Harajuku Girls You Got that Wicked Style (Japan P2)

So the next morning, I'm woken by the sound of ridiculously loud snoring. I'm thinking to myself, "Laura, that is so embarrassing, at least when we're at UST it's just me who hears you, now you're keeping this whole place awake!" So I peer over the end of my cubbie hole and see Snorlax (if you know Pokemon at all, hopefully you'll enjoy that reference) - this MASSIVE Asian guy with long hair and a turquoise stone belt is laying on his back on the carpet in front of Laura's cubbie! So I climb down my ladder and over him to get to my locker which makes a whole bunch of noise.

Laura and I head out for our morning routine. Unfortunately, at 8:30 AM, still 3 of the 4 coffee shops on our street were closed. Our place was good, minus the smokers. There are a LOT of smokers in Japan, at all times of the day. We go wake up Daniel and head off back to "Shibby Shibby BOOYA" (aka Shibuya where we were the day before). We went to this store called Tokyo Hands and spent way too much time and money buying stationary, bday cards, pencil pouches and erasers and trying on all sorts of interesting "costumage" (it is apparently Halloween all year round in Tokyo, there are costumes EVERYWHERE! though mostly Sailor Moon, school girl and French maid uniforms. I wonder why...?). Afterward, we went to find a place for lunch and happened upon a crazy street parade with hundreds of Japanese people in traditional outfits doing dances. So we tried to find a restaurant that overlooked the parade. The food sucked so I had a salad and then went next door after the meal to a vending machine restaurant and had a plate of 5 incredible gyoza (dumplings) for 100 yen (about $1USD).

We jumped back on the train to see Harajuku. I was SO excited to see Harajuku, but it was also about this time I my camera started flashing "low battery" and I still had 5 days left in Japan. I was not happy. It was a really cool area though, full of interesting designer stuff, coupled with cheap/cheesy shops, sex stores, and vintage stuff. We were lucky enough to see some real Harajuku girls with their rolly suitcases and Edwardian attire. If you ask me, they looked more like little Bo Peep, some girls even had staffs. I sang Gwen Stefani's song, "Harajuku Girls" the whole afternoon.

After that we got back on the subway and headed up to Asukasa. Have I mentioned how lucky we got with the timing of our trip? We were there for 2 parade/festivals that only happened once a year, sumo wrestling that only happens 3 months out of the year, and a geisha dance show that only happens one month out of the year. So we were heading to a shrine at Asukasa to see one of the festivals. It was probably one of my favorite parts of Tokyo because to me it represented the genuine pride the Japanese have in their beautiful, rich and incredibly well-preserved culture. We got to see men and women dressed in traditional outfits all stomping along together, carrying these massive shrines (?). They were all pretty drunk, shouting and smiling with their faces all smashed together. I felt like I was in a mosh pit. I got stepped on multiple times. It was awesome. Then we had chicken yakitori and beer at a one of the many food stands.

That night, Daniel had an EXCELLENT idea to go to one of Tokyo's silly themed restaurants. So we decided to try "The Lock Up" - a dungeon themed restaurant. We waited in the waiting room for 20 minutes and got excited as we heard door slams and screams as the other customers entered the restaurant, but when our turn came, well the language barrier detracted a bit from the experience. We walk in, the door slams, then we can't figure out how to open the next door and the "dungeon keeper" on the other side is giving us some instructions in Japanese and we're trying to tell her, "Ego please!" (oh yes, the Japanese word for English is ego). So finally, she just opens the door for us and says, "I arrest you," as she puts my wrist in a cuff and leads us down the staircase. We are given cell 82. (Don't forget this number!) We order all sorts of funny drinks. Mine is called SHOCK and is essentially pure vodka with a squeeze of lemon. Laura's has a syringe full of "blood." Daniel's is a pina colada with some sketchy pills. About 30 minutes into the experience, the lights go out and there are red sirens, a loud speaker (but of course in Japanese) and girlish screams from all other cells. We were crying-laughing as this "monster" comes clambering at our cell, pawing our faces. While the food wasn't great, it was a NECESSARY part of the Tokyo experience. I love Tokyo and all it's outrageousness.