Exploring Shibuya, Harajuku & Tokyo’s Hidden Gems! 🌟

Exploring Shibuya, Harajuku & Tokyo’s Hidden Gems! 🌟

Welcome to the madness that is Shabuya. [Music] Talk about a crazy scramble. Welcome back, guys. And uh this is of course going to be the Shabuya video. This will be our final video here in Tokyo. And I’m up here at the Starbucks right above uh Shabuya Scramble. Uh you can basically come here and um you know get some photos, check it out, get some videos all for the price of a drink and you know get a little bit of tea for like 400 485 yen and less than 500. So it’s a nice spot. I know there’s a couple other spots that might be um a little bit further away, but this is right above it on the second floor. Um which is kind of really cool. But anyway, we’re going to be uh going around Shabuya, not just here in the downtown district, but exploring as much of the city as we can. So let’s go. [Music] So, your first real stop on this Wild Shabuya tour. If you are any self-respecting gamer nerd, you definitely want to come to the Parkco building in Shabuya, day or night. And this is, of course, on the sixth floor where you’re going to find Nerd Central. It’s going to be the Pokemon Center. It’s the Nintendo store, the Sega store, the Shonen Jump store, the Capcom store. Everything when it comes to nerding out here in Tokyo is here in the Parkco building in Shuya. So, I’m just going to let you guys check it out and we’ll continue on for there. But for all nerds, please enjoy this next segment. Okay, that’s cute. Little pumpkin Pikachu. I still like the samurai one that I saw over at the uh DX, the downtown Tokyo one, but still that’s freaking cute. So, honestly, I’ve already been here a couple of times coming into Shabuya on days off when I’m not filming. And this is just probably one of my favorite spots in Tokyo just because I’m such a big nerd. It has been so hard on this trip because I travel light and I pack light and you know I budget for these trips. It’s been so hard not to literally splash and spend all of my cash, whether it’s video games or just, you know, uh plushies, whatever. Something to take home. It’s just it’s so much fun. This place is so cool. So definitely if you’re big nerds and you definitely want to check uh check it out, definitely come up here to the Parkco building cuz it is wild. It is so awesome. [Music] All right. So, something I have been missing since I got here to Japan is basically having breakfast. And you can find breakfast all across Tokyo. It’s not super hard, but it is not something that is, you know, at least when you think of like a traditional style American breakfast or a UK breakfast, Irish breakfast, things like that. Um, but you can find some places, particularly when it comes to the sweet stuff. And this here is a place called I think it’s Ivores or I something like that. But what they focus on is premium French toast. And this looks number one like a work of art. Absolutely beautiful setup. And it’s got mixed berries, some bananas, um a little bit of ice cream it looks like as well. So, we’re just kind of going to delve into everything to really get in a nice bite out of that. Oh man. Fantastic French toast. Yeah, if you’re looking for a breakfast kind of stuff, I think they also do have like Madam Coette. So, they do have stuff with like eggs, bacon, ham, so a little bit more savory. But if you want like a nice sweet French toast with some berries, fantastic. [Music] So, you know that old saying, uh, out of the frying pan and into the fire? Well, this is where basically it’s happening because I thought I was going to be coming up here getting away from, uh, the kind of downtown part of Shabuya, come up here to Yoy Yogi Park and kind of relax and chill out. No, it is bustling here more because I seem to be here on the day of some kind of international festival cuz there are stalls from all over the world here. They’re doing performances, they’re doing dances, and you can get food from all over the place. So, this is absolutely awesome. Like, this is not what I was expecting when I came to Yuyogi Park. So, let’s go and check it out. [Music] [Applause] So, a large section of this particular international festival is kind of like the whole Indian area. And I love Indian food and I haven’t had it in quite a while cuz they didn’t really have Indian food in Alaska. So, uh, basically got, you know, it would technically be classified as Yakuri, but this is chicken tandoori yagore. So, we’re going to try this. Oh. Oh, that was so good. Oh my god. That is fantastic. That’s the one thing you don’t really get here in Japan with all the fantastic food is the spice. And even though this is not super spicy, you still get a little heat to it. You don’t really find that all that often except for certain circumstances in Japan. So, oh man, that’s fantastic. Yeah, it’s