Kicking off a series of Japan posts. I’m so excited because there is so much to share. If you’re intimidated to travel to Japan with kids DON’T BE. We had an amazing time and are already itching to go back.
Let’s dive in with one of our favorite areas of Tokyo (we went back for a second day): Harajuku.
Harajuku is super famous and even if you are just starting your research on your trip to Tokyo, you might be familiar with the Harajuku vibe (Gwen Stefani circa 2004, anyone? Am I dating myself?). Harajuku is new, young Tokyo & a place where teens come to shop, hang out and show off their hip looks.
A proper Harajuku experience will begin at Takeshita Street. The entrance to this famous pedestrian street is right across the way from Harajuku Station, which is between Shinjuku and Shibuya on the Yamanote Line.
We didn’t waste any time once on the famous street and jumped right in line for a kitty cafe. Mocha Cat Cafe was right on the corner of Takeshita street. The kids loved it. The kitties are all so fluffy and soft and adorable. Some customers purchased kitty treats to feed the felines and those lucky patrons were swarmed with little fuzzels. It was the cutest.
Some practical info about this kitty cafe (may apply to others). It may vary by cafe and location (ours was definitely prime tourist spot) but you pay by the amount of time you spend there and they keep track. 200 yen for 10 min (approx $2 for ten minutes). A drink purchase for each person is required as part of the admission (350 yen per person). So really just add the cost of a drink to price of admission. Because I wasn’t interested in dropping a ton of money on this experience I decided to shoot for the minimum time frame and just skip the drink even though we paid for it. It was for the best. Frankly my kids weren’t there for the apple juice and it would’ve wasted our time with the kitties to stand in line to pick up our drink. My advice: before you go decide between two strategies. 1: take your time, don’t watch the clock, enjoy yourself and enjoy your drink understanding that the experience will cost you -OR- 2: do what we did. skip the drink. keep an eye on the time, take it in for a brief time then duck out. Either way the kitty cafe is quintessential Japan and a must do.
After that fun experience we headed west down Takeshita street. It was late March when we went and no way around it, it was crowded even on a weekday. Weaving through the people was surprisingly not too stressful because Harajuku is total eye candy. Everywhere you look is fun shops, crazy fashion, colorful treats. Harajuku fashion is fearless and fun. We loved seeing the different looks like lolita, schoolgirl, kogal, visual kei and more!
After making our way through the main hub of Harajuku it was time to refuel. Yelp helped us out and we climbed up a few flights to a small ramen shop called Kyushu Jangara. This was our first official ramen experience in Japan and it. did. not. disappoint. Hi. We are ruined forever. Take me back now.
Feeling recharged with bellies full of yummy ramen we were ready to get back out there. And just when we thought we had already had the ultimate animal cafe experience, we found our way to Castle of Owls.
Let’s back up a sec. Those close to us know that E’s favorite creatures are owls. It started when she was 2 years old. I was preggo with bambino #2 and had been shopping for nursery items. I had found this cute stuffed owl. I left it in the bag on the steps. Later that evening I heard the crinkling of a shopping bag and then footsteps. There was little E holding the owl in her hands. “Mama, what’s dis?” Weak moment alert. I could not bring myself to tell her that stuffed animal was for her future sibling. I mean, her little face! Her twinkly blue eyes! The way she was clutching it against her chest! I’m not a monster, people! So, I told her that I had forgotten that I had brought her a new toy. Friends, best decision I ever made. That owl became Hoots. I cannot begin to explain how much love and comfort that owl has brought her. I could write an entire post about Hoots. She has been to numerous countries, every day of kindergarten and required multiple cosmetic procedures to keep from falling apart from all the LOVE. Not surprisingly, Hoots kicked off an overall love affair with owls in general.
Back to Harajuku. E is still in love with owls (and Hoots) and we all are pretty much on board with loving owls so the prospect of an owl cafe was just almost too much to even imagine. Well, basically our minds were blown away from this experience. This time the fee included a beverage (juice, green tea, coffee) and, for us, a *private* experience with so many real life owls. There was no obvious time constraint. It was totally chill and fun. We all got to feed them and have one stand on our arm. It was an amazing end to an amazing day in Harajuku.
Check out a short video of our Harajuku Day!
