Tokyo

Hello Darlings! In the past few months I lost my motivation to keep this thing updated. But now I'm visiting my parents for Spring break, and thought it was the perfect time to play catch-up. 

My last promised update was my New Year's Adventure to Tokyo, right?

I booked bus tickets to Tokyo with some friends from my university. It was very convenient, the JR Express Highway bus picked us up right in front of a Lawson conbini near the train station. 

The trip up to Tokyo from Nagoya took six or seven hours, and cost roughly 3,000 yen. The bus dropped us off in front of Tokyo Station.

We saved a bunch of money by booking Sakura Hostel in Asakusa, a culturally rich and historic district. It ended up being less than 3,000 yen a night per person when we split a six-bed room. Not bad at all, especially during the New Year's rush!

Staying in Asakusa definitely had it's perks. For one thing, the hostel was right behind Sensoji Temple. It definitely felt like good luck staying there for New Year.

Sakura Hostel was clean, friendly and homey. The staff mans the desk practically twenty-four hours, and is multiculturally friendly. The staff comes from all over the world; rest assured, someone will always speak English or Japanese at least. 

The main lobby is the hub of activity in the mornings, with a cafe, couches, a flat screen TV, a smoking patio, a laundry area, and free wifi. 

Every room is locked with a swipe-key, and you can request extras if your group plans to split up (It's a 1,000 yen deposit for each additional key, to be returned upon checkout). Each floor has sex-separated communal bathrooms, which are kept impeccably clean.

There's lockers in each room to stow valuables. Clean sheets, blankets and pillows are provided when you check in. The rooms are wider than I was expecting, with windows, personal lights above each bed, and heating/air conditioning. It was the bare essentials, but we hardly spent time in the room anyway.

The only downside of Sakura Hostel is it can be tricky to find. Luckily when we arrived in Asakusa station, we met a local who offered to walk us there. She was studying English and seemed to enjoy the conversation. ^^

It's not that Sakura Hostel is inconvenient or far, but Asakusa is mainly composed of winding alley-like streets, which start to look the same after a while. If you're ever visiting or sight seeing, try to pick out landmarks or tall buildings on the sky line to get a sense of direction. 

Speaking of landmarks, we spotted the new Sky Tree while we were wandering around!

Asakusa station is the last stop on the Ginza Line. It goes directly to Shibuya, and from there you can go to Akihabara, Ikebukuro, Harajuku, you name it! 

On our first day in Tokyo, we met up with my friend in Shibuya. We met at Hachiko, the iconic statue of the  loyal dog, where I've dreamed of standing since I was little.

I fulfilled another lifelong wish making the trek across Shibuya Crossing to the Starbucks...

Later that day, we headed to Harajuku, and went shopping on the famous Takeshita dori.

This street is packed with clothing and accessory stores. You could find everything from a store selling just socks to a shop selling second-hand Vivienne Westwood. 

Though the Mori Girl trend seems to have moved on from the mainstream, many stores were still carrying Wonder Rocket and vintagey fashions. No matter what your budget or interest is, you can probably find something worth buying here. 

Bodyline is located on Takeshita dori, and in close proximity, Harajuku Closet Child.

At this point I was kicking myself for not packing any lolita. I was starting to feel like a bum in my torn up jeans, boots and Peace Now raglan. I couldn't help myself in Closet Child, and went for AP's Little Bear's Cafe Jsk in mint. I also spotted the matching black bow for my treasured "Radioactive Cupcake" Jsk. 

In general, I didn't see lolitas in Harajuku. A pair of OTT sweet lolitas came into Closet Child when I was shopping, but even on the streets there were none in sight. 

There's been speculation that the lolita trend is starting to slow down, and I truly felt that way during my stay in Tokyo. Even Closet Child had relatively slim pickings, compared to the shop blog entries I used to fawn over years ago. That's a subject I may save for another entry, since I felt the same decline in lolita in Nagoya.

Other photos from Harajuku...

One of the only cosplayers I saw, as Reita from the GazettE. There was also a Ruki in the shop behind her, dressed in the costume from "Silly God Disco", but they didn't want their photo taken. 

Harajuku Bridge was empty each time I went.

An h.Naoto display in La Foret.

Till Next Time!

Cherie