The smaller streets feature some great local designer shops. We loved the Spiral Market, which includes gallery space as well as a shop with lots of unique homeware and accessories. Ed helped me choose a lovely pair of earrings and a necklace.
We also shopped up a storm in a four floor ¥100 store. These shops are fantastic. A bit like $2 shops but with so many great items. Almost all items are ¥108 with tax which is around $1.35 NZ. The stores have so much choice! There's no such thing as a plain note book in Japan, or plain anything really. We purchased craft punches, note paper, Hello Kitty tissues and so much more!
As well as shopping we also visited the Meiji jingu shrine which is not far from Harajuku Station and shopping streets, but surrounded by trees so it's incredibly peaceful.
After so much shopping and sightseeing we headed back to our hotel for a bit of a rest. In the early evening we went out again to look in some of the shops in Shinjuku. The shops in Japan seem to open late in the day, around 10 or 11am, and stay open until 8 or 9pm in the evening. I had a great time choosing a selection of pens and assorted stationery from the Tokyu Hands department store.
We'll definitely miss the buzz of Shinjuku at night and all the crazy signs lit up!
For dinner we chose a restaurant where we'd had lunch when we first arrived in Tokyo. We had amazing sashimi, yakitori and umeshu (plum wine).
On the morning of the last day we once again headed for Tokyo Station. This time we were visiting the Imperial Palace East gardens, the only area of the palace open regularly to the public. The gardens were lovely and tranquil.
We both really enjoyed our trip to Japan and would really like to return one day to explore further. Our highlights were the friendly people, delicious food, lights and atmosphere in Tokyo at night and the history in Kyoto.
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