Tokyo Day 2: Harajuku

I slept much better last night – I think the travel and the first day got to me all at once and allowed me to collapse for a while. This morning, we got up a lot easier than yesterday and we fortified ourselves with strawberry milk for breakfast because we are the picture of health.

Today we had to get to Okachimachi station, which is only a ten minute walk from our hotel. Again, it was nice to walk in our ‘local’ streets, seeing people going about their daily routines. The weather was shaping up to be bright again, though still cold.

We took the Yamanote Line to get to Harajuku! This was one of the places I was most excited to see in Tokyo, from admiring Fruits magazine as a teen. The subway ride took about half an hour, and was mostly above-ground so I could peer out of the window at the city. The train car itself wasn’t at all busy – we’ve yet to experience a famous Tokyo rush-hour train. We soon realised that every station has a little departure jingle (here’s a compilation of the Yamanote Line melodies). Why is literally everything here so cute?

Walking up to the oft-Instagrammed Takeshita Street gate, we had a little trepidation because it looked so busy. But actually, it was less crowded than I thought it would be. We stood at the gate and looked down the street for a moment to get our bearings. Then we saw the cats.

Perched in the third-floor window of a building near us were several cats, observing the street below with classic cat indifference. We had this particular place, Cat Café MOCHA, on our to do list for the day and were immediately drawn there by the sentry-cats in the window. It’s definitely good advertising for people who don’t know about the café!

As we made a break across the street to get to the building, I did that awkward shuffle-dance with a girl who was chatting on the phone. You know, when you both try to go the same way more than once and it becomes really silly and embarrassing. We both broke up laughing and saying “Sumimasen!” to each other, before bowing and managing to get by. It was a nice, genuine interaction and made me really happy. I can’t reiterate enough just how polite and nice everybody has been so far.

In the café lobby, we were given a locker key to stash our bags and shoes, and a pair of slippers to wear in the café proper. Like most cat cafés, you pay an initial entrance fee (in this case, it also goes towards unlimited free drinks!), and then 200¥ for every ten minutes. You don’t need to clock-watch – the time you enter is noted on the label with your locker keys so it can be totted up at the end.

We were led to a sliding door and asked to enter carefully to make sure no cats got out. We stepped through the door and into a purple corridor filled with books, in cases and stacked on floating shelves. And cats. So many cats. There was a little side room with drinks machines to serve yourself from. The only rule was that you remember to put a lid on your cups so the cats couldn’t spill them, as cats love to do. Suitably enamoured, we said hello to the corridor cats and made our way to the front room where we’d seen the initial sentry-cats.

This room was bright and airy, with a wooden tree sculpture on a platform in the middle. There’s lots of little hides and platforms around for the cats to use, and soft music playing. I also noticed that there were plenty of cat-flaps leading to non-guest areas so the cats have a place to go if they don’t feel like socialising. It was warm and quiet, a perfect atmosphere. I soon found myself with a pair of cat ears on again. It’s becoming a bit of a habit.

The room at the other end of the book corridor was like a fairy tale. A big fake tree with large birdcage sculptures in its branches and a mirror wall made up one side. The other side was plush, red and vampy. I was in heaven. A ginger boi came in and immediately showed off, springing up into the tree and jumping from birdcage to birdcage. It was so fun to watch him and cheer him on. Cats wandered in and out of the room to see what was going on and deigned to let us pet them. There was a ragdoll who just flopped on the floor and let Caz pet him for ages. I felt so at peace in that room. We stayed in there for a long while just chilling and watching the cats. You kind of forget you’re in a busy shopping street because the environment is so quiet and calm.

Eventually we had to tear ourselves away as we had a lunch booking elsewhere. I was impressed to see that they had a couple of dressing tables with mirrors, complete with hand sanitiser, lint rollers, and anything else you’d need after being in cat heaven. We settled our bill and were warmly sent off on our way. Definitely worth the money!

I took a LOT of photos in the cat café, it was so difficult to narrow them down to these few!

I'd read a lot about the huge rainbow candyfloss you could buy in Harajuku so I was keeping my eyes peeled for that as we started walking down Takeshita Street. I needn't have bothered, though, because there was a girl on the stairs leading up to the Totti Candy Factory waving a huge candyfloss and calling to people in the street to come buy one. We went upstairs and found a queue, which wasn't surprising as it seems to be a popular thing for people to get when in this part of town.

Inside the shop there were little cups with layered rainbow candyfloss in them to buy and consume later, cake pops that looked like different animals, and of course the workstation where they created the massive candyfloss they're famous for. We joined the queue and it moved surprisingly fast - G-Dragon was playing so we had some fun music to bop to while we waited.

Watching the girls make the candyfloss was so dreamy and interesting. They had different coloured sugar crystals that they scooped into the machine, which then spun the sugar into super fine floss. They did this layer by layer until the rainbow was complete. It started looking massive by the third colour, but it just kept growing and the result is a light, bouncy and ridiculously huge candyfloss on a stick. Honestly, it was bigger than our heads! It's not exactly cheap at 950¥, but it's so worth it for the hilarious experience. Caz and I were sensible and decided to share one, as we didn't think we'd manage one each.

