｡◕‿◕｡ Kawaii (cute) HARAJUKU ｡◕‿◕｡ Japan 2016 2/4

Harajuku's the first Japanese neighborhood I've ever heard of. I owned a shopping guide book when I was in junior high (the kind of information that's printed on paper) written by 2 celebrity sisters with hand drawn maps of their favorite Tokyo shopping districts, and although they talked about many different areas around Tokyo, Harajuku made a big impression for me.





Kawaii Monster Cafe



As someone who's always been a kid at heart, the vibrant colours and extensive accessorizing styles (Decora) really speaks to me. Harajuku feels like a place where people are free to be whoever they want to be, somewhere people are free to express their individualism without fear of judgment, and a place where I can finally feel at ease.

Of course, the novelty doesn't have as much of an effect on me now compared to when I was young, but I still really appreciate the Harajuku atmosphere and hoped to relive my youth.


Takeshita-Dori - Sunday Afternoon

Just a word of warning, if you don't like crowds, don't go to Harajuku on the weekend. It's already quite crowded during the week, but on the weekends, it reaches a whole other level. There must have been thousands (if not more) of people getting off the train the same time we did. I quickly retreated to my happy place and took a few deep breaths while everyone quietly shuffled their way out of the station.

Takeshita-dori

The reason we chose to brave the crowds on a Sunday afternoon was because we wanted to go people watching by Harajuku Bridge, but we didn't actually see anyone there, only folks hoping to learn English by trying to give foreigners tours of the Meiji Shrine. It wasn't until we walked down to Meiji-dori (by Laforet) before we saw a Decora group walk by. And yes, they looked super cute!

Shops along Takeshita-dori

Takeshita-dori is adjacent to the street right in front of Harajuku station, across from Yoyogi Park (Meiji Shrine). It is not the only place to shop in Harajuku, but there is a high concentration of stores jam packed in a 400 meter long pedestrian lane and thus a high concentration of students/tourists as well. In addition to cute clothing and accessory stores, Takeshita-dori is also famous for it's crepe stands and a huge Daiso. Of course, there are also lots of other dessert shops, shoe stores, restaurants, and cafes. I was surprised to see lots of ice cream/bubble tea stores as well, which I never noticed last time I was here (10 years ago). Glad to see that the Taiwanese favorite is making its mark in Japan.


Omotesando - Oriental Bazaar & Kiddy Land

Another street right in front of the Harajuku Bridge is Omotesando. Being an actual street with cars and side walks, it's much bigger and hence a lot less crowded than Takeshita-dori. Oriental Bazaar is a popular souvenir store with 3 floors of souvenirs of 3 different price ranges. The ground floor consist of cups, plates, hair accessories and other gifts around the ¥1,000~2,000 price range, the basement consists of smaller and cheaper gifts that starts at around ¥300, and the second floor is a show room for actual antiques, that cost up to millions of yen.

Unfortunately, we didn't find any souvenirs/gift that we liked, instead, I had better luck finding treats and gifts for my friends/family at the Tokyo Tower gift shops and the airport.

Kiddy Land

Kiddy Land is a 5 floor explosion of toy goodness for adults and kids alike. If you're a huge Sanrio or collector's toy fan it's a must go as you'll find almost anything you can think of there. Our favorite was the Hello Kitty, Pudding Dog, Rilakkuma, Gudetama and Ghibli sections.


Kawaii Monster Café

Kawaii Monster Café opened in August of 2015. It is located on the 4th floor of the YM Square building in Harajuku and very easy to find. There's a ¥500 per person entry fee and some times a 90 minute restriction during peak times (this used to be on their web site but I don't see it anymore). When you enter, you see the giant "Sweets Go Round" cake in the middle surrounded by florescent bunnies and trippy mirrors. The "Monster Girls" are hostesses that greets you and takes you to your table, most of them are fluent in English and will spend some time chatting you up and help you take pictures. The entire time we were there, there were electronic dance music playing. Though pleasant, as I love that type of music, I felt like I was in a psychedelic baby's dance club while high on LSD the entire time. It was rad. Hash tag: this is how I party.

Kawaii Monster Cafe's Sweets Go Round



Walking by the entrance, you will see a field of bright coloured 6 feet tall mushrooms as well as these pink pacifier sucking unicorns. To the right, you can see the dark blue bar area that's enclosed with what I can only describe as shining jelly fish tentacles. I felt like Alice in Wonderland and have been transported to what Mad Hatter's mind must look like, and I love it!

The restaurant consists of 4 major areas: the Mushroom Disco, Milk Stand, Bar Experiment, and the Mel-Tea Room, which you choose the one you'd like to sit in prior to entering. We chose the Milk Stand, an area plastered with mirrors from wall to ceiling and baby bottles that light up hanging down from the ceiling.

  

Kawaii Monster Cafe's Non Druggy Cocktail

We ordered some food and drinks, including the Non Druggy Cocktail shown above and the Colorful Rainbow Pasta below. They were both really delicious, and was super fun to eat. The Non Druggy Cocktail was a peachy flavoured fuzzy non-alcoholic drink that they bring to you with 2 beakers that you pour in. The Colorful Rainbow Pasta was a bacon carbonara pasta with each of the colours on the pallet as a sauce. The blue butter cream and the basil pesto were my favorite, and honestly, it was one of the better pastas I've ever had.

