Having set aside more time for rest this day, we headed off to Odaiba in the late morning feeling energised and refreshed. It was also yet another cold windy day, but at least the weather was really good and skies were clear.

It was the second time I visited Odaiba, but the previous time was four years ago, travelling with a tour group. Hence, there were still many things to look forward to, such as the DiverCity shopping mall which didn’t exist then, and taking the special Yurikamome train into the island. The Yurikamome works like the Japanese version of Singapore’s LRT system – driverless and short distances between stations. However, it has more cabins and a decent amount of seats unlike LRT trains.

Onboard the Yurikamome, looking out to the tracks.

The train at one point travels alongside cars, and goes directly under the Rainbow Bridge.

Getting off at Daiba station, our first stop would be AquaCity shopping mall, which I had visited before. I’m not sure if I remembered wrongly but the mall’s interior seems to have changed quite a bit since.

The facade of AquaCity Odaiba.

It was already 11.30am when we reached the place so we needed to find lunch. Upon reaching the mall’s entrance, we were handed a flyer advertising a buffet for an unbelievably affordable price. Etine got pretty excited and wanted to try, but seeing the price gave me doubts about the food quality so I brought this up, and we agreed to look for something else. I was feeling like having sashimi, but Etine really wanted to eat omurice, so we made an agreement that she’d choose what to have for lunch and I’d choose dinner.

We settled upon this omurice restaurant called Pomme no Ki, which turned out to be a pretty good choice. The omurice here was absolutely delectable! I regretted not choosing a bigger portion because it was so tasty I wanted more. You could pay 210 yen extra for a medium size (the regular size is called “small”), and 420 yen extra for the biggest size.

Curry doria.

This was also doria but I don’t remember what was inside.

Since it was an omurice restaurant, I stuck with eating omurice.

We still had room after gobbling down the rice, so we ordered the dessert we had been eyeing earlier. The ice cream parfaits didn’t disappoint, and it was very filling. Honestly, I don’t know where you could get such quality desserts in Singapore.

The assorted berries ice cream parfait Etine chose.

Blueberries, cheesecake, strawberry sauce and fresh cream over ice cream. My kind of parfait.

Stuffed with lunch, we were ready to start shopping. We spent quite a lot of time trying and buying clothes. In particular, I aimed for those Japanese brands I knew and you couldn’t find in Singapore. Bought quite few pieces of clothing in the end. I wanted to move on to DECKS, the shopping mall beside AquaCity, to check out Joypolis, the indoor amusement park, but in the end we took it out of the itinerary in order to accommodate more time for shopping.

After finally moving out of AquaCity, we crossed the road to the Fuji TV building. It was apparent that the building was a place that most tourists would just take photos of the exterior or at most probably only step in to look around, since the open-to-public areas here only sell merchandise of shows shown in Japan.

Being a pretty avid Japanese drama watcher, I roughly had in mind which dramas’ merchandise to look out for in F-Island, the name of the Fuji TV goods shop. F-Island is located on the 7th floor of the building, and there’s a long escalator on the exterior of the building that takes you directly outside the shop.

The Fuji TV building.

Escalator up to the seventh floor.

When at the open area outside the shop, I immediately looked for one of the J-drama posters I knew was up here, and it happened to be on the pillar closest to the shop. I got pretty excited and hung around taking a few photos even though the strong winds were killing all of us.

I was not alone in my excitement, since there were two women who spotted the poster and one of them squealed, telling the other she was very happy to see it. She then proceeded to snap a photo with her cellphone. Why the excitement for this particular late night drama? Because a Johnny’s Entertainment idol is starring in it, that’s why. It really was less about the drama and more about seeing this giant poster with him on it.

After enough photos, we went into the shop. This whole Fuji TV stop was mostly for me since Etine and her mum don’t really watch J-drama. After getting a few items off the shelves, we left the place as it was approaching evening light. Etine and I wanted to take photos of the giant Gundam outside DiverCity in daylight.

One of the many giant drama billboards on the pillars outside the shop.

Fuji TV drama goods on sale.

They were filming something on the ground floor outside the building as we left.

Needless to say, it was getting colder and breezier by the hour, so we walked pretty fast. Call me an inexperienced traveller, but I didn’t even know it could be this cold in spring. Of course we checked weather forecasts daily but knowing the temperature and actually feeling it is different. At some point I started trying to walk backwards instead, against the direction of the wind, so it would stop freezing up my face.

Upon reaching DiverCity, Etine’s mom looked around shops while Etine and I bypassed most of the shops. Our priority was making our way to the outside area, where we found the giant Gundam model and the Gundam Cafe.

We decided to go into the cafe first, where Etine happily bought a Haro Latte. I initially wanted to grab one as well but the price made me baulk. I’m not that big of a Gundam fan that it would justify me paying 380 yen for hot latte (but you know, 800 yen for a maid cafe latte is totally reasonable!).

It is pretty cute though.

After which, we went to take photos of the Gundam model in evening light. While waiting for it to become night, we went back into the mall to grab some Gindaco takoyaki (once again). When we were done we went back outside to take photos and it was just nice. The Gundam model looks a lot more imposing at night than in the day thanks to the lighting at the eyes and feet.

Gundam in daylight.

And at night, looking ready for battle.

Finally, we went back inside DiverCity to do shopping. However, the mall surprisingly had nothing much for us – the brands available were more upscale than the ones in AquaCity. We didn’t really find anything here to buy, so we were quickly done with the place. We decided to go towards Odaiba Kaihin Koen (Seaside Park).

We didn’t actually go down to the beach since it was already dark, and we admired the view from the open area outside AquaCity. There were some tourists around here taking photos too.

The view from Kaihin Koen. Tokyo Tower is visible, behind the bridge.

We were actually all kind of disappointed the famous Rainbow Bridge didn’t seem to be doing its rainbow light-ups often seen in postcards. Perhaps it was too early? It was dark, but only around 6pm when we were there looking out.

Since this was our last planned stop in Odaiba, we were about to go, when I spotted the Toys”R”Us sign outside AquaCity and remembered I wanted to visit it but had forgotten to earlier. It was for a lame reason that I wanted to check it out but anyway, I asked if we could make a quick stop at the mall. Etine and her mum were okay with it, so we went back in.

They continued to look at shops again, while I went to Toys”R”Us. When I was done and went back to find them, they were engrossed in trying and buying clothes again. We ended up spending another hour here before making our journey back.

On the train, I caught sight of a Kazoku Game (drama) poster at Shibuya station and quickly snapped a shot.

Reaching back at Shin-Okubo where our hotel was located, we went around the streets to find dinner. Unfortunately I’m not a fan of Korean food so there wasn’t really anything good there. Another unexciting end of day, but still Odaiba was pretty satisfying. In retrospect I wish we actually hadn’t set aside more time for sleeping and allocated more time for shopping, because we missed out Joypolis.

We started off the next day waking up early, in order to pack up our stuff, check-out and move to our next hotel which was located one stop away from Shinjuku Station on the Yamanote Line. The initial plan was to take a taxi there since we had to carry all our luggage, but realising that we wouldn’t have to change train lines at all if we took one from Tokyo Station, we decide to save the money. Our hotel in Hatchobori did provide a free shuttle to Tokyo Station anyway, and most guests checking out took advantage of it.

Leaving our luggage at the reception of our next hotel, Shin-Okubo Sekitei, as it was not check-in time yet, we headed for the nearby branch of Gyoza no Ohsho to have lunch. Like its name suggests, it’s a shop known for its gyoza. We had a quick lunch here with all of us ordering sets that included gyoza, and it didn’t disappoint.

Here, I regret to inform that there won’t be any photos for today’s travel and food. We kept our cameras away in the luggage as Etine and I would be going for a concert right after, and didn’t want to risk any trouble with the bag check. We would also be splitting up from her mum, who would be doing her own shopping in Shin-Okubo and Shinjuku while we went for the concert.

The concert we would be going for was the opening day of AAA’s Eighth Wonder tour. For the uninitiated, their name stands for Attack All Around, and the group consists of 5 men and 2 women. They do a variety of genres in accordance with their name – what they’re attacking are actually genres. They’re also titled a “super performance group”, giving energetic dances and singing at the same time without lip-syncing. With their debut single BLOOD on FIRE, they won Best Newcomer at the Japan Record Award.

Lately they’ve been leaning towards a more electronic sound. Here’s their latest release.

So anyway, we made for concert venue, which was in Hachioji City, 1 hour away from central Tokyo. On the way there we started to feel kind of sleepy due to the long train ride after a filling meal. But the moment I got out of the train I regained my energy and started getting super excited because in Hachioji Station itself I could already spot other fans who were carrying AAA goods.

All along the station’s exit till Southern Sky Tower, there were a ton of fans decked out in AAA gear, ranging from official goods, self-made t-shirts, and cosplay outfits of the members’ costumes. There was also a dance cover group in the open area outside the shopping mall, but we didn’t stop to watch as we were freezing in the cold. The 9 – 11 degrees temperature was already cold, but adding were strong winds that happened to be blowing in that area. It was too much for my Singapore-bred self. I think Etine was able to put up with it a little better though.

Heeding the advice of online forums, we were there at the concert venue, Olympus Hall Hachioji (located on the 4th floor of Southern Sky Tower), at about 2pm. It was one hour later than intended due to several minor delays in the morning, but I’m glad we didn’t reach earlier because we ended up with too much free time.

AAA B2-size posters for sale on display.

The advice on forums said to be at a venue at least 3 hours before the doors open (4.30pm in our case), if you absolutely wanted to get your hands on goods. However, I guess this didn’t really apply to us as it was the first day of the tour and there’s less chance of things being sold out. So anyway when we got to the queue for buying goods, we got an official tour light stick and towel each, and I bought some a~panda keychains, the AAA mascot.

Other merchandise on display near the goods counter.

When we were done buying, we didn’t stick around the area since it was crowded with fans sitting around chatting. It was still 2 hours til the doors opened so we decided to walk around Southern Sky Tower, which was a shopping mall.

Most of the shops around were restaurants, but there was a supermarket and a 100-yen shop as well, so we spent our time in those. Etine ended up buying strawberries from the supermarket as they were cheap. Also, when we visited the washroom, it was filled with AAA fans who were there to change into their AAA cosplays.

Close to 4pm, we returned to the waiting area outside the hall. Finding an empty corner, we sat ourselves there. There were plenty of other fans around but none tried to talk to us, to which I was kind of sad, but then I didn’t approach anyone to chat either because I was afraid. Around 4.30pm, staff started shouting for people to form a queue to enter the place. Since there was no English spoken, I was only half-sure of what I had understood. Anyway, we joined the queue since there was nothing to lose (nothing to win either – the concert is ticketed seating).

This display was also near the counter, on the floor where staff checked tickets for entry to the concert hall.

We had to climb two floors of stairs after entering the place since our seats were on the third floor. Despite it being the third floor, the view we had was clear without any blockage. Props to Olympus Hall here – each row of seats are elevated so high that you had no possibility of being blocked by the front row unless you had a 2m-tall man in front of you.

When the hall started filling up, I noticed the Japanese fan beside me was holding a pair of binoculars… and that is when I realised how stupid we were to not foresee the usefulness of bringing binoculars when you’re seated this far from the stage. You can’t really see facial expressions from this distance.

It was not long before the lights switched off, squeals from the audience were heard, and colourful moving lights appeared on the screens that were on the stage itself. The thumping dramatic music at the beginning really got everybody into the mood and even Etine, who wasn’t a hardcore fan like I was, got excited.

Opening up with a totally new song which was very electronic-sounding, it set the pace for the concert. Most of the songs for the day’s setlist would be upbeat. The setlist consisted of songs from recent years (Still Love You, CALL, etc), most recently released singles (Miss you, PARTY IT UP), and new songs from their upcoming album. We were treated to a total of five new songs that would be in AAA’s upcoming album – this meant everyone in the audience on this day were the first fans to listen to these songs. After the encore there was also a medley of older songs that were fan favourites. Here’s one of them.

The MC portions were also enjoyable and you can witness how comfortable they are with the stage after 7 years since debuting. With my limited Japanese though it was still not easy catching what they were saying, and there were a few times where I was clueless when the audience laughed. I also tried explaining the parts I could, to Etine who totally didn’t understand anything.

During the encore MC, AAA also showed their appreciativeness to fans, and they specially asked for the lights on the third level to be turned on so they could see us and wave to us. Naturally, everyone on the third level waved back enthusiastically.

Being immersed in the music I like, watching the high-energy dances and entertaining skit, waving my light stick along with everyone in the audience to the rhythm, and swinging my towel to their song together with a friend, I could say that this was hands down one of the best times I’ve had in my life. Of course, there were many other songs I love that weren’t performed, but I was very satisfied with the show. Etine was also satisfied and ended up buying a~pandas because she became a bigger fan of one of the members.

The concert in total was about 2 and a half hours which was what I expected. 5pm is an early time to start a concert, but I think it was done in consideration of fans – it ended nicely at dinner time. Since we came all the way out to Hachioji, Etine suggested finding dinner in the area. The opposite side of Hachioji Station seemed to be quite a bustling place so we headed off to find food there.

Loot for the day, including Etine’s a~pandas and some flyers. Actually didn’t buy much.

On the way I spotted an electronics shop, so I quickly took a look inside to find the earphone model I had been searching for. And this time, I found it. Still 30 dollars cheaper than in Singapore, so I promptly bought it, then we continued on our journey for food. It was also raining at this time, so it became unbearably cold walking around the streets.

At one point we wandered into an alley with a sign that said “Lingerie Cafe” or something so I tried to stop Etine from going further into this alley. She, still a little blur, walked on a bit before spotting some dubious-looking men and turned back to me and said “Let’s go back to the main street.” Feeling a little scared of what else we could accidentally wander into, we in the end settled for…friendly old McDonalds’.

It’s not as disappointing as you might imagine. The McDonalds’ in Japan has a different menu from Singapore, and after trying the food, I’ve got to say the standard is so much better there. Etine ordered the ebi burger together with seaweed shaker fries. Except it wasn’t called “seaweed shaker” there. I first saw the photo so we mistakenly thought we could just ask for “seaweed shaker” and the staff gave us a confused look. Turns out, when I looked at the menu a second time, it was called “shaka-shaka potato”.

I ordered a teritama burger meal and it was really good. I wish it was available in Singapore too! We sat near a window where we stared back into the same dubious alley we had gotten out from. This time, I spotted even more dubious signs, and was glad we didn’t hang around in there long.

After we finished eating, we headed straight to the train station, since going back would take another hour and we didn’t want to be back too late.

Images and videos of AAA from avex trax/avex management inc.

Still reeling from the disappointment of missing the Tsukiji tuna auction in the morning, we took the train for tech gadget and anime paradise Akihabara, which would hopefully make the day better. Since it was still pretty early when we reached, there weren’t too many people.

Initially looking kind of sleepy, my friend, Etine, quickly perked up upon spotting a To Aru Kagaku no Railgun billboard poster in the distance. It was a little amusing. We headed for the Akihabara UDX building first as it was the closest to the station exit we had come out from. Etine, being an anime otaku, wanted to visit the Tokyo Anime Center in the building. We found out we were a little too early as the center hadn’t opened yet, so we loitered around until it did.

I’m a pretty casual anime watcher myself, but I gotta say I expected more than what we were greeted with, which was basically a bunch of flat TVs showing various anime, a small goods shop, and an exhibition for the hot anime of the moment, Kakumeiki Valvrave. Actually I didn’t know of the anime before, but seeing the number of seiyuus’ names I could recognise off the autograph board, I guess it’s quite a big production.

Those hexagonal shapes pieced together really remind me of Evangelion.

After looking through the place a bit, we went to the Tokyo Anime Center official shop which was a few floors down. This was much better, but still any anime shop around the vicinity could easily win it in terms of goods variety and amount. Etine ended up buying quite a lot of things anyway. We moved on to another anime shop, Animate, which was just around the corner in another building. Animate apparently spans 8 floors if I remember right, and we spent a fair deal of time in there. I still didn’t buy anything since nothing actually caught my eye.

By the time we were out of Animate, all of us had started to feel hungry. We didn’t have to decide what we wanted to eat this time, because we had it already planned in the itinerary, and it was the highlight of the day! @home cafe, one of the bigger maid cafes in the area, was our dining choice for the afternoon.

Once we were shown in to our seats by the cute maids, Etine and I became super excited. While I initially thought we would be the odd ones out, there were actually other female patrons in the shop. The maid serving us was named “Pyon” and she was really cute. My attention was mainly focused on Pyon, Etine was admiring every single maid in the cafe, while her mother didn’t look all that interested but it was understandable.

Etine ordered a banana milkshake while I ordered mocha latte for drinks, while her mum was fine with plain water. All of us ordered set meals as they were the most value-for-money on the menu. The drinks alone were already pretty expensive, because of the fanservice that comes with them. To be honest, I usually stay away from coffee on non-school days due to its particularly strong effects on me, but this was an exception.

Most expensive non-alcoholic drink I’ve bought. But the bunny drawing was worth the 700 yen.

My mocha latte came with the fanservice of the maid drawing with chocolate sauce on the foam of the coffee. I was asked to pick between cat, bear or bunny, and I chose bunny because the maid’s name was Pyon. With Etine’s banana milkshake, Pyon mixed the drink in a shaker, and while shaking it she required us to say the “magic words” along with her, which consisted of mostly cute-sounding onomatopoeic Japanese words, and then finally “Become delicious!”

The mocha latte tasted like any other coffee and the bunny was ruined within the first sip, so nothing special there. I also had a taste of the banana milkshake, and it was not bad but we both agreed it was a tad too sweet.

Following which, we were pretty much left alone for maybe 30 minutes. It took a long long long wait for the food to actually come. In the meantime we observed the neighbouring patrons playing games with the maids (chargeable). One of the maids spoke to us in broken English upon realising we weren’t local and asked where we were from. When the food finally came, it was another maid that served us because Pyon was taking a polaroid with another patron (chargeable). We were asked to pick a toothpick flag with a design we liked, so I picked a bear design because it was the cutest one. Etine ended up getting teased because she picked a flag that said “fujoshi” on it. Since Etine doesn’t really read or speak much Japanese she was a bit clueless.

Almost couldn’t bear to eat it.

So, after waiting that long for the food, how did it fare in the taste test? All 3 of us felt it tasted surprisingly good. It’s not that the food was amazing, but it was decent. And against our low expectations, it being a maid cafe (expecting a rip-off), it was good. Also, looking at the amount of different things on the plate and how detailed the decorations are, one can guess what took so long in the kitchen.

With our stomachs filled, we decided to pass on dessert and pay the bill. A pleasant surprise was that the entry fee was actually 300 yen for females instead of 600 yen. This wasn’t displayed on their website so I didn’t know beforehand. And then after we paid the bill, the maid presented to each of us a loyalty reward card of sorts where you’d get stamps for every visit after. It has a different front design for males and females.

We were asked how to write our names, and because it’s in English, the maid wrote it on tissue paper first to confirm with us. Then she proceeded to write our names in permanent ink in a really cute handwriting on the back of the card. It included titling us as “ojousama”s, a simple animal drawing beside the name, and a heart drawn into the visit date. All in all, it made our maid cafe experience a really good one and I’ll definitely return if I have the chance.

Making our way out of the DonQuijote building, we spotted a nail salon on the first floor, doing anime nail art and we were really interested in doing it (particularly so for me because they displayed Evangelion nail art). But we found out it would take 2 hours. Agreeing that it was too long (on hindsight, it wasn’t…), we passed it up and moved on. After walking around Akihabara a bit more and admiring the Gundam and AKB48 cafes from the exterior, we moved on to Tokyo Dome City (TDC).

The sky was overcast and it was cold so my photos dropped in quality as my hands were freezing.

It seemed we were there too early on a weekday as the place was pretty empty and the rides were hardly in operation since no one was taking them. I actually thought they were shut down or something because of bad weather. In the end we didn’t take anything since it felt really lame and no fun to take rides by ourselves. The star attraction of TDC, the Thunder Dolphin rollercoaster, had also been closed down for more than two years since the Tohoku Earthquake.

Workers seen on the Thunder Dolphin. One wonders what exactly they are repairing.

What do you do at TDC if not taking rides? Shopping, of course. We headed for LaQua, the shopping mall inside TDC. Here, we spent roughly two hours, including some time chilling at a green tea shop. There was also a CD shop where I found a rather rare Limited Edition of a CD I wanted to buy, but didn’t because I stupidly thought I would be able to find a Used version for less, in the coming days (spoiler: no such luck and am still kicking myself for this).

Although we had planned in our itinerary to spend the rest of the day here, it seemed we had already exhausted the place and didn’t know what else to do here. Then I remembered Etine was saying that she wished we had more time in Akihabara, so I proposed taking the train back there to continue shopping, since anyway from Akihabara we wouldn’t have to change train lines to go back to our hotel later on.

But before we could leave TDC, we stopped by MOMI&TOY’S to try their crepes. Definitely not disappointed. I never knew fresh cream could be this delicious!

Too yummy for words.

By the way, being a Japanese music fan and knowing Tokyo Dome, I didn’t neglect to take a closer look at the massive stadium since we were already at TDC. Of course you can’t walk into the stadium freely, but I looked around the outside area and took photos. Hopefully one day in the near future I’ll be able to attend a concert here!

Tokyo Dome’s gate guide.

After that, we made our way back to Suidobashi Station. We were dismayed to find the trains terribly packed. I had forgotten my own warnings to Etine prior to the trip to avoid taking the trains around 5 to 6pm as it would be rush hour. But with no choice since we were already there, we managed to squeeze into the second train that came.

By the time we reached Akihabara again, it was dark. This time, Etine’s mum decided to look at another mall in the area which had clothing stores, so we split ways until dinner. Keeping in mind many businesses in Japan close at 8pm, we quickened our footsteps, heading for Mandarake, another anime goods store. On the way, we passed by an Aoki suits store, with a big Kamenashi Kazuya endorsement poster displayed. Naturally, being a KAT-TUN fangirl, I paused to take a photo of it. However, stopping on a crowded sidewalk isn’t exactly the best idea, so I tried to take it quickly. Unfortunately no matter how many times I took the photo, there was bound to be someone walking into frame.

Hastily taken photo.

Mandarake was interesting to look at for the first few moments but due to the amount of things on display it was really cramped and I felt like I had a lack of oxygen. I guess it didn’t help being surrounded by anime figurines, something I’m not really interested in.

We walked around several electronics stores trying to look for a particular model of earphones which was on my to-buy list, because I was expecting it to sell for cheaper in Japan than in Singapore. Find it we did at a much much cheaper price, like about 30 dollars less, but the colour I wanted was out of stock. Sigh.

Afterwards we met back up with Etine’s mum at a Starbucks, wondering what to have for dinner. Finding that everything in the vicinity were expensive and it was late, we made the decision to go back to our hotel area and buy bentos from the nearby convenience store. A rather unexciting roundup to the day, but we were content with it since we were all tired from walking.

Hi, I’m Grace, yet another Singaporean obsessed with many things Japanese. I’ll be writing about my experience of my recent week-long trip to Japan on this site.

It’s been almost two years since I had last been to Japan. I’ve gone to Japan twice before, one in central Japan and the other in Hokkaido, but they were both on tour groups. This was the first time I was going on a free and easy trip so it was easily a lot more exciting.

Actually, I had been yearning for this trip for a really long time, and as a graduation trip of sorts, it was part of what spurred me on to finish my polytechnic education. My plan back then was to take a solo trip, but my parents wouldn’t hear of it since they couldn’t trust me to be all alone in another country. I then pulled along my best friend from poly who also loves Japan and I believed I would have no trouble travelling with.

However, my parents were still not convinced it would be okay, while my friend’s parents are also strict and didn’t allow her to travel with just friends. In the end it was settled that we would be travelling with her mum, which put both my parents and her parents to a better peace of mind. Not what I had in mind initially but it’s still better than travelling with my own family members.

The itinerary was still completely planned by my friend and I, so very skewed towards our interests, and her mum was like a kind of guardian throughout the trip who followed what we planned. There’s also days where we split up, for my friend and I to do our own things and her mum would go somewhere else to do her own things. Anyway, we’re both waiting for graduation so we were pretty free. It seemed like waiting for the trip to come took forever but it finally did.

Waiting to board the plane.

On my previous trips to Japan, I’ve taken both JAL and ANA. This time, we took Scoot, the low-cost carrier under Singapore Airlines which started operating in June last year, as the prices were attractive.

We heard quite a lot of things about Scoot both online and through word-of-mouth and so we knew what we were in for. The seats were normally comfortable as like any other airline, and leg space was considered pretty good for a budget carrier. There’s no leg rest and the headrest area is just flat which is a little uncomfortable. They also don’t turn off the lights in the cabin besides for take off and landing. A small exception was when we were flying there they did dim the lights for a couple hours at about 3am. Well, all these are probably how they entice people to buy their neck pillow, blanket and eyemask pack.