As I was attempting to leave the Factory, there was a guy passing by the door. We both stopped in surprise, then we both looked at my huge candyfloss and started laughing before I gestured at him to go ahead in front of me. It was another lovely communal moment, as was standing near other people who had bought a rainbow candyfloss. Literally everyone was just giggling as they ate because the thing was so comically huge and bouncy. We started from the bottom, the purple layer - it was easier to start there and just go through each layer. Unlike British candyfloss, it wasn't overly heavy and sugary. Instead it was really finely spun and melted straight away. Also, every layer was a unique flavour! I think my favourite was the blue one, but they were all lovely and not too overpowering. I would definitely recommend getting a huge rainbow candyfloss simply for the whimsy and ridiculousness.

I laughed my ass off and told Caz to stay still so I could take a photo of her looking like her head was replaced with the candyfloss

Once we were finished eating the huge candyfloss (in Japan, it's rude to walk and eat at the same time so we stopped to devour the rainbow monstrosity), Caz and I wandered down Takeshita Street, taking in the sights. There are so many cute shops and eateries that I could probably spend more than a day there and not get bored. I spent a lot of time wishing I was slim enough to fit into the adorable clothes on offer, but it was really nice to just be part of the crowd wandering around and enjoying the day. There was a shop called CANDY A GO GO! that we made a note to visit after lunch some time because it was brightly coloured and full of pick'n'mix sweets. We meandered all the way to the other Takeshita Street gate, as we were heading on to our lunchtime destination, the Kawaii Monster Café.

The building it's housed in looks very nondescript. A tall tower like most of the buildings are when you exit Takeshita Street and start approaching the massive shopping street that is Omotesando Avenue. Once you get to the third floor and go through the doors, though, you're immediately in a world of pink and neon green. The girl at the reception found our booking and then explained that the 'Kawaii Monster' in question was named Choppy, and we were in fact standing in his mouth. She said once we went through the main doors we would be in his stomach! Again, I would give the advice to suspend disbelief and play along, because it just makes it so much more fun. The girl went to the doors and said, "Are you ready?" We said "Yes?" and she repeated, "Are you ready?" and we confirmed again. Then she threw the doors open, saying "Welcome to the Kawaii Monster Cafe!"

Huge cake. There's a huge cake in the middle of the room, or Choppy's ‘stomach’. It slowly revolved and for a while it was all I could look at. The girl who let us in was laughing at our gobsmacked reaction - it must be a really fun part of the job to see people’s faces when they come in. As we walked towards our booth, more of the decor caught my eye. Huge mushrooms, strawberries, mirrors, lights, and so many colours. It was quite overwhelming but in a really exciting way.

Our booth was purple and green striped, and only had one small entrance so we had a little private space. The table was red and sparkly and we were soon given red and blue sparkly water cups too. The wait staff were in cute striped uniforms, and there were other staff members dressed like ‘monsters’. One looked like an Edwardian candyfloss, another looked like a cyberpunk experiment, and all of them looked amazing. Everybody came by our booth to say hello and chat, it was so immersive and... Well, kawaii.

We’d prepaid for our booking so our lovely waiter explained which items would have a premium charge added on, and showed us a sample menu of the gift shop goods we could get at the end. The menu itself is playful and colourful and I thought we’d have a nightmare trying to decide what to eat. Luckily our dishes jumped right out at us (not literally, though that would have been good). I opted for some rainbow noodles that had 5 dips ‘painted’ onto the plate, which resembled an artists palette. Caz went for the ‘space curry’ - a blue and green Earth made from rice, with pitch black curry all around it and fried tofu stars! We were so excited to see what they looked like and weren’t disappointed.

I felt extra special because the chef himself brought my food to me and explained what all the different sauces were. I channelled surrealism, just grabbing a pair of chopsticks and mixing the whole lot together. It was so delicious and really fun to eat because of the concept and the colours. We sampled each other’s dishes and I can report that the space curry was also very nice. Before our trip we’d been reading reviews of the cafe and someone had said the portions were tiny. Honestly, I don’t know where they ate because we had plenty. I mean, look at the photo above!

For dessert, Caz chose the ‘cat food’, which we christened ‘human kibble’. It was croutons, but slightly sweet and dyed different colours, ice cream, Oreo pieces, cereal and sponge cake, all topped with a little tuft of candyfloss (apparently some ‘fur’ from the pink cat mascot). And it was served in a big cat bowl, which we found endlessly amusing. It was so big that Caz couldn’t finish it, and I could only manage a bit of it after my dessert! I had a slice of the ‘colourful poison cake’, which was a sponge cake with ice cream and sprinkles in the middle, iced with lots of different coloured ‘scales’. Despite being a poison cake, it was really tasty.

