Kawaii
"I'd rather be in Tokyo / I'd rather listen to Thin Lizzy-o / And watch the Sunday gang in Harajuku / There's something wrong with me / I'm a cuckoo"
Scottish indie group Belle and Sebastian probably weren't thinking of us when they wrote I'm A Cuckoo, but it was the Sunday gang which drew us to Harajuku for Day 5 of our trip to Tokyo.
The district is known for everything "kawaii" (Japanese cutesy culture), and Takeshita Street demonstrates this best with a dizzying array of candy shops, costumes and crepes.
The locals descend on the area every Sunday dressed to the nines in various outlandish outfits. I think we were dressed to about the twos or threes.
Lucinda mentioned in our last blog that I spent a lot of time trying to convince her of Tokyo's merits as a honeymoon destination, but the clincher was when she stumbled across the creme brulee crepes from Com Crepe on Instagram.
Thankfully it was just as good as she'd imagined - soft, full of vanilla seeds and topped with a crunchy caramel layer.
Next, we stopped in at a coffee shop called Reissue down one of the trendy side streets, which is famous for its latte art. Apparently it's also a "party studio". Not sure what that is, but okay.
You show them your phone with pretty much any picture you want on your beverage, and the latte artist painstakingly recreates it.
Hunger satisfied (for now), we crossed over to Yoyogi Park on the other side of the metro station, and had a quick look at the shrine and some sake barrels which probably have some kind of cultural significance, hoping that this will appease the mothers and those of a more civilised disposition back home.
Sadly, our spiritual awakening was thrown off a bit when we saw some Elvis dancers getting their boogie on. Apparently this happens every Sunday afternoon.
It seems like you can't walk more than a few metres in Tokyo without running into a street food stall, or a street food market in this case. So naturally the eating continued with a cup of Hokkaido sweetcorn soup for 120 yen (83p).
Our actual intended destination was NHK Studio Park, part of the headquarters of Japan's national public broadcasting organisation - like the BBC, but a million times more mental.
Entry was 200 yen (£1.38), and we managed to time it as the Grand Sumo tournament was reaching its conclusion, so watched a bit of that on the live feed as it was being broadcast. We're actually becoming fans of sumo now having watched a fair bit on YouTube.
Next, we made our way to the newsroom to broadcast all our latest happenings to the Japanese public.
NHK mascot Domo was so impressed, he offered me a job on the spot.
After some games, posing and more hijinks, we needed more food (otherwise we might STARVE), so took the very short train ride next door to Shibuya.
First, we stopped at McDonald's for the second time this holiday (sorry chef Honda) and tried another Japanese exclusive.
The Ebi Filet-O is a sandwich made up of a deep-fried breaded prawn cake with salad and marie rose sauce. It's officially way too good to be on a McDonald's menu.
Naturally we needed to build on this with something a bit more authentic. We were torn between another two restaurants and initially had the idea of visiting both, but after the first one, decided we should probably call it a night.
Genki Sushi is your typical conveyor belt sushi joint, and combines three of the things people would imagine when they think of Japan: technology, efficiency and raw fish.
You order from a touchscreen, one dish at a time, and keep going until you're full.
We went for bluefin tuna nigiri, chicken tempura nigiri, beef rib nigiri, prawn tempura and avocado rolls, and omelette - all washed down with matcha tea and a glass of red wine, all fresh and delicious. Total cost for both of us, 1200 yen (£8.30)!
After filling up on sushi, we went on a mini shopping spree at Loft, Tokyu Hands and Don Quijote, buying very little but making our feet sore.
Finally we did a half hour karaoke sesh in a private room at Uta Hiroba, but forgot to take pictures. For a bunch of poorly-wailed songs and two soft drinks, it cost 740 yen in total (£5.10).
If this trip has taught us anything, it's that Tokyo can be done (and done pretty well) on a budget. Flights and accommodation are obviously not cheap, but once they're sorted, it's up to you when, where and if you want to spend your yen.
