Sunday morning… well, almost noon time by the time we got down to the hotel lobby after waking up late and spending some time washing our clothes.
A Japanese boy was entertaining Julian with a balloon in the hotel lobby before we set off for lunch.
We walked down to Shinagawa Prince Hotel opposite Shinagawa Station for lunch in this family-friendly restaurant that was recommended in the Summer 2008 Restaurant Guide. We ordered Oyakodon (Chicken, Egg and Onion Donburi), a rice set meal (with mushrooms, minced meat patty, miso soups and side dishes) and a kids meal (tomato-flavoured rice with fried sausage, dessert and orange juice).
The meal was good for Joan and I. As for Julian, he does appreciate the tomato rice, hotdog and pudding in his kids meal. All he ate was our plain rice and his orange juice…
After lunch, we walked back up to Takanawa Catholic Church opposite our hotel to attend the 2pm English mass. The church only has English mass on every 4th Sunday of the month and it was the 4th Sunday of the month! But on hindsight, Joan and I thought we should have attended a Japanese mass to experience one. Haha… well, next time then.
The congregation in church was mainly made up of Phillipinos. The priest was also a Phillipino and he gave a very good homily. :-) After mass, there was a healing service with lively music to start with and Julian certainly enjoyed it… dancing to the beat of the music!
The hymn book used in church… and the children’s choir practising in the church canteen.
Surroundings outside the church.
After the mass ended, we headed for Shibuya! Outside Shibuya Station, we posed with the statue of Hachiko The Dog.
Hachiko was a white male Akita dog born in Odate, Japan in November 1923. At the age of two months, he was brought to Tokyo by his owner Professor Hidesaburo Ueno of the Agricultural Department, Tokyo University. During his owner’s life, Hachiko saw him off from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station.
On May 21 1925, Professor Ueno did not return because he had suffered a stroke and died at the university. For the next nine years, Hachiko returned to the station and waited for his beloved master precisely when the train was due to arrive at the station before walking home, alone. Nothing and no one could discourage Hachiko from maintaining his nightly vigil. The fidelity of Hachiko was known throughout Japan, owing to an article, “Faithful Old Dog Awaits Return of Master Dead for Seven Years” in the 4 October 1933 issue of Aashi Shinbun (Asahi News).
Upon his death in 1934, newspaper stories led to the suggestion that a statue be erected in the station. Contributions from the United States and other countries were received. Today, a bronze statue of Hachiko at his waiting spot outside the Shibuya Station pays silent tribute to the breed’s faithfulness and loyalty.
The Shibuya Crossing outside Shibuya Station (Hachiko Exit). This crossing is famous for its scramble crossing where vehicles in all directions stop to allow pedestrians to flood the entire intersection. The Starbucks store overlooking the crossing is also one of the busiest in the world… and I’m sure I don’t have to explain why.
Walking along the streets of Shibuya.
Familiar face… Colonel Sanders outside KFC but who was the young guy inside? His son perhaps…
Familiar restaurant! It looked more rundown than those in Singapore but we were told the food tasted better. They even serve Unagi (Eel)! Too bad we only knew the part about the food after our trip. Next time then…
Finally, we arrived at Tokyu Hands! 7 Storeys of shopping for just about anything… toys, handicrafts, stationaries, bags, home improvements, furniture and even a cafe!
Rows and rows of paper at Tokyu Hands.
We spent about 2.5 hours at Tokyu Hands and by the time we walked out of the store, it was sunset with a slight drizzle. But what struck us was the sky, which had an amazingly beautiful orange-purple glow! What you see in the photos is exactly what we saw at Shibuya… just beautiful!
We took a train ride to Harajuku, just one stop away from Shibuya. It was Sunday… the day where Cosplay Kids would be out parading in their costumes but it was already evening and hopefully, we could still see some of them.
The first Cosplay kids we saw was at McDonald’s. They were not Japanese and certainly not matching the “standards” of Cosplay kids we saw in guide books. In fact, we were wondering for a moment whether they were Cosplay kids. Anyway, I decided to snap a photo of them from outside McDonald’s but what followed was a rude gesture from the kid dressed in red telling me to stop taking photos and go away. This was our only rude experience in Japan… from non-Japanese. Guess they have a lot more to learn from the Japanese.
As we walked along Harajuku Street, we shopped at Daiso, the largest franchise of 100-yen shops in Japan. The one in Harajuku was 4 storeys high and we spent the last 1 hour of the store’s business hours shopping. There were so many things to look at, especially wooden toys and figurines at only 105JPY each (after the 5% tax). It was just so tempting to buy all of them (close to 50 types) but after careful selection, we bought about 20 different types. New toys for Julian!
This is a shop selling costumes and accessories for Cosplay kids.
Posing outside a restaurant inside Shinagawa Station with a vending machine behind us. Here, customers order their meals at the vending machine and present the meal tags to the chef in the restaurant for their meals to be served. Meals are cheap here to serve high customer volume. Hence, it’s not suitable for families with kids like Julian who take a long time to finish their meals.
Finally, we ended our day with dinner at this nice restaurant above Shinagawa Station serving a fusion of Japanese and Western food. We ordered Roast Chicken and Beef Stew with rice and bread and the food was really good. It didn’t come cheap though at a price of around 4000JPY ($52).
For Julian, he was contented just eating the expensive bread and plain rice.
A night view of the Tokyo Tower from the corridor window outside our hotel room.
Tomorrow, we shall head to Tokyo DisneySea!
those Cosplay ppl no Jap? they Ang Mo or Asian? Can’t really tell from pics.
U didn’t try Yoshinoya? Its not really special.
dinner, U gotta pay extra for bread? never been to Western rest in Jap don’t know about it.
I like the looks of the breakfast. Making me hungry!!
We saw some Jap Cosplay kids but it was too dark for photos.
Well, didn’t try Yoshinoya as we were not hungry every time we see one. When we are hungry, we don’t see one. Haha…
Yes… we had to pay extra for bread and rice! But the food was good.