First Time in Tokyo

October 18, 2015Japan 2015akihabara, arcade, beer, book-off, food, gaming, ice cream, japan, katsu, shibuya, shopping, tokyo, video games Gallery

Having always read about Japan, corresponding with several pen pals that live there, and reading about it since I was a child, when I had the opportunity to go, I took the chance.
Originally planning to travel with an old high school friend, I hastily booked the flight, only to find out that I would be on my own this time.

With a busy first year at my new job ahead of my, I figured I would avoid planning a nutty series of expeditions, rather I would just go, try to relax, and figure it all out day-to-day. While I didn’t get to climb mountains and play with Pandas like in past trips, I did enjoy just having freedom. If I wanted to sleep in and relax in the apartment, nothing stopped me. If I wanted to go out, I went out. If I wanted to go further. I took that chance, but only if I felt up to it. Not being able to speak Japanese didn’t slow me down. I slowed myself down, and I loved this method.

Japanese hotel observation: a lot of them have these control centers. Clock, radio, AC, lights. It looks pretty old-school. This hotel has a Teachings of Buddha book and a Bible.

Grabbed some drinks from the vending machine on my hotel floor. It had Beer!

The room had a butt washing toilet, as requested.

Morning in Akihabara

With no real plans other to head to my apartment in Akihabara (the geek/electronics district), I headed back to Narita Airport to meet up with a US friend. She was an airline stewardess and was able to grab a flight to meet up. he japanese being quite good, she was able to help me figure out the basics of subways and food ordering. We decided to walk around and do some shopping. a lot of my photos are just going to be product and commercial sights around Japan. I wasn’t able to get out into nature much. I also find Japanese consumerism to be highly interesting.

This is Book-Off, a thrift store chain that sells used products (bust most locations deal in books, DVDs, and games). I loved going there, each one offering completely different products from the last.

Book-Offs are pretty large, often multiple stories, with each floor dedicated to something different. I found a lot that I anted to buy, it’s just that I didn’t want to stuff my luggage on the first day.

I’m always drawn to those video game displays

We grab lunch in a small udon shop near Akihabara station. the place used a vending machine to order. I didn’t have to speak Japanese, so I came back on my own a few more times in the week.

She wanted to visit the One-Piece shop in Shibuya. A lot of tourist sites say Shibuya Crossing is a must see. It’s not. It’s like a street with people crossing it. It’s 5 minutes of meh. Skip it.

A bakery in Shibuya cranking out custard pies with a Halloween theme.

The One Piece shop was tucked away on the floor of a building near the crossing. All the other shops there seemed to be independently-run geek shops.

One Piece capsule toys. For now, I’ll skip posting about all the capsule toys I encountered. I really enjoy seeing the variety and creativity these offer. They also are great for gifting to people. Small, cheap, quality, and something that has not made its way to the US. I’ll create a post dedicated to these machines in the future.

I’m not a huge fan of One Piece so I just wandered around the building it was in and visited other shops.

I won’t deny that the Village Vanguard Freaks: Exciting Book Store was, in fact, exciting

This game came out in 1991, and still you can get merch for it. Back in high school I would have bought and worn this.

There’s even Street Fighter II curry….must resist buying everything!

Some Megaman/Rockman stuff

A selection of ramen and curry for nerds.

Monster Hunter stuff

I don’t recognize any of these

Unappetizing poo-shaped chocolate

This is the most Japanese thing I have ever seen.

Back on the streets in Shibuya

In Tokyo you will spot inconspicuous signs leading down stairwells into shadowy nooks containing unknown businesses. You never know what creativity lies within. After realizing this, my future travel plans would lean away from tight schedules and trying to see landmarks and attractions. Just wander and find cool stuff. the Jelly Jelly Cafe features board games from all over the world.

Takeshita Street

We head over to Harajuku, which has this “hip” shopping street. It was quite crowded.

I found a candy store!

Cute truffles

A Disney Store fits right into place in this area

The area is packed with small fashion-related boutiques

I haven’t seen Monchichi dolls since the 80s

I love this carbonated lemon juice

We went out to Akihabara for the evening

I stopped at that bookstore often

A lot of the shops sell figurines and other anime and video game merchandise. I’m not familiar with a lot of these properties, but here are some pics of things that interested me. It was fun just browsing the shops, as a lot of the merchandise is creative and of high quality.

You can’t have Anime without schoolgirls

There are several massive arcades near the train station. Multiple dark, casino-like floors of people deep into games. The first few floor are are relatively open with rows upon rows of UFO Catchers (we call them crane games), while the upper floors are dark, smokey, and cater to hardcore fighting games. A few have basement levels with rhythm games or manga.

The arcade cabinets in Japan are quite different than what we are used to in the US. for fighting games especially they are a certain type: seated and modular. Built to last, they allow for the game and art to be swapped as time and demands change. A lot of them have large token caches, as players will often spend hours at one machine. In 2015 a decent chunk of them had digital payment systems. When I returned in 2019, almost all of them did.

This Pokemon arcade cabinet looks like it was built hastily

Some cabinets entice with their design and unique controls

The Rhythm Game section is often the most colorful and delighting to observe.

At first I wondered why these Star Wars Battle Pod games aren’t prevalent in The States, but after spending time in one, it was pretty clear. It’s too complex. It’s pretty much like a space flight simulator while getting shot at.

I returned to the noodle shop I went to for lunch and tried their Kastudon

This place around the corner from my apartment looked pretty cool and they had some nice big whiskey bottles on display. I did go in there one day but they couldn’t understand my English and I think they thought I wanted directions to the train station.

Back in my apartment in Akihabara. Lucked out. This was before AirBnB was essentially banned in Japan. For less than $200 a night I got a spacious full apartment with kitchen within walking distance to Akihabara Station. The bottle of Sake was a gift from the cleaning service.