I may be a Kuala Lumpur city boy but I felt like I just came out from a village when I saw how large Tokyo is – and how busy the Shibuya intersection was. KL is indeed very, very small compared to Tokyo.
I was just fresh off visiting the Kaichu Inari Shrine near Ōkubo Station (based on this recommended route) and was pondering as to my next destination. Initially I wanted to visit Shinjuku but was thinking of my friend’s strong recommendation to see Shibuya for myself and so I was won over. Besides, there is a Tower Records outlet there and also a Uniqlo outlet where I could get some warmer clothes than the jacket I bought in 1Utama.
Now, I’m finally here at the famous Shibuya Crossing. And yes, it is inundated with so many people that crossing it is a challenge as I wouldn’t want to bump into someone coming from…the opposite, the sides – in fact, everywhere.
‘OIOI’ is the ‘Marui’ department store.
I finally arrived at the Tower Records outlet and it’s huge. Like an excited boy on Christmas Day, I made may way to the entrance.
Did you see that? Rows and rows of CDs like a well-stocked public library! Only thing is – the albums are mostly Japanese versions and if shopping for classical music like I did, then you’d need to browse rather carefully at each aisle. If pressed for time, then this may not be so good. But if you’re travelling alone like I’m doing, then feel free to take your time – it’s worth your while and you may dig up something interesting.
Collection of Johann Strauss CDs. These are considered reasonably good since some rare works are thrown in alongside some familiar ones. I think the selection would be better in Vienna, Austria and that’s where I’m headed next for more choices.
I think I spent around an hour at this outlet, finally settling on purchasing some operetta works. I was tempted to get the Johann Strauss II complete edition set but decided against getting it in the end since my luggage space is limited and I haven’t even bought my Dreamcast console from Akihabara yet, which is the main point of coming to Tokyo in the first place.
Well, look – it’s already nightfall. The weather was getting really chilly and I thought it was high time I got my coat from Uniqlo which is not far off.
Well, here we are. I got one nice four-way coat for about RM350 which is way cheaper than the RM499 price tag for the same item in Kuala Lumpur. Four-way means that there are four possible ways to wear the coat (e.g. with or without the bubble jacket inside or you could choose to just wear that bubble jacket insulation alone without the external coat).
I would be wearing it to Akihabara the next day!
I was content to walk around Shibuya, lugging around my new purchase which is quite heavy to be honest. The cold weather suits me perfectly since I love walking around and drinking in the sights while clearing my mind off problems emanating from back home in Malaysia.
The magic of Christmas was in the air. I mean – everything was there isn’t it? What it lacked was snow. I heard it snowed here when I was back in Malaysia 
I think that the bottom picture offers a better perspective of how busy the Shibuya crossing could be at night.
I still had some tasty onigiri, tuna sandwiches and a boiled egg left from morning rations, so I had them for dinner since I don’t want to lug around my new coat needlessly and get my fingers tortured by the taut plastic bag handles. My hotel also had some refreshments (trust me there is a good kiosk for every interest here in Tokyo) and I got some drinks for a rather cheap price. It’s going to get exciting in Akihabara the next day, so I prepared to sleep early.
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