Sugamo is a shopping district in Tōkyō. You can get there using the Yamanote Line.
The area is mainly used by the elderly. The 800 metre long Jizo Dori shopping street is also known as the “Old Ladies’ Harajuku”.
There is a small festival takes place on the 4th, 14th and 24th of every month.
Halloween in Japan is celebrated by wearing Halloween and Cosplay Costumes. It’s a relatively new tradition and the costumes are more cute than scary. It’s one of the few times in the year that Japanese workers are able to let their hair down.
UPDATE: It has developed into a giant unofficial street party. In 2018, more than 300,000 people gathered around Shibuya Scramble Crossing on Halloween and the previous weekend.
Shibuya is known for its busy shopping district and bustling nightlife.
Shibuya Scramble Crossing is the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing. An estimated 2,500 people cross each time the lights change.
Shibuya Station is one of Tōkyō’s busiest railway stations. In front of the station is Hachikō-mae Square which is named after Hachikō; a Japanese Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, for whom he continued to wait for over nine years following Ueno’s death. A memorial statue of Hachikō sits in the square and is used as a popular meeting place. Opposite the statue is a Tourist Information centre.
The Yamanote Line is a loop line that connects Tōkyō’s major cities.
Train departures are every two to four minutes in each direction.
Harajuku is popular mainly with thrifty fashion-conscious teenagers and young adults looking for a more upmarket shopping experience.
Harajuku Station was opened on 30th October 1906. The current station building was built in 1924 and is the oldest existing wooden station building in Tokyo. Due to current and predicted future congestion levels; East Japan Railway Company announced that they will be rebuilding the station in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The station has two main exits. The Takeshita Exit which leads to Takeshita Street and the Omotesandō Exit.
Meiji Shrine (aka Meiji Jingū) is located in Yoyogi, one stop from Shinjuku or Harajuku, on the Yamanote Line.
Meiji Shrine is a Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken.
Shinjuku is a large entertainment, business and shopping area around Shinjuku Station. It’s teeming with cafés, restaurants and Izakayas.
Shinjuku Station is the world’s busiest railway station, used by over three million passengers every day.
Kabukichō is an entertainment and red-light district on the Northeast side of Shinjuku Station. It reportedly has a large Yakuza presence and many bars have a reputation of adding extortionate hidden charges to customer’s bills. Some establishments will only accept Japanese customers.
Golden Gai is an area in Kabukichō containing around 200 bars, mainly for Japanese customers only.
Hanazono Shrine
Hanazono Shrine
*** Spoiler Alert *** Nothing much to write about here as I was returning home and travelling all day but here’s what happened.
I got up early, grabbed all my stuff and set off for the train station. I got a train just before 07:00 to Shinagawa where I bought a ticket for the Narita Express. I didn’t understand the different types of tickets available so I got the most basic one. I went to the platform. There were signs on the platform saying that all the seats were reserved. I just got on the front carriage which happened to be a Green Car which is First Class. I was the only one in the car for most of the journey and only a couple of people got on this car at another station. A couple of stations before the airport a conductor entered the car and asked me to pay for an upgrade on my Ticket.
When I got to the airport I headed for the check-in desk and checked in my luggage. I went through security and headed for the departure gate. Before the flight I had a large beer while I was waiting.
The first flight for Zurich left at 11:05 and took over 12 hours.
In Zurich there was not enough security desks open although they opened some more desk after customers complained. The staff were quite rude and complained a lot about customers not following the rules (even though these rules were not explained to anybody). The staff man-handled my external hard disk and cameras. I chose not to argue as I had already heard them threaten another customer with not being able to fly that day.
I had a coffee while I waited at the departure gate for the next flight at 17:10 (local time). I took 2 hours to get to Manchester.
I arrived in Manchester just after 18:00 and collected my luggage then went through the automated security checks and went home by tram. I was a bit tired and chose the wrong ticket from the ticket machine but I spoke to a staff member who changed the ticket for me.
Tim Brockley Photo Blog 