We also heard from friends who had taken Scoot, that no matter how hungry you get, to never purchase their hot meals on board, because they taste really bad and you will feel like throwing it away after eating a bit. So we duly noted their advice and steered clear of the plane food. On the going journey it’s not hard to endure hunger since it’s the wee hours of the morning, but if you think you’re gonna be hungry, you might want to sneak sweets or small snacks on board. They clearly state that they don’t allow outside food of course, so be careful if you do.

Our departure was delayed by some passenger who didn’t turn up for the flight, so in the end we were about half an hour behind our itinerary but it wasn’t that bad since our first day wasn’t packed. Flying to Narita Airport by Scoot is undoubtedly cheap, but you also fly for longer hours because there’s a transit at Taiwan’s Taoyuan Airport. You still take the same plane after the transit. To me transiting was a bit confusing, maybe because I had never been to Taoyuan Airport. The staff will direct those continuing on to Tokyo towards a counter to collect your transit card. You’ll have to go through scanning your handcarry bags once more and then wait for departure again. In case you get lost or anything, make sure you know Scoot in Mandarin is known as ku4 hang2 (酷航).

Transit card for use at Taoyuan Airport.

If you’re trying to catch sleep on the flight I recommend plugging in to music or wearing earplugs. Because the flight includes transiting, every single announcement they make on the plane comes in English, Mandarin and Japanese. It gets pretty annoying and longwinded and at some point I felt really pissed off. It wasn’t because I was trying to sleep but because the constant announcements were giving me a headache. Other than that it’s basically a smooth ride.

Anyway, upon reaching Narita Airport we headed to find lunch since we were famished from not eating anything on the flight. Since we wouldn’t be able to check-in to our hotel until 3pm, we ate at the airport in a slightly pricey udon and soba shop. The food was normally delicious.

Delicious tamagotoji udon.

Our original intention was to take the limousine bus to get to Tokyo Station. However, when we wanted to buy the tickets at the limousine bus counter, the kind counter staff referred us to a rival bus company, Keisei Bus, which was having a promotion – 900 yen to Tokyo Station. This was more than 3 times cheaper than taking the limousine bus so we were all pleasantly surprised and promptly bought the Keisei Bus tickets.

Roughly a little more than an hour later, we came to our stop at Tokyo Station. Here, we wasted quite a lot of time being lost trying to find the line that went to Hatchobori Station, just one stop away. Our hotel, Dormy Inn Tokyo Hatchobori, was located near Hatchobori Station. We underestimated the size of Tokyo Station for sure, but it didn’t help at all that the direction signs were confusing. We climbed up and down stairs with our luggage just trying to find the entrance to the correct line. I was quite frustrated by the time we found the train line. By the time we reached our hotel, it was already an hour past check-in time. We quickly put down our stuff in the hotel room.

Heading out again, we took the train towards Oshiage Station where the Tokyo Skytree was located. From joining the queue for tickets until we actually bought the tickets, the total time taken was around 25 minutes. We also learnt that there were strong winds and the Skytree would be closed the next day, while for the rest of this day the staff was restricting the number of people going up the lift at a time. Hence, it was another 35 minutes before we were able to take the lift up.

It’s so tall that when you look up, it looks like it’ll fall on you.

However, all the wait was certainly worth it when we saw the amazing view. We were lucky enough to catch the last of the day view and watch the city slowly light up as night fell. After spending ages snapping shots of the view, we finally decided to make our way back down. It was decided that we wouldn’t spend another 1000 yen to go up to the higher deck because the view would mostly be the same anyway, and we had already spent 2000 yen to come up to the lower deck.

Evening view from the Skytree.

Had a quick look through the Skytree shop located on the same level but there didn’t seem to be anything worth buying, so none of us bought anything. The strong winds were unfortunately still going on, so when we got to the lobby area, we were dismayed to find a long snaking queue for the lift down worse than the one we waited for when heading up.

Along the queue just a short distance before the lift, there was a glass floor feature. It took me a few minutes before I could bring myself to stand on it because it was kind of scary. My friend however didn’t waste any time and simply stood on it. I guess I’m weak. We took a few photos there then rejoined the queue for the lift. It was a total 40 minutes queuing before we finally took the lift down and got out.

The scary glass floor could use a little cleaning though.

Feeling cold and hungry, we went into Tokyo Solamachi just next to the Skytree. We couldn’t decide what to eat though, so we walked around. Then I remembered that I wanted to visit the official Rilakkuma store that was in this mall and so made my way there, while my companions looked at other shops. Finally, we regrouped and suddenly right in front of us we noticed there was a takoyaki shop in the form of Gindaco which looked darn good to us there and then.

So we ended up eating takoyaki… which didn’t turn out to be a bad decision and it tastes better than the Gindaco branch in Singapore. But okay, that was not really counted as dinner. We knew our hotel actually served free ramen at night so after the takoyaki we made our way back for the ramen. It was decent and definitely not what you would expect for something free.

Official Rilakkuma store in Tokyo Solamachi.

That isn’t the end of the day though. Back at the hotel we caught a few hours of sleep, and then woke up to head for Tsukiji Market as planned. However, we couldn’t find the ticket selling point for the tuna auction so it took some effort following people around. This was a bit of a failure in planning as we should have printed out a map or woke up even earlier. By the time we got to the place, we were told that tickets for the day had been sold out! It was a real disappointment, especially after waking up this early for it.

We thought about trying again the next day but then gave up the idea eventually as we would be even more exhausted without adequate sleep and the following day we had to wake early to change hotels. Unfortunately, for me at least, I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance to see the famous tuna auction at Tsukiji before the market moves to Toyosu in 2015.

Since we made the effort to come out anyway, we had sushi breakfast (the sushi we had was alright but not particularly worth mentioning to be honest) before heading back to the hotel again to catch a bit more shut-eye.

The Tsukiji Market shop area in the early early morning.

We were introduced to Uoshin courtesy of Yan. The izakaya has a number of outlets around Tokyo. This time we visited their Nogizaka branch, where we enjoyed a range of delicious, yet affordable seafood dishes.

There is a rustic charm to Uoshin’s store at Nogizaka. The building appears to be an old converted shop house, mixing a traditional Japanese kitchen with modern Western furnishings out of functionality. Patrons can sit within the tented shelter downstairs or a makeshift outdoor terrace on the building’s roof if you wish to smoke.

Uoshin Izakaya.

The pub specialises in sushi.

The environment may be a bit intimidating for those new to the izakaya experience, thankfully the staff do keep English menus with pictures on hand for foreign visitors.

Uoshin’s specialty seems to be their seafood and sushi. As mentioned, in keeping the common salaryman in mind, prices are affordable. Due to how much you’re paying, you won’t be getting the very freshest stuff here but is still better than the average, or anything you will find overseas.

Steamed snow crab dish.

Fish roe.

The emphasis on value for money is further driven in by the generous servings. Like at most izakaya, the dishes here are meant to be enjoyed in the company of friends. For those with an aversion for raw fish, there are other small bites on the menu. However, when visiting Uoshin, the seafood is where it’s at. We ended up thoroughly satisfied with about all of the dishes ordered, and even had seconds of some.

Sashimi set platter, or ask for the seasonal recommendations.

For those coming mainly for a drink, there are “nomihoudai” all you can drink specials at 500 yen/30 minutes for the house pour and other drinks if you top up slightly more. There are special sets for between 3,500-4,500 yen (SGD$45-$60) which includes some of the izakaya’s trademark dishes, together with a free flow of beer for two hours.

If I had to pick, the messy sushi featured in the title would be the fave.

Thought not far from Roppongi, Uoshin is located at a business district in Nogizaka that is rather peaceful by the hours that it operates at. If you’re looking for a great place to chill out in Tokyo that’s away from the usual hustle and bustle, do give Uoshin a try. For more information and a listing of Uoshin’s other outlets, check out Uoshin Web (Japanese only).

Uoshin Nogizaka
6-32 Akasaka Kyuchome
Minato Ward
Tokyo 107-0052

Operating Hours
Monday – Saturday: 5 PM – 12 AM
Sundays, Public Holidays: 4 PM – 11 PM
Weekdays: 12 PM – 2 PM (Lunch)

View Larger Map

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these posts, but with some writing in for requests on their itineraries and insufficient time to respond on a personal basis, I thought I’d throw up a summary for all of the days of the year end Japan trip previously published. Due to the nature of things, a lot of the events mentioned won’t be applicable to future trips, but hopefully it’ll show what is achievable in one day, highlight some key attractions and provide some tips for those traveling to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto or Nagoya.

Flight

Due to the length of stay, we’ve decided to cover the Kanto (Osaka/Kyoto), Aichi (Nagoya) and Kanto (Tokyo/Yokohama) areas in all. While we’d be covering a similar Kansai-Kanto route to a past trip, this time we’d actually stop over at Haneda Airport and take a connecting flight to Osaka. Even after factoring in the costs of the local transit, this came with the advantage of saving quite a bit of money that would had otherwise gone towards a Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass).

We flew with ANA, which allowed us to plan a custom trip. Starting off at Haneda Airport, we’d take a local flight to Itami Airport (Osaka’s domestic airport), work our way north through cheaper land transport, and finally fly back to Singapore from Haneda. This way, our entire expenditure for the flight and cross country transport for a month amounted to only about SGD$1,100. A 21 day Rail Pass alone would had set one back SGD$865 during this time.

Domestic flights in Japan are cheap, more so than Shinkansen at least. ANA is now offers flights anywhere within Japan for 10,500 yen, though it’s part of a “Cool Japan” and only applicable to foreigners. There are also budget airlines that operate even cheaper flights. Flying by ANA, there’s about 2 hours between flights, which is narrowed to about 1 hour after all the logistics are settled. It takes just an additional hour by plane to get from Haneda to Itami. Given ANA’s timings, this would mean that in total we’d leave Singapore at about 10 PM and reach Osaka at about 9 AM. For those with the energy to continue on after a flight, this might be a plus.

As covered in greater detail in the Day 1 article, taking a domestic flight also comes with the benefit of Itami Airport being more convenient than the more commonly traversed Kansai International Airport. A coach from Itami to the city is just 490 yen and 20 minutes, less than 1/3rd it would cost and take if one were to arrive by Kansai International Airport.

Just a short wait between flights.

Accommodation

We would be staying at three different accommodations in Japan this trip. A hotel in Osaka would serve as our Kansai outpost, Nagoya, Aichi and an apartment in Tokyo. I was really happy with how the first two hotels turned out, not so the apartment. Definitely recommend the Osaka and Nagoya hotels to readers.

Shin Osaka Sunny Stone Hotel
It’s hard to find faults with the Shin Osaka Sunny Stone Hotel. At just SGD$52 per room, Sunny Stone gives even hotels in “cheaper” countries a run for their money. If that wasn’t nearly enough, the hotel is located within walking distance from Shin-Osaka Station, Osaka’s Shinkansen terminal, giving you convenient access to not only Osaka itself, but also adjacent cities like Kyoto, Kobe and beyond. Add in some of the most spacious rooms and a complementary buffet breakfast, and you’ve got yourself a real bargain.

Unizo Inn Nagoya Sakae (Formerly Chisun Inn Nagoya Sakae)
Hotels in Nagoya are generally more expensive. Unizo Inn Nagoya Sakae is quite affordable though, especially when considering its location. Located smack in the center of Nagoya’s Naka (center) Ward, Unizo Sakae grants you the best access to all of the city’s sights, without burning a hole in your wallet. Rooms are SGD$67 a night. Amenities-wise Unizo Sakae is a pretty standard business hotel. It’s value comes from being located within the Sakae shopping district, a lovely city center with plenty of parks, cafes and restaurants. It’s also walking distance from Nagoya Tower, Nagoya Castle, Sunshine Sakae, Osu and many of the city’s museums.

Domestic flight to Osaka.

Day 1. Haneda Airport, Itami Airport, Umeda, Osaka Aquarium

Clearing customs and dropping off our luggage the our hotel we still had the rest of the afternoon available. After visiting Endo Sushi to celebrate our arrival in Japan, we headed over to the nearby Umeda district for a bit of shopping and to get B-Mobile 3G Data Sim Cards, which we would have much trouble activating later. Finally, we made the ill-advised decision to press on to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan in the evening, when we would had been much better spent recovering from the post-flight fatigue.

Namba Waterways.

Day 2. Senrichuo, Namba, Dotonbori

This morning we’d head over to the Selcy Mall at Senrichuo for the free SUPER☆GiRLS mini-live. The rest of the afternoon would be spent over at central Namba especially it’s Den-Den Town area for it’s amusement centers and the new AKB48 Cafe & Shop opposite the NMB48 Theater.

At night, we walked over to the nearby Dotonbori area to catch the night time illumination there, and bumped into a bunch of Halloween partygoers. We ended the day with a set meal at the original shop of the famous Kani Doraku crab restaurant, which was nothing short of amazing.

Osaka’s Castle.

Day 3. Osaka Castle, Sakuya Konohanakan, Umeda

Thought we’d spend the day tackling some “cultural” landmarks. We purchased the one day version of the Osaka Unlimited Pass, an all inclusive transport and attraction bundle pass but would later regret it. Would learn that is particularly difficult to make the one day parth worthwhile, since it costs more than 2/3rds the two day version. Faced with poor weather, we’d stick indoors by visiting Osaka Castle in the morning.

The past days’ tiredness and issues would slowly build up resulting in us reaching our next destination Sakuya Konohanakan only at closing time. In my haste, ended up dropping my camera and damaging the lens. Umeda’s Yodobashi Camera was of little help, so got some pliers from a Don Quixote outlet to take things into my own hands.

Get up close with the monkeys.

Day 4. Arashiyama Monkey Park, Tenryuji, Umeda

Meeting the Japanese Macaque monkeys at Arashiyama was one of the highlights of our trip. The Monkey Park at Kyoto’s Arashiyama provides a means of meeting the monkeys up close, without infringing too much upon their natural habitat or behavior. The rest of the surrounding area makes for a nice visit too. The main temple Tenryuji is not bad as far as temples go. We also enjoyed lunch and snacks at the traditional Japanese shopping streets. Such touristy places tend to close early, so there was still ample time in the evening to catch up on more shopping back in Osaka city.

Rightfully Kyoto’s most famous temple.

Day 5. Kiyomizudera, Higashiyama, Gion

We’d finally head over today to Kyoto’s most popular shrine Kiyomizudera. Forgot about how Kyoto is mainly serviced by buses, so ended up wasting some time and money taking a train to a nearer station, when we could had taken a direct bus from Kyoto Station. Kiyomizudera is definitely worth a visit. Rather than one temple, its a complex of temples and shrines.

There’s a great deal to see at the surrounding Higashiyama neighborhood where we spent the rest of the afternoon. More traditional Japanese shops here than any other touristy area. Gion, where we found Kyoto’s shopping malls and contemporary shops was within walking distance and would had been deserving of one full day itself.

Delicious Kobe steaks.

Day 6. Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Mitsui Outlet Park, Kobe Tower, Kobe Chinatown

Kobe is easily accessible from Osaka by regular local trains. It takes 30-40 minutes to get there and makes for another nice day trip. Took the rest to the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in the morning again, though we dropped off at a different station this time. Also checked out some of the old colonial houses there. We spent just a bit of time shopping at the Mitsui Outlet Park, before realising that we were late for lunch at the Mouriya.

Ended up missing lunch timings on the dot and having to pay a bit more. Finally satisfied my wish of visiting Kobe Tower in the evening. Definitely one of the nicer towers in Japan, due largely to the city’s unique ambiance. Chilled out for a good while at an inexpensive rotating cafe inside the tower, before taking a look at Kobe Chinatown.

Overlooking the lake.

Day 7. Mount Hiei, Enryakuji, Otsu

Shiga’s Biwako, the largest lake in Japan looked like an impressive attraction to see. It’s located about an hour east of the city at the midway mark between Nagoya. Due to the size of the lake, there are actually quite a number of cities surrounding the lake, meaning that unfortunately, there really wasn’t one default place to visit Lake Biwa. This was further made worse by how little information, English or otherwise, was available online.

We decided to try ahead with the nearest Mount Hiei to hopefully get a view of the lake but it turned out to be mostly a flop. The Enryakuji temple on the mountain wasn’t too outstanding and the view from the mountain was obstructed by foliage.

We returned to Otsu, the capital city in the evening to catch an advertised fountain show on the river, but it turned out to be a major disappointment. The rural city ceased to function as soon as it got dark and so we spent the evening at a dilapidated shopping mall beside the port. Should I decided to give Biwako another chance in the future, it will probably be for the farmers’ markets on the eastern shore.

Tennoji’s Zoo has nice enclosures but few animals.

Day 8. Shinsekai, Tennoji Zoo, Osaka Port

Our last day in Kansai. Bad weather predictions had us staying in Osaka, a decision we would at least partially regret. Without any concrete plans, the morning was spent visiting Shinsekai, which we had originally had the good sense to skip. The only saving grace to the tourist trap was an affordable sushi restaurant we chanced upon. The adjacent Tennoji Zoo turned out to be a disappointment, despite apparently being one of Japan’s larger zoos.

Spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at Osaka Port, where time seemed to had stood still since the 90s. Thankfully, we had another spectacular meal here courtesy of Sakon. One thing we noticed is that we tended to enjoy ourselves more when venturing outside Osaka, perhaps because we had spent too many consecutive days there. It would probably had been better to split up the days instead. Had spent at least one too many days in Osaka too.

Osu Kannon Temple.

Day 9. Sakae, Osu Kanon, Osu, Nagoya Station

The morning was spent struggling with our baggage on local trains to Nagoya. Would  recommend taking a coach bus instead, something we had neglected to book in time. The train stations to and in Nagoya were some of the least luggage/wheelchair friendly I’ve seen in Japan. Arriving in Nagoya, we had a hard time finding lunch and the only things open were fast food outlets. We initially thought that this was due to the public holiday (it was Bunka no Hi) but later learned that Sakae only came alive at night.

We spent the late afternoon and evening first at Osu, visiting the Osu Kannon Temple and the shopping district there. Osu is Nagoya’s main shotengai, and seemingly also the city’s humble equivalent of Akihabara. Stopped by Nagoya Station last, where some of the city’s larger department stores are, only to learn that like Osaka, they close early.

The state of many zoos in Japan.

Day 10. Japan Monkey Park, Nagoya Station

Aichi has its own Monkey Park, though it’s nothing like the Arashiyama one, being actually a combination of children’s theme park and zoo. As a result, entry is an expensive 1,600 yen. Getting there is a lot of trouble too since its quite a distance from Nagoya. Wouldn’t recommend anyone visit here as the monkeys here are kept in depressing conditions. One of the bigger regrets this trip. The evening was spent back at the shopping malls around Nagoya Station, this time well in advance of closing time.

Nagoya’s interesting architecture.

Day 11. Sakae, Osu,

There was a Passpo concert to attend this evening so we opted not to go far. Instead, we’d spend the afternoon at Sakae, Osu and everywhere in between. Being at the city center, many of Nagoya’s sights could be reached by foot. Staying in Sakae has its benefits. I’d visit Nagoya Tower and some of the shopping malls around Sakae in the morning. Due to the cold weather, and later rain, we’d try staying indoors as much as possible for the rest of the day. Passpo’s concert by all accounts was incredible. Before heading back we’d stop by Yamachan to try one of Nagoya’s culinary specialities, Tebasaki.

One of Japan’s larger aquariums.

Day 12. Nagoya Aquarium, Sakae

Our final day in Nagoya would have us finally visiting the eagerly awaited Nagoya Aquarium and it didn’t disappoint. Nagoya’s Aquarium is many times larger than even Osaka’s and houses an expansive variety of marine animals. It comes highly recommended and we now add ourselves to the list of fans. Depending on how fast you go through the place, you can spend a good 3 to 4 hours here. It was back to Sakae for the late afternoon and evening to tie up some loose knots before taking an overnight coach to Tokyo.

Overnight coach to Tokyo.

Day 13. Tokyo Station, Akihabara

The overnight bus to Tokyo was a lot more pleasant than any of us had expected. Those looking to save on intercity transport might want to check out Willer Express. We reached Tokyo Station at dawn and killed some time at the McDonalds there until our apartment manager arrived. Learned out lesson this time, so after checking into our rooms at Kurumi Lease Mansion, spent the rest of the morning and afternoon catching up on sleep.

We stepped out in the evening for Tokyo’s otaku contagion zone, Akihabara and met up with Yan, who had flew in earlier today. For dinner, we headed over to the Nogizaka outlet of Uoshin to celebrate Yan’s birthday. Food there was awesome, yet affordable.

Otaku ground zero.

Day 14. Ginza, Akihabara

Our second day and first morning actually waking up in Tokyo had us heading over to Ginza to do some shopping. Unfortunately as experience would teach us, it’s literally impossible to shop efficiently in anything more than a pair, and there’s a lot of ground to cover at Ginza. The evening would have us returning to Akihabara again for some actual shopping. Given the company, we’d visit the place quite a few times this trip. However for anyone else, once should be more than sufficient.

Rainbow Bridge night time illumination.

Day 15. Meiji Jingu, Harajuku, Shibuya, Odaiba

In response to the sudden news that Eri would had to leave soon, we made the frantic decision to try to fit in as many touristy destination within these last few days. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t turn out to be such a good idea, since we’d end up being only able to barely scratch the surface of these areas. Meiji Jingu, being one of the main Shinto shrines in Japan was a given.

Tackling Harajuku and the adjacent Shibuya in the same day on foot, is our usual norm but as we also had plans to visit Odaiba in the evening, we really shouldn’t had spent that much time at these places. Unfortunately, the rest had forgotten it was Randy’s birthday and that we had planned to celebrate his birthday in the evening there. Ended up being rather rushed for time in Odaiba, which deserves a full day’s trip in itself. Moral of the story, regardless of circumstances, it’s better to take one’s time.

Biohazard Cafe.

Day 16. Shibuya, Akihabara

Convinced Eri and Yan to at least visit DisneySea once before leaving. In the meantime, had made plans to meet up with my director in Japan for lunch. Amusingly, he brought us over to the Biohazard (Resident Evil in the west) Cafe over in Shibuya. While the boss and Randy were fans, wasn’t into Biohazard but the cafe turned out to be a really novel and enjoyable experience. Think maid cafe, with zombies and guns, complete with a silly dance routine and hi-touches for everyone.

Had the buffet lunch there, which was a little pricey but wasn’t bad. Chilled around Shibuya in the afternoon, though we actually spent more time trying to find a place which had space. The place was completely packed with tourists this Saturday afternoon. Would usually advice to avoid popular city areas on the weekends. In the evening, we returned (yet again) to Akihabara but this time for a private idol birthday event.

Yokohama Arena.

Day 17. Yokohama Arena

This afternoon, we’d visit Yokohama for the only real concert we’d attend this trip. Had pre-ordered tickets for the “girl’s side” of Happy Music Love 2012, featuring Scandal, Nogizaka46, Becky, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and NMB48. We were expecting poor seats but they turned out to be decent.

The concert was great, though it lacked the crowd lacked the enthusiasm of that of a single fanbase. There was something for everyone at the concert though, with Kyary’s segment really surprising me. My pick for the show, definitely Takemura Kiriko and her crazy dancers. Wouldn’t recommend Kyary to idol fans, but if you’re remotely interested in electro-pop and open to performance art type things, do try to hit up one of her shows, at least before the hype dies down and she fades into obscurity.

The famous temple at Asakusa.

Day 18. Asakusa, Nakano Broadway

Eri’s last day in Tokyo would have us visiting Asakusa in the morning for Sensoji Temple, probably the most popular Buddhist place of worship in the city. It’s one of the prettier temples and the shopping streets that lead up to Sensoji make for some great, albeit touristy shopping. The many traditional snack shops along the street are especially popular.

While we had considered visiting the Tokyo Sky Tree in the evening, the rest seemed more keen on Nakano Broadway instead. Nakano Broadway is what I would refer to as Tokyo’s real “otaku haven”. The shops here cater to just about every (legal) niche interest one can think of. Used toy stores take up the majority of space at Nakano, but cover a much wider variety than just the anime figures of Akiba. The evening was again spent at another live where our idol friend was performing.

City shopping.

Day 19. Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya

Met up with our idol friend for lunch at Shinjuku this afternoon. She introduced us to an affordable and delicious shabu shabu restaurant in Shinjuku. We then went to shop for frilly dresses at a nearby department store, with Randy eventually settling for a Liz Lisa one piece for a friend back in Singapore. Next we went over to Harajuku after to meet Chisaki, who had just flew in. Our idol friend had to get a birthday present for another idol’s birthday performance this evening, so we spent the rest of the afternoon window shopping.

It’s not easy getting stuff for adults at Harajuku, so instead she found what she was looking for at the Omotesando Body Shop. Took a train over to Shibuya in the evening for some sinful small bites at Tengu Izakaya. At night, we strolled around Shibuya and back towards Meiji Dori, where many of Tokyo’s home grown boutiques had sprung up. It was nearing closing time, but given the chance, would probably want to visit again some time to check out the fashion here.

Tokyo’s biggest zoo.

