Japan: Harajuku

While in the Harajuku district, we all explored a variety of places. There were different vendors outside offering delicious snacks. We went to a sushi conveyor belt restaurant called Sushi Nova. The wait for the cafe was pretty long but the meal was definitely worth the wait. I was able to purchase 10 large pieces of sushi for under 700 yen, or less than $7.00. The meal was served swiftly and checking out was extremely easy. The system they used for ordering was very efficient and I was impressed by the cleanliness of the facility.

Also, in this popular place, I was able to go to an owl cafe. There were two options: the kitten cafe or the owl cafe. I chose to go to the owl cafe where there was a small variety of beautiful owls. These owls were used to being pet by many people and didn’t seemed distressed. However, further into the cafe, I noticed the owls were chained with a short leather rope and lock on their branches. The ropes were no more then 8 inches long. I also began to think about how these owls barely had enough room to spread their wings. When I began to head out, I saw one of the workers taking one of the owls out to advertise. My initial thought was “At least they are able to go out and get some sunlight and fresh air”. As I saw the owl draw in a small crowd, I remembered owl’s are nocturnal creatures. Overall, I was dissatisfied with the owl cafe because of the cruel living conditions of the owls.

While in Harajuku, everyone regrouped in front of Forever21. I decided to take a look inside and of course I was not disappointed. The fashion style was more modest but very appealing. The prices were normal for a Forever21 store but it was extremely busy inside. I really enjoyed checking out the other stores in the Harajuku district as well.