So our first trip to Shubuja is when Japan really hit us. Shibuja is one of the main shopping and going out areas, where you can find pretty much anything you want, including the love hotels area where couples and “couples” go for a romantic meal and a romantic or not so romantic something- if you get my drift. The landmark of the area is the famous four way crossroads (the one out of “Lost in Translation) where you really do get lost in the world’s greatest number of Japanese people condensed into one spot crossing the road left right and centre. Mayhem- a real contrast to the usual order and perfection of Japan.

Another example of my previous blog; space here is very precious. Everything is built super high and each building has layers of different shops. A wise friend told me before coming if you are looking for a shop you don’t look along the street you look up the building, so make sure you walk around looking up. 

    
  
It was good advice except what he didn’t tell me is also look in front of you so you don’t walk into a dog pram. Japenese. In Japan pets are a rarity as people don’t have space for them. That’s why cat cafes exist (literally cafes where you go and have a coffee amongst a bunch of cats you can stroke and pretend they were your own). A bit weird you may think, but not really, this is Japan, leave your preconceived ideas behind, nothing is weird here. Dogs are also quite rare and those that do exist almost never walk on the street like common western pleb dogs. Dogs have their own dog prams- like baby prams but more dog shaped and more expensive. An average dog pram will set you back the equivalent of €700

Another thing you might miss if you are spending too much time staring at the buildings is the wonderful people of Japan and their varied styles. In Japan anything goes and it is particularly common to see the girls dolled up whenever they go out. This can vary from anything from a kimono, a cosplay outfit (this is basically dressing up like a Japanese cartoon), a Japanese doll or simply a cute dress/skirt and high heels. As in Serbia (although we dress a lot more conventional) it is rare to see a girl leave the house without having made an effort to look nice. Even the Japanese school girls wear cute little skirts, a popular image in Japanese erotica. Whatever the outfit the the themes of cute, young and innocent are always there. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions from that, but as you can imagine I myself am not getting my hopes up of finding a man here