Harajuku and More

Today was a very fun day. It’s a three-day weekend for Grandparent’s day, so I decided to splurge a little bit and travel into Tokyo. Turns out there are a discount tickets for holidays and weekends, all day on any JR line for 2300 yen ($22 approx). Sweet deal. So last night I told my hold mother that I wanted to go into Tokyo for the day. She was very excited because she really likes Tokyo. She told me that one day she wants to move into the city. Naturally she had a list a mile long of things I could do. Tokyo is a big city; the biggest in the world, so there are lots of cool attractions. She helped me pick out a few things to do that were interesting to me, and were relatively close to each other, so I didn’t spend the whole day on the train. I originally wanted to go to Tokyo Tower, but I also wanted to go to Harajuku. Since those two are far apart, we decided instead on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Center, which has a free viewing deck on the 45th floor. It’s like going to the Hancock instead of the Sears Tower. Plus it was right along the way to Harajuku, and then Shibuya. Those two districts are famous for being populated with young people. Harajuku in particular is famous for the ridiculous outfits and fashion trends that originate there. There is also a very large and famous shrine close by.

So I set off in the morning full of high hopes, despite the cloudy day. Since the ticket machines are in Japanese, I had the phrase, “could you please show me how to buy a holiday pass?” all worked out. Turns out the ticket machines can be in English too, so I didn’t use my practiced phrase. I considered pretending I hadn’t seen the English button, so I could use my Japanese, but I wanted to get a seat on the train. I hopped on the train and read and wrote a letter on the hour+ ride into Tokyo. I got off one stop short of Ueno at Nippori. Then I took a different line, the Yamaote line which rides in a loop around the main part of Tokyo, to Shinjuku station. This was the largest train station I’ve ever seen, except perhaps Kyoto station. It just sprawled forever. Luckily I had memorized how to read the kanji for Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. I like how in the stations here, there are signs pointing to various attractions. There is some of that in Chicago, such as Wrigley field, which you can see from the L station, and Navy pier and such. But in every station in Tokyo there are signs to Ueno Park, or Tokyo Metro. Gov. Build., or Yoyogi Park, or anywhere that tourists routinely go from train stations. Often the signs are in English. It’s super convenient.

So I navigated my way through the station by reading the Japanese and following arrows to this building. The station went on forever, under streets with passenger walkways. I was sure I was out of the station but then came a surge of signs pronouncing that I was still, in fact, in Shinjuku station. The place was eerily quiet and empty. The walkways were huge, obviously built to accommodate a large number of commuters during rush hour, but I was the only one for a large part of it. I could hear my own quiet footsteps echoing down the hall. I guess because it was a holiday, and most of the government workers would be gone. It was super creepy, like I was in an abandoned city. I was reminded of a book I just finished, Foundation. Of the capitol Trantor after the Empire falls. I know it's kind of dorky, but it’s a good book. I eventually broke free to the surface and got a glimpse of this building. I think it’s famous, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it before. It was a set of two buildings that were connected up until about the 40th floor. Inside were posters proclaiming the Tokyo bid for the 2016 Olympics. I got a little resentful towards those. I want Chicago to win. I forgot that Tokyo was in the race, it’s not a big deal here, at least not that I’ve heard. Those posters were the only signs that I’ve seen.

The observation deck was pretty cool. There was a restaurant, but I wasn’t hungry yet. Well, I was a little hungry so I munched on some crackers I had brought. There were some souvenir shops that I wandered through, not intending to buy anything. I ended up buying quite a bit. But I’m not likely to return to the place, so it was a good buy. I liked the tower, it satisfied my thirst for a view of Tokyo. I headed out to find Shinjuku station and board a train for Shibuya. Shibuya was really cool. It has a very famous intersection with tall advertisement screens and a ridiculous number of pedestrians that steam across every single light cycle. I look several good pictures, and followed this guy around who was wearing a ridiculous outfit until I could sneak a good shot. I was hungry and it was lunchtime so I wandered around trying to figure out what I was in the mood for. It was a classic case of too many choices. At first I was thinking beef, but after looking for 20 minutes, I realized I just wanted food, and stopped at a neat place that had ticket orders in English. You bought your ticket outside the restaurant at a machine very similar to a vending machine. Then stepped inside and waited for a seat to open up. The kitchen was in the center, circumscribed by a bar. I bought a large portion of something called “delicious noodles”. It was the biggest bowl of pork and noodles ever. It lived up to its name and I was thoroughly full. At least I thought I was until I saw someone eating ice cream and decided I wanted some.

So thoroughly stuffed I hopped back on a train for Harajuku. I could’ve walked, but I was feeling sore from track on Saturday. Harajuku was a busy and crazy as expected. The outfits I saw there did not disappoint. Several times I stopped in my tacks and practically gaped. I saw two girls wearing full dog suits. Several people dressed in red punk/ emo garb strolled by in a tight pack. But I wanted to go to Meijijingu shrine. Just across the street was this huge shrine/ emperor summer home. It contained the world’s largest wooden tori, which is the classic Shinto gate. I got into the center of the shrine, which turned out to be a large garden and pond/ fishing hole constructed by some emperor for his wife to go fishing. It was super peaceful. I journaled here for over an hour until my pen ran out of ink. Then I just wandered around the park looking and snapping pictures of the tranquility. On my way out I reflected on the two extremes that this region of Tokyo held. Just to the north of the train station is this intense frenzy of fashion, shopping, and innovation. Harajuku is the hippest place in all of Tokyo, except for maybe Shibuya. I’m sure there’s a lively discussion behind that. Even though Harajuku is modern, to the south of the station is this intensely old and culturally rich shrine and garden which as been preserved for a thousand years. These two extremes exist simultaneously in a tiny region of Japan, and it happens all the time. The Japanese culture is able to westernize to such a degree that they think McDonald’s is a Japanese company, yet retain such an old history. It’s quite amazing the ability to do both. I think that as a country, they've struggled with it for many years and will continue to do so.

Deep in thought, I headed back into the heart of Harajuku shopping district. I gaped at some more people, snuck some more photos, and headed into the thick of the crowd. It was a really crowded walkway. I found an awesome crepe shop. Japanese crepes are delicious. They put all sorts of good things on one and then roll it up to go. I got a strawberry, whipped crème, chocolate sauce one. As soon as I bit into it I realized I should’ve gotten ice cream. I guess it means I’ll have to go back. After wandering through Harajuku I decided it was time to go. So I got back on the train and made the return trip home, where I read about the fall of Greenland Norse and journaled with a new pen I bought in Harajuku. Tomorrow it’s back to uniform’s and school, and track. Hopefully I’ll be able to burn off all of the sweets I ate today.