Shibuya

Famous Shibuya, it's crowded, it's expensive and not all that great if you aren't going there to shop or / and meet with someone. Myself, I didn't know that the statue of Hachiko was that small. I blame this on all the manga I've read:P. Actually, there was something more interesting very close by.

I still don't know what's in it, though if I had to guess, I'd say it's some kind of bar / restaurant. It was at least as popular as Hachiko in terms of meeting places.

Shibuya alone puts Warsaw to shame. I felt like I'm from some small town, first time arriving in the big city.

That's one of the main streets but the smaller ones aren't much different.

What one can find there, then? There's Starbucks ( it's quite popular here, actually ), a game center with 4 levels, a karaoke place with La Bamba subtitled in katakana and a shop that looks much smaller on the outside than it really is. It also stocks pretty much everything - from female panties with a fake penis, schoolgirl or catholic nun ( and a lot more! ) cosplay sex outfits to hygiene products and fake eyelashes. Food too, if you want to know. The game center was an eye opener as to the real state of the arcade industry. While it's almost gone in Poland, here it's going strong. Newest Tekken? Not a problem. A game based on Neon Genesis Evangelion? Here, have a full experience sitting in a cockpit with an angled screen from side to side. First floor contained mostly photo machines ( purikuri ) and we tried one in a group of five. It's fun in a way, though these really weren't meant to be used by guys ;).

There was also a Disney Store which you can see a part of. When you enter, you feel like Alice in Wonderland. It's really like stepping into another world. Prices are in a different league, too, though. A reasonably nice Pirates of the Carribean t-shirt will set you back 3,240 yen ( 41$ ).

Here's a shot of a karaoke room. We went in for only 30 mins and wasted it mostly on learning that it's very hard to find songs with English subtitles ( duh! ). Good thing that kanji have furigana written above them! On the screen, the only song that we more or less "did" - Ai Nante ( it's not too bad, actually ).

Lastly, something to show that the Japanese aren't always law-respecting ( certainly a sense of humor ) ;)

Right, the famous street crossing in Shibuya. It's not all that impressive, really.