Hey, it´s time for the next photo session ;P
I´m sorry that I don´t update that often lately, but I´m so damn busy for various reasons (will blabber more about it soon - hopefully ).

Anyway~ FINALLY it´s time for my beloved Harajuku!
Actually the only place in Japan I went 5 times to!!! (^-^'') ..... although Harajuku is very popular among YOUNG people - I was definitely too old for that part of Tokyo, but I didn´t care XD ....
What I loved about Harajuku: Everything -> the weird + interesting people, the crepes, TEH IDOL SHOPS, TEH JOHNNY SHOP, SNOOPY! and ... EVERYTHING! XD ...

I hope I can give you a good insight with these photos, enjoy!~



Welcome to Harajuku! This is where you enter Takeshita-dori - the fandom paradise (*_*)b
Please ignore Ueto Aya on the left monitor XD



Close-up of the entrance to Takeshita-dori. Do you see all those people?
I suggest NOT to go on a weekend, it´s sooooooooooooooooooo crowded and no fun at all XD





As you can see in this photo Takeshita-dori is RIGHT at the station, so you basically CAN´T miss it! Just use the Yamanote Line and get off at "Harajuku" ;P
Side Note: Harajuku is very close to Shibuya :)



And that´s how it looks after you´ve entered TEH Takeshita-dori. Hoo~ McDoof XD mitsuketa!



There are TONS of funky clothes shops in Harajuku - too freaky and funky for me, but if you´re a fan of those, you´ll be totally happy in Harajuku ^^









There are also pretty normal men´s clothes, although .. they try to lure the boys with Johhnys!!! Yaaah XDDDD



See? XD Did I already mention that Kimura was everywhere?



HOMG! Those crepes are soooo yummie! If you ever come to Japan you HAVE to try them! You HAVE to! (*_____*)V



As you can see everybody loves them ^^



As soon as you´ve entered Takeshita-dori you will see tons of idol shops on the left and on the right. Just keep your eyes open (might be difficult when it´s crowded XD)



Then slowly enter the shop ... try not to faint YET!!



Aaaand ... welcome to paradise!!!! Don´t be surprised! All of those idol shops are VERY small and if you go on a weekend (sometimes even during the week) it might be very crowded.
The most common thing they sell there: photos! :D You can see them in this photo on the right. If you want to buy photos or posters and the likes, this is what you have to do:
Look out for a piece of paper and a pencil (they provide these in the shop) and then write down the NUMBER of the item(s) *coughs* that you want to buy. When you´re done go to the cashpoint and give them your piece of paper.
They will go away and search all of the items, then give them to you. Before that they´ll show you each item to confirm that it´s really what you wanted, then you pay (*__*)
After that you should leave IMMEDIATELY, because there are still other idol shops to check out! XD



So, search for the next shop and enter it. HOMG!!! (*__*) .. Paradise! ... but do not FAINT YET!!! ;o; ....



Of course there are mostly Johnny´s items, but also jdrama stuff .. even cdrama and the likes (Yon-sama XD)



As you can see there are also a lot of female stars ^^
And on the left and right side: tons of photos again (*__*)V



On that day it was REALLY crowded as you can see (remember I went there FIVE times XDDD *ahem*)
And there were all kinds of people! Even "old" women, far older than me! (*___*)V Haha~ ... and a lot of school girls in uniform who were obviously skipping school ... and let me tell you ONE thing: Japanese fangirls CAN be scary! XD



Uchiwas and tons of photos (*__*)



And .. this was in front of another shop ^^

.. but I know what you´re waiting for ... the one and only TRUE Johnny´s shop in Harajuku, nee?





It´s really EASY to find! There´s even a map at the station, you can´t miss it :)



When you come out of the train station you´ll prolly see this: TEH PEANUTS SHOP.
Just go straight and then turn right, go straight again for a while and then turn left (there´s some ice-cream shop on the left and a small crack shop with Snoopy stuff and all on the right) in a very narrow side-street, then go straight again and you´re there!



