Saturday (or Day 6) was spent recovering in my sisters dorm from all the walking we did at Dsiney Sea the day before. We decided to go out Sunday for some breakfast and shopping in Harajuku before I returned home for the holidays on Monday. Despite the cold, the street were packed with tourists and younger people in amazing clothes. I tried to capture some of that in the photos I took.
Before even making our way down to Takeshita Street in Harajuku, we stopped by Kiddy Land. It was a 5 story toy store and my sister and I toured through each one. We spent a good chunk of our day here but it was worth it to see all the various stuffed animals of mascots and toys that were popular among the adults and kids. We made our way to Takeshita Street and the fashion scene still continues to blow my mind. I am not camera shy but I still find it daunting to ask someone if I can take their photo. I think on my next trip I will finally be able to articulate “May I take your photo?” in Japanese with more confidence. I did do some shopping after eating some delicious crepes and came home with 3 coats. As I mentioned in a previous post, Fur, real or faux, was everywhere and my 3 coats feature faux fur detail that is also removable. (The weather as of late in the Bay Area has been unseasonably warm so who knows when I’ll be able to wear them and style them.) They were perfect for the cold weather there and I recommend buying a coat when you travel somewhere that’s cold because it will be suited for the climate.
After our time in Harajuku, we made our way up to Ameyoko. I had done a search on Youtube for what to do in Japan and visiting Ameyoko was on the list. I was intrigued by the name. Ame means sweet in Japanese and can refer to all the candy stores that used to be located in this area. Ame is also short for America and can allude to the fact that this area was a type of underground market after WWII and even today sells imported and American goods at some pretty high prices. My sister was excited to spot pinto beans here, so she bought some from one of the vendors and resolved to bring her roommates next time in case they needed imported food.
There are a variety of stalls in Ameyoko, and it is near a bustling downtown area with large department stores. It is also known for its fish market and insane deals. My sister and I happened to witness a type of auction for about $10, you could get all the items being thrown into the bag. I thought it’d be best to share a video of what that looked like and you can recognize some parts of English words.
This last location with all of its import goods was a good way to end my time in Japan for the winter. Before heading out from Ameyoko my sister and I made sure to buy some sweets from a store and stocked up on a bunch of goodies to bring back as souveniers. If I learned anything from this trip is that it makes sense to bring an empty duffle bag so you can check in your suitcase on the way back and have the duffle bag be your carry on. Especially if you need to fit 3 coats you had not planned on getting and extra sweets.
Hope you enjoyed my travel posts! Now back to business with my first beauty product review coming tomorrow and of course and outfit post coming soon.
Until next time Japan,
Brandy