Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
72
its beautifully crafted traditional items.
The
Sunshine City Building,
one
of Japan's tallest skyscrapers, is home
to a huge indoor shopping center
and aquarium, while
Jiyugakuen
Myonichikan
is a former girls' school-
turned-museum that draws visitors
because of its architect, Frank Lloyd
Wright.
Harajuku
(map on p. 149) The mecca
of Tokyo's younger generation, Hara-
juku swarms throughout the week
with teenagers in search of fashion and
fun.
Takeshita Dori
is a narrow pedes-
trian lane packed elbow to elbow with
young people looking for the latest in
inexpensive clothing; at its center is
Harajuku Daiso, a ¥100 discount shop.
Harajuku is also home to one of Japan's
major attractions, the
Meiji Jingu
Shrine,
built in 1920 to deify Emperor
and Empress Meiji; and to the small
but delightful
Ukiyo-e Ota Memorial
Museum of Art,
with its woodblock
prints. Another draw is the
Oriental
Bazaar,
Tokyo's best shop for products
and souvenirs of Japan. Two Sundays a
month, nearby
Togo Shrine
holds an
antiques flea market. Linking Hara-
juku with Aoyama (see below) is
Omotesando Dori,
a fashionable tree-
lined avenue flanked by trendy shops,
restaurants, and sidewalk cafes, mak-
ing it a premier promenade for people-
watching.
Aoyama
(map on p. 149) While Hara-
juku is for Tokyo's teeny-boppers,
nearby chic Aoyama is its playground
for trend-setting yuppies, boasting
sophisticated restaurants, pricey bou-
tiques, and more cutting-edge designer-
fashion outlets than anywhere else in
the city. It's located on the eastern end
of
Omotesando Dori
(and an easy
walk from Harajuku), centered on
Aoyama Dori. The upscale
Omotesando
Hills
shopping center on Omotesando
Dori stretches from Harajuku to
Aoyama.
Shibuya
(map on p. 155) Located
on the southwestern edge of the Yaman-
ote Line loop, Shibuya serves as an
important commuter nucleus. More
subdued than Shinjuku, more down-to-
earth than Harajuku, and less cosmo-
politan than Roppongi, it caters to
bustling throngs of students and young
office workers with its many shops and
thriving nightlife, including more than
a dozen department stores specializing
in everything from designer clothing to
housewares. Don't miss the light change
at Shibuya Crossing near the Hachiko
statue, reportedly Japan's busiest inter-
section, with its hordes of pedestrians,
neon, and five video billboards that
have earned it the nickname “the Times
Square of Tokyo” (and a spot in the
movie
Lost in Translation
).
Ebisu
(map on p. 174) One station
south of Shibuya on the JR Yamanote
Line, Ebisu was a minor player in
Tokyo's shopping and nightlife league
until the 1995 debut of
Yebisu Garden
Place,
a smart-looking planned com-
munity of apartments, concert halls,
two museums (one highlighting Sap-
poro Beer, the other Japanese photogra-
phy), restaurants, a department store,
and a first-class hotel, all connected to
Ebisu Station via moving walkway. The
vicinity east of Ebisu Station, once a
sleepy residential and low-key shopping
district, has blossomed into a small but
thriving nightlife mecca, popular with
expats who find Roppongi too crass or
commercial.
Roppongi
(map on p. 159) Tokyo's
best-known nightlife district for young
Japanese and foreigners, Roppongi has
more bars and nightclubs than any other
district outside Shinjuku, as well as a
multitude of restaurants serving interna-
tional cuisine. The action continues
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