[Japan Tokyo Travel 3] All things nice at Shibuya, Harajuku, Meiji Jingu Shrine, Yoyogi Park

by JH - Wednesday, September 03, 2014

I am back with my 3rd series of my Tokyo travelogue. Sort of... I tried.

As mentioned I went during the Sakura Cherry Blossoms season and was really happy to see some of the major blossoms viewing spots in Tokyo. However, still left with some regret when I missed out on Shinjuku Gyoen and didn't really managed to roam around Ueno park coz of the heavy downpour. Though cherry blossoms might looked the same everywhere but I seriously love watching them in bloom ^^

Here I was at the famous Shibuya Crossing ( taken from Starbucks cafe, which was supposedly a good shooting location)

We attempted our Shibuya Crossing-' We were there' photos. ^^

I must thank my girl for doing such wuliao ( things with me... haha, things only tourists wanna do)

Shibuya is a shopping district basically with famous departmental stores like Parco...

...Shibuya 109...

...Oicity etc..

Side Track. The Kiki and Lala concept Cafe had just opened in Parco back in March/April and I was so excited and had planned on heading to the cutie cafe, where all the food served were all Little Twin Star style.

Limited edition Twin Star merchandises on sales..

But alas, the queue was super crazy long with flocks of girls all queueing up waiting excitedly to head in with their girlfriends. It was simply not worth the time for us to just queue for hours... thus we had to give it a miss :(

Nonetheless, still we have to take a photo with Kiki and Lala....

Okay, from my understanding this is not a permanent concept. Operated under 'The GUEST' cafe, the concept changes and currently the theme now is 'My Melody' cafe. No more Kiki and Lala :(

Here's their FB and website

Address: 150-8377 Shibuya-ku Udagawa-cho 15-1, Shibuya Parco Part 1, 7F, THE GUEST cafe&diner

Moving on

Singers and Kpop groups publicized their album on a moving truck with music booming along the streets. I wonder how's the driver's pay just roaming around the streets. Sounds like a pretty simple job haha.

heading on to The Shibuya Centre Street where all the fashionable brands and accessories are. Of course, many delicious eateries

We had some simple fuss-free ramen at those self-ticketing ramen shops...

So cool.. haha

These ramen shops are everywhere in Japan, not just in Shibuya and sells delicious ramen at economical prices.

Here's ours!

Super lots of condiments for I dunno what purposes~

Along Shibuya Centre Street- a bustling street with movie theatres, shopping, restaurants etc.

and strolling along the way, you will come across the street with the 'Little Spanish' nickname. There are lots of stylish little shops along the way and it got it's name as it was built similar to the concept of Spanish's streets with the steep and narrow alleys.

And we came upon this seemingly popular snacks store selling chicken! Aren't the girls so cute in their dressing? I should try wearing skirt in such cold weather, right? But I can't bear the chill~

Here's the yummy chicky snack

You can dribble with many different sauces available.

Okay our next stop is Harajuku. Stepping out from the lovely Harajuku JR station, the streets come alive with bustle of human traffic. Just across the street is the entrance to Takeshita Doori.

But we wanted to head on to Meiji Jingu 明治神宮 before sun sets. So from the station, it's just a short 5 minutes walk before reaching the entrance which will lead on to the shrine.

The way in is a long gravel footpath all the way in and along the way we saw some barrels of Sake wrapped in straws started out as offerings made for deities.

Similarly, there's also the practice of cleansing with water at the Temizuya.

And here we are at the Main Shrine area. Meijin Jingu is a place filled with peace and tranquility. Away from the bustle and hustle of Harajuku, this is a retreat on it's own. Quiet and much more serene, this shrine is the place to be.

Prayers for well wishes

Meiji Jingu is totally tranquil and it was actually the first time my girl was there too! She has never been to this shrine before and she fell in love with the place too... This is a lovely place everyone should make a visit.

Too bad it was nearing their closing time and we left shortly after some prayers and a little stroll.

The way out was such love... we had a great time just walking and chatting~~

Afterwhich, we headed on to Yoyogi Park, located just nearby Meiji Jingu. Sun setting then

Lovely Sun set~~~

There were food stalls nearby

As we headed on into Yoyogi Park, Cherry Blossoms greeted visitors!

The crowd has already gathered for Hanami under the trees

We managed to grab some pictures before the place got dark :)

Heading out, we went back to Takeshita Street

Guess what the locals are queuing for?

Yes GARRETT POPCORNS! I was told Japanese love Garrett popcorns, I dunno why, but yes there's only 1 outlet in town and this shop sees long queue everytime. I guess they might have some local speciality flavors? Hahaha... Now I know what to send over next time...

Takeshita Street is a youngster fashion street, with the latest trendy and cosplay shops as well.On weekends,you can catch cosplayers as well on the streets.