Tomorrow we're planning to visit the world-famous Tsukiji fish market for more street food, some potentially a bit more daring than sweetcorn soup.
If you're not already Tokyo'd out, you can check out more photos on Flickr.
George
The locals descend on the area every Sunday dressed to the nines in various outlandish outfits. I think we were dressed to about the twos or threes.
Lucinda mentioned in our last blog that I spent a lot of time trying to convince her of Tokyo's merits as a honeymoon destination, but the clincher was when she stumbled across the creme brulee crepes from Com Crepe on Instagram.
Thankfully it was just as good as she'd imagined - soft, full of vanilla seeds and topped with a crunchy caramel layer.
Next, we stopped in at a coffee shop called Reissue down one of the trendy side streets, which is famous for its latte art. Apparently it's also a "party studio". Not sure what that is, but okay.
You show them your phone with pretty much any picture you want on your beverage, and the latte artist painstakingly recreates it.
I'm sure you'll all agree, it's a latte masterpiece!
You can clearly see where our priorities lie. Me, with the football. Lucinda, with our marriage.
She's clearly grasped this whole kawaii thing a lot quicker than I have.
We wandered back along Takeshita Street and out the other side. I was hungry for "real" food by this point and succumbed to the temptation of a roast duck vinaigrette roll.
Sadly, our spiritual awakening was thrown off a bit when we saw some Elvis dancers getting their boogie on. Apparently this happens every Sunday afternoon.
It seems like you can't walk more than a few metres in Tokyo without running into a street food stall, or a street food market in this case. So naturally the eating continued with a cup of Hokkaido sweetcorn soup for 120 yen (83p).
Our actual intended destination was NHK Studio Park, part of the headquarters of Japan's national public broadcasting organisation - like the BBC, but a million times more mental.
Entry was 200 yen (£1.38), and we managed to time it as the Grand Sumo tournament was reaching its conclusion, so watched a bit of that on the live feed as it was being broadcast. We're actually becoming fans of sumo now having watched a fair bit on YouTube.
Next, we made our way to the newsroom to broadcast all our latest happenings to the Japanese public.
NHK mascot Domo was so impressed, he offered me a job on the spot.
After some games, posing and more hijinks, we needed more food (otherwise we might STARVE), so took the very short train ride next door to Shibuya.
First, we stopped at McDonald's for the second time this holiday (sorry chef Honda) and tried another Japanese exclusive.
The Ebi Filet-O is a sandwich made up of a deep-fried breaded prawn cake with salad and marie rose sauce. It's officially way too good to be on a McDonald's menu.
Naturally we needed to build on this with something a bit more authentic. We were torn between another two restaurants and initially had the idea of visiting both, but after the first one, decided we should probably call it a night.
Genki Sushi is your typical conveyor belt sushi joint, and combines three of the things people would imagine when they think of Japan: technology, efficiency and raw fish.
You order from a touchscreen, one dish at a time, and keep going until you're full.
We went for bluefin tuna nigiri, chicken tempura nigiri, beef rib nigiri, prawn tempura and avocado rolls, and omelette - all washed down with matcha tea and a glass of red wine, all fresh and delicious. Total cost for both of us, 1200 yen (£8.30)!
After filling up on sushi, we went on a mini shopping spree at Loft, Tokyu Hands and Don Quijote, buying very little but making our feet sore.
Finally we did a half hour karaoke sesh in a private room at Uta Hiroba, but forgot to take pictures. For a bunch of poorly-wailed songs and two soft drinks, it cost 740 yen in total (£5.10).
If this trip has taught us anything, it's that Tokyo can be done (and done pretty well) on a budget. Flights and accommodation are obviously not cheap, but once they're sorted, it's up to you when, where and if you want to spend your yen.
Tomorrow we're planning to visit the world-famous Tsukiji fish market for more street food, some potentially a bit more daring than sweetcorn soup.
If you're not already Tokyo'd out, you can check out more photos on Flickr.
George
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