Harajuku on a Sunday afternoon

Harajuku (ha-raju-ku; and, as usual, no emphasis on any one part), is an "interesting place". The Meiji Shrine, one of the most sacred places in Japan, is located just next to the train station. Also located within walking distance is Tokyo's Champs D'elysee, featuring the recently built Omatesando mall, housing stores by Chanel, Dior, Louis Vitton, Dolce and Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, and pretty much anything else Paris Hilton might want to wear.






However, mixed among the old and new, the religious and the commercial, are two very unique scenes. Historically, Harajuku has been a center for teenage rebellion.









Yes, as a matter of fact, I do support Taiwan for admission into the U.N., but I'm not sure why you need a horse-head mask to talk about it...





Tokyo youth gather here in all varieties of costumes and gaze out as everyone else gazes in. It's consistently the best place to people watch...and get a "Free Hug".





Goths and Dolls roam the main intersections off the train station.




Starving artists sell their work on the street.




Musicians play, both for money...




...and in the case of what I can only call the Bono of Tokyo, some sing just because of the unquenchable passion within (for the record, I'm not saying any of that with a straight face).

...but you don't have to take my word for it. Hearing really is believing...

And then there's this...

I'm standing there, watching this, and I'm wondering to myself, what are the odds that I would travel to Tokyo, Japan, immerse myself in their culture, and suddenly be transported back to the set of Grease?

Better question, what are the odds I'd see the Japanese equivilent of John Travolta getting out of his pink Cadillac?

There are also tons of specialty boutiques, thrift stores, places to buy all the Engrish clothing you ever hope to need (Engrish, as I'm sure I'll have plenty of chances to write about, are objects that "lose something" in the translation. Cool for them, hilarious for us. It's really a win-win.).

Stores like Nudy Boy...

and Sexy Dynamite...

and of course, Glitzy Chest...

And, as usual in any place in Tokyo, there are lots and lots of people...

And, on a side note, since you're probably wondering how Tokyo remains one of the cleanest cities despite being the world's largest metropolis, the answer is simple: these people are obsessed with their trash. Your eyes are not deceiving you, there are 4 trash cans there, each with a unique set of items it can take. Is your trash combustible? Uncombustible? Did it at one point contain liquid? If so, is it a metal or some other material? Think about it carefully, the wrong choice could get you arrested...

Meiji Shrine

Meiji Shrine, located near Harajuku Station in Tokyo, Japan, is the Shinto shrine dedicated to the souls of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken. Emperor Meiji died in 1912 and Empress Shoken in 1914.

Japan's largest Torii Gate, and, by default, the world's largest...

After the demise of the Emperor and Empress, this shrine was constructed to venerate them. Their souls were enshrined on November 1, 1920. The original building was destroyed during World War II. The present shrine was completed in October, 1958.

Barrels of sake donated to the shrine from all over Japan as a gift to the gods...

The shrine grounds consist of two areas:

Naien, or the inner precinct/garden, centered on the shrine buildings, which include a treasure museum that houses articles of the Emperor and Empress enshrined here. The treasure museum is built in the Azekurazukuri style.

Gaien, or the outer precinct/garden, which includes the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery that houses a collection of 80 large murals illustrative of the events in the lives of the Emperor and his consort. It also includes a variety of sports facilities, including the National Stadium, and is seen as the center of Japanese sports. It also includes the Meiji Memorial Hall, which was originally used for governmental meetings, including discussions surrounding the drafting of the Meiji Constitution in the late 19th century. Today it is used for Shinto weddings.

These areas are covered by an evergreen forest of 120,000 trees of 365 different species, which were donated by people from all parts of Japan when the shrine was established. This 700,000 square-meter forest (about 175 acres) is visited by many people both as a spiritual home of the people and as a recreation and relaxation area in the center of Tokyo.

The shrine was built in a garden area where Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken sometimes visited. The shrine was built in the Nagarezukuri style and is made up primarily of Japanese cypress from Kiso, which is considered the best lumber produced in Japan.

Sake Tasting and Fashion Show

So as part of our status in Tokyo as "Junior Socialites" we're obligated to attend some of the cultural functions that happen around town.

One such night, we found ourselves at The Super Deluxe in Roppongi for a Nihonshu (what Americans refer to as "Sake"; sake, in Japanese, simply means alcohol, generally) tasting and an underground fashion show (I assume this differs from an above-ground fashion show in that there's no way anyone will ever be wearing these clothes and that these designers are actually employed full-time at the nearby ramen shop). I'm not knocking the nihonshu (which was all terrible) or the designers (who were also terrible)...I'm just saying.

And so, we begin...

As you can tell from the looks on our faces, we were impressed...

And the whole thing was capped off with some authentic bongo music?