Cosplayer deficiency

There were flocks of people on the train to Harajuku today so we thought they must all be going to see the cosplay-zoku as we were. Following the crowds out of the station we ended up at a inter-school volleyball tournament....

When we got to the Jingu Bashi (the bridge where the Harajuku girls and cosplayers congregate) we were slightly disappointed. It was empty...
So we decided we were too early and we should go kill time and come back later. So we went down Takeshita Street, basically a Japanese (and bigger) version of Camden town.　One of the first shops we came across had some pictures of photobooths on some stairs leading to a basement level. Expecting an arcade we went downstairs to find heaven. A whole room full of different photobooths. A photobooth shop. After nearly falling to our knees in joy, we took some photos. Glittery ones!

Then we went shopping in the various stalls and small shops. Picked up some stuff (which was no mean feat considering Japanese teenagers shop like their lives depend on it) and decided to go back to the Jingu Bashi hoping the cosplayers were out. Sadly they were not. Well one was...

He was a lanky, possibly German boy standing on his own wearing really baggy clothes. His costume was a pair of furry ears. He looked quite lonely and he had an...endearing quality. But he was still a massive disappointment to us. He was hardly the crowds of Cosplay-zoku we were promised!

We decided we might still be too early so we decided to go shopping down the Omotesandō where all the designer shops are. Well window shopping. But we found Topman, Zara and the biggest H&M ever. But big-shop clothes are a bit rubbish here. Really plain. SO we went back to the Jingu Bashi and STILL NO COSPLAYERS! Well, lonely ear boy still hadn't moved. So we pitied him for a few minutes and then decided to satisfy our manga and book craving. We followed the guide to a shopping centre which supposedly sold books and guess what we found? Loads and loads of Harajuku girls!!! Sweet and Gothic lolita!! All dressed in huge victorian style, lolita dresses, carying parasols and wearing tiny top hats. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures inside the shopping mall but at least we found them! Yatah!

The bookshop had no english books so we hopped on the subway to Shibuya to a famous book manga chain called Madarake. Surprisingly, we found it rather easily using our guide book map! It was huge but stocked no english books manga! So we followed the guide's advice and got the metro to Shinjuku to an even bigger book shop. With a whole english foreign books floor! And (shockingly) we found it rather easily once again, just following the maps! We went a bit mental and spent about 6,000 Yen each on books. I bought a whole 6 book Manga series...

We were so knackered we decided we couldn't be bothered to go up Tokyo tower and decided just to go back to the hotel. It was a bit misty and we wouldn't be able to see much from it anyway. And we gotta save something for the next time we come ;)