Harajuku - not as crazy as it used to be...

But still worth a visit if you ever visit Tokyo.

When I first arrived in Japan it was the height of the cosplay kids and Elvis guys all hanging out in and around the station. You still see a few but it's not like it used to be. 

This street too, which is still crazy busy is no longer the street of crazy shit. There are now several crepe shops, a new one seems to have popped up every time I go, a big ¥100 shop, and a variety of shops that seem to appear and disappear at an alarming rate.

There are a few that seem to have stood the test of time, that have been there the 18 years I have been here but many have gone.

Doesn't stop it from being crazy busy though...

And you will still be able to find some cute goodies, like this rainbow lama backpack...

And the latest fashion craze, which appears to be fancy collars, I do quite like these...

One of the new editions are the cat cafes, there is one at the top end of the street and this one half way down, which also has owls. Who in their right mind thought owls and cats together would be a fun and hygienic idea! Let's serve tea and cake to go with the carnage.

As much as I love owls, this feels oh-so wrong and I can't bring myself to go in.

If they ever open a red panda cafe I might have to change my stance of this kind of thing...

Talking of cats, this shop always makes me laugh, and I am always tempted to buy my mom something (she hates cats!) it never fails to amaze me with their crazy cat fashion items.

Of course, I couldn't leave the most famous mouthless kitty out of the post, Hello Kitty tells us to Stay Real - coming from a toy cat that is the weight of 3 apples and has no mouth, I find that advice hard to swallow!