Day 3 : Tokyo
Again it was a cloudy day and the weather forecast reported that it would rain. I prayed and hoped that the forecast was wrong but it was right. It was a disappointing day for me as the rain spoilt my plans and I could not enjoy my walk and shopping around the city. Today's itinerary was mostly shopping.
I left the hostel around 8.30am. The Nakamise Shopping Street is just around the corner of my hostel, a mere 5 minutes walk. When I arrived there were already many tourists around. Most of the shops were already opened for business but there were a few here and there that were still closed.
This is the place where you can find lots of souvenirs and nicely wrapped cookies to bring home. The Nakamise Shopping Street leads to the famouse Asakusa Sensoji Temple.
The shops here sell similar goods and prices seemed to be standard. These are some of the small souvenirs that you can buy there - magnets, key chains, handphone chains, decorated chopsticks and etc. The key chains and magnets cost around JPY300 - JPY350.
For something different, you can buy the pouch, the cookies, snacks and etc. They are so cute and sweet and I can't help secretly snapping the pictures to keep.
They also sell lanterns - nicely painted lanterns.
I wonder what is this. It really looks so delicious but I just had my breakfast so I didn't buy any to try. I really regret now.
As mentioned earlier, the Nakamise Shopping Street leads to the famouse Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. So hereit is a picture of how Sensoji Temple looks like.
Since my hostel was so near to Nakamise, I decided to drop the stuffs that I bought back at the hostel before continuing my sight-seeing. On my way back, I saw many trishaws getting ready for business.
After that I took the subway to Nijubashimae Station to view the famous Nijubashi Bridge. The two bridges form the entrance to the inner Imperial Palace grounds and this picture often appears in postcards so I thought I must view it myself. After you exit Nijubashimae Station (C10) exit 2, just follow the signboard to Nijubashi Bridge. It's only a short walk away.
Next is shopping at Shibuya. I wanted to visit the Center Gai which I heard is the birthplace of many Japanese fashion trends and the Spain Slope which is a 100m long pedestrain street with stairs leading up the slope to the Parco department stores. The area resembles a Spanish street scene and hence it's name. When I reached Shibuya Station, I had difficulty finding Center Gai and the people that I asked could not direct me there properly or rather I don't really understand them. As it was about to rain, I quickly went into a small restaurant to have my lunch.
In Japan, most restaurants have a food vending machine outside the shop or inside. You are supposed to order and pay for your food at the vending machine and pass the ticket to the counter. I thought I ordered just the bowl of rice for 500 Yen but when it was served it was actually a set! A bowl of rice and a bowl of noodle. When I looked around, I realized that most people are having two bowls. Maybe Japanese can't decide on what they want to eat? Anyway poor me, I have to struggle to finish my two bowls of rice and noodle for my lunch and I am usually a small eater.
After my lunch I had a quick walk around the area, trying to look for Center Gai myself. The internet said to walk towards the direction of the huge video screen at Shibuya crossing. Now which one in the world is the huge video screen? I see so many big video screens at Shibuya. And which crossing is the Shibuya crossing? There are so many people crossing the roads everywhere. Is this the one?
Or this one?
I finally ended up here and I suspected that this is Center Gai. It has many shops here and looks like a nice place to shop but before I could even start shopping, it started to rain! Gosh! I hate it! Everyone started taking out their umbrellas, and so do I. It was difficult to even walk on the streets and just look at the shops from outside because of the rain. So I gave up and move on to Harajuku, hoping that there will be a miracle there and there was no rain! Harajuku is only one station away.
Well, no miracle. It was raining when I reached Harajuku and many people were taking shelter at the subway station. I didn't want to waste my time there so I opened my umbrella and walked across. The Takeshita Dori is a shopping street in Harajuku and has many shops selling clothings, shoes, cafes and also has one of the largest 100 Yen (Daiso) shop here. It is directly opposite the Harajuku Station.
I love Harajuku. I would come back here again if I visit Tokyo again. It has many nice clothing shops.
It is also here that you will see many teenagers with their funky dressings, especially on a Sunday.
After awhile, I was tired holding the umbrella and I was also getting wet. My bag was also wet from the rain so I decided to have a short rest at a nearby cafe and have my afternoon tea.
The rain did not stop at all so I gave up and move on to Shinjuku. Shinjuku is an area full of big shopping malls and is not really the type of shopping I enjoy when I am visiting another country. Because of the rain, I have no choice but to shop indoor. There is a big camera and electronic shop at Shinjuku Station called BIC. It is located at the West Exit (not the Central West). Follow the direction to HALC. BIC is at the 2nd - 6th floor of HALC. For those who are into electronics and cameras, do visit BIC at Shinjuku. There are so many choices here and you will have a hard time choosing which one to buy. There are 9 rows of camera bags alone and boy, this place is awesome!
These are Nikon brand camera tote bags and just look at the colourful Pentax cameras. There are so many cameras here.
I left for home, I mean my hostel after that and this was my dinner for the night. I bought it from the family mart. Sushi and Green milk tea. It was cheap and delicious!
I look forward to my trip the next day. I am visiting Hakone and please please please, give me a great weather tomorrow and Fuji, please don't be shy with me for I am waiting to see you tomorrow too.
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