Akihabara revisited

Hey everyone! It seems that it has been almost 2 weeks since my last post! I am getting lazy! Well, actually, it's been a rather busy week for me academically. I have since had a midterm paper to write and now another test to prepare for next week, right before we leave for Kanazawa.

The only other exciting thing to mention that happened before today was the arrival of my brand-new-to-me camera. A special thank you to my future father-in-law, who has done more than enough (even before this happened to me) to make me feel like his own daughter, no marriage license with his son or in-law tag required. I will say it a million times and more, but there are no words that could adequately express my appreciation for all you have done. <3

Now that I have included my cheesy moment, please welcome my Nikon D5100 and all its awesomeness. I was given the opportunity to take it out for its first trip when Lindsey invited me to accompany her to Akihabara. Sure, been there already, but the district has so much to offer that a single day trip is not enough to experience it all. Talk about sensory overload! I only took the camera itself along with its kit lens, as the bag is a bit bulky and aisles in Japanese stores tend to be rather narrow. The macro lens was not needed and the telephoto would have been nice, but hard to take closer shots with. There was such a feeling of satisfaction to see the pictures come out so clear and vibrant, even at night. No more pixelly, grainy images!

But before I post the first picture, I have to point out that while waiting to ride the train to the next station, we felt the train swaying a bit and then saw the signs on the platform shaking. Noticing that other people were looking around at the odd swaying as well, we realized that it was an earthquake. A tiny one, but noticeable. People still waiting on the platform didn't even blink, so it is likely we only felt it because of the suspension of the train. Lindsey and I both agreed that we seem to be defaulting to the Japanese on how to react. We will worry when they worry.

And so the trek into the famous anime/electronics district begins.

For those who are curious, the kanji for Akihabara means autumn leaf meadow, if translated in the order given by each individual kanji. Kanji compounds sometimes have slightly different meanings than their individual parts. Makes reading this language quite a challenge to learn. Also, the online jisho (dictionary) I use isn't always reliable, but at least it's better than Google translate. 

The Gundam Cafe near the train station that I did not get a chance to take a picture of last time.

Posing next to one of the Gundam statues near the entrance.

The statue on the other side.

So many people!

How did I not see all of this last time? o_O

This shop with the gorilla face appears to be a curry restaurant.

Oh damn, I just noticed the purikura sign. Those are the fancy photobooths I mentioned in a previous post. I actually meant to take this picture because of the Invaders-like sprite in the sign. Gotta remember to do a purikura again.

The Sega buildings were like Walgreens. Seemed like there was one on every corner!

Not sure if this is in reference to New York, but what I can tell you is that it's pretty much a casino. They love their pachinko here.

I just like the cow on the top. If I am reading the kanji right, it says "eternity" or something.

The maid cafe we decided to go to if we had the time. But it was getting a bit late and we both wanted to be home for dinner. Next time. There were girls in made costumes at almost every corner, advertising for their particular cafe. Lindsey asked one if we could take a picture, but she said she wasn't allowed to have her picture taken. Liability with the employer maybe?

Sega again!

So just a few interesting things to mention about the visit.

The 7 story anime store we went to, called Animate, is like the dealer's room at A-kon back in Dallas, except...everyday.

Lindsey and I, as we realized we had reached the hentai section (anime porn) in a small corner in the back, were approached by a Japanese man, who asked us if we would like to look at his............while making a very clear (and apparently universal) hand gesture below his belt. Lindsey didn't quite make out what he said, because his English was terrible, but I did and she got the idea from the gesture and we both said no repeatedly, and walked away as fast as we could. I am not surprised, but it doesn't stop me from feeling totally disgusted and horrified. I was genuinely concerned that he would follow us home, but he disappeared after we left...hopefully.

We tried to find the robot store but somehow ended up in a regular computer store instead. Oh well, it will be our goal for next time...

Even after being here as long as we have and getting used to how things work here, we still find some things odd about the way stores are run here. Each floor has its own register, which makes logical sense. Why make a customer go up or down a few flights of stairs to buy something. What we didn't know was that they require you to buy any items you find on a specific floor at its corresponding register. Any register on any floor can scan any product, but they want you to buy before moving to another floor. I don't see the logic in this rule. There is one elevator that is in constant use, and a very narrow, winding staircase. Where are you going to run with all those items? Wouldn't it make more sense to check out once instead of 7 different times? Odd.

Another odd experience was going to a coffee shop for a short break from walking. We order our drinks and are told to get them from the end of the counter. It seemed just like Starbucks. So we found a seat and settled in, only to find that 10 minutes later, our orders were still not ready. We order iced coffee mocha, and it was not a busy night. I then watched another customer order, and saw as he came right up to the end of the counter and got his drink. So I figured, oh...gotta show my receipt to get the order. So I go up there and when I give the guy our receipts, he looks at it, and says something to the girl who was making drinks. And from the looks on their faces, I got the impression that they forgot our order because we did not stand at the counter right away. Talk about lost in translation. Oh well, they were delicious drinks so we let it go.

Well, it's getting late and I can't think of anything else to talk about for the day. Next stop, Kanazawa! (And maybe Harajuku or Shinjuku again on Sunday.)