Taking a breather in Tokyo

Welcome to Tokyo!
You've taken in so many big name sites already, taken the awesome Travelience tours, ate some really yummy food, and now want to take a breather, but don’t want to spend it flopped down in your room.
Then I have the suggestions for you right here! I've done 12 round trips to Japan, visited 3 of the 4 main islands and 15 prefectures, and have lived in both Kansai (Osaka area) and Kanto (Tokyo area). But of all those places I love Tokyo the most!
Tokyo is filled with everything you could ever want and some things you could probably live without, but I digress.
My favorite thing to do in Tokyo is just to chill out and people watch, and not the stalker style you were probably just thinking of. I’m talking about posting up outside the bigger train stations and watching life go by. Taking in fashion, business deals, entertainment, and the like. Shinjuku station handles around 2,000,000 people a day and because it is the capital of Tokyo, which is the capital of Japan you’re going to see all walks of life. Shibuya is right up the way and south of it is some other stations, but here I’ll list two of the best spots and times you should go and experience daily activities in Tokyo.

SHIBUYA

Shibuya crosswalk a.k.a Scramble crossing:

Doing a Google search of Shibuya pictures will probably pull up a million just of this crossing  (like this: http://goo.gl/miP4Gn ).
It is a sight to be seen, from all angles. Whether you are standing waiting to cross the street, standing on one of the planters trying to get a great shot of the people crossing the street, or inside Starbucks looking down at all the people while you sip on your venti mocha frap, you’ll catch some great scenes. After Starbucks and if you are still in the vicinity of the crossing take your refreshing beverage over and sit near Hachiko statue and maybe make some new friends. There you will find tons of people waiting to meet their friends, so don't be shy and say hi! Best time of the day to go, actually almost anytime when the trains are running.

Shinjuku station: Kabukicho exit, Studio Alta, or West exit up stairs

KABUKICHO
Kabukicho exit happens to be my all time favorite place to sit and people watch. Between the exit and the street that runs in front of Studio Alta is about a 100-foot stretch of area that gets a lot of traffic. Here you will find the Izakaya (Japanese restaurant) workers trying to get each and every person that passes by to come and eat at their restaurant. They approach them with the flyer in hand and simply ask “Izakaya?”, if the people are game he or she will explain what they offer and where it is located. Over all it is an effective marketing tool. The span of people coming and going across this little section is so great and it will give you a true idea of what happens on a daily basis in life in Tokyo both with what is considered on the up and up and what is part of the underground of Tokyo, so keep your eyes open!
STUDIO ALTA
Studio Alta is just that a T.V. studio. Here they record a few different shows, but some of them play host to some very famous people in Japan. If you find yourself here in the daytime and you see a large group of women and girls forming just outside the doors, you can bet someone famous is about to show up, so hang out and see whom it is.
WEST EXIT
The last area to sit and take it all in is the West exit of the JR station. Usually in the late afternoon to evening hours you’ll find some street performers consisting of guys and girls plying live music. Some have talent and some do not, but I’ll let you be the judge. Best time to go to any of these spots is either weekdays around lunchtime or 5:00 pm til last train.
There are far many more stations and areas to visit while you are on your trip here and the list of things to see at some of the stations I have already mentioned cannot be told to you on this blog so I suggest you grab the next Yamanote line train to a station near you, park your butt for the next few hours and see what you can catch.
Pic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shiraneeyo/5418372213/
Pic : http://book.asahi.com/reviews/column/2012082100035.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcotogni/6834786585/