For this 4th day in Tokyo I am going to a fashion district known for colorful and “kawai” culture cloothing , Harajuku.
But first i’m spending some time in the nearby Yoyogi Park. A park with old trees. A special vibe. In Japan , religious shinto places are delimited by a “Tori”. It’s basically a door that separate the normal world from the spiritual world. Traditionally you should bow once you pass under the gate. From that point you enter a spiritual place.
This is the Meji shrine. A shinto temple located in the heart of the yoyogi park. It was interested to observe the crowd around me. On one hand you could see Japanese people praying for the gods (the “kami”). All in a relaxed and familial atmosphere. On the other hand you could see the crowd of tourist (like myself) shooting pictures on everything they could. It’s always a bit strange to me. On one hand you could feel a deep spiritual experience that goes beyond our comprehension. On the other hand you see all this people taking the pictures because it’s pretty ^^ These contrasts always make me reflect. The obsession of capturing the unknown with our camera. Or just to say we’ve but here , we’ve seen that … oh well. Let’s go back to the blog !
After a good walk in a clean environment i’m heading to the super busy Takeshita street in Harajuku ! Time to do some shopping !
Mmmh let’s forget about the shopping ^^
As you can see this is a popular places amongs Japanese and tourists.
Harajuku is a fashion area which has a lot of crazy cloothing. Where Nakameguro was trendy and hipster , Harajuku is more extravangante. Expecially famous among young Japaneses.
Harajuku is full of theses shops. Also many sweet store where you could find rainbow barbapapa or the famous Japanese crepes. Japanese crepes are different that the french ones. They are rolled rather than flat. And they have more craziness inside of them. I wanted to try them but I knew THE place to try them out (more on that soon).
The soul of the main street didn’t really attracted me. A bit too much. But once you in theses backstreets man.
Follow your intuition and explore the area. The backstreets have more to offer I found. There is a more authentic and grown up feel.Β Also they were mostly Tokyoite here.
Some hipster shops with sweet architecture. Tokyo has impressive buildings all over. Very charming.
Okay now it’s time to find this famous crepe store π I’m using the app Maps Me in offline so that I can use all the small streets instead of the busy main roads. If you do this you can see residential area and have a break from the crowd. You see how people live which is also cool.
How cute are these narrow street.
The place i’m going is called PΓ€rla. It’s in Aoyama district.
It was a 10min walk from the shops. I saw a queue and knew it was the place. No tourist here again. You had a selection of many flavors. Including Caviar and Truffle on the salty side. This place was not cheap at all but quality was definitely there. Count 1300y for a the most expensive sweet crepe (11euro).
Say hello to “Sicilian Emerald”. Inside that crepe there isΒ : Pistachio paste , Semi dried cherries and a home made Chantilly. It tasted wonderful. Expensive but worth the experience.
Also meeting some cool people in the queue. We all got the same crepe. So yummy.
Now exploring Aoyama district. First impression ? It’s felt super rich here. Many Porch , Ferrari and Lamburgini driving next to me. Nice hotels and cool buildings. How chic .
Time for a cold tea break. In a trendy coffee shop overtaking the junction. It’s funny how the atmosphere of one place change according to the people that live in it. It’s like going to different bubbles each time.
A break is as important as a visit. Allows you to process slowly . The downside of travelling solo is that you cannot share theses great places. But it’s like thisΒ , pros and cons π
For my last experience of the day i’m going to the next district , Roppongi. It’s a place where young people gather. Museums , bars , cafΓ©s , a good place to hang out. But I didnt went there for that . I went for another reason ….
The Mori Tower Sky Deck !
This is Mont Fuji. We’ve got lucky to see it , the weather was perfect on that day.
Tokyo by night. Or should I say , a fraction of Tokyo by night. Can you spot the Tokyo Tower ?
The skydeck is a must do to get an idea of how big is that city. It’s gigantic ! A great experience for sure. The best aspect of it is that it has a good location where you can see great buildings and also it’s a rooftop so no window! I stayed more than a hour. It really felt like being in space surrounded by billions of stars. Count total 2300y to reach the top (20e). Worth every yen.
Tokyo is a fascinating place. His size is beyond comprehension. After today I realise that Tokyo is enourmous. I’m amazed to see how the biggest city on earth manage to be that clean , that spacious , that green and that cool. It’s actually possible , Japanese done it. 34 millions of people is insane for one place. But the organisation all around it make it feel small. Like many villages working hand in hand together. This create a very harmonious unit. I see Tokyo as a model for every city. It might not be perfect but it has a LOT of thing right. There is something to learn from every places you go and every people you meet.
Only in Japan.
See you for the next one guys π
Quiet , Shizuka γγγ
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