Earlier this week Keiko and I visited Omotesandō, one of the nicest (and most expensive) areas in Tokyo, located in the city’s Shibuya and Minato wards.
The most well-known feature of the area is the long and beautiful tree-lined Omotesandō Avenue, a fashion shopping mecca that is home to nearly every global luxury brand housed in impressive examples of modern architecture.
While Keiko went off to a zumba class at a nearby park, I embarked on a window-shopping and people-watching walk from the Meiji Shrine entrance at one end of the avenue up to Aoyama Street.
l had lived in the Aoyama area in 2002 when I was responsible for Avaya’s FIFA World Cup sponsorship and went on to explore the old neighborhood. Noting the many major changes in the area over the past twenty years, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Oakwood Aoyama Residence still there.
On my return route to meet Keiko at the Meiji Shrine, I detoured through Takeshita Street and other side streets, the famous center of Tokyo’s teenage and pop culture, that are lined with many trendy shops.
On a fine fall day, it was a wonderful experience; a fun trip down memory lane.
