July 2: Alex Cox

Dear Diary,

Today was another amazing day in Tokyo. I went exploring with Zoe and Berenize, and was impressed by the navigational skills we have gained since we have been here. Even though it was a little bit of a struggle, we figured it out! We took the subway to explore Harajuku Street. 

Here we got to see the teenage pop culture of Japan and learned more about some of the intense fashion styles and Japanese "subcultures" that are alive in the younger Japanese residents. We walked down the famous street in Harajuku, which is called Takeshita Dori. On this street they have lots of shops with many exciting and colorful things. Through this experience I got to see a new side of Japanese culture. 

Since we have been here, we have learned and seen how proper and professional many people are when it comes to fashion, but today we got to see a more wild and fun side, where people were expressing their identity and style through fashion. Everything was very bright and colorful, and I really loved this laid back environment even though it was extremely hot out, and very, very crowded. 

The culture and people here in Japan are extremely different than the population and culture of America. They really pay attention to detail and make things easy for people, truly respecting one another. One example that comes to mind is the trays used when purchasing things. When giving back your change they put it on a tray instead of just setting it down on the counter, therefore making it easier for the customer to take.  My interactions with people have been so pleasant here- people are just so caring and genuine. Whenever we were lost or looked confused people were extremely empathetic and went out of their way to help us, which is very different from our culture in America. Overall I have truly enjoyed this experience in Japan and am so thankful that I got the opportunity to explore it with all of you! I am leaving this experience with new close friends and great memories that will stick with me forever. Here are a few pictures from today!

Arigato Gozaimas

The main street

A small glimpse of some of the fashion styles we saw today!

How we felt about today… pure joy versus heat exhaustion    

Our tourist photo with our new friend and photo bomber to my left. 

Had to add this in because we were so excited when we saw the tamagotchi store because we were all obsessed with them as young children… and if you weren’t you really missed out!