Day 20. Ueno, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo Sky Tree

Randy’s last day in Tokyo. We’d meet up with Chisaki again in the morning at Ueno for an early lunch and to visit the zoo there. So far Ueno Zoo seems to be one of the better zoos in Japan with a large variety of animals. The animals were a lot more lively this Autumn than they were during Winter trips. We stopped by the Tokyo Sky Tree in the later afternoon in hopes of traveling up the tower but the queue was far too long, 3 hours long to be precise. Not sure if it was because of the season, or just too soon since the Sky Tree became public, but we’d have to try again some other time.

Beautiful coast.

Day 21. Kamakura Daibutsu, Hasedera, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

Made the poor decision to visit Kamakura today, despite being down with the weather. Spent the most of the afternoon at places of worship, first Kotokuin Temple for the Kamakura Daibutsu then at Hasedera Temple. The temples at Kamakura for the most part, were unimpressive but you can get a nice view of the area from Hasedera Temple. The temples at Kamakura make for a pleasant distraction from Tokyo but if you’ve already seen your fair share of temples around Japan, you can safely give them a pass.

The Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine might be worth a visit on account that such large shrines are a rarity. There’s a particularly beautiful view from the main hall of the shrine approach and Wakamiya Oji street leading up to it. It’s also surrounded by a fairly extensive shopping district. For those with only a day to spend, I’d suggest visiting the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu and shopping areas in the early morning and spend the rest of the afternoon at Enoshima instead.

Round 1 Stadium.

Day 22. Odaiba, Akihabara

Revisited Odaiba in the morning. The island doesn’t really come alive until later than the city, so we ended up reaching too early. Spent half a day at Odaiba, which even then, was barely enough to cover half of the island. Checked out the Round One Stadium at Tokyo DiverCity, for a fixed fee, you can get unlimited usage of all the sports facilities and old amusement machines here. Those visiting Odaiba for the first time, or with any intention of shopping would probably want to allocate at least a full day there. Returned to Akihabara (again) in the evening. This time we were in for Kasai Tomomi’s birthday AKB48 Team A birthday show. Sadly, the members put up a disappointing performance.

Tokyo Dome City illumination.

Day 23. Tokyo Dome City, Akihabara

True enough to weather forecasts, heavy showers would last the entire day, starting in the early morning, which made it difficult to leave the apartment. Decided at the last minute to go for the SUPER☆GiRLS handshake nearby after all and then to Tokyo Dome City for the free Fairies mini-live there. Arriving late and thanks to the poor weather, didn’t manage to get a proper view of the show. The most amusing thing to happen today was a meeting and resultant dinner with two women Fairies wota, who turned out to be cultists.

Fairies mini-live and handshake.

Day 24. Tama Plaza

Wasn’t completely satisfied with yesterday. So after learning that Fairies Kanagawa performance wasn’t that far off, took a train over to Tama Plaza where they would be having their last live event. Managed to get a decent view this time, so despite the weather being really cold, it was an enjoyable experience. Returned to the apartment area in the evening in search of food but found nothing within the neighborhood except for some 24 hour fast food. Made a bad decision to try it out and regretted it almost immediately. Sometimes it’s just better to stick to the convenience store food.

Generous servings.

Day 25. Nakano Broadway, Shinjuku

After a bit of research discovered that there was actually a whole other better neighborhood in the other direction of the apartment that we had missed until now. Considering this, the apartment was actually located in a pretty good spot in Tokyo. Though the actual living conditions still left much to be desired. Had an amazing brunch at a Sushi Zanmai outlet. The servings there were huge and like other chain restaurants, it was competitively priced. Paid Nakano Broadway a quick return visit in the afternoon to pick up some previously missed items before heading over to Shinjuku. Since my appointment ended up running late, spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at bookstores and shopping malls there.

Fishing on the island.

Day 26. Enoshima, Kamakura, Shinjuku

Since we shared a free day, ended up meeting up with Chisaki this morning for a trip over to Enoshima. Being an island, Enoshima has its own unique ambiance and there are just enough sights on the little island for a day trip outside the city. Getting there is also convenient and affordable, since it isn’t too far from Tokyo and doesn’t involve complication transfers or alternative forms of transport. Probably one of the best Tokyo side trips I can recommend. Tried visiting Kamakura for its shops just after sunset but the shops there close early. Instead, we’d return to Shinjuku to pay the Tori no Ichi festival a better visit.

Sky Tree from Asakusa.

Day 27. Asakusa, Harajuku, Shibuya, Haneda Airport

The final day in Japan. But since the flight back was at night, still had the most of the day to look forward to. Would head on down to Asakusa in the morning to absorb some of the last touristy vibes, shopping and some great meals. In the afternoon, it was over to Harajuku to accompany Chisaki for more shopping then to Shibuya for some pre-flight sushi.

Getting back was easy enough logistically. The T-CAT terminal within walking distance of the apartment, operates Airport Limousine buses to Haneda for a decent price (but not so for Narita). Arrived at the airport well in advance of the flight this time, though the large amount of baggage on hand limited my mobility over there. Instead caught up on news thanks to the free power and internet points there. The last I checked, you had to pay to use the internet at Narita.

Wrapping up.

Afterword

Regardless of how long you plan to take a trip, while a good amount of flexibility is required, I cannot stress enough the importance of having travel plans ahead of time. Having an idea of what to do helps keep your days motivated. It’s hard when catering plans to multiple people. The good solution is to actually have everyone contribute toward the planning, though this isn’t always possible in practice.

The best solution is of course to have each person have their own individual things to do over there, but this only applies if you’re being accompanied by more experienced travelers. You don’t want to work yourself into a situation where everyone is depending on you to provide the itinerary for the day. There’s also bound to be things that not everyone is to keen on, it’s more efficient to tackle these separately and an overdependence makes it very difficult for the odd one out. It’s much easier to break off and do separate things if everyone does their due diligence. When that isn’t possible, at least plan one thing that everyone would enjoy (including yourself!) each day.

Ultimately however the most important thing to consider when traveling overseas is who you’ll be going with. The tendency is to go with friends that you know well or for long enough, but that doesn’t necessary translate into a good travel companion. In fact, oddly enough, some of the best travel accomplices are those that you do not know too well, since they’d be much more conscious about their behavior.

This matters, since while you’d typically see your friends every once so often, traveling together involves seeing (or even living together with) them continuously for a matter of days or weeks. Personally, the best travel companions for me tend to be collaborative, voicing their opinions on matters clearly while still being sensible enough to strike a fair balance. Avoid those who go for “anything” and those who push aggressively for their way or are poor at striking a compromise.

Fine weather today, which was great since it’d be my last day in Japan after nearly a month. The reality of things had already started to settle in last night while I was packing my luggage but still urged myself to make the best of the last day here.

Checked out of my room in the morning and proceeded to make my way downstairs to ask the building manager if I could leave my luggage in his custody. The flight back wasn’t until nearly midnight so I still had a full day ahead. Even just carrying the luggage downstairs, I could see how they’d be quite the problem. The two luggage bags were completely filled and then there was still a duffel bag and posters on hand.

Since I didn’t expect to return back till late in the evening and the building’s offices closed early, the elderly manager was really nice in offering to let me use the room for today at no extra charge so that I could store my things safely. Instead, I would help assist him in some manual labour, replacing one of the faulty wall mounted laundry dryers, which I gladly did. After that slight bit of delay and bringing my luggage back upstairs, I headed to the nearby Asakusa Station where I would meet up with Chisaki again this morning.

Asakusa side streets.

The itinerary this morning was to get our fill of whatever Japanesey food and snacks, and what better place to do that than Asakusa. We arrived at Asakusa in the morning, when it’s at its busiest, taking the side streets toward the far end. Chisaki wanted to introduce one of the snack shops she knew here which sold some giant melon-pan that she was raving about. We found it at the end of the lane, just to the right of Sensoji.

Hybrid cafe-restaurant.

The shop was a quaint one. A traditional soba shop, though it seems to have found greater success with its melon buns. According to her, if we had arrived any later they might had been sold out. We ordered one giant melon-pan each and proceeded to sit inside the shop. The furniture was really tiny inside, as if made for hobbits. The melon-pan turned out to be nice. It was really airy, so wasn’t too satiating despite its size.

Melon pan.

We spent some time after breakfast looking around the other snack shops around Asakusa but for the most part didn’t get much else to eat, since the melon-pan itself was quite enough.

Sensoji temple.

Sky Tree.

Chisaki wanted to get some senbei crackers though. Amusingly she visited this shop thinking that it sold some, but came back with ningyo-yaki instead. We did find some interestingly flavored senbei at another shop though and she ended up purchasing quite a bit from there.

Snack shops in Asakusa.

Ningyo-yaki.

The company was keen on trying some of the fantastic omurice that I recounted at Asakusa, so we planned on getting some later. It was still too early for lunch though so we spent the next hour or so walking around the extended area. While doing so, we coincidentally came across the grand opening for the Asakusa EKIMISE department store. Despite being its first day, it wasn’t too crowded, so we decided to take a look inside.

The Asakusa EKIMISE was sort of a rebranding of the Asakusa Matsuya that sits on top of the Tobu Asakusa station. While still primarily targeted towards housewives and older shoppers (there’s a giant crafts section and an entire floor dedicated to household appliances), the department store has incorporated a number of cheaper labels that ought to be popular with tourists. We found an ABC Mart inside as well as a clothing store selling gaudy Sukajan and dragon prints. Hardly your typical Japanese department store.

After a bit of window shopping, Chisaki ended up picking up a couple of bags one of which from a pretty nice outdoor style local label. They had some nice stuff there but didn’t pick up anything myself, even though it was really affordable. While she had only just begun her shopping, I had already spent way too much by now.

Main shopping street.

Eventually, we headed back to the Nakamise shopping street to get a still early lunch. The omurice at Asakusa Nobu is good enough to eat everyday.

Omurice.

Our next stop was to head over to Harajuku where Chisaki could do some clothing shopping, so we grabbed the metro over to Omotesando which was just a short distance away. There we passed by some fangirls going crazy over a boy band billboard, which was so popular there was a queue up to take a photo of it.

Omotesando.

It was real peaceful walking around Harajuku on a weekday afternoon, while most of their customers were still in school. Leisurely walked around Harajuku Street and Takeshita Dori, where we did quite a bit of window shopping, and some actual shopping in the case of my company.

The architecture there gets quite interesting when you get to Harajuku Street proper, where all the unique local labels are kept. Perhaps it was the lack of space (the area is shared with many residences), or just the usual Japanese shenanigans, but there were buildings built on buildings even. While not much of a fan of Harajuku fashion, it makes for an interesting place to live at.

Sticker shop.

Was pulled along to the official Johnny’s Entertainment shop here which our companion insisted was interesting. I guess it kind of was. It was a fairly large store, bigger than AKB48′s in fact. But sales of the goods here follow a more similar format to Hello! Project stores, you have to jot down the number for products you wish to buy and take it to the counter.

There wasn’t much for sale though, mostly just photo prints. Found lots of lone women inside browsing through the different sample photos of their products for sale. Unlike the AKB48 shop, which sees both male and female customers, one would definitely feel quite out of place here without female company or distinctly a tourist.

Interesting architecture.

Didn’t grab any crepes as originally planned since we were still quite full from lunch, but did eventually settle down for a break at the Choco Cro cafe. Throughout, we had a grade school girl beside us who was busy unboxing her loot from the nearby AKB48 shop. She first opened her packs of trading card game cards, then brought out her collection of photographs, while casually discussing AKB48 matters with her mother.

Choco Cro.

There was still a few hours left, so decided to head over to Shibuya, where we had better chances of getting something to eat later. Along the way we noticed that quite a number of people had gathered at Yoyogi Stadium for some sort of event. On closer look we would learn that Korean band Infinite was holding a concert here. Even though there were many stalls selling the same goods there were some pretty insane queues for merchandise.

Outside Yoyogi Stadium.

Not far off at the Marui shopping mall, we came across yet another event. It was mini-live to promote the second single release of the band Shikuramen.

Some sort of live.

We’d visit Midori Sushi one last time, coincidentally Chisaki had yet to have any sushi yet and the queue there this afternoon was negligible. Owing to the many meals we already had today though, didn’t eat too much. Midori is known for having rather large servings. Instead just split a set and a few pieces.

Midori Sushi.

Even though there was still quite a bit of time before the flight, decided to play it safe and leave early. So I bid farewell to today’s company and caught a train back to Suitengumae. Since I still had access to the apartment room, could stop to catch my breath before setting off.

The T-CAT terminal where I would catch a coach to Haneda Airport was really just a few blocks away. The difficult portion was in getting my luggage across the bridge. Thankfully it had wheelchair/bicycle friendly ramps. It was kind of steep and not particularly easy, but managed to get my luggage across.

There it was just a matter of purchasing a ticket for the next bus from a machine (800 yen) and then waiting it out. When the bus did finally arrive, there weren’t too many other passengers this weekday evening, just a couple of businessmen and one family. The trip there was smooth and took less than half an hour. Traveling by Haneda is indeed a lot more convenient than Narita.

Departure Lounge.

Learned the hard way last trip to get to the airport early. This time, I was a little too early, with a couple of hours to kill even after completing all the procedures. Thankfully there were desks and power outlets provided at the departure lounge so one could catch up on some internet use before the scheduled flight back.

The flight back was for the most part, uneventful. Though I did get a message on my screen at the start of the flight saying that I had won something. It turned out to be just a deck of playing cards. Annoyingly, while I had expected the seat beside myself to be empty (since Eri had forfeited her ticket), the airline staff had shifted someone else to her place at the last minute. So much for getting a window view.

Sharing a cramped corner of the plane with a random stranger for hours is hardly enjoyable. I find it difficult to sleep on flights, so tried watching some of the in-flight movies but there wasn’t anything particularly interesting. For all its action and effects, the new version of Total Recall turned out to be a major disappointment, since it ended with the hero actually dooming everyone instead of saving them.

The flight back.

Since it was a midnight flight, I’d only reach Singapore at about 6 AM the next morning. It’s a good thing I had taken the day off to unwind, and catch up on some much needed sleep.

Oddly, I wouldn’t have any trouble re-adapting to the normal everyday life back in Singapore. Perhaps it’d take a while before reality would set in, or more likely I had already been accustomed to the disappointment in returning back. Even at time I writing, there wasn’t any one time since where things would suddenly hit me. Instead the trouble of flying back was  probably the least fun part. Hopefully with a little work, there might come a time where I can visit Japan, without having to experience the pain of a return flight back.

Guess a part of me was glad to return to routine comforts in Singapore, after nearly a month of adventuring. And adventures we did have. The past 27 days have been a mixture of excitement and disappointments, though thankfully there ended up being more of the former. Part of the wonder of a large, culturally rich country like Japan is that regardless of how many times you visit, there’s always new things to discover. We’ve had many new and novel experiences in the past month, without neglecting old faves of course.

Something I realized during this stay in Japan, is that while, I live a pretty simple, content life in Singapore free of wants, I find myself always desiring many things while in Japan. Here, I actively want to visit new places, try out new foods and then there are all manner of interesting things to buy. To be honest, I’m not sure if it’s a good thing.

After yesterday, it was time to get away from things with a trip outside of the city. I was weighing between traveling to Chiba to visit a farm with alpacas or to return to Fujisawa to right the wrongs there. Coincidentally, Chisaki’s plans had fallen through too, so we decided to meet up in the morning for a journey over to the nearer little island of Enoshima.

Finally got my camera to work this morning after leaving the batteries out since yesterday and draining the internal backup battery. Leaving my apartment, I’d bump into a Caucasian tourist on the adjacent Fukagawa bridge, making hand movements he went “Picture! Picture”. Turns out he wanted me to help take a picture of him with the river in the background. After which he went “domo arigatou“.

Met up with Chisaki at the Shinjuku Odakyu Station in the morning to grab our round trip passes. A number of other tourists were headed over to the area today too, including a group of boys from Hong Kong. From there we caught the train to Fujisawa, before switching to the old coastal railway for Enoshima.

Inlet.

There was a causeway connecting the mainland to the island, so the last kilometer had to be covered by foot. Not too many people here since it was a weekday and the rest of the foreigners mostly continued onward towards Kamakura. It was mostly the elderly folks who had the free time to visit on such a day.

Long bridge connecting the mainland to the island.

Along the way, we spotted a familiar white peak in the distance. We were having fine weather and it was clear enough to make out Mount Fuji in the distance.

Mount Fuji in the distance.

We found this strange staue on the bridge. Amusingly, someone had put a pair of Crocs on the statue.

Someone put a pair of crocs on the statue.

After a short walk, we found ourselves at the entrance to Enoshima. The rest of the small island would have to be trekked uphill. There’s only one main path that loops around the entire island so it’s not really possible to get lost. Land-wise, Enoshima is about 1/4 the size of Singapore’s Sentosa and can be easily covered in full in just one day.

Front of Enoshima.

Uphill climb from here.

Just past the entrance, we came across an interesting senbei shop. Even if Chisaki were not a big fan of senbei, these were definitely worth a try. There was a queue for the shop’s tako senbei (octopus rice crackers). Rather than the usual round crackers, the senbei at the shop were made by pressure slabs of octopus in a high pressure iron press cooker. The result of which you can see below.

Senbei shop.

Not the usual kind.

Not far past the shops we came across the main shrine at Enoshima. Enoshima was one of the three islands in Japan where the goddess Benzaiten (Japanese for Saraswati) is said to reside. The shrine here was accordingly dedicated to her. As the goddess of music and arts among other things, her shrine here is apparently especially popular with artists and entertainers.

Enoshima Jinja Shrine.

Got some omikuji here. Chisaki had been running around different shrines and temples picking these up. If anything, I believe in making my own fortune so wasn’t too keen but she ended up paying for two anyways. We both got really good fortunes, so there was no harm in believing in it though. Regarding travels, it said it’d be good, though I ought to take note of fellow travelers. If only it had told me sooner.

Omikuji.

Past another flight of stairs up, we came across more buildings that were collectively part of the shrine. There was a full video crew here filming a local variety show with two unfamiliar faces. For some reason we’d come across people filming everywhere we went.

Tri-force.

Looking at a map of the island, we decided to head toward some caves on the other side of the island first. Here we passed by some cafes and the entrance to Enoshima Tower and the gardens that held it. Made a note to return later for that. There were a couple of really fat cats basking in the sun outside the tower gardens. The first of many that we’d run into today.

Rough map of the island. Not to scale.

Cat.

Another fat cat.

There a good number of shop houses that call Enoshima home. These are a pretty common sight in touristy areas and had come across some similar ones at Miyajma. Many of these have shops running out of the first floors selling souvenirs or refreshments. What makes these shophouses different from other souvenir shops is that they often serve as people’s houses too. If they are no customers, the owners can simply retreat upstairs to the comfort of their home. Would be quite nice to live under such conditions.

Old shophouses.

Enoshima Tower.

Due to how small it is, traveling around Enoshima is quite manageable. But since everything is built around the circumference of the hill, it requires quite a bit of stairs. To accommodate the typically older visitors to such places, sheltered escalators had actually been build beside some of the taller flights of stairs but you need a separate pass to use them. While walking through here we actually came across a mailman going about his deliveries. There was a post office back downhill near the entrance to the island.

Winding path.

Dragon shrine.

Here there was a shrine with a dragon perched on top. Benzaiten seems to have a certain association with dragons in Japan. There was also a forested path that split off from the main road, entered to take a look.

Forested area.

Split off from the main road.

The forested area was a garden of sorts, though it was ill kept during this time of the year. The main attraction here though was the Ryuren no Kane (Dragon Lovers Bell). A lot of locks had been hung on a fence here by couples, just like at Kobe Tower. It’s a popular European practice that had spread to Japan at some point (and hence Taiwan and Korea as well) that’s meant to signify enduring love. You could buy locks from the nearby souvenir shop that we had passed by, though others had brought their own.

I guess Benzaiten’s rocker chick image is ill suited for love, since it is believed that couples who visit Enoshima together would spur the jealously of the goddess and would break up soon after. Still, as with any other island getaway, Enoshima tends to be pretty popular with couples. In this case, the Ryuren no Kane is used to call upon the help of Benzaiten’s husband (who also happens to be a dragon in Japanese folklore) to help pacify Benzaiten.

The weight of this meaning has probably been lost in modern times, but couples still come to ring the lover’s bell together in hopes of a lasting relation.

Locks.

Ryuren no Kane.

The area around the bell also signified the highest point in Enoshima, beyond here it was a steep downhill descend toward where the caves were located. There were some really nice old restaurants and cafes just beside with an amazing view of the ocean, and we decided to return here later for lunch.

Hilltop.

Many locals had come to the southern coast of Enoshima to fish. During the low tide the rocks here are exposed and it is possible to fish from here. Others perched themselves on faraway rocks which had become cut off by the rising tides. I spent about 2 months traveling the entire coastal area of Port Phillip Bay in Australia some years back, and had always wanted to visit rocky coastal shores like this in Japan too so really enjoyed the experience.

Coast.

Chisaki seemed to be quite excited about it too and had come much better prepared for the terrain with her high platform shoes. Since the tide was still quite low, we managed to walk around below to take a look.

A number of the locals used these really long flexible poles that required just a slight flick to cast. Used to fish a lot when I was younger since my dad was a big enthusiast. Haven’t for years though, but it would definitely be an interesting experience. Pretty sure it’d be heaven for my father.

Lots of people fishing.

Some had been isolated by the high tide.

The entrance to the Iwaya Caves were right beside. Entrance is usually slightly pricey at 500 yen, but it’s subsidized (450 yen) if you have the Enoshima-Kamakura Free Pass, and completely free if you purchased the island’s Enopass. Still, it might be worth taking a look inside the tidal caves if you haven’t been to too many.

Iwaya Cave.

This wing was pitch dark.

The Iwaya caves serve as the birthplace for the Benzaiten shrine in Enoshima. People in the past must had drew analogies between caves and wombs, and thus the tendency to enshrine Benzaiten in caves.

Not too many pictures inside since it was really dark. Parts of the cave were dimly lit by modern lighting, but there are others that were almost totally pitch dark. To navigate these parts the staff there provide some candles. There were some rock statues and a tidal pool. Sitting in the pool was a slab with an old tanka poem by Yosano Akiko.

Tanka Poem.

Other parts were better lit.

The caves here are split into two parts, connected by an elevated walkway that had been build into the side of the bluffs. Stopping to take a look on the way back, an old lady would stop us here to ask if we had seen the sea turtle shaped rocks below, another of the island’s accidental attractions. Like at Kamakura, there were various kites/sea hawks circling the island, though they were much closer here than on the mainland.

Connection other side..

Turtle shaped rocks.

Birds of prey circling the island.

Nothing much in the second cave, except a more contemporary looking dragon statue. The second cave is dedicated to the dragon, but since that isn’t literal enough, a dragon statue had been placed here in more recent times. It seems they replace the statue with a new one every few years.

There were some signs warning of cave-ins here, which didn’t look too scary at that point. I would learn at the time of writing though that there had been a bunch of casualties here in the past.

Looks newer.

Returned uphill to one of the cliffside restaurants, opting to have lunch at this spacious open concept one. Most of the restaurants tables were laid out against the windows, allowing for some great views of the surrounding oceanfront.

Really nice restaurant.

Wonderful view.

We both had a serving of Enoshima’s speciality, Nama Shirasu Don (Raw Whitebait Rice). The one from this restaurant was especially attractive and came with a side of lovely crab miso soup. First time trying the dish. It’s definitely an acquired taste. Chisaki quite enjoyed it, while I found the overall fishiness quite overpowering. Each tiny fry has a full fish worth of fishiness concentrated into its tiny body. Thankfully, it’s served with wasabi and ginger to mask the taste.

Nama Shirasu Don.

Looks silly from a different perspective.

There were some interesting fortune dispensing capsule machines on each table at the restaurant. Chisaki took the opportunity to get more omikuji of course. You need to align your biographical data through levers on the mechanism and put in a coin to dispense a minuscule capsule that contained a tiny slip of paper with your fortune written on it.

More cats.

After the late lunch, all that was left was to visit the island’s tower. On the way, passed by even more cats. There are probably more stray cats here on this tiny island than the whole entire Tokyo. Judging from the various breeds, they were hardly native. It turns out that Enoshima is a popular place for people to abandon their cats.

Even more cats.

The Samuel Cocking Garden takes up the central spot in Enoshima, the Enoshima Lighthouse Observation Tower its centerpiece. Entrance to just the garden costs 200 yen, while a combined entrance with the tower costs 500 yen. Once again, entry is free if you get the island Enopass for 1,000 yen.

Tip: I didn’t know at the time since it isn’t publicized to foreigners, but if you’re just headed to Enoshima there’s a new combined Odakyu ticket which includes a round trip from Shinjuku to Enoshima, as well as an Enopass (which covers entry to the Iwaya Caves, Samuel Cocking Garden, Enoshima Tower and unlimited use of the island’s escalators) for just 1,940 yen. If you do not plan to visit Kamakura on the same day (I wouldn’t recommend it), this works out to be a bit of savings since the Kamakura-Enoshima Free Pass costs  1,430 yen alone.

While sizeable, there wasn’t much to see in the garden during this season. Instead we’d head onward to the tower first. At its base, we spotted a souvenir shop and took note to visit later. There were also lots of advertisements for Enoshima Aquarium back on the mainland. I would learn later that it was actually quite a well equipped aquarium but we didn’t have time to visit today. Perhaps another time.

