unker stimix my contribution for this thread: 

*update in slow progress*

During the last 2 weeks of August 2013 I was at Japan to attend the Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium which was held mainly in Tokyo. This time I travelled along with a few friends on the days outside of and during the symposium. Throughout the 11 days I ventured from Tokyo and down west to the Kansai region of Kyoto and Osaka. As usual my itinerary was really crazy and every minute was counted. In the end we managed to cover most of the top tourist attractions.

In a nut shell I enjoyed Kyoto and Osaka more than I did in Tokyo. More to Kyoto I think. The whole city feels surreal with an exact divide of the modern and traditional Japan. On one side there are the modern buildings and the other side being the traditional Japanese houses as well as all the temples.The weather for that period was scorching hot for most of the days. If it were to rain during the day, then it would be very cooling for the rest of the day. At the end of my trip, the winds were getting a bit crazy as well. Overall I really enjoyed Japan as a whole and will look forward to go back to visit again during the cherry blossom season.
Tokyo (東京）
1.Arrival at Narita Airport & PASMO card DSC05284
2.Khaosan Tokyo Ninja Hostel, Asakusabashi
3.Akihabara Night Visit
4. Sushi Daiwa, Tsukiji Fish Market
5.Ueno Park
6.Ameyoko, Ueno
Akihabara Revisited
Bits and Pieces of Chiba
Club Camelot, Shibuya
Shibuya Walkabout
Takeshita Street, Harajuku
Passing Shinjuku
Sensoji Temple, Asakusa
Disney Sea Part 1
Disney Sea Part 2
Disney Sea Part 3
Disney Sea Part 4
Tokyo Sky Tree
Bullet Train Boarding @ Shinagawa Station
Kyoto
Khaosan Kyoto
Nishinki Market
Kiyomizudera at Night
Takasegawa Teppan Doujou (Delicious Teppanyaki)
Tits Cafe
Kiyomizu Temple Revisited
Fushimi Inari Shrine

Osaka
Shinsaibashi
Spa World
Tennoji Temple
Osaka Castle
Floating Garden, Umeda Sky Building
Pokemon Centre, Daimaru Umeda Building
Hokoso Guesthouse

Takeshita Street, Harajuku (Part 1)

Harajuku, the heart of the Japan cosplay arena. Cosplay fans usually will parade around this station in the afternoon but we arrived a bit too late for that unfortunately.  Getting here is a bit complicated for my part as there were numerous stations to switch. Once again, due to tight schedule we only visited Takeshita Street for the whole of Harajuku. Not sure why the shops here closes so early at 8pm though. :/





In a nut shell, Takeshita Street is a 500m long street filled with various shops and restaurants. Prices here are a bit tad cheaper compared to the likes of Shibuya. Many fancy girl's clothings and accessories can be found here as well. Would be a rather boring place for guy's to shop though.





Another reason to be here is for their Crepes which is famous in Harajuku. There were 2 shops located side by side each other with a fascinating assortment of crepe choices. By looking at the displays is enough to get your saliva flowing.


With so much on offer I went for one of the the most interesting crepe on offer: Strawberry + Cheesecake + Vanilla ice cream. Needless to say the combination was amazing and rather filling. The crepe is soft instead of the usual crispy crepes which makes it a bit tad different.



Moving on from the dessert we then proceeded to explore the rest of the streets, with the girls doing most of their shopping.