Day 1

My first Sunday in Tokyo without work meant that I could have a lie-in like all normal people do, and also I could do a few of the touristy things that I never get the chance to do.

I met Dad and Barbara at their hotel, near Shinjuku station, at about 1pm. It was nice to see them, and strange to think that it had been 8 months since the last time I saw them. Their flight was fine, if long, but they didn’t seem too tired.

We headed out and to the next building – the Metropolitan Government Building – the first stop on my tour of South-West Tokyo. I thought it was a great place to start as they could try and comprehend the colossus that is Tokyo. We could just about see Fuji, although the weather was supposed to be clearer the next day.




After a short walk to Shinjuku station, which serves over 1 million people a day – it feels like each exit is bigger and more complicated than one main train station in London – we went to Harajuku to eat some crepes and see the ‘fashionable’ Harajuku girls. Gwen Stefani would be proud. It was also something that I hadn’t done, and there were plenty to see.



Most of them were willing to have photos taken, and they appeared to enjoy the attention they received. And we even saw a Harajuku 'guy':

In a complete culture shift, behind Harajuku is Meiji Shrine, and within three steps you change from seeing uber-modern clothes to old fashioned yukata/kimono. (This is the park that can be seen in the pictures above.)

There were lots of weddings going on around us, and I found it a little bizarre to have tourists walking and taking photographs around the ceremonies, but I guess it’s a public place after all.



This was a sweet message that – I’m guessing/hoping – a child wrote on one of the wish placards you can buy:



Following this, we headed towards Shibuya, passing all of the street performers – Dad has many photographs but he brought two cameras and I only took the pictures off one of them, so I’ll have to put them up later on. I did, however, manage to get hold of this group of Japanese “Elvis’s” rocking the park up. Very bizarre.

At Shibuya, we sat in the Starbucks and watched the hectic and hypnotising crossroads in all its glory.

And all this in only half a day; I feel tired again just writing about it!