Japan Day 11 P3

Was out of town recently which caused the lack of updates. So to make it up, I am blogging at 2am on a Sunday :) The last of day 11 (5 more days to blog, finally!)

After our visit to Meiji Shrine, we dropped by Takeshita Street - the focal point of Harajuku's teenage culture. Leecher strategically visited this place on a Sunday in hope of spotting Nami-chan & Sakura-chan. Alas, I reckon that the weather was too cold for them to engage in cosplay, as we only spotted 1 guy donning a milk-maid's dress >.< The street is so crowded that you literally had to squeeze your way in and go with the flow.

Daiso, the 100 Yen shop in Japan! 4 floors filled with lots of stuff, which I had a hard time suppressing my urge to shop :( Bought munchies & cute gift bags for Leecher's colleagues, not forgetting matching chopsticks for our new house.

The sky is dark at 5pm. The bad point of travelling during winter - you have to race against time for sightseeing. Shopping? Anytime!

Shopping @ Burberry's (Harajuku). This is a down scale version of the Ginza outlet & each outlet have their own limited edition bags/SLGs.

I've lost count of the no. of times that I walked into Agnes B and came out with a shopping bag. Bought the heart campaign bag for Miaoli & the SA was kind enough to bring out all the colours for me to pick and choose while I was talking to Miaoli over the phone. During the rainy season, shopping bags will come with a plastic rain-cover (as seen above), to ensure that your purchases remain dry.

A visit to Kiddy-land, one of Tokyo's most famous and popular toy stores. Located along Omotesando, the 6-storey high building is filled with all kinds of toys from electronic games to stuffed animals. Up close & personal with my fave: Winnie the pooh!

Looking at Pooh & friends tapping/dancing to the song makes my day, so cute!

Omotesando has often been dubbed as the Champs-Elysees of Tokyo, where you can find all designer labels lined the streets on both sides.

Next up: Shibuya 109. We walked from Omotesando all the way to Shibuya, a grand total of 1.6km. The underpass to Shibuya 109.

Shibuya 109 building (Ichi-maru-kyū) is owned by Tokyu Group. The name of the building, 109, is taken from the Japanese characters to (meaning 10) and kyu (9) as in Tokyu. The mall is filled with trendy clothing boutiques and is extremely popular amongst the teenagers. Gyaru subculture originated from here as well. Shibuya 109 is pretty much like our own Far East Plaza.

Crossing the road in search for the famous meeting point ~

Statue of Hachiko, a dog who waited for his late master (Professor Ueno) at Shibuya Station every day from 1923 to 1935. His unwavering loyalty was penned down by Professor Ueno's former student & eventually, Hachiko became a national celebrity. Hachi: A Dog Story (starring Richard Gere) was based on the true story of Hachiko. The statue was built adjacent to the station & the surrounding Hachiko Square is now the popular meeting point in this area.

It wasn't easy navigating with 3 shopping bags + 2 maps....

While Leecher had it easy with .... no bags spotted.

Shabu Shabu at the famous ShabuZen, which was featured in Lost in Translation (where Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson eat lunch and complain about having to cook it themselves). It was very difficult finding this place. With only the address on hand, we combed the nearby shopping malls for a customer service counter to ask for directions. The gentleman @ the reception was extremely helpful! He took the restaurant name from us and looked it up in his bible of restaurant listing. He even went the extra mile of calling the restaurant for their exact location (significant landmarks etc), booked a table for us at the same time & wrote down the directions on a piece of paper for us. So touched by his sweet gesture. We walked for a long time before we approach another passer-by for directions. He walked with us to the restaurant, so kind! Felt so lucky to meet helpful people on trips :)

Condiments for Shabu Shabu. Usually, two dipping sauces are provided, which are traditionally a goma (sesame seed) sauce and a ponzu dipping sauce.

Spring onions & radish to add to the flavour :)

Hungry, but still have to wait for the soup to boil ~

Pure torture - looking at the meat yet you cant eat, arg! Evil Leecher purposely push the veggies to me, so that he can eat more beef.

