We buy a $10 grilled cheese sandwich from this weird shop in Harajuku

We also had to cook it ourselves.

Mr. Sato considers himself a man about town when it comes to Tokyo. However, there is one place that he’s hesitant to set foot: Harajuku. With its trendy fashions and flocks of school girls, our grizzled old journalist feels as out of place as a cherry blossom in autumn.

However, a few months back he managed to latch onto a fleeting fishing-vest trend that swept through the area and was, for a brief day, able to walk freely among the Harajuku hordes. It was then that he saw a colorful little shack called Le Shiner which served a wide range of rainbow-colored foods and beverages. Rainbows are currently in among the fashion elite there.

He had heard this place had an amazing grilled cheese sandwich, and so ventured once more into the wild. Harajuku is known for its outlandish food like giant cotton candy, towering ice creams, and animal-shaped gelattos, so it’s odd that a humble grilled cheese sandwich would stand out among them.

This time Mr. Sato had no trendy clothes with multiple pockets for bait and tackle, so he felt awkward. He made a beeline for Le Shiner and placed an order for the sandwich. However, because he didn’t want to stay there any longer than necessary, he ordered it uncooked so he could take it back to the office and eat it there instead.

They gratuitously complied and Mr. Sato bolted out of Harajuku leaving a trail of dust in his wake. It all happened so fast he didn’t even have time to process the 1080 yen (US$10) price tag for this sandwich, more expensive than even some offered by fancy restaurants.

When he got back, he opened up his high-end purchase.

This didn’t seem right. It just looked like some plain slices of bread.

Not enthused enough to break out the frying pan, Mr. Sato tossed it into a toaster oven for about three minutes.

When it was done, he decided to break it open down the center for some nice cheesy photos.

Mr. Sato: “Ready!”

“Wait a minute…”

“Oh?”

“What is this?”

“Oh wow!!!!”

Mr. Sato was shocked to find that the cheese was vibrantly rainbow colored! It was a cute surprise, but when he started to eat it he was a little disappointed that it tasted just like regular processed cheese.

It was still good, but the lack of special flavor really made the 1080 yen price tag harder to justify. He kind of regretted not having them cook it as well.

Still, the rush of breaking into the bread to reveal the rainbow was pretty cool to do at least once. Le Shiner probably had that in mind when setting the price point and are aiming at one-time buyers like tourists and Instagrammers rather than trying to get people hooked on rainbow grilled cheeses.

Sadly, this means Mr. Sato still hasn’t found that lasting connection with the strange world of Harajuku despite his best efforts. Perhaps when he gets a little older he can fit in as one of those school girl uniform wearing eccentrics. Time will tell.

Store Information
Le Shiner / レ・シャイナー
Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingumae 1-7-10 COXY176 Building 1F
東京都渋谷区神宮前1-7-10 COXY176ビル1階
Weekdays: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Weekends/Holidays: 10:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Images: SoraNews24

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