Today is the day to visit the famed Harajuku district to catch the cosplayers. Breakfast today was MOS Burger because Dear was keen to try the Japanese version which he heard from a friend, is very different from the Singapore one.
Making the walk to the nearest MOS Burger outlet in our area. We checked it the night before on my IPad as we made adjustments to our itinerary today.
I had the Yakiniku rice burger. It was more flavourful than the one in Singapore and had more meat juices. The best part is that the burgers over there in Japan are cheaper as well!
Off we went to the Meiji Shrine which was just beside the Harajuku station. Very nice place with murals about the life history of the Emperor Meiji and his unfortunate early demise.
The wine barrels sent as gifts by other world leaders to the Emperor.
Cleansing themselves before entering the shrine.
We spotted a wedding ceremony at the shrine. Pity we couldn't get good pics as the procession was already moving into the halls of the shrine when we spotted them.
You can spend a few dollars to buy a piece of wood to write your wishes on. The priests will pray for these wishes every morning.
As we leaving the shrine, we managed to get a glimpse of the bride leaving. There were two wedding processions that day. Seems like what the guidebooks say about the shrine being a popular spot for weddings on weekends is quite true!
After leaving the shrine, but not before buying some snacks at the souvenir shop (they were surprising delicious), we brave the crowd to Harajuku for shopping. It is maddeningly crowded there on Sunday!
The entrance to shopping heaven. Stuff there is cheaper in general as compared to the shopping malls.
And for the ladies, you must visit Paris Kid's, which is near the entrance of the street. Everything there goes for 315Y! You won't miss the crowd which is picking out accessories like there is no tomorrow.
Another must do in Harajuku is to get a crepe. There are two famous stalls which are just opposite each other. But I chose Marion Crepes which seem to be more famous than their counterpart Angels Hearts.
Our strawberry crepe with chocolate sauce and topped with strawberries. I know it's a very safe choice but we decided on it after seeing the shop's display that this is the top selling crepe. There are over 20 types of crepes, sweet and savory, to choose from; it's mind boggling!
For once, being in a long queue does not suck that much because you can take the time to choose what you want. And when you eventually decide, it's almost time to place the order.
After getting the crepe, there is a little staircase which leads up to an open area where lots of people go there to eat their crepes.
A warning: the public toilets at the food of the staircase rivals the standard of those in our hawker centres, so don't go there unless you really need to. There wasn't any toilet paper in the cubicles and there was a lot of rubbish (by girls who rip open their new purchases to try it on) on the floor. It was the dirtiest toilet I've seen in Japan.
What's nice about that open area is that there is a kindergarten where you can see the cute furnishing and children. We spotted adults having their own home cooked hanami in the playground- peaceful and nice.
I can continue to shop in Harajuku for a long time but we needed to press on to the next destination for Dear to do his shopping. We went back to Akihabara for where we did not get to visit the previous night.
The streets of Akihabara are closed on Sundays for pedestrians to work on. A very good idea as all the otakus are out in force to shop.
There were also street vendors selling figurines and toys.
Many many toy shops. I think there were still a couple that we left out.
Look at his damage. Only one of the bags belonged to me. So who's the shopaholic?
Our super late lunch. We finally managed to try the curry rice in Japan. Though this was a random restaurant in one of the malls, it was pretty good.
There are different types of curry in Japan, besides the usual one that we eat with the fried pork cutlet. I tried a milkier version that was supposed to go with seafood. It tasted like a watery version of our fish head curry.
After all the shopping is done, we went back to our hotel to unload the shopping before going out again to the Yasukuni Shrine for the night hanami viewing. It is near the Chidorigafuchi Moat, which makes the area one of the best spots for cherry blossoms viewing.
The Japanese have perfected the art of using lights to illuminate the flowers to showcase their beauty.
A weird fellow that we saw among the crowds. He was just standing there, showing off his bizarre outfit, and everyone else were snapping photos of him.
There are lots of food stalls set up outside the Yasukuni shrine for people to get food and sit down under the flowers to eat them with friends and family.
Our modest dinner, since we were not too hungry after a late lunch. Food was only mediocre and a bit on the high side, but it's too be expected of such a street fair. The money is paid to soak up the atmosphere in the place.
On the way back, we made a stop at the Family Mart again for more midnight snacks.
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