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Culture: Shopping – Harajuku, Shibuya, Takeshita Street & Cat Street in Tokyo
A trip to Tokyo is not complete without a shopping outing in 2 very trendy and youthful neighborhoods, Harajuku and Shibuya. Narrow streets snake behind the big roads and are filled with boutiques and shops brimming with the latest Tokyo fashions. Whether you are a kid or not, one must browse through Kiddyland, a several storied shop filled with iconic cartoon characters and Japanese pop culture. There is nothing subtle about Tokyo fashion! Bright colors with bold graphics were abound. Popular trends from other cultures were also seen– there were lots of clothes with references to Brooklyn, New York, cowboys, and British punk! Once you’ve browsed the main boulevards and small back streets of…
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On Location: Sketching a Serene Spot in the Middle of Bustling Tokyo
Going on an urban adventure at dawn was definitely something different for me and my family. After we observed sumo training at a local stable, we arrived early to our next stop, the Edo-Tokyo Museum in the Sumida district. Unfortunately, it had not yet opened for the day and we were stuck trying to decide how to cope with the unbearable humidity as we waited. We chose to walk around the block, and amazingly found a little slice of paradise in the middle of sweltering Tokyo, a serene Japanese garden. Our Japanese friend who was taking us around for the day mentioned this garden was privately owned, but free to the public to explore. We…
