Harajuku in the Spring

Tis Spring right now in Japan but the weather can be a bit funky of late. Its generally warm but from time to time there can be a sudden cold spell and it looks like we are expecting another typhoon next week ><

Today we take a photowalk around Harajuku where we explore Meiji Jingu Shrine, Takeshita Dori Street, Cat Street and some of the back streets too.

To get to Harajuku get off at Harajuku station [原宿駅] on the JR Yamanote Line or Meiji Jingu Mae [明治神宮前駅] on the Chiyoda or Fukutoshin Metro Line.

First photo - Meiji Jingu Shrine (or just Meiji Shrine).

Takeshita Street - I personally would suggest avoiding the weekends unless you like being bounced all over the place. Come here to see young fashion trends.

These days I pay much more attention to ladies shoes now that I've got my own line of them for my girls.

Crepe corner in Takeshita Street - it really doesn't matter which shop (there are 2) you go for but one thing you will notice is that whenever you go, one shop will have a longer queue than the other. If you go for the one with the shorter queue, you will notice that the queue will become longer on your side ^^

And now that I'm working on Eiji Smart Doll, I also pay more attention to men's shoes too. The plan is to do the Smart Doll line of shoes then expand to the human line.

A reminder that all these photos are in full HD (1920 x 1080) - just right click to save.

If you see bottles of water on the streets of Japan, take note that they are not for the thirsty traveller but are there to scare off cats which seems to not work wonders.

While you won't usually find graffiti and stickers plastered on trains and building walls, you will occasionally find them concentrated in spots like this one. It looks like a case of "somebody drew on this before so its ok for me to do so."

Just another day in Japan - a mecha being transported through the streets. How many of you watched the original Patlabor series?
Here is some of the recent live action Patlabor in action.

This post contains a video, click here to view.

I used to get out n about on my roadbike quite a bit in the past but now mostly on the longboard which is convenient when it suddenly rains as I can carry it on the train.
In Japan they don't allow you to carry a bike on the train unless you can fold it really small enough to fit in your pocket.

Back in the UK it was OK to stick a bicycle on a train and we were surprised when we first started to live in Japan - my wife bought a bicycle in Ueno and tried to get on the train with it only to be told to go away - she then rode the bicycle from Ueno all the way to Higashi Fushimi in West Tokyo.

Head straight down the middle of this photo for a nice walk to Shibuya.

Back inside Meiji Shrine.

Don't forget to purify yourself by washing your hands and mouth with a pail of water - don't drink it though!

If you are a dab hand at drawing then how about leave an Ita Ema here?

These white zigzag shaped pieces of paper are called Shide [紙垂] also written as [四手] and are used for purification and or blessing purposes. I first saw them when I played Kiki Kaikai on the Super Famicom back in the old days.

This post contains a video, click here to view.