The view from Harajuku Station. I like the way things look here. It's not quite as chaotic as Shibuya and not as dirty as Shinjuku. The shops are nice and the people are few. I will definitely come back when the weather is better.
In the middle of the photo, there are two flowery things extending from the buildings. In between them is a sign with the name of the street. I don't remember what it is, but there are some nice shops down that way.
Here is a common sight on rainy days. A man selling umbrellas outside the station. Normally, umbrellas like the ones he is selling go for 250 yen or so. He was selling them for 500 yen each. At the busier stations, like Shinjuku or Futako-Tamagawa, I have seen these same umbrellas go for 1000 yen.
I watched this man for a few minutes as I was waiting for Sam to show, and business was booming. I think that he must have sold 20 umbrellas in about 12 minutes.
Ok, so down the street, you will find little boutiques like this one. I wanted a picture of this store in particular because of the kind of clothes they sell here. I don't think you can make it out from this picture, but those dresses out front are not normal. They have all sorts of frills and straps and buckles on them. Kinda gothy...like a cross between an oldschool Frenchman and a dominatrix.
Think that's weird? You should have a look at the people shopping in there. I wanted to go in and take a look around because, well, because I like that sort of stuff, but it looked like it was only women's clothing.
Ok, this is what we came to see. The shrine. What's strange about this place is that it is right in the city. You literally walk up a hill and here you are. All the concrete buildings and enormous flashing television screens give way to incredibly beautiful trees and structures that go back further than anyone can remember.
It's like a pond in the middle of a dessert. An oasis. Sam stumbled on this place yesterday on one of her solo walks. She must have been like, "...burger joint, clothing store, CD store, big huge forest with an ancient shrine in the middle, umbrella dude, ramen joint... Whoa, wait a second. What the heck is THAT?"
Like I said, it was raining all day today. This is a picture of one of the staff. I wonder if he has to wear that robe thing on the train?
At least it wasn't pouring, just regular rain. The weather kinda killed my adventurous spirit, but it didn't take away from the beauty of the shrine. If anything, it made everything look better. If only I had my rain jacket here, instead of my leather one...
Sam gearing up for a shot. She has this funky camera that looks like some sort of Martian death ray. A few minutes before I took this shot, she whipped out something that I thought was a camera, but it wasn't. It was a pre-camera. You look through it to see how much light there is, then you take our your death ray and obliterate the place.
Photography student, big surprise. =)
I feel like I am playing Tenchu (a Playstation game) for real. Now where's that grappling hook?
I think this was a funeral procession or something. Everyone in black, people beating a big drum in a slow rhythmic fashion and a sudden hush over everything. I missed it while fumbling to get my camera out of my bag, but at the front of this line, there are some people decked out in traditional Japanese garb. With the face paint and all. I would have chased them down for a picture, but didn't want to be disrespectful.
I'm guessing that this is the shrine that we came to see. It was blocked off though, so we couldn't really get any closer without having to outrun some guards.
Perhaps it was closed because of the funeral. Again, it could have been the weather, but up until this point, all I had done was walk in the rain and look at doors (see below).
What is a tourist trap without a souvenir shop? I was almost convinced that we were back in feudal Japan...until I saw that they were selling Mentos.
So, after only about an hour or so of walking in the rain, we got discouraged and went back to our respective homes. Not a very productive day, but at least I know of one more place I'd like to wander around during my free time.
Here is a picture of what I ate for...well, I don't know what to call it. It wasn't lunch and it's too early for dinner. Whatever. I ate at 3 pm. I am actually quite proud of myself. It may not look all that great, but it tasted ok. Better than my first attempt at friend rice anyway. I think that I am eating too much garlic.
There's really nothing to do at home. Which is sort of nice. I did all my chores yesterday and can sit around without feeling guilty. Not that I really had much of a conscience when it came to being lazy, but I now that I am so far from home, I feel that I have to keep on top of things more.
It's getting cold here. I hate that we don't have central heating in this place. The little portable heater they gave me doesn't do anything except glow a menacing red when you turn it on. I think it warms up everything in a three-inch radius. That does me a fat lot of good when I am not pressed up against it. So, I have to wear a toque in the house. I feel stupid.