Enoshima Samuel Cocking Garden.

If you’ve been following, then you’d know that I was quite the fan of towers so was quite excited to be here. Enoshima Tower isn’t particularly impressive when it comes to its size, it’s a mere 60 meters tall. But since it’s build at the pinnacle of Enoshima island, is sufficient for a nice view of Kamakura and the surrounding Sagami Bay. It’s also the only way you’re going to get a 360 degree view of the area.

Enoshima Lighthouse Observation Tower’s design is also quite exquisite. As the name suggests, its primary purpose is to serve as a lighthouse for the island. The grid pattern bears a certain resemblance to the similarly purposed Kobe Tower. Thanks to its unique design, the tower is now referred to as the Enoshima Sea Candle.

The causeway here.

Apart from the souvenir shop downstairs, there’s also a cafe on a terrace level of the tower. The first observation floor of the tower had many beautiful paintings of Enoshima on display. The paintings were labelled between 100,000 to 200,000 yen (SGD$1,400-$2,800) a piece. Not sure if these were the actual sale prices, or donation prices for adopting the paintings. If they were the former would had been quite the bargain as far as art pieces are concerned.

There were many amazing ones on display, but especially loved the ones on display by Kita Hideaki. According to a a description here, he was a background artist for various popular anime titles, including Nana and Death Note. There was something about his bold use of colors and perspective that was reminiscent of the Hildebrandt Brothers.

From Nana and Death Note’s background artist.

Atmospheric.

After spending some time on this floor, we realized that there was a staircase leadings upstairs for an open air observation area. Unhindered by windows, you can get a much better better view here.

Upstairs.

The sun was just starting to set at this time, though we didn’t stick around long enough to see it actually descend. We could get a clear view of the rest of island from here. Below, the tide had risen a bit more, with only a few left fishing on now isolated rocks.

Tide had risen further.

Some of the traditional shops below.

A while later, we returned back down. Distracted by a cat here, we forgot to check out the tourist shop however and had missed out on getting some souvenir medallions that we had spotted earlier. Would also learn much later that they had postcards featuring Kita’s artwork for sale too. He had a whole series featuring various views and locations of Enoshima. Would probably had grabbed a whole bunch.

Not sure if it should be drinking that.

Enoshima Lighthouse Observation Tower.

Spent a bit of time walking around the garden or what was left of it this Autumn. It was mostly bare, though they had crates of sprouts lined up ready for the next season.

We found a nice cafe at the edge of the garden with an overlooking view of the bay. It served some seriously tempting gourmet pancake waffles and seemed especially popular since it was packed with a ton of adult women. Chisaki and I wanted to give it a try too, but unfortunately they didn’t accept cards and both of us were out of cash, having forgotten to draw some before coming.

A lesson learned and tip when traveling to out of the way places like this is always to have physical cash on hand, since you can’t really expect them to accept credit cards, even if it’s a popular destination.

Preparing for the next season.

Leaving.

So while it was still too early to head back, we couldn’t get anything else to eat on the island without any cash. Instead, decided to make use of our free passes to take a train down to the Kamakura shopping district to see what we could do there.

The classic looking Enoshima Electric Railway.

Sunset.

While more shops were open today, even at this time many had already closed (or perhaps had never bothered to open on a weekday at all). While looking around, we bump into yet another film crew. I guess this is what it means to have so many different variety programs in Japan.

Itching for a snack, we stopped by a crepes cafe for a break.

Kamakura shopping streets.

Chisaki went with a chocolate crepe, while I got a choco-cinnamon one. Quite like cinnamon flavored stuff, though they’re rare to come by in Singapore. The crepes here were quite nice. Chisaki pointed out that the ones at Harajuku were better though, she still had some shopping to do there, so perhaps will try some tomorrow. The biggest draw to the crepes here was probably the fact that they actually had a sit in area to take shelter from the cold. While there were a number of restaurants lined up along the side alleys here, we were still quite full from the late lunch and recent snack to take dinner yet.

Crepes.

Just nice.

Instead, took the long journey back to Shinjuku, dozing off again thanks to the comfortable heated seats. Brought up yesterday’s festival and since it was on the way and Chisaki had yet to experience that, we’d pay a visit there again today.

Along the way, we’d pass by some of the first Christmas lighting to be set up in Tokyo. She was quite happy to take some pictures here since she would realize that this was where some band members had tweeted or blogged some photos not too long ago.

Giant One Piece Luffy on the Shinjuku Takashimaya Times Square building

Christmas illumination.

It was especially crowded today at the festival, more so than even yesterday such that we really had to squeeze through the crowds to get anywhere. Picked up some other food today and learned that the festival food actually wasn’t half bad, you just need to pick out the right stuff.

Back here.

The tried and true stuff are your safest bets. Take these giant takoyaki balls for example, which while hardly bite sized, were great. Each steaming hot piece of takoyaki came with a giant slab of octopus inside.

Takoyaki.

Huge.

Fighting our way through, would notice a few other shops that hadn’t seen yesterday. The grilled fish on a stick looked quite appetizing, a pity didn’t room for more.

Squeezing through.

Tempting.

Colorful.

Gave one of the dorayaki stands a go, though this turned out to be the one failed try today. The pancakes had probably been left on the grill for too long.

Cheese Dorayaki.

Came across this interesting okonomiyaki shop along the main road which looked exceptional. The servings were huge and the okonomiyaki was sinfully topped with bacon and eggs. It was also noticeable since the cook looked to be quite the diva.

He had a pretty intense aura and put a great deal of care to making the okonomiyaki at his own pace. Amusingly, a gyaru came along and tried to plead for one but he nonchalantly sent her to the back of the queue. You can see him in action below.

While serving putting the finishing touch of a strip of bacon on our okonomiyaki, the cook accidentally dropped the bacon back onto the grill. He cooly topped ours off with an extra piece of bacon. Lucky!

Needless to say, the okonomiyaki was about as awesome as you can imagine.

Okonomiyaki.

Didn’t stay out till too late since I still had to return back to the apartment to pack. This would be my last night in Japan, since will be flying back tomorrow.

Funny how before you know it, time really flies by. Will make full use of the remaining day left though. For starters, had made plans to meet up with Chisaki again to re-visit Asakusa and Harajuku again tomorrow morning.

For those wondering, today’s subtitle is just a nod to a classic by Seiko.

This afternoon, finally found time and suitable conditions to do some shopping. After discovering a whole new face to the neighborhood and a fulfilling lunch there, I’d head over to geek haven Nakano Broadway to pick up some previous missed items for Randy and myself, before spending the rest of the afternoon shopping in Shinjuku.

After last night’s disappointing dinner, I had took some time to search online for better dinning options nearby. Was craving for some fish, since had yet to have any since the first in Tokyo. After a bit of checking, discovered that there was a Sushizanmai within walking distance from the apartment, in the opposite direction of where I had gone yesterday. Waking up in the late morning, I thought I’d go catch a quick brunch before the shopping.

Silent Hill-esque.

This would be the first time walking toward this side of the neighborhood. Monzennakacho Station was the furthest subway station from our apartment so we had opted not to use it before. Turning around the corner from the apartment, I would discover an entire main road that while quite run down, was lined with a good number of market stalls and dining options. It looked much like a more humble, dilapidated Asakusa. Had we known about it earlier, our stay in Tokyo would had been made a lot more convenient.

Sushizanmai.

The Sushizanmai here was a small chain restaurant type establishment with mostly counter seats and just a couple of tables. It was run by a couple of chefs and a middle aged lady who handled the register and serving. According to one of the many food blogs Yan frequents, it was apparently one of the better chain restaurants in Japan as far as sushi goes. Sushizanmai’s original store calls the universally known Tsukiji Fish Market home.

Complementary salad appetizer.

A feast of different tuna cuts.

Decided to go with the rice bowl below which was being advertised outside the store. For just 1,000 yen (SGD$14) you get a generous mixture of different tuna cuts and rice. While the image below does not show so, they were the thickest pieces I’ve ever had. Needless to say, was satisfied. Will definitely give their other outlets a visit in the future.

@xdreamscape The chunks of tuna so thick I feel bad for the fish. — Supermerlion (@supermerlion) November 19, 2012

After, caught a train over to Nakano Broadway. Randy had finally decided that he wanted the set of Kamen Rider toys that he saw days ago here, so helped him picked them up. A set of 8 set him back about SGD$160. Still with fond memories of the past two days’ mini-lives, I picked up shop posters for HERO / Sweet Jewel and Beat Generation / No More Distance. The TRIO at Nakano Broadway stocks up on promo posters, the kind usually displayed whenever there are new music, movie, drama and or even product releases. The Fairies posters cost 1,500 yen each. Spotted a Sea A poster for 800 yen, which was surprising. Offered to purchase it for Randy, he declined.

800 yen at TRIO. twitpic.com/c5iao6

— Supermerlion (@supermerlion) February 21, 2013

Got a message from Yan in the late afternoon urging for company to visit Tengu Izakaya. Had already been there once this trip so wasn’t that keen, but complied thinking that it’d be no harm and he’d promise to make it at my convenience anyways. Headed on down to Shinjuku to meet him for an early dinner since I ought to head back early to start packing for the return trip, and to see how much luggage space I had left, or was lacking.

Unexpectedly it’d be quite a few hours before he’d turn up, since it turned out that he was shopping elsewhere and was preoccupied with getting a pair of pants tailored. Spent some time looking around Takashimaya Times Square and then more than an hour at a nearby bookshop. Was tempted to buy quite a few of them, including a Kyary Pamyu Pamyu guide on hipster Tokyo, but managed to resist the urge. On hindsight, probably should had, since the pressure to purchase something eventually led to far worse decisions.

The additional time left to kill led to me to spend the next hour or two returning to Takashimya Times Square and Marui Mens. Failing to find the TK bag that I was looking for or a suitable wallet, ended up caving in and getting a random wallet and bag. Regretted the decisions almost immediately after.

Festival.

To prevent any more spending, decided to slowly make my way over to Tengu first. The entire street of Shinjuku Sanchome had been lined up with interesting festival stalls. The streets were packed with people coming in either direction to see the festivities and more huddled up outside the shops eating the foods that they had purchased there, was quite keen on getting some festival food myself since many seemed quite appetizing.

Would end up having to wait at Tengu for another one and a half hours after Yan’s stipulated arrival timing. To makes things worse he had gotten lost in Shinjuku. Eventually managed to find him. The Tengu that we was one of their washoku branches, so we had to search for a different branch, one that served the Western dishes he was craving. Found another outlet a few blocks away near the Seibu Station.

Tengu’s parma ham pizza.

Probably wasn’t in the best of moods by this point. Ordered just the usual raw ham pizza and diced steak, as well as a side of salad, since wanted to save up the space (and yen) to try out the festival food instead.

Diced steak.

After a quick and somewhat awkward dinner, we headed back toward the direction of the festival, squeezing our way through the tight crowds. Since it was just a narrow pedestrian pavement, the crowds put even weekend Harajuku to shame.

Catching goldfish.

There were a great number of food stands and a wide variety of street food and snacks available there. Many sold the usual festival food like yakisoba and okonomiyaki, while some more unique stands sold stuff like grilled “horumon” or intestines. Yan ended up getting a serving to try. It was tough and difficult to chew but would had been fine had it been warm, but was cold by the time he ate it. He also ended up getting a candy apple from one of the many shops that were selling them. Apart from the usual candied apples, they also sold mini ones and candied strawberries. We grabbed a pack of yakisoba to share, which was probably one of the better buys at the fair this evening.

Grilled intestines.

Candied apples.

Festival food.

After getting our snacks, we decided to squeeze in toward the main shrine, which was the cause of the festivities. The inner area was especially packed since seats had been set up inside some of the tents to serve barbecued seafood and oden. Looked good but was quite pricey so gave it a miss. Yan was still in budget savings mode, and I was feeling the pinch too after having spent about $400 earlier on the two accessories. Under different conditions or company would have loved to give the experience a try.

Squeezing through.

It seems the festivities were set up to celebrate two concurrent events in Japan, Shichi Go San and the Tori no Ichi festival. This was probably just one of the many shrines that had celebrations, but being located in central Shinjuku definitely drew in the crowds. Apart from the main entrance which we came from, festival tents had been lined up in the courtyard and along the other exits of Hanazono shrine.

Festival lighting.

People.

Stayed around for a while to observe the people while Yan went off to get more goshuin from this shrine. To celebrate Tori no Ichi, many visitors purchased these elaborately decorated bamboo rakes for good luck. They were sold by various flower companies, who had set up stands within the courtyard. Interestingly, the shop keepers would break out into musical number that involved chanting and slapping bamboo sticks together whenever someone purchased one of the rakes, to wish them good luck.

Bamboo rakes.

Amezaiku making.

When he was done, it was time to make out way out back to the main road to get more snacks. Passed by one elderly man making the amezaiku (the candied animals that we had previously seen in Odaiba) on the spot.

Really like squid, so was tempted by the numerous stalls selling grilled squid, though they were quite pricey at 300-500 yen a pop. Got one from one of the more popular stalls. Disappointingly, it didn’t taste much more than burnt even with the thick sauce. Might fare better earlier in the day when the grill is still clean.

Grilled squid.

Quite tasteless.

For dessert, thought that I’d get one of the chocolate coated bananas. Again, there were many stalls each with their own draw points. One of the stalls used hundreds and thousands for example, which were more favorable than conventional sprinkles. This old lady didn’t get too much business since he choco-bananas looked the plainest out of all. To make up for this, they were cheaper and she offered customers a second one free, if they could win her in a game of janken. After observing her patterns for a while, was pretty sure could take her on. Sure enough, got an additional one free which I passed to Yan.

Choco Banana.

You get an additional one if you won this seller in janken.

Before leaving, Yan grabbed a pack of Okonomiyaki to bring back to his hostel. The ones served here looked really good and were affordable to boot. It’s a pity that Singaporeans aren’t too fond of the dish and all the nice okonomiyaki stalls in Singapore have since closed down.

Okonomiyaki.

We parted ways here since I could catch the much nearer subway back to our apartment. The highlight for today was definitely lunch that and probably browsing at the bookstore. The sheer amount of magazines and mooks in Japanese bookstores are nothing short of impressive. And one can easily get lost in these multi-storey complexes for hours. I can foresee myself spending spending quite a bit of time at bookstores if I were to live here permanently. Being a book otaku ain’t that bad a thing right? I’m sure many Asian parents would be proud.

Today, Yan and I lucked into some tickets for an AKB48 theater show in the evening. I’d have the rest of the day free though. So in the meantime had made plans to meet up with Chisaki to head over once again to that wonderful man made island of Odaiba.

Catching the light rail over to Odaiba.

We were to meet up at Shimbashi Station first to catch the light rail over to Odaiba. She’d have some trouble with the morning rush hour crowd, so I’d have some time to take a look around the area first.

There was a flea market of sorts being held just beside the station where all the stands exclusively sold old books but beyond that Shimbashi was mostly just a terminal to Shiodome and the high rise office buildings that call it home.

Some sort of flea market.

She popped up soon enough and we’d make our way over. It’d be her first time visiting Odaiba. Apart from us, there were a few families and a good number of other tourists taking the Yurikamome over to Odaiba this morning.

I had decided to forgo taking out the camera again today since it’d be too much of a hassle, especially in the evening. Though it would seem that some of the most enjoyable days of the trip also tend to be the ones which were devoid of any bulky photographic equipment. Starting to believe that the best camera you can bring along would be a compact.

Kid sized.

Walking over to Venus Fort, it would be apparent that even now, we had arrived far too early as the malls on the island had yet to open. So we caught some breakfast at the only place that was open at this time, McDonalds.

Our decision to try out the other seasonal special, the Teriyaki McBurger turned out to be a bad one as it was quite unappetizing. Don’t do it.

Interestingly, the prices shown in Japanese McDonalds are for the default “M size” sets, you can actually opt to downsize your set (as we did in this case) to a happy meal-ish “S size” to save some yen, or if you’re not feeling too hungry.

Teriyaki McBurger.

After the shops opened, we spent some time looking around at Venus Fort before heading over to Diver City. While walking around the new mall, we came across a Round 1 Stadium complex occupying the top two floors of the building. Round 1 is a sports and entertainment center originating from Osaka. Some would have seen advertisements for it featuring the city’s poster girls NMB48.

The one here today was split into 4 parts, a gaming arcade, bowling center, karaoke lounge and “Spo-cha”, which combined popular indoor sports facilities together with some amusement center machines.

Round 1 Stadium.

Much like Sega Joypolis, you could pay a fixed fee at Round 1 Spo-Cha, for unlimited access of its facilities. 1,480 yen for 90 min, 1,880 yen for 180 min or just 2,180 yen for an entire day. At the recommendation of a friend, visiting this was one of the things on Chisaki’s to do list. We didn’t have that much time this afternoon but went with the 90 minute option. The staff at the entrance passed us some timed bracelets upon entry and informed us that payment would be settled later.

Spo-cho’s facilities turned out to be pretty robust. The front of the hall holds some older arcade machines, at least by Japanese standards. We spent perhaps a bit too much time messing around one of the machines there called Let’s Go Jungle!, before continuing to check out the sports areas.

There were billiard and ping pong tables, squash rooms and even a skating rink, while nearby some youths were playing at the indoor basketball and street soccer courts. Made a beeline for the batting center which Chisaki was most interested in, the amusing outcome of which can be seen below. Later, we also failed miserably at the indoor golf range and chipping area.

There was just a bit more time left and Chisaki was keen on having a go at the skating rink. There wasn’t too many people around Round 1 this weekday afternoon, so no one was using it.

Which was great, since unfortunately for her and embarrassing to say, I had never skated before in my life. Still I was urged to give it a go, and despite her best attempts to teach me the rudiments of skating, spent most of the time fumbling about. Eventually we were asked to leave, since some sort of children’s cycling contest had been scheduled on the rink. Felt a little bad after that she couldn’t get the free rein of the place.

Hadn’t been paying attention to the time so we ended up leaving about 15 minutes later than the allocated time and were charged a couple hundred yen extra. Given the opportunity, it would be best to go for the day pass at Round 1. Just a couple of hours at any single sporting or games facility in Singapore would cost pretty much the same price. The Japanese kids really have it good.

While leaving the place we were actually given some coupons to be redeemed at the amusement center part of Round 1 downstairs. The one free go at a catcher machine and 10 medal game token coupons took the form of larger than usual plastic boards so we guessed that they were meant to be redeemed immediately.

Coupons for downstairs.

Taking them downstairs, we each received a plastic cup containing a measly 10 medals. For the catcher machine we had to flag down a staff member after choosing a machine that we wanted. Spent both tries on a machine with Arpakasso but the claws were rigged to have no grabbing strength at all.

For the medals, it seemed that we could only use them at the coin pushers or slot machines in the arcade. To use them for the slot machines, you’d first need to pay the usual price for a game and the medals served as additional ammo, whereas there was no fee involved in the pushers so we went with that.

Japanese medal games or coin pushers definitely blow traditional impressions out of the water, especially when the only common comparison outside of the country these days are the rudimentary simulators inspired by it on smart phones. A spectacular example would had been the giant Monster Hunter themed medal game we saw here this afternoon which consisted of 6 large medal machines interconnected to form a giant medal complex full.

A 32 inch TV at each segment replaced mechanical slots as a bonus mechanism for the machine and displayed a 3D visuals of the player’s battle with the game’s creatures. Should one hit the jackpot, the entire pusher platform would tilt over, relinquishing all medals in the machine to the player.

Where all the slot and coin machines were.

Though I’ve been into gaming parlors before and a division of my company actually develops pachinko games, this was the first time trying out such medal machines in Japan. It was actually quite fun and could definitely feel the addictivity involved. While we did win a few medals here and there, ended up spending our medals pretty quickly at a Super Mario Brothers themed coin pusher game which was the easiest to comprehend.

Amusingly, while finishing up our coins at the pusher, a Japanese couple came along and offered us their medals as they were about to leave. They passed us an entire bucket full of coins. They must had gotten lucky earlier. While the house rate is something like 100 yen for 5 medals, in actual practice they are worth far less (if not nearly nothing), as medals cannot be converted back to cash (legally at least). Even among the slot machines, we had seen medals being left in the payout tray unclaimed.

With a whole bucket full of coins and not much time, we ended up being pretty imprudent with the medals. Japanese gaming machines tend to payout really often (though in negligible amounts) so losing all the medals would not be as simple a task as one would think. Still, somehow we managed to finish up all of the coins that were given to us within about half an hour.

Personally felt a little bad for losing the couple’s coins so easily but we had fun. Chisaki especially, who excitedly started tossing in multiple coins at a time. I guess one could draw parallels to this with how good someone actually is with money. But her strategy seemed to work out pretty well. As fast as she worked through the coins, she also ended up winning them at a better rate.

Back here again.

Passed by the life sized Gundam statue outside Diver City on the way out. Chisaki needed to get some Gundam themed goods for someone back in Singapore, but had already picked them up at Akihabara beforehand so there wasn’t much to do here other than take some touristy shots before heading back to mainland Tokyo.

There were search around Shiodome in hopes of finding somewhere we could get a quick dinner but didn’t find anything we could possible go for given the limited time left, so opted to skip dinner instead. We saw a couple of local snapping photos of the courtyard here, at first wondering why, though we eventually remembered it as the ground level of the NTV headquarters. It should be familiar to those who’ve seen older episodes of a certain AKB48 variety show.

Below NTV’s headquarters.

I’d be heading over to Akihabara next to meet up with Yan. Similarly my company for the afternoon had a band concert to attend to in the evening. But first she’d actually be heading over to Haneda Airport to pick up a friend who was flying in and the two would then rush over to the live house.

There would still be time before Yan would arrive at Akihabara, so I spent the time getting a snack over at the Mister Donut overlooking the main street there. Tried some of their special Christmas edition pon de ring, while ironically observing the crowds in Akihabara from the cafe’s second floor. It was really just a regular chocolate frosted pon de ring with a platic star stuck in.

Light snack.

Met up with Yan who had been shopping before heading over to the Don Quijote building to get our tickets. The AKB48 staff there were quite unfriendly, especially when considering the standards that we had become accustomed to these past weeks.

We would be attending a Team A “waiting stage” performance, which was simply a mix of old AKB48 songs. It would look like producer Akimoto Yasushi had been far too busy counting his money to write any new theater songs for the past couple of years. Today’s show also happened to be the birthday celebration for member Kasai Tomomi.

Over in Japan, it has become traditional at AKB48 shows that the most hardcore of fans form an alliance (or birthday committee as they like to call it)  to purchase flowers and glow sticks in celebration of their favorite member’s birthday show. Taking a look around the theater level, Yan spotted the flower stand promptly rushed forward to take some photographs.

Flower stand.

This wouldn’t had be an issue, were the birthday committee members not in the midst of already taking photographs with the flowers at the same time themselves. Everyone gave him and sadly through association, myself shocked, perhaps even disgusted stares as he suddenly squeezed between the posing committee members and the flower stand.

Somehow Yan had managed to anger the entire committee even before the show had started. One of them, a fierce looking young woman in a tokko fuku (biker gang outfit) who looked like Shinahama Saemi. Guess we were not getting any free glow sticks.

Kebab shop.

There was still time before the show started to get some dinner. Yan wanted to try out a kebab restaurant that he had taken note of so we went in search of that. We found the small run down shop not too far away. Apart from serving kebabs off the stand, they also sold kebab dishes, such as rice bowls. Decided to try that. The meats turned out to be tasteless, trumping even Rakeru at being the worst dining experience this trip.

Terrible.

Probably our worst meal.

After dinner, we looked around a few adjacent anime themed shops to see if we could get glow sticks cheaper than at Donki, but when that wasn’t possible, picked up one light stick each below the theater. It turns out that the Japanese people weren’t that petty and we ended up receiving additional glow sticks from the birthday committee after all, along with instructions as to which songs to use them for. Making our purchase obsolete. We were to break the pink one for “Junai no Crescendo” and the white one during “Sakura no Hanabiratachi”.

We were holding enpou tickets so were given seats at the last sitting row in the theater. Being second to enter though I managed to get the seat aligned directly center to the stage, which turned out to be a really good seat. Since I would learn later that the performers (particularly those in the center) would basically look at me as a marker of sorts. The only downside to this was that we had a particularly large wota behind us, who seemed to emit heat and odor like a radiator.

Today’s theater performance was lackluster at best. All of the popular Team A members were absent from today’s performance but even then, I wondered if the show would had been saved. Despite featuring many familiar, popular songs old songs, nearly all of the members performing today looked as if they had better things to do elsewhere. Many were simply going through the motions. Some even looked downright miserable.

The only exceptions to this were the research student Oshima Ryoka and NMB48′s Kotani Riho who was here as a transfer member.  The two danced energetically and engaged the audience whenever possible, even going so far as to lead the MCs. Unsurprisingly, they got the loudest cheers out of the crowd, even more so than the birthday girl herself.

Kasai Tomomi’s birthday stage.

