Day 5 - 2014/10/04 (Saturday)

Harajuku and Toy Sapiens

A very late blog of day 5 of my trip so some photos such as those of items are outdated. Omatase Shimashita.

Some photos of Sensoji as I go for breakfast and make my way to the station.

 

Street vendors setting up for the day.

Asakusa Shrine.

Some water tasting thing and their mascot at Sensoji

A rickshaw near one of the entrances to Asakusa Station.

First order of the day was to go to the Aranzi Aronzo. I decided to walk from Shibuya station to the store which is about 20-30 minute walk but got a little lost. Stupid me thought I could remember the map in my head. After reviewing where I walked I was very close. Anyway caught a train back to Shibuya Station. Probably because I was on a different line I found myself in the Hikarie building. There was construction at the time and I believe still ongoing.

 Ginza line.

The Hikarie building as seen from the streets.

One of many good place to take a timelapse video of the pedestrian crossing

That is a community bus in Shibuya. Costs 100yen and you can use your SUICA/PASMO card. Different colours of this bus indicate different routes. Here is a link of their routes.

 If you look carefully there is a tourist doing a cartwheel at the crossing.

 Sorry no photos of the famous dog Hachiko. Already took photos of him last year.

Had a snack and drink at a cafe. If you are not aware of it already japanese leave their bags/personal belongings on tables to signify they have claimed that spot so don't sit in their seat.

Went to Loft. Bought a mechanical snoopy pencil that also had different colourerd pens in the one device. Bought other cute pen set for niece. Because halloween was approaching I bought a 3D card that illuminated and played the ghost busters theme. Really cool.

The logo out front is mechanical so it rotates.

Tried my luck at UFO catcher. The character is Rikka Takahashi from anime Chu2Koi. One of my favs.

It was a humid day but there are people who are comfortable wearing sweaters.

 I was sticky from the humidity but this girl is obviously cold.

I wanted to explore the areas of Yoyogi Park that I did not see last year so walked to the south west side but the whole park was closed and fenced off for some reason. Some Japanese were taking photos of the signs informing them of the reason but I couldn't read it. I wanted to see what goes on here on a weekend.

Walked past the south east entrance to Meiji Shrine as I already visited it last year. I was tempted to see it again because you get to see the bride and groom at a japanese wedding being paraded but I resisted. I will bring snow miku 2013 here if I visit again.

Walked past Takeshita street.

Episode 10 of Idolmaster Cinderella Girls occurs in various areas of Harajuku. Here is a comparison shot of this entrance. The decorations surprisingly match in this instance but they do change every year.

I did not plan to visit Takeshita street so took this one shot. I actually should have checked out Daiso. 100yen for each item (but you have to add tax). Daiso in Aus is $2:70 which is not very inticing.

The most surprising part of this trip was seeing the cool and interesting shops, buildings and cafes in the back streets of Harajuku. I would like to explorer again one day. I really wish I was a better photographer and invested in a dslr.

Anyway my destination is that glass building where Toy Sapiens is located. If you are a hot toys fan then this a a must visit.

I was across the street but my lens was still not wide enough to capture the whole store front. It was not that wide. Argh.

This is what greets you upon entering the store.

Full scale replica of R2 and C3P0

 

Played this pinball machine for 100yen.

Wow. Look at the size of that replica.

I will post a few photos of some collectables and not the Hot Toys as they will be a couple of years old now.

Walking the back streets. Amazing stores and and store names.

Tokyu Plaza entrance.

Konnichiwa Astro Boy (or Little Atom)

There is my next destination. Kiddy Land.

Omotesando dori.

 This place is really busy. It was a weekend after all.

A man and his neko.

Inside Kiddyland. So much cool toys. Took only a few photos.

 You like nano blocks?

Star Wars is popular in japan also. If you want to see more star wars merchandise go to the Kotobukiya store in Akihabara. Resisted and did not buy anything. Take your children here at your own risk.

After a long day need something to cool me off. No better way than for kakigori.

More backstreets exploring.

 Hello Kitty has a more edgy style here.

 There were definitely real life barbies in there. I guess you can only work here if you have long legs.

 I expect to see Bart Simpson in here for some reason.

Would you buy your clothing here? Only if it is cleaned thoroughly.

Awesome bicycle store.

Sorry for the very bad photo but I did try for about 5 minutes to get a decent shot but my camera is really bad at low light. This Audi building was impressive. You have to see it for yourself.

Walked back to Shibuya. My legs and feet were very tired at this point. Gotta soldier on.

The crossing is busiest at night.

Comparison scene from Oriemo s1e7 (17:33).

Train back to Asakusa. Talking on the phone in trains is not allowed. Even  on trains where people were packed like sardines it was quiet. I like it as I do not like hearing peoples conversations.

 Alight from Asakusa station.

Wall mural at the station.

Curse you stairs. You will do lots of walking and traversing many stairs in Tokyo so be prepared. Seriously. One time an old japanese lady was walking up stairs from a different exit. It would take her about 5 seconds to get up one step. I was a little sorry for her. It would have taken her a long time to get to the street.

 

 Luggage is full.