Sunshine Meets Japan

Harajuku + Shibuya = OMG!

You read me right. Not only did I go to Harajuku, but Shibuya too, IN THE SAME DAY. To put it bluntly, OH MY FREAKING GOD IT WAS THE GREATEST EXPERIENCE EVER. No kidding.

So, I met Samantha at Futamatagawa station at around 11:00 AM, and from there we took the train to Yokohama station, where we picked up Taylor at “that good-smelling place”. Taylor and I had no idea how to get to Harajuku, but Samantha had gone before, so she led the way. We took the express train to Shibuya to transfer…

OKAY, I’ll finish this later because I have to go take care of bank stuff and see Harry Potter 6. AW HALE YAS. Love to all, go look at my Purikura! <3

I saw Harry Potter. Review to come.

Anyway, the transfer at Shibuya was interesting, because the train from there to Harajuku actually follows a very interesting route. Basically, the train goes in a circle, stopping all around different areas of Tokyo, including Shibuya, Harajuku, Akihabara (I haven’t gone yet, sadly…), etc. Harajuku is the next stop from Shibuya, so we didn’t see much of the route, but the map was interesting enough. :D

Now, allow me to describe the wonder that is the Harajuku shopping district. Perhaps some of you, like me, have gone for years thinking that Harajuku was some spacious set of department buildings or something horrendously ignorant like that. Well, needless to say I did not expect the reality. Harajuku is, more or less, one narrow, winding street that stretches for a couple of miles, and from the main street branch several smaller streets, all packed with street vendors and little cramped clothing stores, all packed with the same basic merchandise. Of course, Harajuku is known for its cheapness. Considering how bloody expensive the rest of Japan is, Harajuku is indeed cheap. :D And the clothing is cute, too. It all fits me weird ‘cause I’m big and bulky and the clothing is designed for petite and pretty Japanese girls, but still… >.> Waltzing through Harajuku accompanied by Sam and Taylor was pretty fantastic. I bought my brother’s present, and a shirt that I don’t know what to do with, but purchased because it was too epic to ignore. Those who are curious about said shirt may ask me in private. >_>

At one point, during lunch at McDonald’s, Sam spotted a pair of Lolita girls, both of whom were pretty adorable, and 100% decked out in lace. Sam was determined to photograph these two, but when she asked, they turned her down (politely, of course, being Japanese). At first I thought this was odd, but later, I saw another foreign girl asking a Lolita to take her picture, and that Lolita turned that foreigner down, too. Peculiar, right? Seriously though, we saw the WACKIEST looking people on that street. Awesome, even creepy-looking people. And a ton of gaijin. It was quite annoying, really, to see so many foreign tourist-type people. But we did feel pretty superior, especially when the tourists were fat. :D

Now, this next bit is a bit bizarre, and a bit controversial I suppose, but bear (bare? Dunno…) with me. Okay, so, there are a surprisingly large number of black people living in Japan, and an unfortunate fraction of them have taken to working the streets: meaning they approach unsuspecting females and take any opportunity to harass them. Namely, the females they approach aren’t Japanese. Phrases like, “How you doin’”, and in the case of the creeper who approached Sam, “Hey, nice True Religions,” make frequent appearances. I am by no means a racist, but I’m actually really offended and aggravated by this whole system of operation. :/ And it’s not just black men, but lots of foreign men (Middle Eastern, mostly), who seem to think that just because they’re in a different country, it’s perfectly acceptable for them to act like utter and complete repulsive jackasses. Seriously. No wonder the Japanese keep to the Japanese, if you know what I mean. :/ Anyway…

After a while, the heat became a little overwhelming, despite the fact that I had clothed myself minimally. So, the three of us shoved our way back towards the train station, and boarded the train back to Shibuya.

Now, here’s where I go a little crazy. Crazy as in geeky. Luca, Taylor, possible others, you know what I’m talking about.

Five words: THE. WORLD. ENDS. WITH. YOU.

For those of you who AREN’T awesome geeks like Luca/Taylor/possible others, The World Ends With You (TWEWY) is a video game, specifically for the Nintendo DS. The game is complicated, and I won’t try to explain its FANTASTIC plot, but the point is, it takes place 100% in Shibuya. :D For the record, TWEWY is the greatest game I have ever played, aside from Pokemon. I love it. Passionately.

So you can imagine how PSYCHED I was to emerge from Shibuya station, only to feast my eyes upon the one and only SHIBUYA CROSSING, and only a few degrees to the left, Hachiko (a famous statue of a dog, for those of you who are lame) (There’s a movie coming out about the dog, starring Richard Gere, I believe, called “Hachi”). Now, know this, fellow geeks: the map of Shibuya within the game is EXACTLY the same as the actual street layout of Shibuya. No kidding. Cat street? The Shibuya 109 building? The HMV music stores? EXACT. TO THE FREAKING T. Yeah, Shibuya is basically EPIC. And the 109 building is like any old department store, except for the blaring music, flashing lights, cosplayers, Lolitas, cat hoodies, screaming shopgirls, and all that jazz. :D Shibuya is DEFINITELY on my list of places to return to, eventually. LOVE. <3

I honestly don’t know which location I liked better, between Harajuku and Shibuya. But hell, both in one day? Can you say OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL ECSTASY?! (Mom, do you get that reference?!) (>_>).

In other news… Tomorrow (23rd), I’m going to a festival at Taylor’s station (Gumyouji), and the 26th, I’m going to Tokyo Disneyland with Samantha and her family (her family was actually originally supposed to be my family, oddly enough). Other than that, dunno what I’ll be doing. But six days from today, I’m coming home. :] And I honestly can’t wait. As much as I love it here, I’m dying to come home. I miss my friends, and my family, and pretty soon I just might explode from missing them so much. >__< <3 Seriously guys, I could not have survived here for any longer than six weeks. I LOVE YOU ALL.

Dunno when I’ll be online again after tonight, but we’ll see. I’ll try to write again before I come home. I miss having constant phone and Internet. ;_; MOMMY, TELL BARTELBY I MISS HIM, AND TELL GERARD I’LL SEE HIM SOON. Dad, keep writing to me, though I might not get them all if you send them now. xD Haha. Oh! Speaking of which, Molly Paige Philbin, I GOT YOUR POSTCARD. And it filled me with such feelings of warmth, I cannot even describe. :D And it made me miss you that much more. D:

Anyway. AGAIN, GO LOOK AT MY PURIKURA! :3 Plzkthx.

Love always,

Emma?