Today I felt like going out and getting some fresh air and doing a little bit of shopping. But NOT in Akihabara (I know, gasp right). Instead I was interested in looking for items of a more interesting nature. So I hoped onto the tube and headed for Omotesando - a street in Shibuya known for its big shopping centres and super modern feel. This place has literally got every kind of clothes shop known to modern man and woman, but its also pretty expensive.
Luckily I wasn't looking for anything so normal. I was looking for the Oriental Bazaar - a middle sized shop filled with antiques, souvenirs and other touristy stuff. And I had heard that this was a good place to find Yukata, the male equivalent of Kimono (I think, I've never been able to pin down how the translation or whether there is a difference between the names). Since I'm living in Japan long term, and am totally bat crap crazy, I figured I ought to get one for...well...something...ah who cares it looks awesome, no other reason needed. I also found some cool Japanese sandals, though those are going to take some wearing in.
Since I was in the area I decided to wander around the other shops (but as I said before, they're all pretty pricey so didn't actually buy anything) and then I headed for Yoyogi Park - a park located next to Meiji-jingu temple. I'd heard a good bit about this place as being an interesting place for a walk, so I figured why not. Sadly it wasn't the most interesting park nature wise, but then its autumn so thats bound to be a requiring problem. But the cool thing was just the sheer variety of people there - groups of people jogging, photographers clearly doing fashion shoots and enough dogs to warrant a mini dog area. But probably the most interesting bit was several different people dotted about the place playing music just for the heck of it. Drummers, flutists, even a guy playing a didgeridoo. Probably warrants a return trip in spring.
After taking in the sights and sounds of the park, I headed back onto the train and over to Asakusa Jinja, where I wanted to check out some of the bizarre shops on display, and look for a bad-ass Japanese umbrella (it has a dragon on the top, thats just cool). And after pottering around there for a bit, I headed back to Akihabara. No I didn't do any shopping here, just wandered and spied some new shops I hadn't seen before. After that I headed back to the apartment, and spent my afternoon lounging around in my Yukata and getting some ironing done. You know, like you do.
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