Today we met up with Roger's aunt Wei-san who lives in Shiraoka and went to Harajuku as a group. Wei-san speaks no English, so it was a great opportunity for me to converse entirely in Japanese and translate between the two languages for my mom and Roger who only speak English. Because we came a bit too late, there weren't too many crazily dressed kids to be seen. I did see a vampire lesbian couple though. You can see the photos below for a flavor of Harajuku.
Right by Harajuku Station is Meiji Jingu (the Meiji Shinto Shrine). We visited the shrine and it was very beautiful. We cleaned our hands and mouths and prayed at the pew. After the shrine we ate Kaiten Sushi (where the sushi goes around on a conveyor belt and you pick what you want). My mom felt a little sick after the sushi. Roger was already very sick with food poisoning from a warui beef bun he ate the night before at 7-11. I was feeling like a million yen thanks to my multiple natto (fermented soy bean) rolls.
Next we took the bus to Shibuya, which is another popular hangout for kids due to its abundance of fashion and toy stores (not to mention people). We walked the streets and peeked into the different stores. One of the stores we looked in was Mandrake Manga. This chain of manga (comic book) super stores in Japan is a virtual airplane hanger size building filled wall to wall with every manga you could ever want or need. I bought a couple books. Otaku are Japanese people who are obsessed with models, figures, manga, and giant robots. Though I've never been too interested in manga and I'm certainly not an Otaku, manga are fun Japanese reading practice and perfect for those long train rides.
After that we returned to the hotel for a bit to rest and then went to the Chinese area of Ueno and had Shanghai style food with Wei-san. All in all a great day, and we all made a new friend in Wei-san.
B.E.W.
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