On this day, foot race on the sidewalk, with the road closed for bicyclists.
Harajuku, the shopping Mecca for teenagers (BUT, the JNTO website states to buy one's souvenirs at the Daiso store here)
It's a busy place...
Here's the main drag, Takeshita Street, filled with throngs of Japanese teenagers out shopping.
The Daiso store, 4 stories of items for 105 Yen (around $1.10 U.S.) This place had lots of homewares and office products but just about nothing which could be considered a souvenir. Oddly, I did pickup 3 neckties and dress socks.
Daiso sells diapers for puppies.
And lots of covers for your IPhone...
Takeshita Street, from the other end's entrance.
A view down Takeshita...
Not speaking Japanese, and most Japanese not knowing English, I wound up ordering from the signage out front of the restaurant by pointing at the item for the waiter. This sushi platter cost $47 U.S.
I asked if I could take some pictures and was given the okay. The younger chef, further away, had been given my order to prepare, and he was trying to figure it out based on the picture...the older chef saw my camera and went to help out...
The previous picture was out of focus, but not this one. This was a well decorated establishment.
Instead of large dining areas, this place offered many intimate seatings for 2 or 4.
The sushi platter...
191 Yen per each piece here, whereas a sushi-go-round place in Ueno had sushi for 126 Yen per two pieces...
Standing on one platform, looking across several others at Shinjuku station, the world's busiest with over 2,000,000 people passing through daily...these are the elevated platforms, with the station beneath and the subway system network below that.
The Sky Tree at night.
In the neighborhood, this was a street display setup outside an anime studio.
A restaurant built in classic Japanese style, surrounded by modern buildings.
The day's haul, all from the Daiso store: 2 pairs dress socks, 3 neck ties, and 13 chocolate bars.
There is no shortage of ugly neck ties in the U.S. These are better-looking than most and only costs $1.10 each.
Passed the Sky Tree every morning while walking to the Ginza subway line...
This was likely an attempt to photograph Mt. Fuji from the bullet train's (Japanese word is Shinkansen for the bullet train) window...
Another photo taken from the Shinkansen window.
A street market in Himeji.