Stu-Art: Day 8: Harajuku

Today was another beautiful day in Asakushabasi. Unfortunately Leigh and I slept through half of it. By the time we got up at 1pm David W and David Z had already been shopping and returned with more fun things. They had already eaten, so Leigh and I went around the corner in search of sustenance. I saw a sign for the “Honest Diner” that had some delicious looking pancakes on it so I suggested that may be a good place to go. I was correct, they were amazing! After that David W said he would like to go see a Shinto Shrine in Harajuku, so we set off on the train and arrived in the middle of what seemed to be a ceremony celebrating the opening of a new train line. I’m not sure how we’ve managed to be so lucky stumbling upon cool things happening while we’re in town... First there was Halloween cosplay at Tokyo Disney, then there was more Halloween dressing up in shi-BOO-YEA... Shibuya and now a big party in Harajuku. Just outside the Harajuku Station was a shrine archway that led to a candle-lit walk through a forest that had been planted to celebrate the life of an Emperor that had died, and at the end of the path was a shrine where we saw them preparing for a ceremony celebrating the 90^th anniversary of the dedication of the shrine. It was absolutely beautiful, especially as night descended and the candles shone brighter lighting our path.

We then took a stroll into the city of Harajuku and checked out the fashion strip where all the young hip kids go to shop, had something to eat and headed home.