At the end of the show, the girls popped up with a birthday cake, Kasai acted surprised and everyone started crying, you know, the typical AKB48 birthday celebration. What did come as a surprise though was the sudden appearance of Miyazawa Sae with a birthday message for Tomomi. Seems she was in town for a television show later at night and spared some time between her busy schedule to appear for this. This was probably the most genuine gesture this evening.

As customary of AKB48 shows, there was a quick high touch session after show theater performance. As expected, we were pushed through pretty quickly but didn’t expect to say anything more than greetings or thank you to the members. It turned out to be a far more disappointing experience though since at least half of the members weren’t even bothered with this part either. They’d simply stick out their hands, while continuing to chat among themselves.

Needless to say, today was kind of the last straw for me as far as AKB48 was concerned. After a year of unimaginative releases, distasteful publicity stunts and even less pleasant scandals, I was hoping to revitalize a little bit of interest through the live. Sadly, the members had already reached a level of disillusion or contentment that they no longer found motivation to perform the basics of their job.

Sure, theaters might not be as glamorous as performing at arenas, or nearly as profitable as the hundreds of advertisements you’ll see AKB48 in these days but still it showed a serve lack of professionalism, even, or particularly among the group’s older members.

Overall, today still ended up being quite an enjoyable day though, if only because of the first half. Spending nearly 2 hours at an amusement center might not be atypical of your usual holiday, but it was still a novel experience. Definitely envy Japanese kids in having all these entertainment options at their disposal.

That evening.

After coming across last week’s episode of Shibuya Deep A while channel surfing (in part due to Yamada Nana being on the show) had taken note to catch this week’s which featured Okunaka Makoto. This also turned out to be the show which Miyazawa Sae was appearing in.

Shibuya Deep A is a late night quiz variety show where subjective questions are posed to viewers and you could provide live feedback using your television remote. The hosts and celebrities appearing in the show competed to guess what the majority would answer. Played along, it was really quite entertaining. Today’s topic was on relationships.

The later segments of the show even allowed viewers to log into their website online to suggest questions. The guests picked out questions from those suggested in real time to answer. This sort of interactivity isn’t exactly new to television, but the show has certainly made good use of newer technology to make it a lot more accessible.

Without any concrete plans, this Thursday was effectively a free day. Which was great since I was coming down with a fever since last night. After 3 weeks of uninterrupted excursions and very little rest, I was approaching a limit. Being the only one willing to check up on logistics in advance of setting out each day meant an overall less time for sleep.

Unfortunately, Yan had insisted that we visit Kamakura today, and despite objections, I eventually complied. Perhaps the sickness had affected my ability to make rational decisions.

Shinjuku Odakyu Station.

Met up with Yan over at Shinjuku, where we purchased the Odakyu Enoshima Kamakura Free Pass. Just like the Hakone counterpart, it provides a round trip to the Kamakura area and covers all transport within the area. You end up saving quite a bit.

Breakfast from Kimuraya.

There wasn’t enough time to catch a proper breakfast so I picked up some bread from a Kimuraya outlet in the basement of the department store below. Like their buns we tried at Ginza, it turned out to be lackluster.

Kamakura coast.

The train dropped us off at Fujisawa and from there we’d make a decision on where in Kamakura to head next. The rest of the area would have to be covered by a smaller rail that ran parallel to the coast. It provided some scenic views of the famous Kamakura beaches and coast.

Unfortunately, when it came to where to go next, both of us had conflicting opinions. I wanted to visit Enoshima, while Yan wanted to hit up all the Buddhist temples around the area. Was in no condition to argue, so went along with that.

Trolley car.

Did manage to convince him to at least hit up the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, the main shrine in Kamakura, otherwise it’d be like going to Kyoto and not visiting Kiyomizudera. Yan decided that we visit the Buddhist temples first, then visit the shrine last, should we had the time. The day was indeed starting to mirror the bad tasting experience in Kyoto last year.

今日ロリコンの友達といっしょうに鎌倉行きます twitter.com/supermerlion/s…

— Supermerlion (@supermerlion) November 15, 2012

Yan offered to handle my camera this afternoon, so most of today’s photos would come from him instead. On one hand it takes a lot longer to process the images, thus explaining why this post has taken nearly as long to finish. On the other, you get lots of “loli” photos for the rest of the day courtesy of him. It looked like all the classes from one big grade school were all having a field trip around Kamakura this same day.

Lots of kids.

One big school perhaps.

最初は大仏 twitter.com/supermerlion/s…

— Supermerlion (@supermerlion) November 15, 2012

The first temple we’d visit would be Kotokuin, which was famous for the Kamakura Daibutsu, or Great Buddha of Kamakura. The Kamakura Buddha is the second largest bronze Buddha statue in Japan after Todaiji’s. It’s probably the more popular and well known of the two statues among tourists though, thanks to Kamakura being more accessible from Tokyo. Like the temples in Kyoto, this comes with the downside of it feeling a lot more commercialized.

At what age do they stop wearing these silly hats?

Popular Kamakura Daibutsu.

Closer look.

Entry to Kotokuin is 200 yen. It’s cheaper than most other Buddhist temples since there is very little of interest here other than just the statue itself. The courtyard at the entrance where the Daibutsu was held made up the majority of the temple grounds itself, with a amulet office, souvenir shop and restrooms around its perimeter.

Throngs of school kids.

Introduced Yan to goshuin at the amulet office. These were the special calligraphy and stamp that you can get at almost any major temple or shrine in Japan. While Japanese Charms represent handy little blessings that you can give out to friends and family, goshuin sort of represent a blessing that you can collect for oneself.

Again, most temples and shrines sell goshuinchou, the stamp books to begin your collection with. They cost approximately 1,000 yen each. With this book, you can visit the goshuin office (usually just beside the amulet/charm office) to make a donation and ask for the temple’s stamp.

It costs between 300-500 yen to get a stamp. Bigger temples or shrines may employ someone specialized for this task. But the calligraphers often double as the charms sellers too.

Goshuin office.

Stamp book.

Yan ended up getting his first book and stamp from Kotokuin this afternoon. In the meantime, I took the opportunity to chill beside the Daibutsu statue for a while, while finishing up the remainder of my breakfast/lunch. The rest of the benches were mostly families and old people, who were eating ice cream that they had gotten from the temple shop.

Some of the children from the school were being restless. It was quite interesting to observe their behavior. The tinier girls got along better with the boys, while this tall girl was completely being ignored. Her efforts to mingle were passed off as being “annoying” by the rest. Even among children, there were senbatsu.

Danish, also from Kimuraya.

Wooden carvings, seemed to be their local specialty.

We backtracked towards the station where Hasedera Temple, another of the main Buddhist temples was located. Hasedera covers a hillside area of land and follows a pretty similar layout to Tenryuji. It’s much smaller, but has the advantage of its main building being located up on the hill. Entrance was affordable, at just 300 yen. We got our tickets from the vending machine up front, and proceeded up.

Hasedera Temple.

Ticket vending machine.

Small temple garden.

On the way up.

There’s was a small building midway up dedicated to the Jizo Bodhisattva. Accordingly, this part of the temple was dedicated to issues relating to children and childbirth. There were ema specialized for safe delivery.

Ema for safe delivery.

As with other such temples, we’d find hundreds of tiny Jizo statues here. If the internet were any indication, most seem to think of Jizo statues as the temple equivalent of Gundam figurines. The foreign tourists, Yan included busily snapped up photos of them.

Personally, I tend to avoid the statues, as they depress me. The statues represent children who have died in their infancy or during childbirth, so they’re very much gravestones more than anything.

Jizo statues.

The main temple halls were located at the top of the hill. Here there were halls dedicated to the Seven Lucky Gods, Amitabha Buddha and the Goddess of Mercy. The last of which was the largest of the three, with a giant wooden Kannon statue in the center of the hall.

Main halls.

More stamps.

Waited around while Yan went to collect more stamps from the temple. There was a veranda outside which provided a pretty nice view of the surrounding Kamakura area. A rest stop just beside sold temple branded drinks and ice cream. A warning sign told visitors to take note of diving birds. There were sea hawks hovering all around the coastal Kamakura city.

View of the surrounding district.

It’s not Japan, unless their are chibi versions.

Returning to the entrance of the temple we found the entrance to a cave just beside. The small winding cave served as a shrine dedicated to the Japanese goddess Benzaiten. Various deities had been carved into the cave walls itself.

Underground cave.

Benten kutsu cave.

We found the Benzaiten statue in a separate chamber of the cave. It was smaller than the rest of the cave, such that you had to bend over just to stay inside. There were hundreds of tiny clay Benzaiten statues inside.

Power cables had been laid inside the temple to provide some lighting inside. Past visitors had scribbled down their names and date of visit here. You’d think less people would consider vandalizing a place of worship a good idea, but it seems to be quite commonplace.

Hundreds of mini Benzaiten statues.

People vandalized the insides.

With that, we had covered Hasedera Temple. Back outside, we took a break at another souvenir shop by the entrance. Apart from omiyage snacks, it also sold temple branded ice cream and even cider. Yan had seen it earlier and was keen on trying some. Contrary to the name, the cider here referred neither to the apple or alcoholic drinks but a generic soda water.

I took the opportunity to get the temple’s ice pop, in strawberry milk flavor. It was mostly just milk, with a couple of frozen strawberry chips. It’s an amusing experience, eating ice cream in the cold, since no matter how long one takes, it doesn’t melt.

Harmony cider.

Holy ice cream.

I observed a middle-aged couple pass by while sitting outside the shop with the ice cream. Looking at the steam buns sold there, the lady commented excitedly to her husband that it looked delicious. It’s quite amazing how Japanese ladies manage to maintain their charms even at old age.

An elderly woman came over to initiate some idle banter. It’s probably rare to see adults of our age at such places. She asked where we had been to, then if we had seen the other nearby temples and the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, to which I replied that we were on our way there now. The woman then broke off into a monologue about the other temples and shrines in the area. Agreeing politely, I excused ourselves on account of really having to make our way to the shrine.

We returned to Hase Station to catch a train to Kamakura for the shrine. Passing by another Buddhist temple along the way, Yan suggested visiting it but we somehow managed to avoid that.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.

Between the train to Kamakura Station and walking, it’d take us about another half an hour to reach Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. By this time, the sun had started to set. A few people were making their way there but for the most part, people were already making their way out. We didn’t spend much time at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu and there were hardly any pictures. Guess Yan didn’t care for shrines nearly as much as temples.

One of Japan’s most important shrines.

On the way out we passed by another smaller shrine within the area dedicated to the Seven Lucky Gods. Guess they were really popular in Kamakura. It was surrounded by a lake that had been infested by some sort of invasive plant. The entire lake was filled with these black weeds. Efforts were being carried out to remove them. A group of workers were hauling them out en mass and a water filter was placed at another corner but they seemed to be fighting a losing battle.

Infested.

Removing the plants.

We returned to Dankazura and the shopping streets before Tsurugaoka Hachimangu to take a look at what they had to offer there. Apart from restaurants and a few omiyage stores, most of the shops had already closed by this hour. There we found a pickle shop, which we entered promptly. One of the things on Yan’s itinerary was to get up more Japanese pickles, something he had been keen on ever since trying the ones from Ryoanji in Kyoto.

Unfortunately, most of the pickles don’t last very long. I had the nice lady at the shop recommend us some that did. In addition to those, Yan ended up grabbing some that expired quickly which he’d have to consume during his stay.

Most shops closed early.

We also came across a snack shop called Mameya that specialized in beans and nuts. There was a constant crowd gathered around since the shop offered free samples. It was especially popular with the middle-aged and elderly women. One of them even pointed out some faves to me. Yan ended up getting a whole bunch from there, while I walked away with a pack of their limited special: apple bits wrapped and baked in a ground nut shell.

Snack shop.

Limited edition flavor.

Found a really nice Studio Ghibli shop at the entrance to the shopping streets. The homely shop was split into two parts, with half of it dedicated to Kiki’s Delivery Service and the other for My Neightbor Totoro. Accordingly, it carried a wide variety of merchandise for these two franchises. While it was tempting, I had already done my Ghibli shopping yesterday, so didn’t get anything else.

There were commemorative Kiki and Totoro inked stamps exclusive to the shop here, though once again I had trouble finding anything to stamp them on. One of the things I ought to had done years ago before all these trips should had been getting a physical travel journal of sorts.

Nice Ghibli shop.

While there were a number of promising restaurants all around Kamakura, Yan wasn’t too keen on them on account of having already spent a significant amount on temple stamps and snacks today. We eventually settled for trying what looked like a newly opened conveyer belt sushi restaurant not far from the Ghibli shop.

Chain conveyer sushi restaurant.

It turned out to be a pretty bad idea, since while affordable, the sushi here was pretty terrible. Most of the cuts had seen their rounds of the conveyer. Even the custom orders tended to be tasteless and not very fresh. Goes to show, that you can get terrible sushi, even in Japan.

Ended up eating just a half dozen plates to counter the hunger of not having had a proper meal thus far today. I’d get something more substantial from a convenience store on the way back to the apartment.

Not recommended.

Taking the train back to Shinjuku, I thought I’d actually try doing something that I wanted to this day. One of the things on hand was trying to find the flat Takeo Kikuchi shoulder bag that the rest of us had previously encountered in Nagoya, since lugging around my current one together with a camera was starting to become quite a hassle. Unfortunately, by the time we’d arrive in Shinjuku most of the department stores were already refusing entry.

We did manage to take a look around a Shinjuku Marui and Marui Mens which closed later than the rest though. While there were some nice designs, we didn’t find the one I was looking for, nor anything that would match the requirements. Would have to head back empty handed once again.

Since it was his last day in Japan, we’ll finally be fulfilling Randy’s dream of visiting Ueno Zoo this morning. Ueno Zoo is the biggest of its kind in Tokyo and entry comes at the cost of only 600 yen (SGD$8.70). It’s also conveniently located smack in the middle of Ueno Park, it’s kind of like if Mandai Zoo were located in Bishan Park instead. It’s also one of the few zoo with giant pandas on display, which Randy was most looking forward to.

Before that though, Randy had to drop by Akihabara to get something for a friend back home so I headed over to Ueno first. Ueno has one of the nicest train terminals in Tokyo. There found Chisaki just outside of the train station. She had visited her school earlier in the morning but had the rest of the day free so would be joining us for the rest of the day.

We had some time to kill before Randy arrived, so we took a look at the multi-story toy and novelty shop at the entrance before walking around the streets at Ameyoko Market for a while. Randy had yet to satisfying his tempura don craving yet, so we spent the time waiting for him to also scout for a such a place.

Interestingly, we ran into a bunch of people filming some sort of tokusatsu in the middle of Ameyoko, just beside the Mister Donut outlet here. There were a large number of staff surrounding the film set, re-routing people and stopping them from taking any photographs.

Pretty sure it wasn’t Kamen Rider Wizard. The monster costumes were a lot more elaborate and grittier. Didn’t manage to get a close look but one actress here kind of looked like Rio. We ran into an assistant producer who looked really familiar though.

Chain restaurant.

Randy arrived slightly over an hour later and we visited Tenya, a chain restaurant type near the entrance to the street. Tried their tempura udon, while Randy and Chisaki went with a tendon and soba set that was on special. I’ve had mixed experiences with such places, but food here was decent today. I suspect timing plays a role in the quality of food at such places but fortunately our lunch seemed to had been recently prepared.  Prices were affordable, between 500-700 yen.

Tempura udon.

Tempura don with soba.

After lunch, it was time to head over to Ueno Park for the zoo. It was really only just across the road. The park itself is pretty big and contains a greater concentration of shrines and temples than just about anywhere else in Tokyo, it’s also a really popular spot for autumn colors and cherry blossom viewing. Needless to say, its a very popular spot among tourists and thanks to the zoo, local families too, especially during weekends.

We stopped by the Bentendo Temple along the way for a quick look. It’s particularly notable for being located in the center of the lake adjoining the zoo. Unlike my previous visits during Spring and Winter, the plants in the lake actually looked alive this time of the year.

Bentendo Temple.

Pond.

Incense here too.

Autumn colors were finally setting in in the rest of the park. Unfortunately it’s still a bit too early but still quite a nice sight. We had visited Japan a little too early once again this year. I always end up coming too early for seasons and return again at a later date, but at the same time the seasons seem to be pushed back further each year.

Autumn colors were finally setting in.

We found the zoo and purchased our tickets from the vending machine outside. It randomly dispenses tickets featuring one of the park’s animals. This would be the first time at the zoo for Randy, while Chisaki had an interesting trauma here during her previous visit.

Stopping at the entrance for a while, a young Japanese family asked if Chisaki could help them take a picture with the panda statue there. For some reason, she gets asked that a lot.

Lots of families and children.

It’s not Japanese unless there are plenty of peace signs.

The zoo is pretty clear that the giant pandas are its highlight. There are a good many other panda statues around the area, and the giant panda enclosure is located right next to the entrance of the zoo. Such is their popularity that there’s always a queue to view the pandas. Or rather the entire viewing process is a queue itself and as a result, it can be difficult to get a close up look of the creatures.

For once the bears were awake and active. Both of them made their rounds of their respective enclosures. Everyone was busy snapping up photos. Our own photos today were courtesy of the 50mm. While I had some trouble early on compositing with it, was starting to enjoy it quite much. It takes a lot of weight off the heavy camera and the pictures appear a lot sharper and more vibrant, at least by Canon standards. It’s no wonder that people call it a standard.

Pandas were awake today.

Like someone painted stripes on the bear.

In a stark contrast to our previous visit, amazingly, almost every animal we’ll come across today would be wide awake. Having lively animals adds a lot to one’s zoo experience, but there’s still is the matter of most enclosures only containing lone inhibitants.

We made the usual rounds of the zoo, while at the same time keeping our eyes open for the gorillas and the other bears which Randy was most excited for.

Depressed monkey.

Somehow unsettling.

Perhaps it was feeding time which explained the levels of activity today.

We came across an enclosure for Japanese macaques. Randy commented that the ones here looked more similar to those in Kyoto, in comparison to Nagoya Monkey Park’s feral inhabitants. A zoo keeper, who’d look at home in EXILE brought a bunch of leafy branches to hook up to poles inside the enclosure. The monkey’s were quite well mannered and with the exception of one or two naughty ones, they waited for him to finish setting up the branches before lunching.

Feeding the Japanese monkeys.

Casually made our way over to the second half of the zoo, which is separated from the first by a short walk and an overhead bridge. This is the side that is built around the pond at Bentendo Temple. There’s a mini aerial tramway that connects the two parts together, but is mostly just a novelty for children. Still, some adults manage to cram their way in.

Short walk to the second half.

The main highlight of this half is definitely the farm animals and petting zoo at the entrance of the zone. It was fast approaching public feeding hour where you could feed the goats and sheep there personally, so it was a good time to stop by.

Again, rather than sitting down basking in the afternoon sun (there was none), the goats and sheep were scurrying around for leaves. The chickens seemed to be mostly in hiding somewhere, though one guy managed to catch one.

Petting zoo.

I can never trust goats again.

— Supermerlion (@supermerlion) November 14, 2012

One of the most amusing experiences here was when we tailed a young goat that was steadfast in its attempts to scavenge fallen leaves on the ground. It attacked anyone who attempted to pat it, so all of us became victims to the goat. For its diminutive size it actually packed quite a punch. Thankfully, its horns had not fully formed yet.

When we were about to leave, a little kid also came by to try to pat the goat and was soon sent running away.

Chisaki ran around chasing sheep for a while since she wanted to hug one. After successfully doing so, a few other Japanese kids who were all padded up in their tiny jackets came to do the same. The sheep was pretty oblivious to its surroundings and very much more interested in eating. At some point, the sheep chanced upon the unfriendly goat that we had encountered earlier and he rammed into the poor sheep due to a dispute with some leaves.

Chasing sheep.

Alpaca was being boring again.

While you’re free to touch the other farm animals, most of them tend to be a little anti-social, preferring to stick inside their enclosures. There was a young woman there camped at the alpaca stable but it didn’t come over. I’ve always wanted to visit a proper farm in Japan (hopefully with alpacas) but could never find the chance or right company to do so.

The feeding session came around and they started to give out bundles of fresh grass to the visitors. Unfortunately, it also started to rain at about the same time. It was moderate at first so the eager families didn’t let it stop them, but soon escalated to a full downpour, cancelling the feeding session. We waited a while beneath a shelter here for the rain to subside and it passed by quite quickly.

Feeding session was interrupted by rain.

Back tracking a little, we went over to see the red panda, which hangs around the trees near the overhead bridge here. It’s one of the most adorable creatures at the zoo (at least in my opinion) and would probably make a great pet, were it not a threatened species of course. Though they are related to raccoon, the red pandas are sized and behave most similarly to cats.

The red panda wouldn’t keep still today, so the rest had a hard time taking photos. It almost seemed like it was making a conscious effort to avoid them.

Lesser red panda wouldn’t keep still.

Penguins swimming about.

Crowded flamingo enclosure.

The rest of the zoo was mostly the usual popular animals you’d expect from a proper zoo. The enclosures at the second half do seem better equipped though, if not the opposite extreme to the previous enclosures. The enclosures featuring small animals can get pretty crowded.

Maybe due to the earlier rain or feeding time, but the larger animals were nowhere to be seen as they’d been led into indoor holding areas this afternoon. Thankfully, the sheltered areas to view the animals were accessible. After a look around here and the nearby vivarium, the rest of the animals were eventually led back out to their enclosures.

The animals were moved into indoor shelters.

Reptiles and amphibians on display at the vivarium.

Elephant show.

We struggled between whether to get some souvenir plushes toys at a gift shop, but came out empty handed. The zoo seemed to had refreshed its panda plush design, such that some of them were actually quite nice

The sun had already started to set by the time we had finished with the zoo and returned to the entrance. There we walked into a street performer wrapping up a juggling routine. He had attracted a large crowd of watchers. At the end of it, the rest felt obliged into donating.

Randy was to only catch the 9PM flight back to Singapore so there was still a bit of time till then. Since it was nearby, we decided to give the Tokyo Sky Tree one more try.

Sun beginning to set.

Street performer.

The Sky Tree was indeed a lot bigger up close. There was also full shopping mall built around the bottom of the tower, and the tower base itself was split up into multiple parts. There were different queuing wings for public and tour groups and a shop below selling souvenir goods for the various television stations involved in the project.

Heading over to the public wing, a convention hall like area, we eventually found the queue up the tower but it was so massive that there was no clear indication as to how far it stretched or where it even ended. I headed to a nearby information counter to ask for an estimate, to which they gave an average waiting time of 3 hours.

We didn’t really have that amount of time to spare, so once more it looks like the Sky Tree would have to wait.

Tokyo Sky Tree.

Instead, we took a look around the souvenir store at Sky Tree’s base and the shops around the adjacent mall. To cater to the crowds, there were quite a few dining options there. Beyond that, it was mostly more omiyage shops. The second floor of the mall housed a wide collection of Japanese snacks, much like you’d find in department store basements.

Randy debilitated between getting a few different desserts here, eventually settling for a jumbo sized cream puff, or “shuu cream” as it’s called in Japan.

Shopping mall at its base.

Radio show below the tower.

Apart from the tower itself, the development also apparently included an aquarium and planetarium as part of the attractions here. Will need to take a look at those some other time too. The Sky Tree certainly hopes to one up the competition when it comes to date-like spots in Tokyo but it’ll be a while before the queues there start clearing up to reasonable levels though.

Caught an early dinner to kill time. We ended up returning to a Kua Aina outlet that had passed by at the entrance to the Solamichi mall. Randy ordered another of their avocado burgers, while I decided to give their sandwiches a try for a change. Chisaki went with a sandwich too despite protests that she really ought to had tried their burgers on her first visit.

Kua Aina’s.

Decided to try their sandwiches.

The toasted B.L.T and avocado sandwich was decent, if not a little too heavy than what I’d enjoy for a sandwich. A pro tip, stick to the burgers. The price different between the two are pretty negligible and largely depends on what type of burger or sandwich you order. The sandwiches might be popular with the female customers though who might want the illusion of a healthier option.

In other news, Randy’s cream puff turned out to be a disappointment.

Giant cream puff.

On the way out, the rest spotted a Studio Ghibli shop on the balcony of the building. After all the trouble of searching for such a shop in Akihabara, we’d just walk straight into one this evening. There was a large, possibly life sized Totoro plush peering creepily out of the entrance to the shop.

Studio Ghibli shop.

Life sized Totoro?

The shop carried an extensive range of Studio Ghibli branded products, namely from their classic faves like Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service (Majo no takkyubin), though there are also a number of articles from their more recent mainstream successes like Spirited Away.

Had been wanting to get this plush of Jiji (the cat from Kiki’s) in a metal cage, which had been seeing at various shop so far. Was going to grab one today but then got distracted by a more elaborate porcelain wind up music version of it, which I ended up getting instead. Wonder if it was a wise decision since I’m not sure where to put that now though, whereas you could pretty much throw the plush version anywhere and it wouldn’t matter.

After this, it was just a matter of returning to our apartment earlier than usual, where Randy picked up his luggage and made for the nearby T-CAT terminal, Haneda Airport, and then Singapore.