You know you´re there when you see this! XD ... There are ALWAYS some part-timers with these white t-shirts (johnny´s is written on them XD), there are mostly guys, but also some girls. There were some pretty cute guys as well (I do feel for them, because they have to deal with crazy, hyper fangirls every day XD) .... well but most of them were lightyears too young for me, what a shame! XD ....
Anyway .. let´s continue ...



You can´t just enter the shop. They have created a ticket system (this didn´t exist some years ago, but as there were coming more and more girls every day ... they had no other choice XD ...) - the shop is pretty small, so they have to limit the number of people who can enter at the same time.
You won´t have good chances to get a ticket if you come at the weekend, so I suggest going during the week. We tried at first on a weekend, but had no chance. We came back during the week at around 12pm and got a ticket for 17.30pm for the same day.
That means you have to come to the place where everyone has to gather at this time (see below).



All those girls have a ticket for a specific time. You have to wait there like 150m away from the actual shop. The guys with the Jonny´s t-shirts communicate via walkie-talkie.
When they´ve confirmed that the last group has left the shop, the next group can come. They then go together with you to the shop and make sure that nobody else joins the group who´s not allowed to XDDDD
Then you can finally enter THE SHOP! We weren´t allowed to take photos and furthermore it was veeeeery narrow in there .. veeeery!!! There were only the newest shop photos available, so we were a bit disappointed, you will find much more stuff in the other idol shops! But it was still worth going through the whole (holy ;P) procedure! ^^
If you want to know more about it, just ask - I´ll answer if I can ^^

Hmm .... what else is Harajuku famous for? .. Ah, yes! Funky, freaky, interesting people + cosplayers! :D



Well .. it was very hot, so I guess that´s why there weren´t many people .. but I took photos of the few I could see ^^









What´s that gaijin doing behind her? He looks so innocent, but somehow I see a naaaughty aura! XD



Something totally random - photo was taken in a combini: NGE milk coffee (*_*)

Oh, and before I forget:



What you definitely have to do when you´re in Japan: purikura!!!!!! (*____*) ......
It´s soooooooooooooooo much fun, especially if you´re slow and suck at it XDDD *lol*
Best places for it are Shibuya and Harajuku - me thinks.



There are various options ^^ We took quite a lot of purikuras ^^





Takeshita-dori at night (*__*)



There´s still high-life ;P but it wasn´t that crowded anymore ^^ ... the shops close at 20 or 21 I think .. can´t remember exactly (^^')



Okay ... it was still crowded .... -.- ... XD



And TEH Johnnys are everywhere!! ... Did I already mention that Kimura is somehow everywhere?!



Johnnys gacha gacha machine? ... well not really XD



Oh, Elvis was a Johnny as well??!! (°___O'') *lol* XD



On our way back to the station.



In front of Harajuku JR station ^^



Bye, bye Harajuku! (^-^)/ ......

.......
..............

AS IF!!! I said I went there FIVE TIMES!!! So of course this is NOT the end! XD

....



That´s also Harajuku, but outside of Takeshita-dori.



There were a lot of interesting shops as well.



Ken Watanabe and Lucy Liu (*_________*)



.... but Harajuku is more than just that!!!!

There´s also a totally different Harajuku:



Let´s go to the Meiji-shrine (明治神宮).





These are barrels of sake donated to the Meiji-shrine. I liked them because they were interesting and colorful :3



Anyway here´s the Meiji-shrine.





Here they actually describe why and how you should wash yourself before praying :)



WOAH! Such a huge tree! - was my first tought.



Under that tree are tons of wishes of people from various countries ^^ it was interesting to read them (as far as I COULD read them ^^)



Cute! ^^ (Chinese?!)



Here they explain how it works in detail and in different languages ^^



YAY! German (*___*)V



Japanese people really love lucky charms and all XD



People praying.

When you leave the Meiji-shrine and walk a little bit more you´ll get to the famous Yoyogi Park - but I was too lazy on that day ;P



Ooookay, that was long, sorry, but I really do love Harajuku.
What´s with you? Did you already fall in love with Harajuku (as well)??!!!

Bye-cha~