Journey in Japan - A Day for Em

One thing I am very clear on - I have NO sense of direction. Fortunately, I have been blessed with two strong legs so when I end up wandering around, I can think of my wanderings as an adventure. Em has a fairly good sense of direction but, even better, she was a pro right off the bat at reading the subway signs. This was impressed on me when we traveled in England, so I was able to relax and trust her to get us where we wanted to go ...... most of the time.

The children begin riding the subway at a very young age in Japan. They are confident and, apparently, safe. They are still children, however, as evidenced by these two school friends who had a fencing match with their umbrellas before they settled down to wait for the subway.

I knew that we would be on a tight schedule when the tour started so I wanted Em to have an opportunity to see something in which she was particularly interested. Like any red-blooded American girl, she wanted to go shopping. I thought I might distract her by pointing out some of the busy, little alleyways that housed small vendors, but that was not what she had in mind.

Em was interested in the big city shops. We headed for the Harajuku area - the area frequented by the Harajuku Girls, raves, and "fashion". We probably missed the real show since we were there on Monday, but there were a few mildly outrageously dressed girls. Em was very curious to know why there were all wearing "tails" - furry, tail-like appendages hanging off skirts, handbag

s, etc.

We covered 4 floors of a Shibuya Department store and Em took it all in.

The floors were accessed by chrome escalators, mirrored from above. Very jazzy!

Em spent a lot of time looking - at clothes and the girls shopping. Prices were high but it did not appear to slow the, mostly, young women. Apparently, they still live at home after they leave school and get a job, so they have a lot of disposable income.

Em had her own spending money. ABW and I had talked about how the money was to be dispersed before we left. ABW decided it was better for Em to learn about budgeting at this tender age than later, so Em was on her own. I offered a grandma's conservative suggestions, but in the end the decision to buy, or not to buy, was Em's.

Em looked...........

.....and looked.......

...but in the end, all she bought was this black fedora. She was so pleased with her purchase! She wore it everywhere!