At the very least today would be an interesting day. We’ve made plans to meet our Japanese friend over at Shinjuku in the afternoon. From there she lead the way through some winding side streets bringing us to a cheap Shabu Shabu restaurant that she frequented.

Randy had been craving for more beef ever since the yakiniku and sukiyaki buffets during the last days at Osaka and Nagoya respectively. Hence lunch here. It was also the only time where our friend would be free, as her job requires her to perform nearly every evening.

Lunch would be buffet style too. Cuts were ala carte but you could help yourself quite the wide variety of vegetables and sides. The food here turned out to be pretty awesome, and surprisingly affordable for Tokyo too, about 2,000 yen if I remember correctly. Didn’t jot down the name of the place though but it’d be worth a second visit. Of course, the lunch was made all the more enjoyable thanks to the company.

Shabushabu.

Once again, hardly any pictures this day since didn’t want to lug around the camera. Even then, was too occupied to remember taking anything more than these sparse few shots with the crummy iPhone camera. Randy and our friend both had some shopping to attend to, so we had a pretty busy afternoon, frantically running from shop to shop.

First up Randy needed to get a dress for a friend back in Singapore and he decided to request assistance from our friendly idol. After enquiring if it was for a woman or girl (it was the later), she brought us over to a nearby department store in Shinjuku. When asked if she shopped at such places, to which she laughed and said that the fashion was too young for her. She was wearing a classic lolita dress today.

It took a while, since she was pretty meticulous about it but after considering the tropical weather, she eventually narrowed it down to just a couple of pieces. Randy eventually picked up a frilly chiffon blouse from Liz Lisa. He’d get quite a few stares while lugging the floral paper bag around the rest of the day. The friend joked that he looked cute.

There was yet another birthday concert this evening, so our friend had to grab a present before that. This proved to be quite a difficult task, since she wasn’t really familiar with this other person. This would be further worsened by the fact that we’d be heading over to Harajuku next. Randy had made plans to meet an acquaintance there who had just flew in to Japan this morning. It’d be difficult to do any real shopping over at Harajuku.

We’d meet up with Chisaki, whom I had previously been acquainted through AKB48′s presence in Singapore. Turns out she was a friend of Geri’s though. She had been in Harajuku since earlier, visiting the Meiji Shrine and picking up souvenirs for le parfait prince among others. Ironically, we caught Chisaki on her way out from the AKB48 Official Shop Harajuku.

Perhaps it was the long flight, but she didn’t seem to be in the most chatty of moods this afternoon. Our friend asked if Randy’s Liz Lisa dress was for her, it wasn’t. Still, being the most familiar, left Randy to entertain Chisaki while rushing from shop to shop with our friend to search for the present. She wasn’t quite sure what to get, so was looking for something on the safe side. We’d hit up all of the novelty and gift stores around Takeshidori and Jingumae as well as a department store or two.

Eventually, the 4 of us were pulled into a shop selling natural body products. We had an amusing experience there where the shop assistance invited us to try out their new product, some mineral bath salts. After introducing all the different scents, she got us to each choose a flavor and proceeded to scrub our hands. It did seem to make quite a noticeable difference. Our friend ended up getting a pack, and with that the present was fulfilled. Our hands would remain scented for the rest of the day.

There wasn’t much time left before the concert. But she brought us to a nearby toy shop selling mostly plushes and character goods for one final look. Never knew that there was such a multi-storey shop in Harajuku. She was quite apologetic that we had to follow her around for shopping this afternoon. But there wasn’t any reason to be. You could say that it was like fulfilling a dream, shopping with a Japanese idol, while she went kawaii, kawaii at all sorts of things.

At Tengu Izakaya.

The friend headed off for her performance, while the rest of us went off for dinner. Since it was Chisaki’s first day in Japan thought we’d have something good. Remembered a nearby Tengu outlet, so thought I’d introduce them to the chain izakaya.

The diced beef steak and pizza at Tengu are sinful necessary orders for each visit. Chisaki was craving for some curry rice too but unfortunately they were all sold out on rice dishes. Still, they enjoyed food so much that everyone ended up forgetting to take any pictures after the first couple of dishes were served.

Rejuvenated, Chisaki livened up during dinner. Seems she was here in Japan mostly to apply for a language school and hit up some indie band concerts. She was quite the otaku when it came to those. Her involvement with BABYMETAL over at the Anime Festival Asia had prevented her from flying any earlier.

Our tenor in Japan had prevented us from attending this year’s convention. Interestingly, I’d learn much later that in my absence my young brother had worked there as a butler.

Diced beef!

We spent some time walking around Loft and the surrounding Shibuya area after dinner. While walking through a narrow dark alley we actually passed by 4 somewhat familiar looking faces. Up to now, we’ve run into a good many Singaporeans whilst in Japan. Sensing something amiss, we turned around to see them staring back at us. That lasted quite a while until someone realized who they were.

What are the chances of bumping into these 4 people in the entire Japan.

— Supermerlion (@supermerlion) November 13, 2012

The odds were pretty astronomical but we had just bumped into the 4 girls from Sea A in this side street in Shibuya. The bunch of them had just flew over to Tokyo today too after wrapping up work at the Anime Festival Asia 2012 .

I guess they were as surprised, since they were at a lost of words too. We exchanged formalities and a couple of them did make some conversation but for the most part we were more taken aback by the surreal encounter than anything. This unexpected event ended up being the highlight of the day for Randy though.

I think the most amusing part about meeting SeaA though…is that even irl…they stand in the same formation as profile…

— Supermerlion (@supermerlion) November 13, 2012

Takeo Kikuchi flagship store!

Without much of a plan for the rest of the evening, we checked to see if the rest had any other commitments that could be fulfilled nearby. It turned out that while Chisaki didn’t quite know her way around the city, she had printed a whole stack of notes containing maps of all the places she had to visit.

Looking through, we actually found one such place within walking distance at Meiji Dori. Apparently it was some sort of local clothing label which one of her favorite band members frequented. Didn’t ring a bell, but since there was a map, I didn’t have too much trouble finding it. She wanted to get something there as a souvenir for her manager.

Along the way, we passed by a Takeo Kikuchi outlet, which would had been amazing were it not still under construction. It’d only open the day I’d be arriving in Singapore. The streets that we passed by housed all sorts of local labels, some familiar but many more not. Would had been most interesting to shop here, but most of the shops were already closing or closed by this hour.

Design Tshirts Store graniph.

Thankfully, though it took slightly longer than expected due to a confusion with the shop name, we managed to reach the store, “subsciety” while it was still open. It was past closing time, but another customer had held up the shop. Peering in, we checked if it was fine that we shopped here, but the staff was friendly about it.

Randy and myself were employed into helping search for a suitable gift. We were both acquainted to Chisaki’s manager so did have a vague idea as to the type of clothing he’d wear. I picked out one shirt, but she was more inclined towards getting a tee since the shirts were a good couple hundred dollars each. The shop carries a lot of suitable shirts but we had a hard time finding any nice tees.

After a long while with no results, one of the female shop assistants came over to help. She revealed that she spoke perfect English and asked if Chisaki was a ONE OK ROCK fan. To our revelation, that turned out to be the case.

I had tried listening to some of ONE OK ROCK’s music in the past, to little effect. I understand that they’re pretty hyped up over in Japan these days. But having never been limited to just Japanese music, I’m in agreement with writer Mus that they hardly bring anything new to the table than what English bands have already been providing. Hopefully, their popularity might help introduce fans to a wider range of bands in the future though.

In any case, I guess the shop sees this situation a lot, since the shop assistant then promptly pointed out a bunch of designs that the band’s main singer, the former Johnny’s “Taka” also owned. Both Chisaki and her manager were fans of his. Amusingly, the staff picked out the same shirt that I had chosen earlier as one of his favorite designs, so we went with that.

Didn’t stay around the city much longer after that. Randy would be leaving Singapore tomorrow, so we had a long day ahead. We did look around in search of a possible bakery or cafe for some cake though. He was craving for some pastry and while it remained unmentioned, up to now, we hadn’t had the opportunity to properly celebrate his birthday. But unfortunately, there weren’t any still open at this time.

Instead, we headed back to the station, entering by an amusement center along the way back at Randy’s whim. He was holding onto the hope that perhaps some his sudden bout of post-birthday luck would carry onto the catcher machines here. That wasn’t the case. Still, all things considered, there had been no shortage of positive experiences this day.

Eri would be returning to Singapore this evening, so we would have the morning and afternoon to cover some remaining “must see” sights in Tokyo. We’d begin with visiting Asakusa in the morning for the iconic Sensoji Temple.

Sensoji is pretty much one of the first spots for anyone traveling to Tokyo. Thankfully, it still offers some things of interest for those who’ve already been here too many times, namely the numerous snack shops and dining options along the side roads.

Not too many pictures of Asakusa itself, I’ll also save the effort in describing it in detail as most should already be all too familiar with it. For the few who don’t, there should be a link to our dedicated guide to Asakusa somewhere above, that comes complete with plenty more photos.

Outside the famous Asakusa gate.

We had arrived about half an hour later than the stipulated timing at Asakusa, since Eri had to pack up and such in the morning. At Asakusa, Yan was nowhere to be found. We joked that perhaps he had gone to some other station to use the Wi-Fi there, rather than wait around for us again. Unfortunately, we were right. Not sure why he couldn’t just wait around, but the rest of us had to for his return.

Crowds.

It was a Monday but Asakusa was quite crowded. I’m not sure if there is any day where it isn’t, since it attracts visitors from other parts of Japan all year round too. The first course of action after picking up Yan was to head toward the main temple building, squeezing through the mass of people along the way. It’s a lot tougher to navigate along the narrow street here since people were coming in both directions and others standing around the shops. There seemed to be a sort of natural, generous consensus that everyone kept to the left though.

Main gate.

Sensoji was unchanged from how I last remembered it. Plenty of tourists shoving their cameras in the faces of the people praying here. Or breathing down people’s necks recording videos of people praying, even inside the main temple hall. Let’s show some respect people. If you must absolutely do it, get a long focus lens instead.

Sensoji.

Cleansing.

Like other shrines and temples, you can get your fortune “told” at Sensoji. These “omikuji” take the form of random sheets of paper distributed in a series of drawers. You’re supposed to shake a box of numbered sticks and draw the fortune from the number of the first stick that falls out.

Yan had a go this day. Though most of it is in Japanese, in recognition of how popular the temple is with tourists there is also a short summary in English on the back.

Omikuji.

In English too.

Spent some time looking at the side temples behind the main building. There’s a nice Buddha statue and koi pond over there but beyond that it was mostly shop houses. Spotted this strange ride on top of one of the buildings there.

Side temples.

Feeding the fishes.

Koi.

Strange ride.

Was hoping to perhaps hit up the Tokyo Sky Tree this afternoon too. It had actually been one of my main reasons for visiting Tokyo again this year. Unfortunately the weather didn’t seem to agree with us today. Last night’s rain had continued onto this morning and it was still really cloudy for the most part. You can see the Sky Tree being enveloped by the clouds, visibility would be poor.

Bad weather.

We went back down the main street, stopping so that the rest could try some of the ageman from the shop that I had visited earlier this year with Gage. It’s one of the more popular shops, judging by the constant number of old people crowded around it. Business was so good, that this is one of the few shops where we were chased off from eating in front of the store. The rest usually encourage it, since didn’t want people littering and it has the effect of attracting more customers.

One of the snack shops we tried before.

Nice when warm.

Randy and Eri ran off first since they wanted to get some souvenirs from the shops along the street. Randy in particular was looking for a Daruma. Followed Yan to a cloth shop where he bought some handkerchiefs and a pouch. Ended up getting some handkerchiefs myself since the designs were quite nice, though I have no idea what to do with them.

Along the way you’d pass by a crowd of people gathered at one of the main junctions. Everyone was staring off into the distance like one of those Godzilla scenes. But turning the corner, we realized that the weather had cleared up and that they were just admiring the Sky Tree.

Mass of people staring off into the distance.

Brought the rest over to Asakusa Nobu. It’s a lovely, modest Western style restaurant along one of the side streets. The food here is great and definitely worth a visit.

Asakusa Nobu.

Nice atmosphere.

Ordered omurice all round, the restaurant’s specialty. The other thing that seemed to be good was their steak. Told myself I’d give it a try the next time I visited, so I did. The first 20 customers each day are entitled to the “service steak”, which is slightly cheaper at 1,360 yen. And while I don’t drink, it also meant free red wine for everyone in my company. Shared the steak around, it was great too but you’d want to eat it while it’s still hot.

The dad here seemed to had mistaken that I wanted to switch my order from omurice to steak rather than as an additional order. It came with an additional bowl of rice too. We didn’t realize it at first but this meant that Randy had to wait longer for the last omurice to be served.

At some point, a young lady and her parents came in for lunch too. Was the first genuinely “pretty” woman we’d come across in Japan. She looked like Angelababy. Randy commented that she looked nothing like her parents though.

Service steak.

Their specialty.

We were a little stretched for time and the rest didn’t really seem that keen on hitting up the Sky Tree, so somehow we ended up heading over to Nakano in the afternoon instead. Personally, Nakano Broadway is the more interesting of the two “otaku” havens in Tokyo. You can find lots more interesting stuff here apart from the usual anime and manga related merchandise.

While the main strength of Broadway lies in the number of toy and novelty shops. You’ll find amusing shops catering to niche interests too like old enka or movie posters and vintage paraphernalia among other things. For the kinky, there’s also a tailor specialising in school uniforms, and a tsundere maid cafe. There are also a couple of shops that deal with just Duffy bears, its accessories and other Duffy related merchandise.

Nakano.

Checked out a lot of the figure shops at Nakano. Randy was keen on purchasing some chibi-sized Kamen Rider figurines, the same ones that we had encountered over at the amusement park beside Lake Biwa. The shops here carried a greater variety all the way up to old series that had already long sold out. Randy was eyeing a set of the first, most expensive series.

The rest mainly looked around the capsule boxes and TRIO outlets for idol photos. I was kind of tempted to get the Fairies poster for Hero / Sweet Jewel but wasn’t quite sure what I’d do with it.

Strange shops.

Capsule boxes.

Spent a good few hours looking through just about every shop in Nakano Broadway. Eventually we’d stop for a short break to grab some drinks while Randy got some ice cream from a small snack counter on the top floor.

Ice cream.

Again, no photos for the rest of the day. Yan and Eri made a return to Akihabara again for some more last minute idol shopping, before catching her plane back to Singapore. In the meantime, Randy and I were invited to another event by our idol friend.

Not much can say about it, except that it was even more surreal than the last. Beside us was a seemingly normal gyaru who upon the start of her favorite song, brandished a whole bunch of glow sticks and started dancing along. There was one performance in particular that I enjoyed though, which had certain elements of Shibuya-kei in it.

Had a bit of time to mingle after the concert. Bumped into the previous birthday girl that we met the other day. She started speaking really fast such that couldn’t really catch what she was saying. Something along the lines of thank you for coming to her birthday and that she won’t forget it, you know typical idol stuff.

Our friend came around and asked if I knew what “suteki” meant, then in English went “she say you suteki” pointing to the girl who had performed the Shibuya-kei-ish song earlier. Definitely a first. I must admit, it made my day.

It was getting late, so made plans to meet up with our friend again tomorrow and while bidding the bunch of them goodnight. Randy took the chance to bid the suteki girl “ki o tsukete” (take care) to which she replied a sing song “hai”.

Yan and Eri would be heading off earlier this morning for Tokyo DisneySea. In the meantime, I had made plans to have lunch today with my company director last evening.  He gave us the option of choosing between a novelty cafe or proper restaurant, love the high you get from trying out new experiences, so we decided on the former. It turned out that we’d be visiting the Biohazard (Resident Evil outside Japan) cafe, Biohazard Cafe & Grill S.T.A.R.S.!

Met up outside the Shibuya Tsutaya. Randy would be joining along too. So it turned out to be a pleasant surprise when the director, Akiyama-san revealed that we would be visiting the Biohazard cafe this afternoon. Akiyama brought us over to the Parco shopping mall where the restaurant was located. It was a little awkward that he was in a suit today, while the rest of us were very casually dressed. He stood out a lot from the crowd of younger fashionably dressed youths in Shibuya and with the odd company, a few people stared at us along the way.

Bio Hazard Cafe Shibuya.

At the cafe, we went with the recommended lunch buffet. The boss didn’t seem to know what was going on, so asked him if he had been here before, to which he exclaimed “of course not”. Still, you could tell that he was excited to be here today. Just like Randy, he’s a fan of the Resident Evil series too. It would had been impossible for him to visit such a place with his older associates, so was probably glad that we provided the excuse.

It’s been and is quite a long trip and still only getting used to the fatigue from going out everyday uninterrupted. Ordered some iced coffee, to hopefully wake up a little. First time having coffee in a couple of months. Been trying to cut down on that for health reasons. The syrup and milk were served in separate test tubes.

Iced coffee.

The lunch was an ala carte style buffet. Appetizers and desserts weer single serve but everything else could be ordered as you wish. To start you off, the staff came around with one of everything. There was one male staff who attended the register, while the rest of the cafe was operated by 4 other young girls.

Had to double check if we could take pictures, since we were given some sort of warning at the entrance but didn’t quite catch it. Turns out that it was fine, no videos however.

Appetizer.

In keeping with the theme, all of the food were served in metal canteens and dinnerware. One of the staff took out some sort of aerospray and applied it onto the salad while serving it. I guess we looked surprised or (in my case) confused, so she explained that it was some sort of “health potion” and that it’d make us “genki”. Typical maid cafe stuff I guess.

Curry and salad.

Self serve curry rice.

The boss loves his curry, so ended up getting seconds. Throughout, the girls would take turns to bring roasted meats on a skewer rodizio style. We were requested to hold onto the slices of meat with a tiny pair of laboratory tongs while they cut it. Part of the “saabisu”.

Boss asked what we though about that. To which we replied that it was amusing. As usual, he commented that there were hardly any “beauties” in Japan to which I commented that one of the girls was quite cute (well in an Inoue Mao kind of way I guess). He went “naruhodo”. She was probably new, since she did most of the serving, while the rest of the staff stood around. There weren’t too many customers.

Churrascaria style.

Serving the meats.

A little on the dry side.

Oddly, the rest of the cafe patrons this afternoon were mostly female. For some reason, statistically there are a lot more female fans when it comes to horror themed games than many other genres. There were a couple of distinctly otaku girls in the adjacent table, a teenage couple and a young woman at the opposite table. She looked normal at first glance, being dressed properly and such. She ordered just a drink and sat there alone. Perhaps she just wanted to take a look at the cafe?

Show was about to start.

About halfway through the meal, after enough people had gathered, the cashier from before came over to turn on some music. That was about as involved in the performance as he’d get, throwing our theory that perhaps some of the fangirls had come for his sake, out of the window.

The waitresses finished serving whatever orders were on hand, then collected their plastic weapons from the shelf. The lights dimmed and they started parading and dancing in the isle to Spice Girl’s “Spice Up Your Life”. We were taken by surprise by both the performance, and the choice of music. In all honesty, they weren’t any good at dancing. The woman on the opposite table look thoroughly entertained though.

Short dance performance.

After the dance, the lights completely went out and an alarm was sounded. There was a mock scenario where the statue of the one of the Biohazard monsters had begun to break lose. I guess it was annoyed of having to watch us eat this entire time. While not the least realistic, the lighting and projected images assisted in telling the story.

Tyrant Statue.

Being part of S.T.A.R.S, which I can only assume is like S.H.I.E.L.D except for zombies, the waitresses assembled in front of the statue to open fire with their plastic pistols. Apparently that didn’t prove to be very effective, since it only made the statue angrier.

It became quite apparent at this point that the seemingly normal woman in the opposite table had just been here for this part of the show. She became super jumpy and excited, shifting to get a closer view of the statue. But encountering a tyrant statue oshi, was just the tip of all of the strange stuff that we would run into today. Wondered how many times she’s actually been here, but the fact that she only ordered a drink suggested that this wasn’t her first.

Fire at the statue together with the waitresses.

At this point, the waitressing invited the patrons to join in the action. One person was taken from each of the nearby tables to assist in the heated battle against the life-sized statue. Since he was seated outside, we let the boss have a go at it. He went “is this alright?” but you could tell he was quite enjoying it.

Basically the guests and waitresses would then hold the guns together with one hand each and fire more shots at the zombie. Thanks to 3d project mapping you  can see the statue sustain injuries and eventually become deactivated.

To celebrate the victory, the waitresses went around all the tables giving out high fives (hi-touches in Japan), which caught us by surprise again. There are probably patrons out there who visit the cafe for the sole purpose of this invaluable “skinship”.

Taking damage.

After everyone got to touch the young girls, it was suddenly back to normal business in the cafe. We were asked if we wanted more food, and when we had enough dessert was served in a small petri dish. Not the most appetizing presentation, such that the boss needed to check what was inside. Thankfully it wasn’t zombie love juice but plain old almond pudding.

We had our fill, so didn’t stay long after. Randy took the opportunity on the way our to shake hands with one of the waitresses he liked on the way out, while the boss settled the bill. For the truly rabid fans, there were some cafe exclusive souvenirs for sale.

Dessert.

We still had a few hours to kill before our plans in the evening so Akiyama took us on a tour around the adjacent Shibuya Tokyu Hands, exclaiming that it was his favorite place. “It has everything” he remarked.

The boss lives nearby so we had actually caught him while running an errand. He searched for some household goods but didn’t have what he was looking for. It was convenient, since we were actually looking for some binoculars. The boss was interested what for, to which we explained that it was for the concert at Yokohama Arena that we’d be attending tomorrow. He laughed but brought us on a search for some.

This probably wouldn’t be the last I’d hear of it though. Whenever I meet our client company bosses for the first time, he always makes it a point to bring up my interest in idols.

We eventually found what we were looking for in the basement of a Bic Camera outlet. Managed to snap up a bunch of decent 8x magnification ones for just 980 yen each since they were on sale. More than half what a similar pair went for at Tokyu Hands.

We parted ways with the boss, but then made a U-turn back to the main streets of Shibuya since we still had more time. Stopped by a book store at the entrance to the street but there wasn’t much of interest there. All the tiny bookstore carried were magazines and on the go reading like self-help books. Decided to check out the Tsutaya instead.

As luck would have it, I managed to pick up a copy of the aquarium book which I had missed in Nagoya here.

I even finally found the book I was looking for. twitter.com/supermerlion/s…

— Supermerlion (@supermerlion) November 10, 2012

Some years ago, I introduced the Starbucks at this Tsutaya as a nice spot to grab a coffee, while watching people pass by along the famous Shibuya crossing. These days, the cafe’s reputation has far exceeded common logic. This afternoon, there was actually a queue downstairs made up entirely of tourists looking to get up into the cafe.

Upstairs, the Starbucks itself was filled to the brim. There wasn’t even enough space for people to sit around so the foreigners were just standing there pointing their cameras to the street. It looked pretty silly.

Coffee break.

Randy and I tried looking around Shibuya for some place where we could take a break as Randy needed to get some coffee. After searching around the streets and Mark City in vain we entered a chain cafe along one of the branching streets called Segafredo. Strangely, it was packed with mostly tourists inside too, but there were a couple of free seats so we decided to settle here.

Usually in Japan, you’d place your order at the counter then get a seat. The disgusting practice of reserving fast food seats with handbags, tissue packets or a spare party member’s butt does not occur here. Unfortunately for us, none of the tourists knew that. Just as we were walking over to our seats, a middle-aged ethnically Chinese women squeezed through and planted herself at both tables and while waiting for the rest of her crude friends who had yet to even arrive.

The rest of the tables were occupied by more foreigners, most of whom had already long finished their drinks but were just sitting around spacing out. We stood around with our tray for a while, but no one got the idea. It was a good 15 minute wait before a Singaporean couple finally decided to leave, though at no consideration to us.

If these are the only foreigners that the common Japanese person ever comes into contact with, perhaps you can’t really blame them for being as xenophobic as they are? For all the complaining that Singaporeans do about expats not following their nuances in Singapore, they do very little to observe the basic courtesies, let alone local cultures when overseas.

Fish is awfully happy about earthquakes.

Downing two coffees within a matter of hours, after the months of abstinence didn’t turn out to be such a good idea. It hit me like a brick and felt really zoned out and thirsty for the rest of the evening.

A friend had invited us to a birthday party for another close friend of hers this evening. The bunch of them also happened to be idols, so it was really a birthday concert instead. Soon, it was time for us to head to Akihabara once more to attend the birthday live.

These day by day encounter posts tend to be pretty detailed, at least from reader feedback but in this case I’d keep things brief. Honestly, I’m not too sure what I should or can write about the entire event. So the rest shall remain a mystery.

Akihabara.

The entire evening ended up being really surreal though. We were no strangers to concerts, but it was still a very different experience given the circumstances. It’s all fun and games when you’re attending any other concert but when you do know someone performing personally, it kind of feels like we were intruding upon her work. Perhaps she wasn’t so aware of such things but she did seem happy to have us around.

