Honey2mooners: Harajuku lovers


Meiji Jingu

We headed out to Meiji Jingu after checking in although it was hard to get Krysia out of the hotel. I have a feeling that given a chance, she'd stay in the hotel for the whole stay. The weather stayed muggy all day but cannot stay cooped up in a hotel, even a 5* for the whole time. Meiji Jingu was close so it's a good choice for the first day of just trying to stay up.

Lovely park with a Shinto temple was just what the doctor ordered for an afternoon of jetlag and trying to stay awake. Started to notice a funny thing, something that Kris actually admits to: I will talk to anyone, for any reason, whether or not I know their language or not. And I will succeed in communicating. Which is exactly what I tell my English students: speak badly or speak well, but speak. If you're silent, no one will understand you. Even for such a simple thing as asking for a photo, I tend to ask the Japanese, she seeks Westerners.

Who's salty balls did you say these were?

Next step: Harajuku. A place where Japanese schoolgirls dress up like vampire lolitas, boys dress up as Pokemon and everyone just looks plain weird. To be slightly disappointed we did not actually many weird dressed people, but instead we had some takoyaki. The missus took to it like... a dog trying to eat a toffee... she's not a huge seafood fan, and what I didn't tell her that TAKO in takoyaki does not mean Mexican food but rather "fried octopus". Hehe...

Besides the food, Harajuku is basically one big mall for cosplay enthusiasts. Costume stores abound. Fancy a nurse? You got one. Sailor Moon: yup, not a problem. Hoodie with Hello Kitty ears? Why not? Whatever floats your boat.

Picture's worth a 1000 words

We ended the evening strolling the streets of Shinjuku looking for some more appropriate food (read noodles) for the chipmunk face. We ended up in a cute little joint selling ramen (noodles). You order from a machine like the one pictured on the left, get a ticket out, then hand it to the cook who whips you up a bowl of noodles. Kris trusted the "picture my food method" much better than the "point at the menu and pray it's not seafood method" yet still was surprised by the plate of cold noodles next to a bowl of steaming soup. That was before she was explained that you're supposed to dip the noodles in the soup. Oh, how fun! Couldn't you actually just put warm noodles in warm soup instead of cold noodles in piping hot soup? But wait... that wouldn't be so fun, would it?

Lost in Translation: Bill Murray's hangout in Tokyo

Back in the hotel, one final surprise for the wifey, we went up for a drink in the New York Bar on the top floor. The views are spectacular, the bar is awesome and the live music is actually as good as in the movie (a different singer though, albeit also a red head). We had two of their staple drinks LIT: Lost in Translation, a concoction made with sake, sakura liqueur, peachtree and cranberry juice. We both like it. I guess when we're back it's gonna be time to stock up the bar with some unusual items.

All in all we had a great first day. Japan has made a good first impression on Kris. Hospitality and friendliness of the people are legendary. Culinary adventures are bound to continue, let's just hope that the missus survives until the next country stop.