After a day immersed in geek culture, we decided to try to get hipper. We took the Yamanote line south to Shibuya to see the busiest train station in Tokyo and the largest crosswalk. We found a cafe above the action, and watched dozens of cycles of people crossing like waves. It’s amazingly orderly, as long as everyone follows the rules.

Shibuya crosswalk

Shibuya Crosswalk

We stopped by the statue of Hachiko, the dog so loyal he waited every day at the station for years after his master died. John and I were interview ambushed by a video crew who were trying to get white tourists to say nice things about a woman I didnt recognize. They had a four-up comparison photo of Britney Spears, Victoria Beckham, Paris Hilton, and an unflattering photoshopped shot of this Japanese woman. They were clearly trying for some propaganda effect, but I’m not quite sure what.

We extricated ourselves, and wandered north through the hip Harajuku area, stopping at stores looking for cool fashion and misspelled “engrish”. Didn’t actually find as much as we had hoped; maybe increasing globalization has killed that trend.

We did find strange graphics though, like Galaxy Horse and Jesus cat.

Jesus cat Galaxy horse


Walked through a neighborhood with some very cool architecture to Ebisu, where we went looking for an old-style Japanese pub that we were unable to find. Instead, we ate delicious barbecued peppers wrapped in pork, and had five kinds of tuna at a reasonably priced sushi bar. I could do without the smoking, but Ruth doesn’t mind, so we put her next to the smells.