Daikanyama

My first full day in Tokyo started with a bit of breakfast served by the hotel. It was a mix of things. Rolls, salad, miso soup, pickles, and a different rice dish each day. One day onigiri, another plain rice with shredded egg and other on top, curry another day. Then my tour guide for the day showed up and we were off to a place in the Shibuya area that had interesting things to explore. Daikanyama, where there grows a huge flower sculpture. It's located on Hachiman-dori if you are interested.

We first went to a more traditional Japanese building which I will post about later. Before and after that we walked through the neighborhood. Which had a decidedly more Western look.

 Although if you looked hard enough you could find a few things more Japanese like this takoyaki stand.

Despite all the concrete there were bits of color.

 Where you were not alone.

 Surprising little shops. I know a few people who would love this one full of pastels.

 Surprises like sunflowers growing in the middle of a street.

 There are a number of embassies in the area which could explain the Western vibe.

And the high number of shops that would fit in perfectly in Southern California. Of course it doesn't matter where you are from, people like different things.

And for those in Japan...

Daikanyama is definitely where you can feel like you have warped to America for a trip through what resembles our thrift stores.

One stop we checked out was the neat little art gallery Arts Rush. Their website is here.

Lots of pretty artwork including these lovely cut paper work pieces by Hina Aoyama. So delicate!

Overall an interesting place to visit on an extremely hot and humid day. I was worried I may have complained a bit since I was running on very little sleep after a rather long flight and it was extremely hot. Was running on sheer will power. We did stop in a couple places in Daikanyama so I will have photos from those in the next couple blog posts.