It turned out to be quite a day, and while perhaps not the typical idea of fun, the novel adventure were indeed quite priceless. The kind of situations you would encounter in those quirky documentaries about Japan. Randy commented that today felt more like his actual birthday celebration. And while we did make plans after the concert to meet up with our idol friend again on another day, at this time we wouldn’t really know what other surprises the trip would have in store for us.

The Meiji Jingu Shrine is one of those must visit spots for those traveling to Tokyo. Personally this would be something like my 10th time here. Since I’m always traveling with new people, always found myself visiting either Asakusa or Meiji Jingu on the first day of each trip. Today in an attempt to cover some of the most basic sights around Tokyo, we’ll be stopping by Meiji Jingu in the morning and hopefully spend the rest of the afternoon over at Odaiba.

This morning we tried walking to another different station from our apartment. There are a good 3 or 4 accessible Metro Subway stations from where we lived, though at varying distances. Suitengumae Station ended up being a lot closer than the Kabayacho station that we had used the past two days. Granted, they both served different lines, so there might still be the need to visit Kabayacho, but we decided then to use Suitengumae whenever possible instead.

Our apartment was located just beside the Metropolitan Expressway Fukagawa Bridge from which there was an amazing view of the Sky Tree to the north and the Sumida River to the south. We found a Lawson convenience store on the other side of the bridge and a new 7-Eleven that was just being built.

Suitengumae Station was just under the T-CAT terminal, which operates buses to Narita and Haneda. Pointed it out to Eri, since she’d need to take a bus from here back to the airport on Monday.

View from Fukagawa Route Bridge.

Amazingly, we managed to reach Harajuku early for once. Yan asked that we meet him at what he referred to as “the cosplay bridge”. There aren’t any cosplayers in Harajuku since, ever.

Figured he meant Jingubashi though. The bridge is just outside Meiji Jingu. Visual Kei posers sometime hang out there during the weekends. These days you’ll mostly just find lots of tourists hanging around the bridge looking lost or gaijin holding up “Free Hugs” signs.

Randy remembered a chocolate croissant shop in Harajuku that he had visited many years ago with his parents. We found it just beside the three way pedestrian overpass that connects Meiji Jingu, Yoyogi and Harajuku Station. He ran in to help us get some. Though small, their trademark Choco Cros were really nice.

Sanmaruku Cafe.

Choco Cro.

Met up with Yan outside of the Meiji Jingu Shrine and we began the light uphill hike through the forest up to the main shrine. Will keep things brief, since we already have a more elaborate guide to the Meiji Jingu.

Always enjoy the stroll there. What makes Meiji Jingu special, is that though it looks like the shrine is located in a natural dense forest, the entire 175 acres of forest was actually planted nearly a decade ago by hand. The 120,000 trees were actually donations planted by some 110,000 volunteers to honor the Meiji Emperor and create a treasure for future generations. It’s a beautiful, selfless act that can be read about better here.

Entrance to Meiji Jingu.

Large man made forest.

You’ve probably seen this many times already.

Some sort of event.

There were a bunch of tents set up along the last stretch of path before the main shrine. It was the Meiji Jingu’s annual chrysanthemum exhibition. We stopped a while to take a look at the various flowers and bonsai arrangements that had been donated to the shrine for display.

Annual chrysanthemum exhibition.

Some bonsai plants.

The rest stopped to wash their hands at the fountain before the shrine. Could tell that Randy really been wanting to try this for a while but felt a little awkward since the rest weren’t really spontaneous with this sort of thing.

Didn’t purchase any charms this time from the juyosho amulet office, since I already have a whole bunch from previous visits. They make great gifts for friends back home though I’m still in the process of giving them out.

Main gate.

Shichi-Go-San was this week.

Washing their hands.

Sitting in one of the buildings here.

Main shrine.

Always end up looking through the ema tablets. These are the wooden plaques which people write their prayers on that you’d see around Japanese shrines. The ones at Meiji Jingu are hung around one of the two really large trees outside the main building.

Ema tablets hung around the tree.

You will usually find ema for sale at the amulet office, though in some cases like at Meiji they are available from a separate building. The act of purchasing one is just one example on how Japanese have streamlined religion. Regardless of religion, people are going to make donations to places of worship in hope of some sort of gain. Ema and omamori are just a more transparent version of this exchange.

Sadface.

Being a popular travel spot, a lot of the ema were written in English and other languages. Some were prayers, while others asked typically asked the tree for money. A good many others were giving thanks to god for letting them come to Japan. There was a depressing one in English about being alone in Tokyo and an amusing one in scribbly Japanese (likely from a kid) about wanting to become an idol.

Wishes.

We were in quite the rush for time this morning, so there wasn’t time to explore the rest of the grounds. For those who do have the time, there’s a nice park further beyond the shrine where the treasure museum is located.

Moving on, it was back over to Takeshita Dori, which is the image of Harajuku most should be familiar with.

Takeshita Dori.

While marketed as fashion central overseas, most of the shops located along the single, long stretch of Takeshita Street cater toward Japanese kids and teenagers. Harajuku specializes in gaudy, often gimmicky clothing that you’d be embarrassed to wear anywhere else in Japan (though they might actually be wearable in Singapore).

In their defense, the clothing found here can be really cheap, even by Japanese standards, though the shops often sacrifice on quality to meet its audience’s budget. The focus is on coming up with new potential trends. Pretty much all adults, even young adults would be better off shopping elsewhere though.

Still, regardless of time or day, there are always people at Takeshita Street. It’s especially popular among tourists, who come here in search of its reputation. It wasn’t too bad today since it was a weekday but it gets really rowdy on weekends. It’s worth visiting Takeshita Dori at least once, if only to brag about surviving the crowds here.

AKB48 Shop.

Based on our party composition, the reason why were here was of course to visit the AKB48 Official Shop Harajuku. Yan wanted to drop off a birthday present for one of the AKB48 members, Takeuchi Miyu. There used to be a collection counter for such stuff on the first floor of the building but it was closed off today.

It also used to be that you’d had to book a visit to the AKB48 Shop in advance online. The requirement has since been lifted, so you can visit all 3 floors without any prior reservation now. It’s mostly just the typical AKB48 branded stationary and souvenirs snacks but fans will want to visit anyways just to take a look inside. In a rare move, photography is allowed.

Member costumes.

There managed to be even less things for sale at the AKB48 Shop than before. It was in a pretty bad state, with sparse shelves and most items sold out. The AKB48 shop we chanced upon in Osaka was much better stocked.

We found some note paper upstairs for where you could write some greetings to members who had upcoming birthdays. The messages today were for Kasai Tomomi and Sato Sumire.  Randy dropped off something for Sato and helped pen a note to Kasai for a friend back in Singapore.

Birthday message for Kasai Tomomi.

Courtesy of Randy.

The basement of the AKB48 shop was perhaps the worst off. All of the groups CDs and DVDs were scattered here. Lots of old singles were put on discount. It doesn’t look too good when even the source has to take some off the retail price.

The only thing I found of interest here were full bodied decal sisters of the AKB48 members. Wouldn’t it be amusing (in an embarrassing way) to paste this onto stuff? Many members were sold out though. Manage to convince Eri to purchase one to paste on her luggage bag.

Full body decals.

Worked out way further down Takeshita Dori. Needed to visit the 7-Eleven about midway through to get some money from the ATM there. Had finally unblocked overseas withdrawals last night.

Yan spotted one of these Calbee+ shops which he took a detour into. He’s quite the sucker for Japanese Snacks. Came out with some cheese covered chips. Randy was tempted to get some too but managed to resist the urge.

Calbee Shop.

Gourmet chips.

Made a quick loop around Harajuku Street, opposite of Takeshita Dori, which is where more of the actual local independent labels are located. Ended up being perhaps a mistake since we’d end up spending a lot more time in Harajuku than anticipated.

Yan entered this teenage clothing store that had this stuck out tongue motif which he liked. He had seen this motif somewhere before in the past. I believe Funky Bass had a limited series of clothing with the design. He ended up getting a few pieces of clothes here and a necklace which according to him look like one that Takeuchi Miyu owned, but later regretted when he realize that it wasn’t the original brand that he had expected.

Harajuku shops do this a lot, knocking off each others designs. At the end of the day, all of their clothes come from the same mass produced factory sources in China anyways.

Local clothing stop.

Stopped by the Radio Evangelion Store on the way back to Harajuku Station. It’s in one of the hidden side streets along Takeshita Dori beside a shop selling second hand Vivienne Westwood items and one of those “hip hop” stores with shady Nigerian touts pretending to be African American.

The number of black hustlers have multiplied at least threefold in recent times. It’s definitely is one of my least favorite aspects of Harajuku. The touters can be often found along the main street harassing passersby. They mainly target Japanese youths and aren’t afraid to grab you. Was approached by some this afternoon, though replying back in better English often takes them aback.

Evangelion Shop.

It was already nearing 3 and we had yet to have anything substantial to eat. Decided to make a trip to Shibuya for Midori Sushi and perhaps stop by the SKE48 Shop along the way. There were still requests from the folk back at Singapore to fill.

Walking toward Shibuya, something was clearly amiss when I saw another shop in place of the SKE48 store. Turns out that this SKE48 Shop had recently closed down too. So much for that.

SKE48 shop had disappeared.

Midori Sushi is located along the bridge connecting Mark City to the JR Shibuya Station. It can get pretty crowded there during peak hours, with queues spanning the entire stretch. Since it was well past conventional lunch timings, there wasn’t much of a wait this afternoon.

I stop by Midori at least once each trip. It’s one of the best places to get sushi within Tokyo. Servings are some of the largest around town and though not nearly as cheap as the sushi we had in Osaka, prices are still some of the most affordable, especially when considering the quality of fish served.

A set meal costs around SGD$20 on average. The most extravagant sets will set you back between 2,000 or 3,000 yen (SGD$28 to $42). Though there is no real comparable equivalent in Singapore, attempting to order the same fishes would set you back a good many times more.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. If you haven’t already visited Midori once, definitely do.

Midori Sushi.

A must visit every trip.

Yan’s.

Large pieces.

More of Yan’s.

Randy’s.

We’d hurriedly make our way to Shinbashi Station after lunch to catch the rail over to the man made island of Odaiba. We had left central Tokyo far later than expected, so the sun was already setting as the we passed through the familiar Rainbow Bridge.

Since it’s separated from the main land, traveling to Odaiba costs more than most other places. Apart from car or water taxi, the only other transport that services Odaiba are a private subway and Yurikamome light rail, all of which cost between 300-400 yen. Alternatively, you could walk over the bridge for free, though it’s a good 3 or 4 kilometers on foot.

I personally tend to take the Yurikamome over. Just the scenic ride alone is well worth the price of the ticket. The downside is that you have to board along one of the stations along the south east coast of Tokyo, whereas the subway operates all the way from the city center. I’ve yet to had the opportunity to take the ferry over though, will try that some time.

Train to Odaiba.

The Yurikamome is a small light rail much like the LRT system in Singapore. Even the stations along the line look more akin to the ones we have back in Singapore, with their full height barriers. Like the LRT, you get these really wide viewing windows in the Yurikamome for a great view of Odaiba and the Tokyo Bay area.

We’d be sharing the space with a couple of young Chinese ladies and two very excited Japanese women. Judging from the baggage, they likely weren’t from these parts. As soon as the train took off they started running from window to window to take photos and recordings on their tablet and camcorder.

Excited Japanese ladies.

I really enjoy visiting Odaiba myself. There are easily enough sights around the island for a full or even multiple day trip. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time left so we’d need to skip and breeze through most of the area.

To save some money, you can stop off at the first station on the island, Odaibakaihinkoen and walk over to the rest of the shopping area. There’s a long overhead walkway that cuts through the island connecting Odaibakaihinkoen to the Tokyo Teleport Subway Station and Aomi Station which was further down the Yurikakome. These three stations are where most of the shopping areas are concentrated in around Odaiba, with the rest of the island mainly being parks, offices and convention areas.

Overpass to the shopping areas.

We’d walk over to Aomi Station at the other end of the island first. Spotting the new Diver City along the way, we made a mental note to drop by there later.

First time visitors to Odaiba would immediately notice how different a place it is to the rest of Tokyo. There are plenty of land to go around the island and wide open spaces everywhere. The individual malls here are huge too, with large low rise complexes being the norm. It’s like stepping into a whole different country.

Family themed mall.

Venus Fort is located at the other end of the island. It’s a large family themed complex split into multiple parts. I’ve covered it quite a few times in previous visits already. Families drive over during the weekends to spend some time here but it was nearly empty on this weekday evening.

One key feature of the mall, is that it is pet friendly. You’re allowed to walk your dogs in the mall and its shops freely.

Empty.

We were here today for Eri to grab some stuff from the pet store there. Didn’t have much time to walk around but Eri did pick up some dog food from the pet store to bring back home. Apparently it was much cheaper here. Randy spent most of the time eyeing a tiny white Pomeranian in the adjacent pet store.

A Japanese couple sat beside the kennels inside the pet store. The lady there was holding onto a young Shiba Inu. Since before we had arrived she was already pleading with her boyfriend/husband to let her have it, whereas he seemed more keen on getting another breed.

There was a life sized dog statue outside the pet store. A couple of guys passed through with 3 huge huskies, one of which calmly started urinating on the statue. The pet owner had to stop to clean up the mess. He was probably used to it, since he came equipped with a cloth and disinfectant spray.

Good old fave.

Caught our breath at a pantry in the middle of the Venus Fort before moving on. It’s main function was probably as a baby corner but was actually quite huge and well furnished with sofas and vending machines here.

Pantry.

On the way out, we stopped by the Toyota MegaWeb showroom after the rest spotted this replica ship from the One Piece anime/manga. There was actually some sort of One Piece event going on at this and the other malls in Odaiba in support of the new movie.

Stamps featuring One Piece characters were scattered around. The rest were fans so they searched for something to stamp on. We keep encountering similar stamps everywhere we go but are never ready with anything to stamp them on.

Setting up the Christmas decorations.

From One Piece.

One Piece stamps.

Diver City was just around the corner from Venus Fort, well at least in Odaiba proportions.

We stopped by a 7-Eleven at the entrance while Yan and Eri attempted to get tickets for DisneySea. Considering that she only had another one more full free day before returning to Singapore, it was a good idea that she visited at least one Disney park tomorrow. Both Randy and I had already been to DisneySea and weren’t too keen on returning, so we let the two spend some time together. In the meantime, we had some other interesting plans for tomorrow.

The two tried asking the staff at 7-Eleven for help, but the staff there weren’t quite sure how to operate the ticketing kiosk either and were pointed to a Lawson at Tokyo Teleport Station instead. When we were about to leave however, one of them came running out having figured out how to get it to work.

Randy bought this Macha ice pop while we waited for the two to settle the tickets. Perhaps it was the weather, but despite having visited Japan a number of times,  I realized that I never had the opportunity to try out their combini ice cream. Apparently the Macha one was really good.

Getting tickets for DisneySea.

Macha ice pop.

Passing through the first floor of Diver City, most of the shops here were mostly targeted towards travelers. There were a number of souvenir shops and the Odaiba Glico shop had relocated here too. Found another Calbee+, this one has a giant plush mascot at the entrance which Randy promptly took some self shots with.

Nothing of particular interest at the Glico and souvenir shops, just lots of tiny knick knacks and novelty snacks like this infamous boob pudding. Apart from the omiyage shops, the rest of the ground floor was taken up by a large food court, which was rare, except in touristy places like this. Though we hadn’t had the time to look through, the upper floors at Diver City seemed to house lots of budget international clothing brands.

Gimmicky omiyage.

Just past the food court, we found the exit to where the life sized Gundam was displayed. We last saw the Real Grade 1/1 Gundam Project in Shizuoka just before the March 11 disaster. It had reportedly sustained some damage in the earthquake. I’m not too familiar with Gundams, but from my layman observation there were some minor differences, such as the decals being different.

The life sized Gundam has been relocated here.

Having the Gundam settle at Odaiba seems like a conscious effort to promote tourism, both local and overseas. It probably explains the choice of tenants at Diver City too. For those who want to take home a piece of this particular Gundam, there’s a small trailer truck just beside the statue selling exclusive goods pertaining to the Real Grade Gundam.

There’s also a Gundam museum upstairs and a small Gundam Cafe and Shop just beside the statue. We checked out the Cafe and Shop but there really wasn’t much inside at all. It somehow even managed the amazing feat of being less stocked than even the AKB48 Cafe Singapore, back when that was still around.

There were just a few general Gundam themed goods for sale, while the “cafe” portion of the shop was really just a drinks and snack counter which doubled as the shop’s cashier. All they sold were coffee, churros and the Gundam Taiyaki that we had seen in Akihabara. Fans looking for a Gundam dining experience will want to check out the Tokyo or Akihabara Gundam Cafe and Bar.

Part of Gundam Front.

Headed over to the other side of Odaiba where Decks and Aqua City are located. This is the more scenic pier area facing Tokyo and the Rainbow Bridge. Definitelya the more couple-ly  side of Odaiba, with lots of boutiques and restaurants facing the waterfront. It’s a popular spot among Tokyoites for wedding banquets. The Partire Tokyo Bay Wedding Village where you can plan and hold the actual wedding is conveniently located on Odaiba too.

Outside.

Spotted a Lego Land on the second floor of Decks, but rather than a full theme park like the one in Malaysia, it was simply a small Lego branded amusement center. Headed upstairs to show the rest the quaint Daiba Itchome Shotengai, a period themed shopping district which I had came across earlier this year with Gage. Itchome Shotengai attempts to mimic a 1960s Japanese street, except that it is located on the 4th floor of the Decks mall.

There are quite a few interesting things to see around the shops at Itchome Shotengai. The novelty stores here carry snacks and goods from decades past. There’s also an old amusement center, with old mechanical arcade and pachinko machines, as well as video games from the 70s and 80s. No doubt a nostalgic experience for older visitors.

Odaiba Itchome Shotengai.

Was telling Randy that it would be totally idealistic, coming to these sort of places for dates. One ought to be envious that there are no shortage of such places in Japan, whereas most Singaporean couples would be hard pressed coming up with new places to visit or impress their dates with.

Even after visiting Tokyo this many times, there are always new places to explore and new sights to see. But those who’ve been to Japan would realize that pretty much every scenic or touristy attraction in Japan doubles as a popular date spot for locals. There are an infinite number of things to do here as a couple, but only so many you can visit alone without feeling out of place. Yes, Japan is made for dating.

Classic amusement center.

Old school vending machine.

Found a space dedicated to photobooths at one corner. Rather than the Japanesey, gyaru booths of the past, the current models went with a western photo shoot and fashion magazine theme full of Made In Japan English. Was quite intrigued so took a look inside.

The few that are exported overseas didn’t have a thing on the new ones here. The booths come with their own translucent umbrella setup for some nice soft lighting and judging from the Canon EFS lens sticking out, there was probably a DSLR in there. Pretty sure there are all sorts of algorithms built into the machine to help automate the photo “-shopping” processing too.

All sorts of new purika machines.

Amazing.

DSLR in there.

At the back of the shotengai we found the “Odaiba Takoyaki Museum”, which was just a food court that served only takoyaki. There’s also a small gift shop along the back that sold tacky takoyaki themed merchandise, mostly the same stuff you’d find in Osaka. There were some interesting amezaiku, Japanese candied animals on display here though.

Takoyaki themed food court.

Ridiculous mascot.

Candied animals.

On the way out, we stopped at one of the previous snack shops where Yan bought some ramune and had difficulty figuring out how to open it

In contrast to all the other retro themed shops, there was also a Korean idol goods store just opposite it. A couple of Japanese girls were messing around a machine outside the store that allowed you to print out customized cellphone covers with their favorite boyband members. Again, no 2PM goods inside.

Ramune.

Korean idol store. Mostly boy bands but no 2PM stuff here either.

Headed over to the adjacent Aqua City shopping complex, where most of the clothing stores and restaurants are located. We stopped at the Joypolis on the way out first though. Momoiro Clover Z were on all the advertisement promoting the amusement center. Randy checked out the brochures. Would be an interesting place to visit given the opportunity but the steep entry fee meant that it’d only be worth entering if there are a good few hours to spare.

The first thing the rest spotted inside Aqua City was this Capcom store on the first level. It carried a pretty extensive collection of video game related goods, more so than the AKB48 or Gundam shops we’d seen today. Wasn’t really my thing, so got bored quickly and found some other shops to look at outside. Randy walked away beaming with happiness after purchasing a Bio Hazard / Resident Evil artbook for cheap. Apparently it was rare and had long sold out elsewhere.

Capcom Official Shop.

Monhun.

Various video game merchandise.

Found this opposite the Capcom store.

There was a Coca-Cola branded clothing store beside the Capcom shop. They actually sold some really nice vintage looking checkered shirts. Ended up getting one of these there in S size which fitted perfectly. Was pretty satisfied by the purchase, since it was one of the few occasions going around where I actually managed to buy something.

Eri wanted to get one too and asked if there were any smaller ones but the shop assistant replied that it was for men only. Turned out that the material shrinks when washed though, so is a little tight now.

While I was testing out the fitting, the shop started to close but the staff waited around patiently for us to finish. We had really arrived too late. All of the shops at Aqua City were already closed or in the process of closing. It was a waste, since there were lots of shops worth visiting here.

Check shirt.

The only shops that opened till later were the restaurants and eateries upstairs. Wanted to take a look around but Yan insisted on eating at the Kua Aina burgers there. Double checked with Randy if he was ok with that, since part of the reason why we came to Odaiba was as had promised him that we would find something better to eat today, as it was his birthday.

Turned out that Randy had forgotten this himself, or was probably beyond caring already, so Kua Aina it was.

Kua Aina.

Felt a little bad for him, but Kua Aina does serve a mean burger. It’s easily one of the best fast food places you can visit in Japan, though not the kind of place you’d go for a birthday celebration. Many will be happy to know that there are all sorts of customizable options when it comes to placing your order at Kua Aina. But we all ended up with some variant of avocado burger.

Avocado burger.

Glorious.

The prices at Kua Aina are a little steep, 1,000 yen for a burger, or an additional 200 yen for a combo. But it’s well worth the price. All of their outlets are located in other great chill out places. The following pictures were taken from the window-side seats that we got.

The staff there informed us that it was nearing their last order timing of 10 PM but we could stay around up till they closed at 11. Didn’t stay around for long though before heading back, since those going to DisneySea would have a long day ahead tomorrow.

Special illumination of Tokyo Tower this evening.

Great view.

As discussed last night, we’ll be spending most of this afternoon shopping over at Ginza and then seeing what that led to. Had taken note before the trip that the Tori no Ichi festivities would begin this evening so it’d be a good night to visit Asakusa. Unfortunately, some shocking news in the morning would blow what little plans we had for the rest of the trip out of the water.

We left the hotel later than planned as Eri and Randy were held up by some things. While leaving the hotel Eri revealed that she’d need to leave Japan immediately due to some personal reasons, and though she remained mum on the details, had already purchased another flight back for Monday.

Yan had asked us to meet him at the Matsuya exit of the Metro Ginza station at 10 AM but we ended up reaching there about 45 minutes late as a result. He wasn’t anywhere in sight, so we tried waiting around for another half an hour but when he did not turn up, we opted to continue on without him. He didn’t get a data sim, nor activate his existing Singapore line for overseas roaming, so was basically uncontactable once out of his inn.

Throughout, there was a English speaking woman of either Japanese or some other Asian ethnicity being filmed by a Caucasian couple on the street where we were waiting. They videoed her walking up and down the street repeatedly, then some closeups of her talking. Judging from her appearance, she couldn’t had been a celebrity so was probably one of those “bloggers”.

We needed to find an ATM urgently, since the three of us were running low on physical money. We’d be specifically looking for a Citibank, since Eri had an account there, the rest would have to deal with the surcharge. Citibank account holders can withdraw their money Japanese ATMs without the usual $5 fee. Remembered one nearby that had visited on a previous trip together with Wilson and MJ.

Eri got her money there but I had trouble getting any of my cards to work. Would learn later that the bank had blocked all my cards for overseas withdrawals at some point since the last trip, due to reports of fraudulent transactions coming from Malaysia.

Weather was still far too hot to wear nice jackets.

Yan finally contacted us at this point. We had assumed that he had perhaps roamed about to some Starbucks or McDonalds for Wi-Fi when in fact he had gone all the way to Tokyo Station just to use the Wi-Fi point there. Randy arranged for us to meet him at the opposite Matsuzakaya mall at 12 PM.

Matsuzakaya is one of the oldest mall franchises in Japan. It’s especially popular with the really old folk, who seem to make up most of their target audience. Both Randy and myself were keen on looking for the Takeo Kikuchi bags that we had failed to purchase in Nagoya, while Eri now had a ton of last minute shopping to do.She still had a bunch of souvenirs and a long shopping list from her colleagues and relatives. Then there was also the need for another luggage bag to carry all of that.

As luck would have it, she found a pretty good one on sale right at Matsuzakaya, we decided to head back later after all her other shopping to pick it up.

It’d be about an hour before we met up with Yan, in the remaining time, we looked around the department store and a sad little pet shop on the roof of the building. There’s a fenced roof on top of the Ginza Matsuzakaya building with ample space and benches. No doubt a great spot for visitors (or staff) to have a coffee break.

