Finding our feet

Shibuya Crossing

Most of Tokyo was on its way home last night. This morning, on their day off, they were all flocking back. We took the metro down to Shibuya which seemed to be the capital's main retail magnet (that's until we discovered many more). From the station precincts, there's a wonderful view of the Shibuyu Crossing, a four-way intersection, which - when the pedestrian lights turn to green - resembles a swarm of bees, only this is a surge of humanity. If you're looking to get places, then Shibuyu's not the place on foot, not least because of the endless pelican crossings.


Hokusai Print

About a mile north of Shibuyu is Harijuku, and but for a brief interlude of non-retail activities in between, this is another shopping hotspot. After some more shuffling through the crowds we found our destination - the Ota Memorial Art Museum which houses a collection of wood-block prints. This month there was a special exhibition of Hokusai prints - 36 views of Mount Fuji - perhaps the artist's most well-known work.

Next stop Shinjuku. If Shibuya was busy then Shinjuku was one big jostle. Shinjuku is yet another major transport hub and bastion of Mammon. 'Shop until you drop' is not the Japanese consumer's motto though as we found much to our chagrin in Starbuck's where they'd all seemed to have congregated between bouts of shopping.


So, on to Ginza on the other side of town and a welcome pause to rest our weary feet in the metro. As Lonely Planet puts it, Ginza is Tokyo's answer to New York's Fifth Avenue. Apparently up-market, which may have accounted for the relative scarcity of shoppers. Nevertheless, The Spirit of Japan Party was on the hustings ahead of Japan's elections to the House of Councillors on July 11. Who's to know, it could have been Japan's answer to Guido Westerwelle or Mark Rutte on the top of the battlebus.


Oblivious, we wandered round the district and caught the train at Tokyo JR station to Akihabara. Not thought we'd had enough of shopping centres yet? Well, you'd be wrong. 'Akiba' is the Tottenham Court Road of Tokyo, but so much more. Computer games, gadgetry and manga mix here and it draws in the maids, fans of manga culture who act out their fantasies in schoolgirl garb. Not that we saw much, it had been mostly commercialised with shop assistants touting outside cafes in teenage outfits.

Exiting a metro station in Tokyo can be particularly disorienting and when we retraced our way back to Akihabara tube station to start walking back to Ueno (less than a kilometre away), we ended up going in the wrong direction. Fortunately, a tube station is never far away and we were son back in Ueno, sampling our first red lantern restaurant and eating spicy noodle soup with chopsticks.

Now on to more exciting things: Germany versus Argentina.