March 16 Portobello Road

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March 16, 2019 


In the Top Things You Must Do In Tokyo lists, Takeshita Street in the Harajuku District is always on the list. 


 It's claimed to be a huge collections of souvenir shops, boutiques, and shopping extravaganza.


Now, I'll admit, perhaps a Saturday afternoon wasn't the best idea.  But the place wasn't simply crowded - it was wall-to-wall bodies. 


This photo was from the beginning of the day - when it was less crowded. 


They did have some nifty tchotchke at the beginning, but the rest of the 400 meters of the street were store after store and floor after floor of runway fashion - half of which was kawaii (Japanese cute) and the other half which was Tim Burton. 

And something they call GothLoli, which seems to be kawaii-goth-steampunk.
 People willingly choose to do this - for fun - regularly - because they enjoy it.
During that time, there was a short rainstorm.  
 I mentioned earlier that clear umbrellas are ubiquitous here.  It seems like every store has them for about $1-$5 and, if today is any indication, if it starts raining, you buy a new umbrella.   

I turned around inside one store and the line went from 3 people buying knick-knacks to 28 people each buying one clear umbrella.  By the by, the rain had stopped before the first 5 had checked out.

 

We survived! 
Thankfully the crowds had thinned a bit because of the storm.




We tried to come up with something quick for dinner on our walk back from the train station.  Our mantra for this trip is "The world is bigger than you think."  
So we stopped at the Turkish kebab truck in Tokyo. 





Most of us got pitas or wraps.  Several people were giddy to discover that he had hummus, which tickled him immensely.  One of his other menu options was the fillings of a pita surrounded by sticky rice and wrapped in nori (seaweed paper).  Grisha referred to it as Turkish sushi and the gentleman howled with laughter. 

Thankfully, I speak no Turkish so didn't even have to try.  But I did insist that we learn how to say thank you. 
Teşekkür ederim

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