Shibuya + Harajuu + The Cell Phone Drama

 

So today I went to Shibuya and Harajuku. Shibuya is mostly shopping. VERY CROWDED. But fun to look at.

 

This is a famous statue where people like to meet their friends. This dog (if I remember correctly) waited for his master until he died, and now people wait with him for their friends. It was awkward taking pictures, because everyone(Japanese included) were taking pictures. While we were there, some old guy wanted a pictures with us. It was ind of funny and creepy at the same time.

My own picture with the dog.

Crazy hair. Had to take a picture.

Another funny sign. We didn't get why they didn't just use a woman.

 

Story: So, we went into the disney store because my heart wouldn't let me go without at least seeing it. So we go in and look around and on the third floor they have *gasp* disney phones. I had to get a phone for school so I was like, "I want a disney phone." We make our way up to the third floor and so begins the twenty minute back and forth with my broken japanese and the clerk's broken english. It was actually a lot of fun. I didn't end up getting it (you could only have it for two year minimum), but it was a fun practice. :)

Japanese Snooki!

At Harajuku

Crazy old man (I think).

We came right when a wedding was happening! It was so pretty!

 

Phone adventure:

So, after all this, we went into the city to get our phones. A girl in our group was able to get her phone without her alien registration card, just with her passport. So we go there and end up waiting for almost an hour just to get called down. We had to take a number and just...wait. When we were called, we were all very excited.

It seems getting a phone in Japan is equal to giving a kidney when you're a foreigner. We needed our passport, school id, and our addresses for in the country. I know that's not a lot, but american companies don't care that much about phones. You don't pay, they just shut them off. 

We got the cheapest prepaid phones (yes, you need a company for a prepaid phone). It was around twenty dollars. Then another 30 for a time card, and THEN we had to pay for the charger. It ended up being around 60, but what can you do? Without a cellphone, you're disconnected from school and pretty much everyone. We all had to bite the bullet and buy it. Some people actually go all out and get apple iphones. I just needed something I could use in am emergency. 

To call is expensive, but to text/send email is free for 300 yen. It's just taken from the card. We set up our phone's emails so we can all text/send messages to each other without a fee. Only actual calls take from the money, so we should be good till we leave (unless something happens). Then we went to Japan McDonalds! I got a teriyaki burger. Fun time. :)

The phone:

 

Here are some videos of Shibuya, Harajuku, and the wedding: