Lost in Aoyama

The Prada building with it's funky architecture.

A friend and I decided to explore southern Aoyama in Tokyo to see where the chic and sophisticated do their shopping. It's not that far from Shibuya and Harajuku but this area is geared toward those who are well into their careers. I just wanted a changed of scenery as I was tired of going to the same old places. I also knew that it wouldn't be too crowded in the area as this was the last day of Golden Week.

Not too sure about how I feel about Prada's current line for Spring 2012. I'm not a Fashionista but I'll tell you one thing, I do not think that colored jeweled stones that decorate a jacket, dress, shirt, or shoe is attractive. I will save your eyes from such an atrocity. More power to the person who could wear the outfit but still, that was one horrible mess.

I also went to Comme des Garcons and it was okay. I had no idea that the cashier area wasn't coat check in. Not like I walked over to check in my coat or anything but I just thought it was a part of the art display. Two things I walked away from that store though: 1) I would not pay for a piece of cloth worth nearly 30,000 JPY (375.70 USD) for a funky print of "Where's Waldo." 2) My grandmother sewed rice sacks into dresses due to lack of materials and clothing during WWII.  I will not pay X amount for a dress made out of grain sack material.

That's one big Kannon

As my friend is an avid temple/shrine enthusiast, we stumbled upon this temple where they have the Buddhist statue of Kannon. We never expected to run into this place, much more a quite large wooden statue of Kannon. Bought a good luck charm as a donation towards the temple to maintain it. This particular temple houses monks (not all temples house monks) so it was for a good cause.

After a stop at a cafe, we walked all the way back to Shibuya window shopping. We dodged the rain a couple of times and explored a new shopping mall that opened. I'm not entirely sure as to what age range this new mall was targeting but we came to the conclusion that it was for women in their 30's, who make a sufficient amount of money and want to wear Mediterranean looking clothing. Or to sum it up, boring clothing.

We ended our journey at LUSH of all places and made a few small purchases. I enjoyed the day, even with the random downpour, the thunder, and that random tornado that happened in a neighboring prefecture.  Hope everyone in the tornado struck area is okay.

Thought for the day: If there wasn't a disaster, would you buy a dress made out of sack material for the sake of fashion?

-P.Bear