kenleewrites in 日本

Ever been to Harajuku? Ever fought your way through the sea of bodies along Takeshita Street? It’s not a pleasant experience. Especially if it’s summer and everybody is sweaty and sticky! I don’t know about you, but I really dread skin contact in those situations.

What if you could just whizz through Takeshita Dori. Forget about everyone. Forget about progressing 2 inches every 5 minutes (I’m exaggerating of course. ^^.) and just take a brisk walk through towards Shibuya. How would you like that? ^^.

Viola. Nobody Takeshita. How long do you suppose it’ll take to run to the other end? I went for a morning photo walk with two friends in Harajuku. Not seeing a crowd along Takeshita Dori is just mind-blowing!

We went down on a Sunday morning. 0730. Shops were all still closed so it was pretty much deserted.

Has anyone been here? Lots of posters of idols, actors, singers and everyone else but me. ^^. Can’t do any shopping now, but you’ll get to see a few new things along Takeshita Dori early in the morning.

Graffiti. I bet you can’t see this on a regular Harajuku midday.

In Japan, trash is very neatly packed and placed outside for the garbage collectors. No bins.

SOS-MARKET. Don’t believe I’ve been there. Must go back and check out the shop.

All these stalls look so different when they have their shutters down. I don’t recognize any!

Doesn’t say “Ken was here”. I wonder what “KenTo” means

I certainly haven’t seen this before! They must really hate Barbie. I don’t see Ken among those hanging. phew. ^^.

Lots of cardboard boxes outside 7-11. If you ever need any.

There are alot of small streets that run off Takeshita Dori too. A big challenge walking along Takeshita Dori on a regular day is to not keep looking straight ahead.

The crepe desert stalls are all halfway in. There’s a whole lot of variety to choose from. Lots of goodies wrapped in a thin pancake. Have you tried it before? I tried it on a few occasions and it has always been a little too sweet for me. ^^.

Nothing but the truth.

Some shops are running summer sales. Paying less for summer clothes that have less material in them. Good idea. ^^.

I believe there was a Sweets Paradise at the end of this corridor. It’s a cafe with a huge collection of…. hmmm… Sweets Paradise. Need I say more? ^^.

Just messing around. Please forgive me Spasso.

That’s it for Takeshita Dori. It was a very comfortable stroll. You should try it sometime too. ^^. If you squint, you will just about be able to see my other friend Alex in this shot.

We didn’t stop there though. We explored a little more.

When I explore areas, I like to walk through small alleys and get lost. Only when you are lost, can you find something new.

Have to find out where these stairs lead to another time.

I found a rather interesting place at the end of this street.

Check out this funky building. I saw the red okonomiyaki lantern hanging and wondered where the restaurant was. So I looked for an entrance.

I found this suspicious-looking narrow walkway.

I’m glad I followed the graffiti and walked through. I was surprised to find this oasis of a cafe!

Design Festa Cafe’s menu. Open from 1100-2000.

Design Festa vol.30. Tokyo Big Sight October 24-25 2009.

Pretty neat place to chill don’t you think?

I found out later that this is the west end of the Design Festa Gallery. It’s a rental gallery for artists to showcase their work. Might make a good spot for other events too. ^^.

Followed the Sakura Tei (さくら亭) sign and I came to the okonomiyaki restaurant. This is one heck of an interesting okonomiyaki restaurant. I’m going to be dining here real soon. Gotta show this place to my friends from Kansai.

This is the front of the Design Festa Gallery East end.

That art piece right on top reminds me of those tissue boxes where you pull a tissue out from the nostrils.

Walked around the area and found this interesting cafe. Yellow 96 cafe. Me is definitely coming back here again. Checked out their main page here. This morning photo walk is turning out pretty good. I’ve found a few new places to dine at. ^^.

I suppose this is where you sit and wait if there is a queue. Reminds me of Forrest Gump.

Please use the entrance.

Quite a cosy veranda don’t you think?

I took this photo because it reminded me of some apartments I’ve seen in a Japanese drama somewhere. You happen to know which one?

This goes towards Shibuya. Which is where I’m headed.

A Nike boutique used to be in that black building over there. Probably sold collector air force ones and nike dunks. It’s just empty now.

I was very excited to see new sights and find new places to shop…. probably.

No summer sale here. Just ummer sal.

Surprised to see 4 cameras keeping surveillance here. There’s always someone watching these days isn’t it.

A candid shot of sunnycamel as he walks past Lost and Found. Now you know where to go when you lose something in Harajuku. ^^.

Be sure to check out his photostream. He has good eyes.

Is this post a little too long? It’s the first time I’ve had such a long post with 59 photos. Are you tired of reading now? ^^. What to you suppose is a good length for a photo walk post?

A fancy shop front. I think it’s a clothing store. Very studded entrance though!

Here’s probably another cool place to hang out and get a bite, R/O-426. It’s quite an experience, having your meal served from a classic Airstream trailer in Omotesando.

Omotesando Dori.

Here we have the Jingumae “koban”, the neighbourhood police box. Omotesando Hills is conveniently located right next to the koban.

There’s an overhead path right in front of the koban. Took this picture when I was right on top. There’s usually alot of people walking along the sides and cars on the roads. At this time in the morning, it’s just empty.

On the other side, there are still lots of streets to explore. But we kept to this one between Anna Sui and Locanda F.Q.

I window shop here from time to time.

Here’s a new Nike boutique. Haven’t been in there yet. Heard that the building was designed by a very famous Japanese architect.

This is a very interesting street. You have some houses as well as shop lots. It must be fun living here. Probably a little noisy too.

I tend to frequent this Adidas boutique store. I like Adidas Jackets and have a small collection. Only those retro looking designs with the maple leaf. Gotta pack them up for the summer. Won’t be needing them for a few months.

cool sale.

I own a small Gregory pouch. There’s a small little shop here and this sign post is right beside it. It’s not to be trusted though. You can rotate the signs to face any direction you so wish Mt. Fuji to be in. ^^.

I like this neighbourhood. It has kid-friendly facilities. Great for people bringing me out.

This is the end of the this photo walk. I hope you enjoyed it. ^^. Will leave you here with Hello Kitty at the end of Cat Street!