rather fascinating in Tokyo how much, you know, 100 ft can change things. As you can see, we are now in the heart of Yuyogi Park and, you know, just 100 ft literally away across the main street uh to where all of that chaos and all the market and everything was happening. And now it’s nice and peaceful and quiet. This apparently uh this side that I’m on right now uh is where they have a whole lot of cherry blossom trees. So if you are here during the Sakura season, this is the part of a yogi park to come to. It’s still technically considered like the south part of the park, but it is fantastic. Even without the cherry blossoms and most of these trees are bare, just kind of like hanging out around here and just how kind of like nice and quiet and serene it is. It’s just it’s nice after you know the chaos of the last couple places in Shabuya you’ve been to. But definitely you Yogi Park so far. It’s got my heart. [Music] So after Yogi Park, your next place you want to visit is right next to it and that is the Maji Jingu shrine and this is an amazing temple here. Uh the grounds are absolutely by itself absolutely fantastic very heavily wooded great place to kind of walk. You’re going to get a lot of shade particularly on the warm days. This is the place you want to come to. And then of course the shrine itself is magnificent. It’s actually one of the younger shrines I think in Japan just in general because it was built not in the Edeto period or before that. It was built during the major era and it’s kind of like I think 1926 was when the entire grounds was fully finished. Um I think it was consecrated in 1920. 1921 the uh temple itself was uh finished and then the grounds itself was finished by 1926. So it is much of a younger temple compared to many of the others that I’ve seen so far in Japan. But the grandeur is absolutely fantastic. Um, I just randomly ran into a wedding ceremony which was absolutely beautiful. Um, I don’t know if I would ever personally make my own wedding that public, but still it was absolutely fascinating to watch and like the dress was it was really kind of cool. The whole the whole uh setup. But the shrine itself is definitely worth visiting and the grounds honestly is my favorite part just because you get lost in the woods and it’s just it’s phenomenal in a city this big with everything that goes on. Places like this and your yogi park where you can kind of escape. Second to none. [Music] So, the main grounds and the shrine of Maji Jingu are free to visit. However, if you want to get into the inner garden, it is 500 yen, which of course is not that much, but still it is well worth that 500 yen cuz this is a large sprawling beautiful garden that has just got vegetation, trees, flowers all over the place. And it changes with the seasons just like many other places here in Japan. And I’m kind of in a weird point where I’m at the here at the end of September. Fall hasn’t kicked in. Most though of the of the flowers from summer have already kind of gone. So, but I will say the waterlies were still absolutely spectacular. But even still, this lush green garden to just walk through, nice and serene, absolutely fantastic and definitely worth 500 yen to just kind of truly experience everything that Miji Jingu truly offers you. [Music] All right, so all that walking, I think I deserve a little snack. And I am going to be trying dongo. And this will be the first time that I am having dongo here in Japan. Actually, I think this is the first time I’ve ever actually had dongo, which is basically sticky sweet rice dumplings, as you can see. Oh, that is very sticky. Smells good. It’s sticky and hot. Oh my. It’s really hot. Oh, these are so good though. Oh man, that is delicious. All right. I’m a Dongo fan. Well done. [Music] And now we return from calm to absolute chaos. Dear God. [Music] Welcome to Harajuku, guys. And probably the most chaotic place I have seen since I got here to Tokyo. Even above the scramble in Shabuya. I think it’s just because it’s so tight. Even above Amayyoko Market. This place is hopping and popping. There are so many people, particularly here on Takashita Street. So, we’re going to be kind of going through the street just to showcase what’s here. And then also, I do want to try and see if I can get into one of the little animal cafes. We’ll see if that can if I can make that happen. But I will say this place is ridiculous. If you get sensory overload easily, it will happen here. Believe me. But anyway, enjoy Harajuku. [Music] I’m surrounded by pigs. [Music] My right leg is falling asleep. I can’t feel it. [Music] [Applause] [Music] So, of course, one of the biggest things that Hajjukulu is known for are the animal cafes, and there are a multitude of them from sheas to cats to even otter. I wanted to get in to do the otter one, but they didn’t allow any kind of