Kawaii Monster Cafe's Colorful Rainbow Pasta

My photo really does not do the pasta justice so I cropped a screen shot from the Kawaii Monster Cafe's web site to show you what it actually looked like. Yes really, it was THAT colorful, and each of the colored strands was cooked to perfection!


Colorful Rainbow Paste from http://kawaiimonster.jp/pc/en/menu/food/

I had a really great time in Harajuku. It's a young and vibrant part of Tokyo that I will always think fondly of. Although as I get older, the stores there might not be as applicable as before, I'll always stop by when I have cravings for a crepe or when I feel too lonely in a big city. To me, Harajuku is quite representative of the Tokyo metropolis, so even if it's not quite your type of scene, it's still definitely worth visiting at least once in your life.

Click here to see our Japan & Taiwan travel video!

To be continued...

Clarity

I thought I knew what I wanted in life when I was young. It was quite clear to me: success, in particular, monetary success or popularity among others were all I wanted. I simply can't comprehend what else there is in life. But when I was young, I didn't know how to become successful, wealthy, or important. So I did what I knew at the time, and studied my ass off. I knew that studying wasn't the only thing that I needed to do to get there, but I didn't know what else I needed, so I just focused on that. As time went by, I became better and better at studying, and I started losing touch with everything else. Before I knew it, I had forgotten how to be happy, how to have relationships with other people, and I wasn't in touch with my body, feelings, or soul at all.

Borobudur, Indonesia

This might sound vague but let me describe how it was like living without knowing your purpose. I would wake up each day, knowing exactly what needed to be done as I had set out a rigorous schedule and a long list of tasks for myself to finish, and I would get on doing them. But as soon as I had one spare moment, when my mind quiets down, I feel completely lost, like a zombie. Without the list of things, I would not know if I was even supposed to sit or stand, eat or sleep, and I definitely had no idea where I wanted to go or how my future would look like. During moments when the agonizing fact that I was completely lost hit me, I feel this overwhelming loneliness, and it was difficult to want to stay alive.

I kept moving forward with my tasks and schedules as planned, unless I come up to a major cross road, then I'd cry and panic until I found something I felt compelled to do. As I got older, and felt less like I "have to" do anything, I started wondering where all this was headed towards. And eventually, the questions popped into my head: why do I want success anyway? And, what is success to me?

Right around the time I was about to graduate from my business degree was the darkest times of my life. My lifetime of school was going to be over and that was all I knew. I would have no idea where to go or what to do next. I felt so lost I didn't even know when to eat or sleep anymore. Why did it matter anyway? It's not like I have class in the morning or a paper due. Out of the millions of jobs out there, I had no clue what I would like or what I should be doing. Because during the years I've been mastering how to be good at doing things, I've never once cultivated my awareness of what I loved.

So I lived like that for a few years, not knowing if I was doing the right things and not knowing why I was alive. I took the first job I got and bought the first condo that seemed like a good deal. I dated the first guy that stuck around and did whatever was due next. It was mind numbing, and every day I could sense that my soul desperately wanted to leave my body. I was in tears half the time until I replaced my tears with alcohol. And I didn't know why, I just knew that I didn't like life, and I wanted everything to stop so I can stop feeling miserable.




Kootenai National Forest, Montana

But one day, as I was drowning in my own sorrow, a friend came by to see me. Instead of sitting with me and talking things through like usual, she invited me to go to a yoga class with her. At the moment, it didn't make sense to me at all. I needed comfort, a warm and cozy place to place my weary head upon, but she wanted me to pick myself up and work even harder. I went, not knowing if I would be able to bring myself to do anything, and class started and ended as usual. The truth is, nothing miraculous happened. I didn't feel overwhelming joy or happiness, but my pain seem to have subsided a little. There were a little more space in my head, and I was simply able to finish my day without crying myself to sleep.

Then, over the next 8 years, I kept going to yoga. I've never became good enough for a head stand nor could I touch my heels on the ground when I do a downward dog. But every time I go, I get a moment of peace; and every time I come home afterwards, I gain a little more clarity. So I kept going, especially on days I feel that pain again, I kept going.

Now when I think about what I want in life, honestly it is only incrementally clearer than when I was a kid, but life has completely opened up for me. Success is nice, but I am now aware of all the things that are more important to me than that. Health, peace, relationships... heck, even having a good night sleep or taking my time eating a meal is more important than success now. And regarding being someone important, I've decided to start by becoming someone who's important to me.

Over time, I have actually become someone who's probably not as smart and not as determined. I've noticed way more instances where I've forgotten something that would've taken me no effort to recall when I was a kid. But as I try to remember what it is I had forgotten, I catch myself smiling, because first of all, I'm sure that thing I've forgotten will find its way back to me again in it's own time, and secondly, I've now just gain a little more space in my head for something else. It almost feels like I've gained more elasticity in my head, and I'm now more tolerant to an imperfect mind.



Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

I still get depressed sometimes, and I'm not sure I am clear on exactly what I want in the future either. But perhaps there's always been more than one thing in line for me anyway. Success, wealth, and influence are always going to be welcomed, but now they have to be in my life according to my terms, as I will not be driven by them anymore. Someone recently told me that things have fallen in to place like they always will. The truth is I'm not sure if they have. All I know is, I've now gotten a little better at struggling a little less. Through tiny breathable pores in the fabric of my mind, I'm finally getting moments of relief, knowing I'm exactly where I need to be.