Today i got out to Harajuku and although the original purpose was to visit as part of the JR Yamanote Line tour i ended up cutting it short for a few reasons, weather and a hangover being the main 2 though.
I was hoping to get out there on a clear blue skies day, instead it was overcast and started to rain. There were far too many people for me to handle and not enough on the bridge.
Instead of wandering around, i followed the recommendation of a few people from my local bar last night, the scene of the crime, and headed to Jangara Ramen a famous Ramen shop so i’m told. With no real idea of where it was it took me 20 minutes to find it, when i did and i sat down to my Ramen i was well pleased i did.
I’ll be back to try something a little hotter next time but for today i went the Miso Ramen, with Chashew, Egg and extra onion.
Anyone looking for Jangara Ramen – if you head for the bridge turn left instead of going to right to Meiji Jingu and start walking down the hill you’ll see it on the left hand side.
There’s an upstairs restaurant as well as a down stairs one in the Harajuku area. I got there a little before 12 and when i left the line up had started.
Last week i came up with the idea to visit all 29 stops on the JR Yamanote Line. After a false start with a flat battery in my Canon Camera this week i returned to Akihabara, the first pitstop on the Amazing Race, well not so amazing and not a race at all, just a massive fan of the show so i couldn’t resist throwing a reference in.
On the weekends in Akihabara the main drag is closed to traffic and the streets swell with interesting sights, sounds and smells.
As a Gaijin in Japan, Akihabara is the place to go for English versions of Software, it’s also the place anyone with the slightest interest in Anime and Cosplay. Although i’m sure there are many other facets to Akihabara, it’s best known for it’s vast Electric Town. I’m not going to uncover massive amounts of traditional culture in Akihabara, that’s not what most people are looking for when they come here and it’s not what they get.
Akihabara (秋葉原, Akihabara) (“Field of Autumn Leaves”), also known as Akihabara Electric Town (秋葉原電気街, Akihabara Denki Gai) Its name is frequently shortened to Akiba in Japan. While there is an official locality named Akihabara nearby, part of Taitō-ku, the area known to most people as Akihabara (including the railway station of the same name) is actually Soto-Kanda, a part of Chiyoda-ku.
Anyone spending even the smallest amount of time in Tokyo would know the rail system here is extensive to say the least. For me, living in Yoyogi, the JR Yamanote Line, is the easiest and the line i use most when getting out and about on the weekends. I haven’t fallen asleep on the train for quite a while but if you were to fall asleep and miss your station this is the one to do it on, it’s a continuous loop.
The Yamanote Line (山手線, Yamanote-sen) of East Japan Railway Company (JR East) is one of Tokyo’s busiest and most important commuter lines. Running as a circle, it connects most of Tokyo’s major stations and urban centres including the Yūrakuchō area, Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro with all but two of its 29 stations connecting with other railway or underground (subway) lines.
Having said it’s my most frequently used i neglected to say it’s the same places visited each time, Shibuya, Harajuku and occasionally Akihabara. So in an effort to see more of the 29 suburbs the live services i’ve decided to visit each one over the course of the next 12 months, hopefully 1 each weekend.
I had originally thought of doing it in a clockwise direction however i’ve re jigged my plan t do it alphabetically …. so the first cab off the rank is Akihabara.
