Winnipegger get-together

Yesterday, I met up with two friends, Kim and Alex, who are originally from Winnipeg but are living in Japan (for about 4 years now) to teach English. They both live in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan so they don't come that often to Tokyo because it's a quite expensive and long trip. But they were in Tokyo for the weekend so we arranged to meet in Akasaka-mitsuke where we ate at a famous Korean restaurant, famous because many celebrities frequent that restaurant.

Chijimi, a Korean-style pancake

Kim

Alex, showing the display of celebrity signatures posted on the wall

We took a lot of trains that day. We went to Harajuku for some purikura, then to Shibuya to see the Hachiko statue.

Hachiko in Japan is known as chuuken Hachiko, meaning "faithful dog". In 1924, a professor at the University of Tokyo adopted Hachiko as a pet. Every day, the dog would greet its owner at the Shibuya station. One day, the professor suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and did not return. But every day for the next nine years, Hachiko came to the station to wait for its master. And so, near the Shibuya station, there now stands a stone statue of a dog, representing Hachiko, the faithful dog.

Then we took a few more trains to get to Odaiba, a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay. Initially built in the 1850s to help defend Tokyo, it has now become a major commercial area. We rode a giant ferris wheel overlooking Odaiba and Tokyo Bay. We chose to ride a clear cabin so we had to wait a bit longer because there are only 4 clear cabins on the ferris wheel. We were disappointed though because the bottom of the glass cabin was pretty dirty so you couldn't see much. But the view at the top was great. The whole ride lasts about 15 minutes.

The view at the top: you can see the Rainbow bridge

Venus fort: a shopping mall made to ressemble Venice, Italy

Harajuku & Shibuya

Last Sunday, I went to 3 different places, all three known as popular fashion districts in Japan: Shinjuku, Harajuku and Shibuya.

I think it was my third or fourth time going to Shinjuku. From Tokai, it takes about an hour by train. I felt pretty comfortable because last time, I had no difficulty finding the stores I wanted to go see. But for some reason, this time, just getting out of the station was a problem. Shinjuku is a huge station because it connects to so many other lines. There's a central passageway, a west exit, a south exit, an east exit... I think I wandered about 15 or 20 minutes, just trying to find the right exit. Finally, I gave up trying to find it on my own and asked someone for help. At least I know I can do that now, ask someone for directions. But I also do have a sense of independence and so I try to figure out things on my own first. But if that fails to work, then I resort to other methods ; )

So finally, after getting out of the station, I set out to find Kinokuniya, my favorite bookstore in Japan. And there are two in Shinjuku. You would think I would have been able to find at least one, but once again, I walked for about 30 minutes before I decided to ask for help again and then had no difficulty finding the bookstore.

Then, I went back to the station to take the Yamanote line two stations down to Harajuku. Harajuku is reknown for its street fashion. Unfortunately, I didn't really get the chance to witness this street fashion because I walked right away to Shibuya. And I don't think I really came close to the heart of Harajuku so that's probably another reason why I wasn't able to see the fashion-forward (and a bit eccentric, at least to North Americans) Harajuku fashion. But I'm planning to go down there again so next time I'll pay more closely attention.

Takeshita Street: a pedestrian-only street in Harajuku
with many boutiques and restaurants

Using the little map in my "Discover Japan" book, I walked down to Shibuya. I wasn't really sure if I was going in the right direction but I just kept walking. I came across this park with I assumed was Yoyogi Park, as it was written on my map. It did turn out to be Yoyogi Park. At the time I didn't know it but Yoyogi Park was one of the main venues for the 1964 Summer Olympics.

After again seeking directions from a few pedestrians, I finally found what I was looking for: the famous Shibuya scramble crossing. A scramble crossing, which is (quoting Wikipedia) also known as a "X" crossing (UK), a diagonal crossing (US), or a scramble intersection (Canada), is where all vehicular traffic is stopped to allow pedestrians to cross in every direction, including diagonally.

On the way back, I also took this photo to illustrate how meticulous the Japanese are.

It's a screen in the train that displays the train's information. Via the screen, the clients (people riding the train) are informed that the train is currently running a bit late because of the snow. In Canada, I've never seen anything similar to this. If the bus is late (in my experience, buses are pretty much always running late), customers aren't given any reason or explanation as to why the bus was late. Sometimes I think the amount of information given in Japan is a bit excessive but at other times, it sure does come in handy.

So that was it for my little excursion. But guess who I met at the Shinjuku station the way coming back? The Iranian girl who lives in the room adjacent to mine! I was in shock because you don't expect that in a big city like Tokyo. In my small little town back in Canada, it's a given. Any time you go into town, you're sure to see someone you know. But Tokyo? VERY rare.