For one night I strayed away from the group. It was the night I was able to spend a little time with my brother. Lucky for me, Yoshimi was willing to join me and help me return to the hotel after our outing. Both my brother and Yoshimi said I would enjoy Shibuya. The others had gone to Roppongi; Tokyo’s most popular nightlife district among foreigners. I needed a little extra quality time with my brother so we just did a little shopping and grabbed a bite to eat.
It was a perfect night to catch up and take lots of pictures. I have to say, I really enjoy the fact that green tea flavored ice cream is sold everywhere; even in the convenient stores. I had a mini Green Tea flavored Hagaan Daz ice cream for dessert!
As one of the 23 city wards, Shibuya is one of Tokyo’s most colorful and busy districts and birthplace to many of Japan's fashion and entertainment trends. It is definitely a place popular to the younger generations and I loved every bit of it. The neon lights and large screens on the buildings reminded me of Times Square in New York City. The most unbelievable sight was at this large intersection that was located in front of the train station. When all the traffic lights turned red, an abundance of pedestrians cross the intersection in every way possible! It was so crowded that you really couldn’t see the street for those few seconds because there were so many people!
After Okinawa’s winning championship, we were able to pack up all the Warrior Girl gear and focus on sightseeing for the rest of our time in Japan. I was ready for more tourist attractions and Kamakura offered just that. Because of the many temples, shrines and other historical structures, this beach town is sometimes called the Kyoto of Eastern Japan (Kyoto was a town we were all interested in seeing, but it was very far from us).
We were able to take a few photos in front of “The Great Buddah,” (the second largest bronze Buddah statue in Japan) and on the way to the Hasedera Temple, I couldn’t stop staring at all the rickshaws! I had only seen these man-powered vehicles in cartoons!
But, the best part about being in Kamakura was that we finished our afternoon there with a little dessert; green tea flavored soft serve!
Because of Gwen Stefani, Harajuku was an area we were all interested in seeing. Harajuku is known to be the center of Japan’s most extreme teenage cultures and fashion styles and we wanted to do some serious shopping! Takeshita Street was the perfect place to help accomplish that goal. There, we found a ton of trendy shops and clothing boutiques all lined up in a row. I had so much fun shopping with Natalie. She probably won the, “Who can buy the most for herself,” Award that day. Natalie + Japanese Shopping = Love.
We were also hoping to take home a couple pictures with people who were dressed much more differently than what we saw at home. Yet, I felt extremely apologetic when the few we approached did not seem so interested in taking pictures with us. I hope they will understand our intentions were driven by fascination and not mockery. It takes a lot of confidence to stand out (especially as much as they did) from the crowd. The outfits looked more like crazy costumes instead of daily wear. It inspired me to change my wardrobe. Leah said she was going to stop spending so much time thinking what went well with other pieces and just wear the first ten articles of clothing in sight. I hope she really does it! I think the hardest part in doing that is being about to walk down the street and get a, “Wow!” response, instead of a, “Wow…” response.
It was a perfect night to catch up and take lots of pictures. I have to say, I really enjoy the fact that green tea flavored ice cream is sold everywhere; even in the convenient stores. I had a mini Green Tea flavored Hagaan Daz ice cream for dessert!
As one of the 23 city wards, Shibuya is one of Tokyo’s most colorful and busy districts and birthplace to many of Japan's fashion and entertainment trends. It is definitely a place popular to the younger generations and I loved every bit of it. The neon lights and large screens on the buildings reminded me of Times Square in New York City. The most unbelievable sight was at this large intersection that was located in front of the train station. When all the traffic lights turned red, an abundance of pedestrians cross the intersection in every way possible! It was so crowded that you really couldn’t see the street for those few seconds because there were so many people!
After Okinawa’s winning championship, we were able to pack up all the Warrior Girl gear and focus on sightseeing for the rest of our time in Japan. I was ready for more tourist attractions and Kamakura offered just that. Because of the many temples, shrines and other historical structures, this beach town is sometimes called the Kyoto of Eastern Japan (Kyoto was a town we were all interested in seeing, but it was very far from us).
We were able to take a few photos in front of “The Great Buddah,” (the second largest bronze Buddah statue in Japan) and on the way to the Hasedera Temple, I couldn’t stop staring at all the rickshaws! I had only seen these man-powered vehicles in cartoons! 
But, the best part about being in Kamakura was that we finished our afternoon there with a little dessert; green tea flavored soft serve!
Because of Gwen Stefani, Harajuku was an area we were all interested in seeing. Harajuku is known to be the center of Japan’s most extreme teenage cultures and fashion styles and we wanted to do some serious shopping! Takeshita Street was the perfect place to help accomplish that goal. There, we found a ton of trendy shops and clothing boutiques all lined up in a row. I had so much fun shopping with Natalie. She probably won the, “Who can buy the most for herself,” Award that day. Natalie + Japanese Shopping = Love.
We were also hoping to take home a couple pictures with people who were dressed much more differently than what we saw at home. Yet, I felt extremely apologetic when the few we approached did not seem so interested in taking pictures with us. I hope they will understand our intentions were driven by fascination and not mockery. It takes a lot of confidence to stand out (especially as much as they did) from the crowd. The outfits looked more like crazy costumes instead of daily wear. It inspired me to change my wardrobe. Leah said she was going to stop spending so much time thinking what went well with other pieces and just wear the first ten articles of clothing in sight. I hope she really does it! I think the hardest part in doing that is being about to walk down the street and get a, “Wow!” response, instead of a, “Wow…” response.
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