Japanese style breakfast buffet
I still preferred the hard boiled eggs and freshly baked little croissants
Audio-kinesthetic sculpture near our hotel. Mesmerizing!
I like that the Japanese put their magazines in bondage so you can't read them in the store.
Intriguing little French restaurant down an alley.
Note all the empty wine bottles. Not my doing.
Bike "garage" a few feet from restaurant.
Everyone has their own slot.
Raccoon god outside a restaurant. We haven't seen a live one yet in Asia.
Yes, those are coins on his little stone head.
Manhole cover. It's the little things that make a difference.
Bus stop sign.
Japan seems to put an emphasis on cute. It makes me think of some of my former students.
Dog size-ism!
Golden Labs of Tokyo, speak up!
Speak, boy, speak!
Guess what these are?
Tape dispensers! Adorable!
The Japanese really do take cute to a new level.
Hare, momentarily stunned into silence.
This does look like an art installation though, doesn't it?
Hare looks like he's a part of it.
Vivian in Post-It note heaven.
The Patels set out on foot to a well-known street called Omotesando. I had an extremely knowledgeable former native of Tokyo tell me, in wonderful detail, all the places we should go and, especially important, what would interest teenagers. It's always about the kids, isn't it?
Hare and Vivian's first stop
Apparently you can't get good quality Dr. Pepper in Shanghai.
Poor deprived dears.
Hare had an adverse reaction after having gone so long without his favourite cherry cola.
Audio-kinesthetic sculpture near our hotel. Mesmerizing!
I like that the Japanese put their magazines in bondage so you can't read them in the store.
Intriguing little French restaurant down an alley.
Note all the empty wine bottles. Not my doing.
Bike "garage" a few feet from restaurant.
Everyone has their own slot.
Raccoon god outside a restaurant. We haven't seen a live one yet in Asia.
Yes, those are coins on his little stone head.
Manhole cover. It's the little things that make a difference.
Bus stop sign.
Japan seems to put an emphasis on cute. It makes me think of some of my former students.
Dog size-ism!
Golden Labs of Tokyo, speak up!
Speak, boy, speak!
Guess what these are?
Tape dispensers! Adorable!
The Japanese really do take cute to a new level.
We stumbled upon a 3M store on Omotesando. I at first thought it was an installation art piece.
Hare, momentarily stunned into silence.
This does look like an art installation though, doesn't it?
Hare looks like he's a part of it.
Vivian in Post-It note heaven.
Moving along, we left the 3M store and ducked down a side street that we later learnt (typical of me!) is famous-Cat Street. I am not making that up. See below, shamelessly lifted from another site:
Cat Street (キャットストリート) is a well known shopping street that runs through the Shibuya and Harajuku areas of Tokyo, Japan. The street is famous for it's hip youth oriented fashion shops and cafes as well as being a popular place for people watching. Cat Street crosses Takeshita Dori and Omotesando Dori in the Harajuku area.
The path that Cat Street now follows used to be a river or stream bed. Legend has it that the street got its nickname from the fact that a lot of cats used to wander around the street.
Now we all know something we didn't before, unless you're from Tokyo...or well-traveled..or well-read.
Cat Street (キャットストリート) is a well known shopping street that runs through the Shibuya and Harajuku areas of Tokyo, Japan. The street is famous for it's hip youth oriented fashion shops and cafes as well as being a popular place for people watching. Cat Street crosses Takeshita Dori and Omotesando Dori in the Harajuku area.
The path that Cat Street now follows used to be a river or stream bed. Legend has it that the street got its nickname from the fact that a lot of cats used to wander around the street.
Now we all know something we didn't before, unless you're from Tokyo...or well-traveled..or well-read.
A restaurant on Cat Street
Residential lane off Cat Street. I could handle living here.
Adorable erasers on display at Kiddyland, a very popular toy store. Vivian and I spent an hour in there.
So cute it hurts.
We explored more of Cat Street and the surrounding area, poking our heads into various stores. Hare and Vivian preferred the second-hand, oops! Pardon me, "vintage" stores, while I leaned more towards housewares stores and bakeries. I know, but I miss my baked goods! China is not a country that bakes. Trust me.
On our way back to the hotel, we saw more interesting buildings.
A building-sized mosaic
These buildings seemed to be typical of Tokyo-narrow, with outside, uncovered stairs. Rakesh guessed that this kind of construction might have something to do with earthquakes. I think he may be right. Tokyo doesn't have huge skyscrapers like Shanghai.
Green wall, literally.
Hare's had enough fun at this point. Good thing we were on our way back to the hotel!
We stumbled upon this temple/shrine on the way back. No idea what it was called. It didn't seem unusual though to have these temples/ shrines tucked in between modern buildings.
Headstones? Monuments?
Your guess is as good as mine, unless you're from Tokyo...or well-traveled...or well-read.
Indiana Jones crossing
We made it back to our hotel neighbourhood and popped into a local high-end grocery store for snacks.
Vivian decided not to go with the mini-fish snack.
First family dinner in Tokyo and we made it Italian.
I got a lovely piece of cake for dessert.
Mmmmm....cake (insert choking on drool noises here)
I was happy. Time for bed.
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