Final Tokyo Trip Part 6: Karaoke, Meiji Shrine, and More
Thursday, May 21, 2015
March 23rd was our last full day in Japan. As usual, we started out the day with a yummy breakfast at our hotel. I had a couple types of rice, some pickles, hot dogs, miso soup, chocolate swirl bread, and orange juice.
First we walked to Akihabara. Near our hotel we passed a shop that had a display of pretty Disney princess figurines.
In Akihabara we went to Yodobashi Camera and I also tried to find a doll store I had been to before. It wasn't where I remembered and I didn't see it anywhere so I think it had closed.
We didn't do too much in Akihabara that was worth taking pictures of, but I did take one last picture before we headed on to Ikebukuro.
In Ikebukuro we ate lunch at Beckers and I visited Closet Child, a used lolita store. Then we went into an arcade and Jonathan actually won something from a UFO catcher (claw machine) for me!
Mokona! Yay!
Then we went to Karaoke Kan and did karaoke for two hours. It was a weekday afternoon so the rate was really cheap. Two hours, with one drink each, was only about 1500 yen! So not even 800 yen per person!
Overall the background videos were really boring, but one of them was hilarious and totally made up for the others.
We sang Barbie Girl (haha, yes, really) and the background video was of an Amish man driving a horse and buggy. In the song Ken says, "Hi, Barbie. Do you wanna go for a ride?" So Ken is Amish?
After karaoke we went to Meiji Shrine because Jonathan had never been. It was nearby and free so he might as well go. It was nice to visit someplace like that one last time.
I did omikuji, a sort of fortune thing. You shake a box and get a stick with a number on it. You tell the person at the counter your number and get a corresponding poem.
I did some shopping and bought a purple skirt from Spins and a blonde and pink wig from Bodyline. The wig will look cute with my lolita outfit. :)
Then we got a snack from Calbee Plus. Calbee is a potato chip company, basically the Lays of Japan. At Calbee Plus they make fresh potato chips and serve them with some interesting toppings. I had wanted to try it for a while but hadn't gotten around to it. I almost didn't get them then because the line was a bit long but I decided to wait. The line moved pretty quickly fortunately.
I got potato chips with vanilla soft serve ice cream and chocolate sauce. I'm so glad I tried them because they were really good! :)
I didn't eat there, but I thought the picture was cute. There's just so much kawaii stuff in Harajuku.
I was sad to leave Harajuku. I had been slightly disappointed the first time I went because I didn't see as much lolita stuff as I had expected and it was super crowded. But I learned to avoid the most crowded times and found all sorts of neat stuff around there. There's crazy Takeshita Street with Bodyline, Closet Child, Pom Pom Purin Cafe, delicious crepes, and several boyband/idol stores. Next to that is fancy Omotesando Street lined with trees and beautiful storefronts. It has Laforet (with lolita shops!), Kiddyland, and my favorite McDonald's. :) Meiji Shine and Yoyogi park are right there and feel like you're not in Tokyo anymore. There are so many different atmospheres all in one area.
But Jonathan was genuinely happy to leave Harajuku. Though it was really just Takeshita that he hated.
Then we went back to Ikebukuro. I bought a cute yellow skirt in Sunshine City. Here is a picture of me wearing it in the US.
I had been eyeing it for a while at Pleha Walk, the mall across the street from my apartment in Hamamatsu, so I was glad to find it in Tokyo.
Then we visited the Pokemon Center in Ikebukuro.
I didn't get to spend much time in there but they didn't have much Eevee or Minccino stuff anyway, which is what I was interested in.
We went to TGI Fridays for dinner. Yes, we went to an American restaurant our last night in Tokyo. But it's fun and a different atmosphere than America.
I saw a cotton candy drink on the menu. Cotton candy!!! I had to try it. :) They brought a glass of cotton candy to the table and then poured the drink on it. The cotton candy melted quickly but it made fizzy noises for a long time.
I had the Jack Daniel's chicken which was really good!
Picard had some of my cotton candy drink. He's so tiny though so he got quite tipsy. He better just stick to earl grey.
Then we went to an arcade and played some games including a rhythm game called Maimai.
I beat Jonathan, yay! :)
That was our last night in Japan. :( So there will be just one more post about our Tokyo trip, but I still have some other posts planned.