Another post full of pictures--this time, there may be too many! But a lot has happened these last few days....

Ashleigh and I met up with two girls Sunny and Hacchi for breakfast. We hung out at a park waiting for the food places to open. (Left to Right: Ashleigh, Sunny, Me)

There were beautiful turtles and koi in the park!

Another picture of the park (can you tell I really think it's beautiful?)

I thought that the spider was cool, too. Not sure what it is....

Rainbow lizard we found in the park! There were a bunch.

The next day, I took a trip with Courtney, Ashleigh, and maybe others (the days are starting to blur a little) to Yodobashi Camera. It's not just a camera place; believe me when I say it is absolutely ridiculous. There are multiple stores, each of which has several buildings comprising it! They also tend to have at least 5 or 6 levels (some of them have 10!!!). Big, bright, and full of advertisements, these stores are truly fascinating.

Another fascinating set of stores are the all-female and all-male department stores (the big ones are in Shibuya, though there is an all-male department store near where I live in Nishi-Waseda). I don't have any pictures of the male one, but I do know that an all-male department store would NEVER make money in the states. It made me giggle to see how successful it is here!

The busiest pedestrian crossing in the world--right outside of the Hachiko (remember the dog?) exit at Shibuya. For a better idea, check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQAZjWi615Q
On the left, you can see the all-female department store. :)

At a sunglasses shop in Shibuya. Made me giggle! :D (And I agree :P)

A photo of Ashleigh and Courtney in the Disney Store! It seemed rather magical (and it was daytime out!).
I know. Caitlin pees so often, she even posts a picture of a toilet on her blog. But seriously--look on top of it. It's a faucet. At first, I though, weird, why do we get a choice of sinks (there's one to the left on a counter that you can't see in this picture)? Then, I realized that this faucet refills the toilet after it's been flushed! It was really weird to see the water pouring into the top of the toilet. Whatever works, Japan!

My hero. The best product for bug-bites ever! Doesn't repel, but it makes the itching go away faster than you would think possible. It's called "Muhi" and it is fantastic.

Saiya's funny shirt, and a decent example of Engrish. It says, "The Freeze Quintet. The calm before the storm. Have a rough time!" After having a few drinks, I made him take a picture.

Ashleigh and me! Since she and I have spent pretty much every day together, I decided to throw in a picture of just the two of us (Japanizing our picture--seriously, the peace signs are everywhere!).
Elena and me being silly in a different part of a different Yodobashi Camera.

On the way home from the station one day, Ashleigh and I heard music playing at a shrine. We checked it out--turns out it was a little festival! The whole weekend was apparently a festival, and these next pictures illustrate it a little.

Mmm chocolate-covered bananas. I don't think I'd seen them with sprinkles before!

The beautiful shrine where the festival was occuring.

Someone praying inside. They take these things very seriously; I really want to learn more about it, because it's fascinating and I currently know so little.

Dancers at the festival.

A mini-shrine--I don't actually know what it's called. A little girl sat on the poles on the end of one at one point--it was cute. The men off to the side of the picture are actually pretty wasted. Ashleigh and I walked by, and as we did, one of them turned toward me. As soon as he saw my face, he made a big surprised face and an equally surprised noise. Pretty funny; I don't think he expected me to be gaijin (foreigner).
Ashleigh and I craved ice cream. After about 45 minutes-an hour of looking, we found these. (So I guess there is more than one of us the two of us!)

A big group of people went to the shopping district Harajuku. It's more contained and smaller feeling than Shinjuku or Shibuya, and I therefore liked it better. I felt more at home even though it was just as crowded. Harajuku is a weird shopping district, though; some of the fashion is pretty standard, but a lot of it is geared toward the gothic-lolita style that some Japanese girls seem to adore. Check out the Harajuku girls a few photos below....

More bathroom stuff--these were the symbols on the McDonald's bathroom doors. They made me smile.

Strange Harajuku fashion.

And...the Harajuku girls! They stand on the bride in Harajuku all dressed up and allow everyone to take photos of them. It reminds me a lot of the princesses in Disneyland...just, these folks don't get paid. I think they do it for attention ("to make a statement," right?), personally; kind of a more outspoken form of emo.

The Meiji Shrine (on the other side of the Harajuku bridge). From left to right: Clare, Marija, Alex, and Zoe. Marija is from Canada, and the rest are from Britain. When I asked Zoe if she spelled her name with a "Z" or and "X," she answered, "with a zed!" This sparked one of the fabulous discussions on linguistic differences. I really do love them--it's awesome to learn not only about Japanese culture but culture from other countries, as well! Sophie (not pictured) made it her mission to teach me slang from Britain that day :) Clare, Ashleigh, and I are convinced our accents will all blend by the end of the year!

On another note, when we entered the shrine after the long walkway, we passed a hand-washing station. Clean water from a central pool was poured on first the left hand, then the right hand, then into the mouth (with water from the left hand--it was then spat to cleanse yourself), and then over the stick that held the small wooden water dispenser used for the cleaning. It was a really interesting ritual to take part in!

There was a wedding inside the shrine--so beautiful!

Picture of the shrine.

The wedding procession. We got very lucky to see so much!

At the shrine, there was a large tree surrounded by this wooden structure. People can buy those small wooden plaques (votive plaque; prayer board) and write their prayers or wishes on them. Some of the wishes were a little silly, but a lot of them were very deep and sad. Eventually, I had to stop reading because it tore a little at my heart!

This last picture is from, yes, Karaoke. Nicci, her friend Rob, Ashleigh, and I went out to sushi, nomihodai, and then karaoke. Nomihodai is all you can drink for two hours (usually ordering food is required, and the total cost often comes out to around 1500 yen or $16)! Since the Japanese alcohol tolerance tends to be lower, these places actually make money and survive in Japan! Either way, after nomihodai, karaoke seemed like quite the good idea. It, in fact, was :) I had an excellent time! (Though, I did notice that after a few drinks, I picked up Ashleigh's New Zealand accent and could not get back to mine. Definitely amused everyone there.)

More adventures to come soon! I hope you enjoyed!

Much love!