Japan: Tokyo Part 2 - Meiji Shrine and '5 things' I LOVED in Japan

Just West of the railway tracks of Harajuku Station you will find Meiji Shrine, one of Tokyo's major shrines, in a large green oasis shared with Yoyogi Park (which I will share with you in a future post), it is a beautiful and peaceful place to visit, which seems worlds away from the hustle and bustle of Harajuku...


Washing hands is part of a ritual purification before entering a shrine.



I was so excited I got to witness a traditional wedding procession...

Dress: Akira blue silk/wool dress
Jacket: Nina Ricci silk goosedown-filled teardrop jacket (so warm!)
Boots: Chloe black leather buckled flat boots
Bag: Chloe Ava leather bag in Mocha


Another happy couple (love her wedding kimono!)

We got to wander in the Meiji Garden (within the Shrine complex) - unfortunately no flowers were in bloom, but we were lucky to catch a few last red leaves before they fell...

The autumn leaves of red and gold...

Thought I would share 5 things I loved in Japan:

1. Vending machines - you find these everywhere in Tokyo with cheap cold and hot drinks/coffee. There are even beer-vending machines, which hubby loved (they used to have them in Tokyo when he was last here 10 years ago, but we could not find a single one until we went to Kyoto).



2. I loved the variety of different coffees available, and could not resist trying a 'Hello Kitty' cafe au lait...just so I could photograph the cup and show it to my sisters



3. These 'sealed' sandwiches were great for breakfast or a snack (tried to always have one in my bag in case of 'emergency' - ie. if I got hungry), peanut butter and the chocolate flavours were my favourite (the chocolate included a slab of chocolate and chocolate cream, yum!)



4. Sushi!!! Or Sashimi...or really, the incredibly fresh raw fish in Japan...amazing!!! The tuna (maguro) simply melts in your mouth, and I adore scallop sashimi (hotate sashi).


Hubby had never tried scallop sashimi/sushi until this trip, and fell in love...


5. The toilets.

Laugh all you want, but the toilets in Japan are incredible (and so clean)! The one below was a simple model in my hotel room (I stayed at the Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, and highly recommend it! Great price, convenient location - 3 minutes from Shinjuku station, yet still quiet, small (well, it is Tokyo/Japan) but great rooms, great service, will stay here again for sure). 99% of public toilets had a fancy 'seat' (fancier than this one) which could include: bidet (including a setting for girls), warmed seats, flushing sound or music, air, etc...

Japan : Tokyo Part 1 - Harajuku

I came to Harajuku twice: once on a weekday so I was able to stroll down Takeshita Dori, the focal point of Harajuku's teenage culture, with its cute little stores, creperies and young Japanese girls (some in those Japanese schoolgirl uniforms I had only ever seen in cartoons and movies), and the next time on a Sunday, when the streets are absolutely jam-packed with people, including 'Harajuku girls' (and gothic lolitas, or simply the gothics, and other crazy fashion) one hears so much about, when young (sometimes not-so-young) Japanese dress up in crazy costumes and gather around Harajuku Station...

There is also much to see around or near Harajuku, including the Meiji Shrine, Yoyogi Park (also best to go here on a Sunday), Omotesando Hills and even Aoyama (with the famous Prada store); I will save these areas for future posts, but here is some of Harajuku:


The gateway to Takeshitadori (name of the alley/street) in Harajuku, which gets crazy-packed on weekends...

I flipped when I saw this girl! Does anyone else remember the Popples?!?

There were several 'crepe carts' selling crepes with a variety of toppings (including cheesecake!) and ice cream flavours...

Of course I had to try one...

How cute is she?

This girl more than happily obliged to pose for photos (for or with) tourists (although I was trying to catch her between poses)

Cool shoes...

The goths...love that skirt and dress!

Cute girls in pretty 'frocks'...

Although it is not only the girls that get to dress up in 'pretty' frocks...

Hubby & I absolutely adored these cute tees! Almost made me wanna turn vegetarian...

Hubby's purchase of the day, a 'vintage' (this model is I think 5 years old) yet new watch - love it! My picture does not do it justice, I'm afraid.

This one is mine, still kicking myself for not also buying the Casio Databank calculator watch I had my eye on (I have been searching for a cool Casio calculator watch for years) - it was such a cool vintage model with a funky green panel...Ah well, 'should've could've would've'. I love mine too, I think this model is 3 years old or so...

Happy (belated) New Year everyone! I'm back!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Photo taken at the amazing Open-Air museum in Gora, Hakone (Japan)

Thank you so much for your lovely comments and blog visits while I was away in Japan! I had intended to prepare more scheduled posts before I left, but sadly, ran out of time, so apologies for the long gap between my last post and this one.

I had such a fantastic time in Japan, I cannot wait to share about my trip and some of my 2000+ photos (I will try not to bore you too much with them). I did manage to do most of what I hoped to do/see/buy in Japan. Thank you so much for your tips, recommendations and well-wishes. Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and New Year's!

As I just got back, and am returning to 'normal' life (boo hoo, work), I hope it won't be long until I am back in the swing of things...

xoxo

CC

Sweets for my feet - Part 3: Wedges

Last shoe post, I wrote that Laduree had collaborated with Christian Louboutin to design some limited edition Laduree/Christian Louboutin boxes (and macarons). Imagine my surprise and excitement when I discovered that the ever-so-wonderful & gorgeous Nathalie of Dress Your Days with Dreams sent me an actual box all of my own!!! Mille merci Nathalie!!!


Stella McCartney patent, wood & metal wedges (left) and Yves Saint Laurent Dada semi-wedges in Platino (right) - these were my wedding shoes, and I have used them countless times since then.

Laduree box beautifully wrapped up...

Chloe brown Silverado wedges (left - the heel is actually sculptured narrow/thin from the back), Dries Van Noten patent grey sneaker wedges (right)

Christian Louboutin/Laduree box - Oh so cute and 'purdy'!

Gamins swirly colourful wedges (I fell in love with the candy-colour swirly pattern on the sculptured heel) and Brazilian pink suede lucite wedges (the heel is almost half an inch narrow)