Tokyo Trip - Day 6 : 30th Nov

We planned our trip to Harajuku from Shinjuku on day 6, & finally, we can wake up abt 8am and take our breakfast first before leaving for Harajuku as shops only open starting from 10am. We took the JR Yamanote line which costs us abt 130 yen per pax and children under 6 is free. It was our first attempt on JR line and was quite impressed with it's organised system (ie, they have clear directions on which path will lead you to the right lines).

As it was quite late on Monday morning, the train was not as packed and we have sufficient breathing space when we took the train. The wonderful thing abt Japan's JR train is that you can't use the handphone on the train and it is very quiet to read a book and catch a nap.

In Harajuku train station

Outside the train station, looks very authentic..

We didn't get to see young Japanese dressing up Gothic, Lolita or Punk along Harajuku, probably because it's a Monday and everyone has gone to school. It was quite quiet (maybe it was still considered early) and we moved on to Kiddyland (mega toys store) which should be able to keep Caden very occupied there. But in the end, it was me who was stuck in the store with all the Sanrio stuff on level 2. We bag home abt S$100 in souvenirs and stuff for myself or the kids..

We had to move on to Shibuya (which is one-stop away from Harajuku) after lunch. I found this Loft store which is located near Shibuya's Parco deptal store and loved their stuff there.. it's a lifestyle shop which carries alot of Japanese made household stuff and even nice cushion covers. It seems quite difficult to navigate around Shibuya as the buildings are not easily identifiable and it took me some time to locate OiOi dept store (Marui store) where I intend to get the Samantha Thavasa bag which I saw in Shinjuku the day before. Since this place offers tax refund, it makes more sense for me to get here, and also gave me a day to think abt if I shd get that bag.. I also got my ah lou a Nike waist pouch as a surprise for babysitting Caden throughout these 2 days..

We gave up on shopping in Shibuya and decided to have our dinner back in Shinjuku. So we took a train back and have our Udon meal (ah lou suddenly craved for udon) back in My lord building (between Lumine 1 and 2). By the time we finished our dinner (near 8pm), our legs were really tired and we decided to call it a day and return back to our cosy hotel room..

Here's the sky terrace which links up Takashimaya, Odakyu, Lumine, My lord and other dept stores and JR station in Shinjuku. Very convenient as you save alot of time passing through the buildings to get you around these more popular shops.

Xmas lightings started in Shinjuku.. this is near the Takashimaya