See how he strategically place the tray of beef close to him?

Shabu shabu's name literally translates to "swish swish," the noise that the meat makes as it is swirled through hot broth with chopsticks. Being true Singaporeans, we went for the buffet menu, which means we can order as many trays of beef as we want! Wa ha ha ....

We were so excited at eating shabu shabu that we devoured the first 2 plates within minutes. When we got onto the 3rd tray - still manageable. 4th tray - 80% full. 5th tray - pure agony. We were so full that we didn't want to eat beef ever again, lol.

Just when we were about to call for the bill, the waitress came over with a tray of noodles & mochi. Imagine our shock when we realised that we still have to eat the noodles. According to the "customs" of Shabu Shabu, after finishing the meat, the broth is strained and poured into a cup with udon noodles and a piece of mochi and consumed as a refreshing finish to the meal. Refreshing? I beg to differ - it's certainly not refreshing when you have 2 adults who are about to "merlion".

A visit to the washroom: cotton buds, tooth picks & face blotter. Wow, so high class!

Got mouth wash somemore! No wonder the bill also v nice, officially the most expensive meal of the trip.

Japan Day 11 P2

From the vibrant and trend-setting Harajuku, we proceed to the more tranquil and traditional atmosphere of Meiji Shrine located within walking distance from Harajuku station.

A pic at the entrance before we proceed.

Pretty long walk from the entrance.

I wonder what is in these containers? Kimchi?

Another roll of barrels on the side. But I can tell it's wine over here. As to why is there Western wine in such a traditional place... ...

The Meiji period was an enlightened period during which a policy of Japanese Spirit and Western Knowledge was adopted, to learn from the best of Western culture and civilazation while keeping Japan's age-old spirit and reverted traditions. Emperor Meiji led the way in promoting modernization by embracing many features of western culture in his personal life such as shearing his top-knot and donning western attire and in many other aspects of daily living. Among these departures, his Majesty set an example by taking western food and in particular by enjoying wine with it.

The barrels of wine to be consecrated at Meiji Jingu have been offered by the celebrated wineries of Bourgogne in France on the initiative of Mr Yasuhiko Sata, Representative House of Burgundy in Tokyo, Honorary Citizen of Bourgogne and owner of the Chateau de Chailly Hotel-Golf. Profound gratitude is due to the winemakers who have so generously contributed to this precious gift to be consecrated here to the spirit of world peace and amity with the earnest prayer that France and Japan will enjoy many more fruitful years of friendship.

"By gaining the good and rejecting what is wrong. It is our desire that we'll compare favourably with other lands abroad" from Emperor Meiji.

So I guess that was the period when the modernization of Japan took place.

Just as when we were thinking of asking for directions again, we saw the signage.

I think they are having some festival today, since there were many beautifully created sculptures made of vegetables.

And cute kids doled out in traditional costumes.

Can't let Blamer beat me, I got TWO kawaii kids to take pictures with me.

In the shrine yard, there is supposed to be a sacred camphor tree and the fence around it is covered with these wooden votive tablets. Worshipers can buy a tablet and write a wish or prayer on it. The shrine priests will then pray daily for this wish to come true.

Behind us is the main hall. This was a reconstructed shrine because the original shrine was destroyed by fire in air raids during the World War II. The materials used were mainly Japanese cypresses with copper plates for the roofs. The Shrine is dedicated to the divine souls of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken, who laid the foundations for modern Japan and promoted peace and prosperity for the country.

More cam-whoring. Lotsa artifacts bearing the symbol of the Imperial Sun.

It's time to fill up the stomach after absorbing so much history.

Back to Harajuku where we get to savour one of the highly recommended ramen shop I found on the web.

And what else to order other than their Number 1!

Holding onto our tokens to exchange for our ramen later.

In case you missed it earlier in the pic of the menu, it says even the Prime Minister of Japan loves this rich broth of chicken, pork and various kinds of vegetables. (dun ask me which Prime Minister though...)

Itadakimasu!!!