even basic filming. So, I did come over here actually to Brahms’s Path. This is where you can kind of get away from the the hustle and bustle of Takashita Street and come to My Pig. There are two. There’s one on Takashita Street and then you have the bigger one here uh that is on Brahms’s Path. And I would recommend coming here. It’s about 3,300 yen for about 25 minutes with the pigs. If you can work it to where you come in and get a reservation for 5:00 p.m., that’s when they do the feeding. So, you can actually see them do feeding for dinner. Uh but it was a lot of fun. The pigs were great. It was kind of fun to just see him wa, you know, uh, run around and then, of course, you know, just sit on your lap and drool all over you. It was a fascinating experience and I’m definitely glad that I did that. So, yeah, it’s not a g, it’s not the dogs, but you know what? The pigs are still damn cute themselves and they were a lot of fun. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] So, when you’re in Harajuku, in one of the back alleys away from Takashita Street, there is a little place that I highly recommend to come get a bite, particularly if you need a little bit of break from the traditional Japanese food, which honestly you never really need to because Japanese food is delicious. But if you’re looking for some tacos and occasionally I need some good tacos. It’s been a long time since I’ve had some tacos because I left Texas in May. I’m filming this in September and there are no tacos in Alaska. It’s really not a lot of tacos in Tokyo. But I found one here and that is tacos tmanos. I actually saw them I think on Instagram and um and I had to try it and I got to say they did not disappoint. I think it’s from Sonora uh is the uh region of Mexico. But the suadero tacos fantastic amazing really good stuff. So highly recommend if you are looking for something away from the traditional Japanese food definitely come back here. It’s in the back alleys away like a few blocks away from Takashita Street. Uh, it’s called Tacos T Manos. And I believe they have a few other taco shops across the city. But anyway, whichever one, wherever you find them, go and get the sued tacos or the carnitas. The suaderos was fantastic. [Music] Now, if you are looking for a shopping street that is definitely nowhere near as hectic as Takashidita Street, I would recommend while you’re still here in Harajuku going to Cat Street. I don’t know why it’s called Cat Street. I don’t see any cats anywhere. I don’t see any really any cat statues. So, if anybody actually knows the answer to that, please leave that in the comments below for everybody because I’m not entirely sure why it’s called cats. Oh, wait, never mind. I did see one sign over there that is a luggage sign that has a cat on top. I don’t know if that constitutes that, but anyway, it is at night time very well lit and really nice and semi-photogenic as well. So definitely even even if you’re not doing anything here, just taking a stroll at night is kind of nice. And it’s nowhere near as crowded as Takashita Street. [Music] [Applause] [Music] So, we’ve already experienced a scramble earlier today, but you do have to experience it at night. [Music] So, if you watched the video where I went to Akihabara, you’ll know that I went to a Doniote. And of course, Doniote is a shop or store or just a beast of a place where you can buy anything and everything all day. But that show that store was only about two floors. The mega donote here in Shabuya is seven floors. It is a massive beast. Each level’s got all these different types of, you know, products, groceries, electronics, whatever you can think of. Things you can’t even think of, you can find here with eye-catching uh phrases. By the way, there was one over here that said uh heavy ration, kiss me. And then underneath is eyeliner. So 2 plus two equals five. And that’s not mathing for me there. But even still, I just honestly I love walking around this store seeing all the random stuff that they have. And of course some of the uh the funny English uh that they uh English phrases that you can find. So it’s fascinating and I highly recommend anyone that’s coming to Japan definitely check out a donote. And if you can check out the mega doniotees, particularly the one here in Shibuya, it’s entertaining just by itself. All right, so just so you guys know, like I did with the last Doniote in Akihabara, go to the fifth floor. And when you do, the fifth floor here at the Mega Doniote in Shuya is the toy section. Lots of fun toys, lots of good stuff. Within the toy section, there’s also another section that has toys that are meant for, you know, adults um to play certain games that um you know, it’s we you kind of want to keep behind certain closed doors. So, uh, just be aware when you come up to the toy section, there is another different toy section that is actually very easily accessible if you’re not paying attention. This has been a public service announcement. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Okay, now I found something that I really wish that I had space and maybe on like my last day in Tokyo, I might come back and buy one of these. Let me flip you guys over. They have these build your own ramen houses or ramen shops. You can get the bags right here. But these are absolutely cool. Oh, see. So, this is stuff I would love. The only thing being that I uh, you know, basically live, work, and breathe seasonally. So, I don’t really ever have truly a home that I’m constantly at. But, you know, we do have the family home in Texas, so I can make them and just store them there. But even still, these are cool. [Music] All right, guys. So, the last spot that we’re stopping out here in Shabuya is here at Lost Bar. And this is right in the middle of the downtown Shabuya area. I think this is part of Grand Tokyo building. And my god, this place, number one, it’s a fantastic bar. I’m actually sitting here in the VIP room. You can reserve this for you and a couple or for a whole group. You can probably fit about like maybe even up to like six, seven people in here for about 5,000 yen an hour. So, it’s like like 33 bucks as of right now. But this place is awesome. It’s a great cocktail bar and of course co-owned by Chris and Charlotte, the owners of Abroad in Japan channel and Charmeleon channel and you definitely got to check it out. And a big cheers to them for creating such a fantastic bar and this good looking oldfashioned. Oh, that is a very good oldfashioned. My goodness. Tasty. So, but yeah, if you’re looking for a great place to come to here in Shabuya and meet people from all over the world because it’s mostly, you know, foreigners that do come here. So, you have a lot of people to talk to. And of course, you can see as long as it’s still there, the Gu sign behind me on the other side and the legendary shoe that somehow is up there. I I don’t know how that is going. How has no one seen that? There’s a shoe on the side. all the things in Japan. You know, I would have thought someone would have seen that and gotten a ladder and gotten it off. But, you know, I think they’re going on day 88 as I’m filming this in September. And when this video comes out, it probably hit the end of November. Hopefully, it’s still there cuz at that point, you’re you’re looking at 4 months of a shoe that’s somehow in that little G. That is uh fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. All [Music] righty, Travel Dons. That’s going to be the end of this particular video here in Shabuya. I hope you guys enjoyed it. If you have any questions, of course, leave those in the comments. And this is the end of our time in Tokyo. I am headed off to Kyoto next. So, stay tuned next week for the first Kyoto video. I am super excited. As much as I love Tokyo, I’ve been waiting to do the whole Kyoto experience just because I love that kind of history. It’s just oh, I cannot wait for that. And of course, even after that, after we’re done with the Kyoto series, we’ll be going to Osaka, which I am super excited about, particularly for the food. But Kyoto’s first and this has been an awesome 9 days for me. Five video experience for you guys. I was able to get as much of central Tokyo as I could in that time. I hope you guys enjoyed it. And if you have any questions about anything, leave them down in the comments. And if you have your favorite places in Tokyo that you know I didn’t hit in any of these videos, please let me know down in the comments and let other share your stories with everybody else as well in the comments. And of course, if you enjoy the video, give it a big old thumbs up, hit the like button, and of course, hit the subscribe button. It does help me very, very much. And of course, share these videos with your friends. That does help it as well. And until we meet again, guys, peace out and have a great night. [Music]

Come along as we explore the heart of Tokyo – from the bustling Shibuya Scramble to the trendy markets of Harajuku. We’ll wander through the serene paths of Yoyogi Park and pay a visit to the historic Meiji Jingu Shrine, one of Tokyo’s most iconic spiritual sites. Plus, we’ll stop by the unforgettable LOST Bar for a taste of Tokyo nightlife and a fantastic Old Fashioned 🍻

✨ What to Expect in This Video:

The electrifying atmosphere of Shibuya Scramble

The colorful, quirky shops of Harajuku

A peaceful escape in Yoyogi Park

The tranquil beauty of Meiji Jingu Shrine

A fun stop at LOST Bar for a night out in Tokyo

Whether you’re planning your own trip to Japan or just love exploring new places, this video has all the highlights of Shibuya and beyond!

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