When you pre-book your table, you get a 90 minute slot, and we found that was plenty of time to eat our food at leisure, and still have time to relax and talk. While we were eating, we were checked on a reasonable amount by our waiter, and all of the staff were cheerful and friendly. We heard them break out into a birthday song for another booth near us, people were at ease and laughing a lot and it was just a really lovely atmosphere. It’s loud and bright, but not obnoxiously so, and we found ourselves sitting in quiet disbelief on more than one occasion. I think this is where it really hit us that we’re here, in Tokyo.

We made a quick visit to the gift shop. I got a Kawaii Monster Cafe sticker and some branded chopsticks with their own little box! I can report that my chopstick skills are coming along in leaps and bounds, though I do sometimes take a while to position my hand correctly. Instead of blaming inexperience, I choose to blame being left-handed.

With our bellies full and spirits high, we stretched our legs and strolled down to Omotesando Avenue to visit Kiddy-Land, a huge toyshop on the shopping street. We only took a turn around the ground floor, as it started getting dangerous for Caz after she bought two otamotones. One looks like a lucky cat, and the other is huge and looks like Kirby. She was aiming to get one this holiday so mission accomplished! I saw a gorgeous hamster character called Sukeroku, and I’ve vowed to buy something with him on before the end of the holiday. I’m obsessed with hamsters and still miss my dear Poe.

A little way down the avenue is a place called OrientalBazaar. It’s in a traditional style building, so you can’t miss it among the skyscrapers and shiny modern stores. And it’s full of antiques. I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford anything in there but wanted to look anyway. It’s a gorgeous shop. They have full samurai armour in there, old kimono and tea sets, ornaments, fans, and a giant wooden Hannya mask. I’ve wanted a Hannya for years but there was no way I was affording that beauty (also how would I get it home??). 

There was a little mock tatami room set up with a big kimono on a frame. The sign invited you to sit on the tatami to see what it felt like so we sat there for a while. It was super relaxing as the shop was quiet and a faint smell of incense hung in the air. I reckon I could’ve gone to sleep on that tatami mat if I was lying down.

I’d read about a ridiculous shop called Condomania, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. Novelty condoms. We decided to go and have a look and a laugh. It’s a tiny little place in a little residential side street and has a yellow anthropomorphic condom standing outside. It was all very funny. Turns out ‘Condomania’ is an original brand in Japan and they had an old vending machine with the original condoms in. In the shop you could find all sorts of characters, flavours, glow in the dark, etc! There was one with a Hannya mask on it - Caz stared at it then pointed and said, “That’s sick!” and it made me laugh for ages. It was a fun little pit stop if you have no maturity or grace.

 

We returned to Takeshita Street because we’d seen a very interesting sign for a Shiba Inu café, and we wanted to visit CANDY A GO GO! too. Deciding to have a sit down and see the dogs first, we went up in the lift and came out next to a micro pig cafe. We must have looked bemused because two girls approached us and said, “Dogs?” then pointed up a further set of stairs. People are so helpful here!

This place worked in a different way to the cat cafe. You got a half hour slot to come in and see the dogs and have a drink, then you had to leave. It was also one tatami room instead of multiple rooms, so it was smaller and felt a bit more crowded. The dogs were absolutely gorgeous though and the staff kept bringing different ones over to people and lying them down to be pet. The dogs were so chilled out and would lie there and stare at you until you fussed them, then they’d go and wander around again. 

There were toys scattered around that you could throw and play tug of war with, but a lot of the fun was just watching all of them interact and go about their doggy business. There were a range of ages, colours and sizes - one was a little white Shiba who kept being naughty and picking fights with the other dogs. He had to be carried away and reoriented so many times, it was hilarious. Definitely a nice place to sit and recharge for a while. It had also started getting really cold outside so it was nice to be in the warm and pet fluffy dogs.

CANDY A GO GO! was just across the street from the Shiba cafe, so we made a brisk trot through the cold to it. It’s a riot of colour and filled with so many sweets. They had tiny colourful konpeito, crunchy stars and ducks, citrus slices, sweets shaped like Lego bricks, and so much more. It was really exciting! We immediately got busy piling pick’n’mix into bags. It got slightly out of hand and cost quite a bit, but we’re on our holidays!

We also stopped at a konbini (this time it was a 7-11) to grab food for our trip to Mt Fuji tomorrow. I got two tuna mayo rice balls (onigiri) and a packet of double cheese crisps to eat, and a bottle of water and a bottle of Pocari Sweat for spare drinks. We took a cab back to the hotel, once again seeing the pretty city twinkling in the dark. I fully admit that we ate pick’n’mix for dinner, and I tried a can of Kirin Strong, a vodka-based canned drink. I had cherry flavour, and Caz had a can of peach-flavoured Horoyoi.

We’re attempting to get an early night tonight as we have to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow for the trip tomorrow!