The previous post is Shinjuku (April 15).
The next post is Ueno and Yanaka (April 17).

Harajuku and Shibuya (April 16) · Apr 17, 05:32 PM

It’s cool and misting a little this morning, but not enough to warrant an umbrella. The ubiquitous clear plastic models are going for 300 Yen everywhere, and everyone has got one.

I take breakfast in Yoyogi park south of the olympic youth center and the Meiji shrine. The Meiji shrine is Tokyo’s largest Shinto shrine. It’s a 10 minute walk though the woods on a enormous pebble-lined corridor to the inner buildings. On the south exit there is a large stone bridge to Harajuku. Today is Sunday, so the cosu-purei crowd is out of school and out in force, despite the rain. It’s them and a bunch of camera’d tourists. I pause for the required been-there pictures, and cross the street to wander up and down Takeshita Dora. It’s bustling despite the weather. Lines for crepe shops clog up the flow of people, and all kind of cultural and counter-cultural apparel is being hawked. I love the shop names — Banana Fish, Nudy Boy, Paris Kids, Snoopy Town.

Shinjuku is two stops north on the Yamanote line. I wander off into the shopping district to revel in the bright signs and crowds. I even brave 109. It’s ten stories of fashion-conscious and spend-happy teen girls. They all expertly ignored me as I tried not to gawk at the madness, fueled by happy hardcore, trance, hip-hop, or R&B muzak. This week’s ad-campaign for 109 features three fabulous girl in the back of a limo with pink roses and bling: “We’re living in the vivid time!”

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