfits. Plus there are more people out shopping when it's not rainy.

Body Line is now my favorite shop for all Loli outfits. All of the clothes are so cute and so cheap. I only spent 14,000 yen and got two Loli outfits with socks and a cute dress. There were many Gothloli's coming into the store buying new things. I wish I took their picture, but pictures aren't allowed in the store. You can't even try on the clothes.

It was Mango madness in Body Line. I think she spent over an hour and a half trying to get her outfits. It was fun helping her communicate to the worker. I think at one point Mango had $600 worth of clothes on the table. In the end, she narrowed it down to a little under $300 (32,000 yen almost). Mango is really into the whole Gothloli style, and I could tell when I spent all that time in the store.

I finally made it to Kiddy Land. There's five floors of toys with one floor for Hello Kitty. I was in heaven. So many things to choose from. I have to restrain myself. Don't want to go overboard. Some things I knew will eventually be released in the U.S. so I just have to have patience. In the end, I bought a champagne glass set. It was the last one they had too (よかった!).




After Harajuku, we had to head back to Ikebukuro. We all are meeting up to tour Shinjuku. Because of the typhoon, Shinjuku was taken out of the tour on Monday.

We first go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office to go to the observation deck. The elevator ride is so fast and smooth, and it's so quiet. It's amazing what Tokyo looks like from above. So many lights. Looking out each window, you can see all the places we've visited these past 7 days. To think, I've traveled on a train and walked these distances. There is a lot that we haven't seen. Tokyo is such a large city. Too bad we can't see it all. It'll probably take months to visit each area of Tokyo just once.

Of course I had to see if there was Hello Kitty. I wasn't let down. There are Hello Kitty lanyards with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office. I had to get it. Another lanyard to add to the collection during this trip. What am I going to do with them?

We have to hurry, so we can have a chance to see the lights of Shinjuku. It's amazing how many lights there are here. I could feel the heat being generated from them. The electric bill must be through the roof here. There are so many places to go on just one street. If you ever miss the last train, there are hotels and bars where you can stay until the station opens in the morning. I'd rather catch the last train than stay a night here. It's a little scary.




There are many advertisements for host and hostess bars. I was afraid to find out how much it would cost to be entertained by these people. Why would anyone sell themselves so short? Is it really worth the money? It's just very different from Hawaii. In Hawaii, there are the Korean bars, but they aren't displaying their workers like they do in Japan. It's not widely accepted in America. It's perceived as something bad and is frowned upon.

The night is almost over. The last train is in about 30 minutes. We end up bumping into an older woman by the name of "Betty Boop." She insists that we head back to the train station or else we will miss the last train. So she is giving directions to Jayson that leads us back to the station. It seems like she was a little drunk, but Jayson said to amuse her. The tour was cut short because of it.

Tomorrow is the last day. I have just a little more to pack, but some us went out just to talk and unwind before going to sleep.