Last day in Tokyo - Part 2 (Shinjuku and Harajuku)

This is part 2 of a post, part 1 can be found here.

After lunch we split up. We were both coming down with colds (again), and Hunty was a day or two ahead of me on symptoms and needed to rest. Meanwhile, I needed to prove to myself that I could handle the Tokyo train system on my own, and there was plenty of Tokyo I still wanted to see.

First stop was Shinjuku, where I wanted to climb the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building to get a view of the city. I successfully navigated my way to the Shinjuku Station, which I thought and achievement, and then left the station in search of the building. The way was reasonably well signed, however, as I walked, there were fewer and fewer people. I was walking through underground tunnels, and despite being in the most populated city in the world, there was hardly anybody around. It was creepy. However, nothing bad happened, and soon enough, I was in a lift full of Chinese tourists, going up to the viewing platform on the 45^th floor.

Back in the Kansai region, despite thinking of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe as large cities, every time I've had a high vantage point, I've always been surprised at just how easily I can see across them. The cities stretch into one another, but are surprisingly narrow between coast an mountains. Tokyo, on the other hand truly is a huge city with skyscrapers, or at least highrise buildings stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions.

Next stop was Harajuku. I wanted to see Meiji Jingu (a major shrine), but couldn't figure out which direction to go, so I decided to wander through the shopping district first. I've never seen anything like it. I've seen some pretty busy shopping at Shinsaibashi Osaka, but that was no comparison. There were more or less two streams of people, and if I wanted to look at a shop on the other side, I had to walk about 15m past the shop, then join the stream going the other way, and try and get past the people while moving with them. The shops were all packed with people as well. It was definitely an experience, but I just can't picture choosing to shop in such an environment. 

Harajuku is famous for its weird youth fashoins, particularly Lolita, but Sundays are the day to see them. Since we weren't going to be in Tokyo on Sunday, I kept my eyes peeled, hoping for something. There was definitely a higher proportion of multi-coloured hairdos, superplatform shoes and weird stockings (spiderweb, anyone?), but I didn't see any “poster child” types that you see in the guidebooks. Then, just as I was almost out of the shopping district again, I saw one. Pale pink wig, short dress with massive petticoats, socks up to the knees, and super-platform boots. I followed her up the street, and when she turned around, I realised she was a Westerner. We had a bit of a chat. It turned out she was from Adelaide, and was spending a few months in Japan, and was very much into Lolita fashion. Stupidly, I didn't ask to take her photo.

We parted company, and I figured out which way to go for Meiji Jingu, but was disappointed to learn that it had closed 20 minutes previously. Annoyed with myself for not having gone there first upon arriving in Harajuku, I decided that I might as well head back to the hotel. I got on the train, and managed to navigate my way back to the home station without any mishaps. Feeling very pleased with myself, I left the station by a minor side exit, and had a minor panic attack because I had no idea which direction the hotel was from there. I walked a little in one direction, but it didn't look good, so I turned around and walked the other way. Fortunately, after a little walk, I could see a major street in that direction, and a few minutes later I was reassured to be on (relatively) familiar ground.

A girl in the Harajuku Station