Day 7 - Harijuku

Sunday we went back to Harijuku, this is the day when all of the kids congregate that dress up in there unbelievable outfits. But first we wanted to stop and see Meiji Shrine. Today was super hot and we could only walk for a little before we were really feeling it. Fortunately the grounds to the shrine were mostly shaded by large trees. Here is the gate to the shrine or Torii (entrance gate). You can just see Kristen next to the gate - that is how huge it is!

The shrine is a popular place for weddings - we saw two while we were there. They walk in their procession right through the middle of the tourists and don't seem to mind while everyone stops to get their pictures. We watched for a little while when one wedding was having their pictures done after the ceremony. Everyone was very somber - not many smiles. I noticed too that all of the wedding party seems to wear black.

After leaving the shrine we headed to Yoyogi Park. This is where we shot the video of the dancing Elvis's. One end of the park also has the spot where all the teens come dressed in their crazy outfit. They are very selective about who they let take their photograph. When I walked up to one group they immediately turned their backs on me. One girl did stop to pose - notice the Bo Peep outfits to the side of her!

The Elvis dancers were fun to watch - remember that it is miserably hot but that didn't seems to bother them at all. They had all danced so much that their shoes were duct taped everywhere with black tape to hold them together. We also saw group of line dancers that we think were maybe dancing to the soundtrack of Grease. Just a strange mix of people having fun in the park.

We walked back to Cricket's through the park. The park is really big and all down the sidewalk there is band after band playing very loudly! Each band can't be ten feet away from the next. Some bands had groups watching them and others were just playing away to whoever walked by. Some bands sounded very American too.

Then after you walk through all of the bands there are people set up along the sidewalk selling items in kind of like an outdoor flea market. They just spread out a blanket and put out whatever they have to sell. We were all surprised when we walked by this jersey - not exactly what you would expect to find in Tokyo!