Day 5

In an attempt to regulate my sleep schedule from its' seize-the-2am morals, I decided to nap for a short while around noon yesterday. Not unlike my other unflappable strategies to accustom myself to life here in Japan, it inevitably ended in failure (when will I learn). So I help myself to a nice 11pm breakfast and spend next few hours waiting for my roommate to catch me watching J-Dramas at 5am in the common room ... as she came home from late night Karaoke-ing with friends.  We had a really nice meet and greet after that, until she retired to bed and I was left waiting for sunrise and the second half of my day to begin.

The plan for the day was to meet with a language exchange friend of mine; Masae, at some point in the morning, somewhere in Tokyo. After exchanging hopeful facebook instructions with Masae, Simon and I depart for our first one directional trip on the subway. When we arrived, there were probably 20+ ticket booths in the station, with N-S-E-W ends and several similarly named lines. But luck was finally with us, FINALLY, because the first terminal we entered was actually the right one. Of course we couldn't help but wander the entire mall-sized station to eliminate any chance of a doppelganger terminal hosting a young Japanese language exchange student.

Three strong, we went to have some Japanese curry (another check for my japucket-list) at a humble restaurant that seemed to take the best cafe ideas from more than one of the Back to the Future movies. I got lots of chances to practice my Japanese, and with Masae there to help me, I felt more confident than ever. Unfortunately my skills did not follow my confidence up the ladder and I fell on my face more than once throughout the day. But it was still an amazing experience.

With a quick stop at a pseudo-accessible iPod repair store atop a quaint cafe, we headed for Harajuku, a popular tourist spot known for its' shopping and scenery. And I must say it delivered on both fronts. Takeshita Street (see pictures below) was described by an anonymous source as "gomihito"which roughly translates into people garbage, and the metaphor really started to make sense as we joined the sea of said gomihito.

We stopped at several places on Takeshita Street. My favourite, for anyone who knows me, was the amazing candy shoppe dubbed "Candy a Go-Go", while Simon was more partial to the hilarious times had at Purikura (pictures coming soon). These are the rather famous, high-tech photo booths that attract more Japanese school girls than a surprise Bieber concert ever could.

Emerging from the garbarrage of people on Takeshita Street to the open air of the Meiji Jingu shrines was such a breath of fresh air and even water. Seriously, we drank water from an old style washing vat outside the main shrine in a very tedious, almost religious method. The grounds were incredibly well kept, with lush greenery that appeared to be trimmed and styled by either jet pack operators or very, VERY tall people. I can't be sure, but it really was a spectacle, and among all the beautiful shrines and forestry, we got to witness a traditional japanese wedding as they marched through the main shrine into the garden. Passing by the ancient mosaic of sake jars again on the way back, we began to say our goodbyes to Masae, who we couldn't thank enough for touring us through the best of Harujuku before leaving for Kenya for 6 months. It was an amazing day, and it was all thanks to her.

The long awaited Monday is just around the corner, and Simon and I will be picking up our Alien Registration Cards and cell phones first thing tomorrow morning.

Ganbarimasu!