Also took the time to scout out some possible locations for lunch. We didn’t have time to grab any breakfast this morning, so were all quite hungry even if it was a little early. There was a cooking class being held beside all the restaurants on the top floor. It’s pretty common to see these workshops being held in department stores. For a fee, ingredients are provided and you can learn and prepare a meal for yourself on the spot. Such classes usually consist entirely of older women. Might be worth a try.

Found a nice Japanese restaurant on the top floor which served pretty much what we were looking for. It seemed to be really popular with the old folk and the prices were affordable.

Restaurant in Matsuzakaya.

We returned to the restaurant after meeting up with Yan but he urged us to eat somewhere else, so it was off to check out our other options. Ginza was mostly up classed restaurants, so the only other places were other mall restaurants and cafeterias, all of which were much more expensive and mostly western styled cuisine.

After wasting an hour roaming around Ginza and not finding anything that was affordable and yet fit our previous resolution of eating more “Japanese” food, we learned that Yan wasn’t even having lunch as he already had ramen before meeting us. So it was back to Matsuzakaya for our original choice.

Set meal.

Okonomi Yokudo seemed like one of those small chain restaurants. Prices here were really affordable especially for Ginza, just between 700 to 1,300 yen a meal. There was also a daily light special (some sort of sashi don this afternoon) for 500 yen which Yan ordered, while the rest tried various different sets. Randy wanted some katsudon, but ended up ordering a more expensive tonkatsu set by mistake instead.

The meal wasn’t bad, quite homely in fact. Kind of like Izakaya Nijumaru Restaurant back in Singapore. The milder taste sat well with the older folk and myself.

Randy’s tonkatsu.

Eri’s sashimi and udon set.

Yan’s lunch special.

We spent the rest of the afternoon scouting the various other shopping malls around Ginza. I very much prefer Ginza to most of the other popular shopping areas around Tokyo like Shibuya or Shinjuku since no matter what day of the week, it’s always a lot less crowded here. It’s also a lot easier to navigate since everything is concentrated into one neat grid pattern. It’s a pity we couldn’t had come here on a weekend as planned though, when they close off the roads for the hokousha tengoku experience.

Brought the rest over to Hakuhinkan Toy Park at the end of the street. It’s one of those places I visit each time I come to Tokyo. Hakuhinkan is one of the few toy shops in Tokyo in the traditional sense of the word. Perhaps it has something to do with the ageing population of scarcity of children in Japan, but you’ll find a lot more shops selling scantily clad anime character figures than actual toy shops in Japan.

Wireless motion controlled Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.

The first floor of Hakuhinkan sells various novelty gifts, while the upper levels carry a vast variety of classic and modern children’s toys, mascot character goods and plushes. Eri and especially Randy were amused by this Japanese wireless take on the classic Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. It blended some basic motion control technology, such that after you charged them up with the controller, you could physically punch with the controllers to make the robots fight.

Checked out the video games section on the upper levels. Tobidase Doubutsu no Mori, the 3DS’s Animal Crossing was released today and I really wanted the limited edition bundle. Unfortunately, would learn that all physical copies of the game, much less the set had sold out instantly this morning.

Eri grabbed a whole bunch of soft toys from Hakuhinkan, mostly as gifts. She was in quite the shopping frenzy this afternoon as a result of having to leave soon.

Tastes familiar.

Found a 7-Eleven beside the toy store and stopped inside to get some drinks. This fizzy Strawberry Cream Fanta tasted vaguely familiar, perhaps I had tried it before? Spotted a magazine with Watanabe Miyuki on the cover that Yan was interested in getting, it came with a rare alternate bonus cover for NMB48′s Kitagawa Kenji single. He decided to wait until another combini to get it but later regretted as he’d have trouble finding copies of the magazine sold elsewhere.

Waffles.

Awesome.

We headed back in the opposite direction, since the Masterpiece shop that Yan wanted to visit was on the other side of Ginza. Passing through the center, we took a detour for the Manneken outlet there. Each got some more waffles. I really liked this season’s special flavor.

Eri picked up more omiyage at the adjacent daifuku shop. It looked tempting to try some too but was really expensive. One of the shop assistants, a certain Aida-san, was quite cute.

Daifuku shop.

Yan found nothing that caught his attention at the Masterpiece outlet. Had visited it earlier this year with Gage and was disappointed then too. Masterpiece (MSPC) used to produce some really well made, unique designs in the past but since expanding, their designs and quality have taken a nosedive. You can find them at just about any shop mass selling bags these days, just beside all the Manhattan Portage and Porter stuff.

It wasn’t a completely wasted trip though, as Eri found the adjacent handbag store of interest. Perhaps it was out of desperation but she did leave with more shopping bags.

Famous bread shop.

Back outside, Yan spotted a famous bread shop called Kimuraya. Apparently it’s the oldest western bakery in Tokyo and the anpan buns served here were popular with the emperor. Yan bought a bunch for us to try but even by his own account, it ended up being quite unimpressive. Might had been better had they been warm but the buns we got were cold.

Red bean buns.

We found a Takeo Kikuchi outlet back at Matsuya. Unfortuntely, they didn’t carry the bags we were looking for. It became apparent that the designs we had seen in Nagoya were from a far older series. Randy needed a bag that he could carry around quite urgently, so he settled for another newer design. It matched him quite well though.

There was an ongoing sale, though there seems to be some sort of sale year round at all Japanese shops. Yan weighted on getting a jacket from Takeo Kikuchi, though eventually decided against it. Eri bought some handkerchiefs as gifts. The shop staff was really friendly, especially to Randy of course who had spent the most there. He pointed Randy toward a counter on the 3rd floor, where he could recover his taxes.

Ginza in the evening.

The counter staff gave Randy his duties in cash on the spot. He was very amused at how courteous and eager the staff there were to give him money. They even gave him a Hello Kitty gift pouch to hold the money.

Downstairs, Eri stopped at the Jill Stuart shop to get some cosmetics. If I remember correctly they also have some really nice hand mirrors. The shop was attended by a cute Shibuya-ish girl called Mori.

Mini baumkuchen.

Randy was tempted by a designer sweets shop just beside the cosmetic section called Nenrinya. It specialized in baumkuchen, something that he had been eyeing for a while ever since seeing some in the basement of other department stores. He ended up trying one of these “Chiisana Baum Tsuri“, mini baumkuchen trees. It was nice.

We returned to Matsuzakaya so that Eri could get the luggage that we had seen earlier. The staff there even managed to fit everything she bought today into the bag. She’d head back to the apartment first to drop off her stuff before meeting up with us again later.

Wanted to perhaps visit the Sky Tree in the evening but Yan insisted on visiting Akihabara again instead. Despite my protest that the Super Enpou service had already been discontinued, he didn’t want to take my word for it and wanted to try going to the AKB48 Theater personally and begging the staff there for some tickets. To avoid the embarrassment, Randy and I hung around the Donki downstairs to grab the supplies that we were unable to get yesterday.

Back at Akihabara.

Anyone should be able to guess the outcome of the above. We met back up with Eri at Akihabara, and for a while she and Yan went scouting for more AKB48 photos again. At the same time Randy needed to help his brother purchase a PlayStation Vita system.

After looking around for the past couple of weeks, Randy settled on getting a second hand set. There are a ton of people eager to get rid of their system in Japan, since even here, there is really nothing to play on the system so you can get them pre-owned for cheap. They aren’t region locked and can be freely switched between languages, so there are no worries there.

He picked up a Wi-Fi model (the 3G ones were sim locked) in mint condition from the TRADERS in Akihabara for under 18,000 yen or about just SGD$260. A good $140 below the suggested retail price in Singapore or $80 below grey market prices.

Really cheap.

We decided to have dinner at the Go! Go! Curry in Akihabara. Had been wanting to eat some since yesterday evening. It’s definitely my favorite curry chain and the rest had been missing it too ever since the franchise pulled out of Singapore earlier this year.

Go! Go! Curry here is pretty identical to as it was in Singapore. We placed our order with the vending machine beside the entrance and found seats upstairs on the second floor of the outlet. We were the only ones eating here this evening.

It’s a surprise that Go! Go! Curry survived nearly as long as it did in Singapore where the the illusion of choice is of utmost important and where watery Japanese curry is the expected norm. Unlike CoCo Ichibanya, there aren’t too many options when it comes to ordering at Go! Go! Curry, just the amount of rice you want with each meal. Instead, the main points at Go! Go! Curry are its affordable prices, ridiculous servings and thick sticky curry. I also like the generous amount of salad you get with each meal.

Ridiculous servings.

There are only 5 things on menu at Go! Go! Curry. You can get a pork or chicken katsu, shrimp or sausage curry for about 700 yen each, or a plain curry for 500 yen. There’s also the “Major Curry” which includes everything on menu for just 1,000 yen. Yan and Randy tried it this evening. They started to have some difficulty about midway through.

Normal sized katsu curry.

By the time the rest were done with Akihabara it was too late to visit the Sky Tree, so it was back to our apartment after. Since our apartment was located right next to the Sumida River there was actually quite a nice view walking back each evening. There’s also a clear view of the Sky Tree from where we lived since the tower was just about 3 kilometers to the north.

The day ended up being quite unpurposeful for myself, though the rest managed to get some shopping done. With Eri leaving early, it would mean that we’d need to try squeezing in all the essential touristy spots around Tokyo in the couple of free days left, starting with tomorrow.

Back to our apartment.

After boarding our bus, we spent the rest of the night, or rather morning enroute to Tokyo. The Willer Express coach bus that we were taking was surprisingly comfortable, so for once I managed to catch some sleep along the way. Willer Express operates buses to and from all over the country on a daily basis, and is definitely one good way of getting around long distances in Japan for the budget traveler.

We had opted to take our journey to Tokyo overnight, so while it would take longer than say via Shinkansen, we would also be saving on another night’s accommodation. A bullet train to Tokyo would cost at least 10,000 yen but the ride from Nagoya to Tokyo by bus would only set us back 3,600 yen each.

Personal entertainment systems were provided for each seat, though apart from Eri, we were far too tired to do anything but rest. Randy was most fascinated that each seat also had a power outlet, so we could charge our cell phones along the way. Apart from boarding or disembarking, the bus was mostly pitch dark. There were also shaded covers at each seat. Our pickup point at Sakae was one of the last, so it was mostly just highway beyond that.

Comfortable seats.

Outside the largest gas station ever in the middle of nowhere. Got its own 24 hour supermarket and toilet is size of basketball court.

— Supermerlion (@supermerlion) November 6, 2012

As there were no toilets on board this bus, we stopped at just three points after that, once every couple of hours or so. I was especially amazed by the first rest stop not too far from Nagoya, as I had never quite seen anything like it.

This was one of NEXCO’s “Service Areas”. Just the toilet here was about the size of a basketball court. The large car park was built seemingly in the middle of nowhere to accomodate the many other buses and trailer trucks passing through between cities. There was also a 24 hour convenience store the size of a super market, an actual supermarket and some restaurants and cafeterias.

Regrettably, being half asleep, it didn’t cross our minds to check our the combini, or take any photographs of the rest stop. But thanks to the wonders of technology, you can take an entire virtual tour of the place on foot thanks to Google Map’s panoramic interiors for businesses.

View Larger Map

Slept through the second stop and by the time I came to, we were already nearing Tokyo. The last rest stop was just by the border to the city. It was really foggy here, such that you couldn’t see the sky clearly or even too far. The green lighting at the border reflected off the fog for a rather otherworldly effect, it was like being in one of those horror video games.

How different a city Tokyo was is quite apparent from just the rest stop. Compared to the large, country architecture at the Aichi stop, an elevator on the ground floor here led to a rest stop that was entirely underground. There were just some rest rooms and a bunch of different vending machines there.

Nearing Tokyo.

Futuristic rest stop.

We reached Tokyo Station slightly before the expected 6.30 AM time. The working crowd had yet to arrive but there was still a good many people catching the bullet trains this morning. It was much too early for us to head to our accommodation yet, since my liaison there would only arrive at 9 AM.

Hoping to kill some time till then, we tried looking around for somewhere to get some breakfast. However I was quite unfamiliar with the new Tokyo Station which had been just renovated the last month. There didn’t seem to be anything open yet at this time.

Randy tried looking up his map on his phone, but it indicated that the nearest McDonalds would be a few blocks away, not a distance we’d want to attempt with our bulky luggage.

Between varying states of hunger and sleepiness, the three of us weren’t exactly functioning really well at this time. We spaced out near a taxi stand for nearly half an hour before I ended up finding a McDonalds just inside the station while looking for a rest room. We finally wheeled our luggage there for the first meal of the day. Guess, this new shop wasn’t reflected in the maps yet.

Breakfast at Tokyo Station.

Ended up getting an Egg McMuffin set. It tastes quite identical to the ones you’d find in Singapore, except that it was 430 yen rather than $4.30. The only difference here is that you are given the tea bag separately, rather than pre-inserted into your tea.

I would usually feel quite bad for staying as long as we did at any other eatery (though most Singaporeans seem to be blissfully immune to this notion). Thankfully, there weren’t too many people who would actually be stopping to eat in on this Wednesday morning. There was a young woman decked out in a lolita dress behind us who had had been here reading her book for much longer.

Tastes the same.

We spent the next 90 minutes chilling out at the McDonalds. As far as I know, the ones in Japan offer free refills on their coffee and tea too. You’ll need to return to the counter for a top up rather than having self serviced pots like in some other places, but just this action is enough to deter most from taking advantage of it.

Eventually, as recommended by the apartment manager, we took a cab over to the apartment. It’s only 10 minutes away, so thankfully the fare didn’t cost us too much.

Cabbing over to the apartment.

Kurumi Mansion is a mansion, in the Japanese sense of the word. These are basically single room studio apartments that are smaller than their western counterparts. They’re probably the closest things you’d find to HDB flats in Japan, and are aimed towards the lower-middle income singles or couples who still insist on housing within the city.

We had arrived at the apartment block with still some time to spare but the building manager appeared soon enough. After settling the paperwork and paying our rent, he showed us to the rooms and explained some of the basic information about the mansion, as well as its surroundings. He was really friendly, perhaps more than we’d be usually comfortable with.

Kurumi Mansion.

Eventually we were led to our rooms. It was a lot smaller than I had imagined, though I didn’t mind and we had knowingly booked the smallest option anyways. The main problem though was that the room was really old and there were lots of unnecessary stuff inside like cookery and such that were in a too disgusting state to use. These further minimized the actual amount of living space we had to our disposal.

Wasn’t quite sure when the last time the place was used, but it certainly showed its age. There was the typical old room smell and the place was covered in dust so just disturbing the bed left clouds of dust throughout the room. Tried to get some circulation by switching the air conditioning’s fan to its maximum and opening the window but there was only a small, toilet sized window to the room so there was very little ventilation.

The room.

Everyone was still really beat out from the trip over to Tokyo, so we spent the rest of the afternoon recovering. The apartment doesn’t provide any toiletries, so had to make do with some basic ones from the combini downstairs. It belonged to a company that we had never seen before and didn’t carry much items.

Too much unnecessary stuff inside.

Also did some laundry that morning. There were free washers and even drying machines on the 3rd floor of the apartment block. However we could only use them between 9 AM and 9 PM each day. While this seemed like a minor annoyance at first, it would prove to be quite a major inconvenience later on.

There was also a vacuum for use here, which I promptly borrowed in an attempt to clear some of the dust in the room, but it barely helped. Ended up bumping into the overtly friendly apartment manager and cleaner along the way down, the two of them made up the entire staff. After some small talk, slept through the rest of the afternoon.

Modular toilet.

Was definitely feeling a bit down about the accommodation. Was definitely the worst living conditions I’ve had in Japan so far. I didn’t care so much about the size or facilities of the place but the thing that got to me was definitely the state at which it was in. Part of the reason I get away to Japan as often, is to take a break from the usual respiratory difficulties and the room did not bode well.

We had opted to stay here rather than my usual business hotel, as Eri was against paying any more for accommodation. On hindsight, perhaps ought to had been a little selfish and stayed elsewhere alone. But then again, there were a lot of things that we lacked the foresight for this trip. Hopefully, things would get better, or perhaps we’d grow more accustomed to the place in time to come?

We woke up in the late afternoon. Better rested, it was time to make full use of the remaining hours in the day. The sun had already set for the day, but thankfully, unlike the other cities, Tokyo tends to stay up later.

In Akihabara.

Like any good ota, the rest were keen on visiting Akihabara as our first stop in Tokyo. It didn’t mind since we could pick up some much needed toiletries and supplies from either the Don Quijote or the supermarket near Akihabara Station on the way back.

It was a long walk from our hotel to the Metro Kayabacho Station a kilometer away, but from there it was just three subway stops to Akihabara.

Too many maids.

The streets around Akihabara were crowded this evening with people headed in our opposite direction back toward the station. We looked around at a few of the anime and toy shops around but found nothing of particular interest.

Thanks to the unbearable stench of sweat and body odour, it is literally impossible to stay long in some of the shops. The rest of the world makes Akihabara to be the holy land for all things otaku, but in reality it’s really more of a quarantine zone for the most undesirable expects of Japanese society.

The Donki Building.

We’d actually meet up with Yan, outside the Don Quijote building at Akihabara. Many of our readers will better know it as the headquarters for mega pop idol group AKB48.

While not part of our original plans, Yan had scheduled a trip to Tokyo for the next two weeks to coincide with our stay. Yan would be living at a backpackers bunk within walking distance of Akihabara, so he had been in the area after landing in Japan this afternoon and dropping off his bagage.

Lammtara.

Spent the next couple of hours bringing Yan and Eri around to the typical wota shops, like Liberty and Lammtara as they searched for their AKB48 goods or what not. Also stopped by Akiba Culture ZONE again for the capsule boxes there so they can look for more photos. They each walked away with a bunch of AKB48 and Nogizaka46 photos.

We tried looking around the Softmap there too. You could here their broadcast of NMB48′s Virginity throughout most of Akihabara. The place had changed a bit since the last visit here earlier in the year, with the top floor being converted completely into the Idol Yokocho outlet. The first floor still carries all of the building’s 48 family related goods though. The rest no doubt took note of the place to return here again in the future.

Old games shop.

Yan wanted to check out an old video games shop hidden in a building along one of the side streets. There was no indication of the place but thankfully he had saved a map onto his phone, so I managed to find the shop without much trouble.

Looking around Akihabara, there managed to be even more maids littered all over the city than past visits. While you’d see the maids standing at junctions giving out flyers, you’ll bump into one in front of almost every building now.

According to Randy’s (unproven) observations, the better looking ones came out later in the evening. The girls come down on a rotational basis, occasionally you’ll see one of them leave eagerly after their watches ring. Given the state of things in Akihabara, you can no longer really blame the passersby for refusing to accept any of their flyers.

We found the old games shop just a block away from Akiba Culture ZONE in the back of one of those old apartment buildings. It occupies a few floors there, each carrying a different range of old video game cartridges or CDs.

Wide collection of second hand games.

The shop carried a pretty extensive collection of old video games, though they were pricier than a similar shop the rest of us had seen back in Osaka. Yan was looking for a copy of Super Mario World for his Gameboy Advance. He still collects and plays old Japanese games on that system to this day, I guess you could call him an enthusiast of sorts.

Our last stop was to returned to the Donki building again. Really wanted to stock up on supplies but Yan wanted to head elsewhere for dinner, so unfortunately could only buy the bear minimum stuff this evening and smaller, more expensive rations to last until we found another supermarket.

Bought one of these air fresheners to help mask the old apartment smell. Was really nice, probably the most pleasant smelling air freshener I’ve ever seen before. It smells like those Meiji grape jelly candies. Wish could find this in Singapore.

Really nice air freshener.

Yan brought us over to a izakaya diner over in Minato Ward that he had heard about online. It was crowded inside but thankfully we didn’t have to wait long to get seats. Quickly sensing the gaijin-ness, one of the chefs asked casually where we were from while we waiting up front for some seats to clear.

Izakaya.

Crowded inside.

We let Yan handle the ordering today and he wanted to give us a treat too as it happened to be his birthday too. Despite the plastic tentage, the food at the izakaya ended up exceeding our expectations. The servings were generous and the entire meal worked out to be a lot cheaper than we had anticipated.

According to Yan, the place was famous for its sashimi and sushi among other things. The sashimi wasn’t that fresh though, bu the sushi definitely comes recommended.

Sashimi platter.

Snow crab dish.

Salad.

Randy especially liked the finely shredded salad, so we even had extras of that. For some reason, while our hotel in Osaka had the same salad for our buffet breakfast, he had neglected to try this until today.

Commenting that he could eat this every day, Randy resolved to try doing that. He wanted to tighten his budget, after calculating that he had spent over $200 on combini food alone, since arriving in Japan. Sure enough, he’d grab some of the salad at the Lawson on the way back to our hotel later.

Fish roe.

Sushi.

Thoroughly enjoyed the dinner. Eri didn’t eat much through the meal though, after suddenly feeling ill. So after dinner, we decided to head back early so that she could get some more rest. We agreed upon meeting at Ginza tomorrow morning. Yan wanted to visit the Masterpiece shop there and the rest were keen on doing some shopping in Tokyo too.

Between our various authors, we each have thousands of unused photographs that never see the light of day on Supermerlion. Sometimes things get backlogged, one loses the moment and never finds the drive to write about them again or in my case, many of these photos lie in dead hard drives that would cost hundreds of dollars to recover.

But rather than let the ones we still have go to waste, I thought I’d throw up a compilation of the extra unused photos that Yan took with a Nikon FM3A over in Tokyo Disneyland.

Film cameras do a great job of capturing rich colors that wouldn’t be possible with a modern DSLR and the FM3A in particular excels at this. With such a discreet little tool, he was able to get up close to capture a lot of lively pictures more comfortably too. Just a lot of pictures of Tokyo Disneyland, the people within and captions after the jump.

Walking to Disneyland in the rain.

Life band performing at the entrance.

Zone where most of the more child friendly rides are located.

Disneyland fashion.

Probably one of the most interesting rides in any park, really recommended.

Long queue for snacks too.

People start camping as soon ast the park opens to get the best spots for the afternoon parade.

You actually had to book these themed eateries.

Shooting gallery. You could win badges at these gallery-styled games in the park.

Would had loved to have the option of skipping school for Disneyland.

No theme park is complete without one.

Disneyland’s most infamous ride.

Broadway style musical starring all of the famous Disney characters. Not easy dancing in the heavy costumes.

Courtyard served as a meetup spot.

New show. Unfortunately didn’t have the chance to see it with it’s tremendously long queue.

The parade went on as planned even in the rain.

Thankfully the weather cleared up in the late afternoon.

Japanese love throwing their money at and into stuff.

On the tram ride around the park. You could take a canoe too but we were much too lazy.

Passed through a forest area with some Indian statues and animatronics.

Time passes fast when you’re having fun.

In February, we were reported about the emergence of the Gundam Front theme park at Odaiba. Japan, it seems cannot get enough of the giant Mecha. Starting next week on 11th June 2012, the Grand Pacific Le Daiba Hotel will be offering visitors a special Gundam themed room and stay in their Project Room-G.

Reservation costs for the deluxe Room-G Special Type room are 26,000 yen per person each night. The room comes with a special Gundam themed living area and bedroom. A stay in the smaller Standard Type Twin Room costs 13,500 yen a person. Both stays will include a special Gundam hotel dining menu. Unfortunately, the actual Real Grade 1/1 Gundam Project statue will not be actually visible from the room.

More information about the Gundam hotel at the Project Room-G site here.

The past month, Japanese design house METEOR has be holding their annual My Famicase Collection exhibition at their shop in Kichijoji. This unconventional art display which has been going on since 2005, has designers come up with original, often whimsical Famicom case designs, the best of which are put up for display.

Each cartridge serves as a canvas for artists to showcase their creative talents. Designs are submitted and shortlisted from submissions from all around the world. My Famicase Collection concept is “digital keystones”.

My Famicase Collection.

If you’ve had the fortune of growing up in the 80s, you’d remember how each of these rectangular pieces of plastic brought you to another fantastic 64 color world. As a child, while I was fascinated by games like Galaga and Wonder Boy, I hated arcades for the unforgiving twitch gameplay.

It was the original Famicom that introduced me to a whole new accessible world of home video gaming, with the original Super Mario Brothers, and especially Exitebike and Battlecity, with their level editors. And while not the only reason, my exposure to them at such a young age was probably a major influence to my job choice.

Contributed by various artists from Japan and beyond.

For players who had lived through that era there is something incredibly iconic and magical about cartridges. Especially when considering how much each cost in the past, kids used to treasure them dearly. Without the internet, or game reviews, the only deciding factor as to most purchases would have been the colorful, strange artwork on each box and cartridge.

Computer and video games have reached the point these days where physical distribution is actually a hassle and disadvantage. You can often get them faster and cheaper through digital means, while physical games come in souless DVDs and generic cases. That’s not saying that the former is a bad thing. But it’s nice that this shop continues to honor the nostalgic, fleeting memory of classic cartridge games.

A whimsical, retro take on art.

For more information, check out My Famicase Collection’s official website. Or here for past years’ designs.