Modern Tokyo - Phlogtastic

So this is where it properly kicks off. A happy blog with funky phlog-tastic photos.

On Saturday (25th March), Steve and I went into Tokyo. We took our line to Shibuya and jumped onto the Yamanote Line, which is the big line circling Tokyo (the Circle Line if you will) to Shinjuku. We started there because that was where our orientation would be on Monday.

The thing I learnt about Tokyo straight away is that it’s not a capital (like Rome, or New York) in which you could walk around, and see, or walk past, most sights in a few days. As I may have already mentioned, Tokyo vies with Mexico City to be the largest capital in the World, with over 30 million inhabitants. Japan's capital is ridiculously big. It’s fair to say that it stretches for miles and miles and some people classify where I am as suburban Tokyo. There are about fifteen or so main areas of the city, each as big as a smaller European capital, if that helps give any perspective.

Today would be “Modern Tokyo”: Shinkjuku, down through Yoyogi Park, past Harujuku, and ending up at Shubuya.

Shinjuku itself is crazily high and wide. The roads are ten streets apart, and every building a skyscraper. We found the building in which Nova Head Office was based, the NS Building (complete with McDonalds, Subway, English Pubs, etc), on the 63rd Floor! The views were amazing, but restricted by reinforced glass. You could see for miles. However, most of the surrounding buildings were taller, so I’ll get photos from one of them at some point in the future.

The architecture inside the actual buildings is awe-inspiring; unless you had reason to go inside one you probably never would. Which is sad, when spanning up to about the tenth floor of the NS Building is a massive swinging pendulum clock. Believe me, it’s big.



Reassured that we’d be able to find orientation easily during Monday morning rush hour, we headed back down to Yoyogi Park, which holds the Meiji Shrine. A wedding was taking place. The pictures speak for themselves:



Further South, and out of Yoyogi Park, we crossed to enter the area of Harujuku but saw an aesthetically pleasing building, with much activity. A big pink inflatable ball floated outside, and we soon found out it was the National High School Volleyball Championships. The game started at 8:30, but we thought, “yeh, why not” and went to buy tickets. Another Japan lesson is that they run by the 24-hour clock. Confusion ensued as I kept asking in broken Japanese for tickets for that night, but kept being told “ima”, which means now. The finals began at 8:30 that morning. So we headed in. What a cool place. Every seat had a good view.





We stayed for a while and headed down to Harujuku. It’s amazing how much more innocent the teenagers are here. On the main pedestrianised street, high schoolers lined the sides either playing guitars and singing, or girls choreographed dance routines. Could you imagine 16/17 year olds in Bournemouth Town Centre learning dances!? One guy was mixing music at the same time as charcoaling a boy’s face.



We sat and got our bearings at the open-air concert stadium, where a punk band were throwing out modern classics, all the tunes you’d hear in nightclubs back home. From “Get Into The Groove”, through “June Afternoon” and not forgetting the one you hear everywhere, “Video Killed the Radio Star”. Man, they love this music here. It may be twenty years old, but they don’t care. It was here that I saw possibly the greatest thing in the world. These photos don’t do him justice. But boy he could dance.


I have a video of him break-dancing, I’ll try get it up here somehow. Unfortunately, I didn’t get shots of him jumping in the air and kicking his legs up. He could seriously bend. My favourite is the famous “bringing the plane down” move:

Through Harujuku and the crazy Gwen Stefani wannabees*, we came to the shopping district of Shibuya. Walking down the streets, I sensed a major landmark approaching, and it hit me and Steve at the same time where we were about to come to.

The busiest crossroads in the world. It was so cool. No-one bumps into anyone, yet there are ten places to cross. The buildings around it have ginormously-humongous TV screens.

We got food in a Ramen shop nearby and waited around until dark. Then we sat in Starbucks which has the best view of the crossroads. Supposedly the busiest Starbucks in the World. Again I have a video, of people crossing, so hopefully I'll figure it out...

So much more to say and show of Shibuya, but it can wait as this is nearly as long as my dissertation. One of the best days ever.

(To enlarge any photo, just click on it)

*I know they came first, but it’s easier to write it that way. Wait a minute…