Harajuku and Shibuya

My mother made me feel bad for being a miser and not going out and sightseeing because I'm too cheap to spend money on the train, so we went out to see a prefecture that we'd heard a lot about and really wanted to see: Harajuku. 

Harajuku is known for "Harajuku Girls" which describes someone from Tokyo who is particularly fashion-savvy and stylish. Honestly though, I saw more Harajuku girls around other areas of Tokyo like Ikebukuro and Shibuya than I did in this prefecture. There were a lot of cross dressers, Japanese Goths, girls dressed in frilly costume-style dresses and generally outlandish outfits, though. 

After navigating the immense crowds, we met up with our friend Miyuki and got ice cream filled crepes and wandered around. She showed us a big park with lots of trees and hissing cicadas. There were a couple of street bands performing in the park playing mellow music, which was nice. After walking around there we decided it was sushi time, so we walked to Shibuya, which is right next to Harajuku, in search of a decent sushi place. It was getting dark by then, and Tokyo is quite impressive at night. Large trucks go by panneled with enourmous glowing big screen tv's broadcasting commericials or music. There are also a lot of TV billboards that stand out more in the dark, along with the millions of flashing lights and neon street signs. 

The sushi was pretty good. Bret unwittingly ate crab brains, which made Miyuki laugh when she told him and saw the look on his face. The uni was fresh, which I find to be pretty rare back home, so it tasted okay. 

Then we went to karaoke, which Miyuki wanted us to "experience" because it's kind of a typical Japanese entertainment form. It wasn't at all what we expected. Instead of a bar type setting, you rent out individual rooms and pay per person. 5 bucks a person for 30 minutes!!! It was fun though. Miyuki sang Japanese songs we'd never heard and Bret and I made a few funny selections from the sparse array of American songs. I don't know if I'd pay to do it again...but it was fun for the night. You can also order food and drinks there, but we were full of sushi so we passed. 

All in all, although it's fun to see all the lights and the huge city, but I'm really looking forward to moving to Shikoku. I need space! Everythings all bustley and crowded and rationed out. Food is expensive and I can never seem to find what I'm looking for. I did discover 1 dollar sushi rolls at a grocery store near our house called Fuenie. With their choice of font, however, it looks like the name of the store is Fucnic, which Bret and I merrily pronounce, fuknik :D

I want Costco (which we will have access to in Shikoku) and parks and to not have to cook in the same room as I sleep. Our shoebox apartment isn't THAT bad, but it's impossible to not knock stuff over all the time. At least we have a seperate bathroom. But THAT THING is so small I get claustrophobic every time I'm in there. The door opens inward, so I always panic as I'm struggling to get out. I get pinned between the door and the toilet. hahahaha. May have been an overshare there.