Pokemon Center and more

Since the Pokemon center is far from everything we decided to keep it for later. And since today is later we headed there first thing after waking up. It's located in Daimon (dai = great, mon = gate), which is on the side of Tokyo. We didn't spend too long in the center since it's filled with pokemon stuff:
-stuffed pokemons
-action figures
-cards
-video-games
-arcade machines
-accessories
-towels
-clothes
-etc.
ALL related directly to pokemons





We aren't allowed pictures inside the store... BUT I did manage one :) heh heh



Later on since we didn't spend the whole day there, we decided to travel all the way back to Asakusa. This was the third time going there so we took advantage of the situation to shop for some souvenirs.



We also tried several ... not restaurents ... more like ... food stands, selling sweet stuff like some moshi (which were tasty) and other cool stuff.

Btw, I didn't buy any cats like those in the video so no!! no one is gonna have a cat when I get back. I still have some souvenirs left to buy but I'm gonna have plenty to look for when we go back to Akihabara. Tomorrow if I'm not mistaking.

Oh well. I'm starting to get hungry, guess I'll just go have something to eat. It's raining like insane so I think I'll just stay in the hotel for tonight.

See you all soon.

Imperial Palace revisited

Yup, made it inside the inner rim of the Imperial Palace. You'll figure the inner rim is pretty much only one big garden. But the view is breath-taking. The palace itself is locked from civilians, only the emperor can go there (it's kind of ... his place). So the palace is a no-zone but the garden is available.

The reason the inner rim is closed on Mondays is for maintenance. And the outer rim is closed on Fridays. I know it's weird since you need to go through the outer rim to access the inner rim so why isn't it done all at once ? Well the place is huge!















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Oh and on the way back we found a swan wondering on the water surrounding the Outer rim.



Hope you're having a good time. I am. but the best has been kept for last :)
Keep in touch.
I'll see you when I come back.

Shinjuku

Another really hot day:

funny fact - in Nihongo (Japanese), Shin means New so Shinjuku means New-Juku.
Is there an Old-Juku?... I have no idea whatsoever.

For some reason I thought Shinjuku would be a lot better than I realized.
It looks a lot like Shibuya but Shibuya is by far way more appealing.

The problem with Shinjuku is that it's filled with skyscrapers. There aren't as many places for arcades, there are a lot of restaurants (as usual), the shops don't sell the best stuff, the prices are high and it kinda smells weird. If I had to make a suggestion, I'd say Shinjuku is the down-town of Tokyo.









The reason Shinjuku is so popular is that it's the number one place in the world for Karaoke.
The city is filled with people (all kinds of people). It's also where the homeless ''live''.

A few other things you have to know about this place:
-It's where all the business men like to hang out.
-It's not that big (the city core itself is only a few boulevards large) and the rest of the city is residences.
-It beholds the biggest station (Shinjuku Station) in the country. The reason the station is so big is because of Shinjuku's popular agglomeration. The station is the stop-point to almost all the subway lines AND train lines and finding the exit is not so hard but reaching it is something else. The station is so big, they decided to add a mall next to it (underground) accessible directly from the station.











Though as I said, in the end, Shibuya was a lot better. But that's just my opinion.

Only a week left in this marvelous country.
I hope you're all well, I wish you fun until my return.
I'll see you in a short while.
Take care.

Jimbocho

Today was hot !

Without a cloud in sight, bright blue skies and the heavy sun, the entire walk outside was heated.
Since we stayed in Jimbocho, we didn't take the subway, instead we walked in the city. We first headed to the Imperial Palace not too far off.











Unfortunately for us, the inner rim of the Imperial Palace is closed only on Mondays (the day we decide to go -_-') so we'll probably go back to visit the inner rim another day...

We took the rest of the remaining time to visit the neighborhood instead:







Okay you probably didn't get anything from what I said since the wind was strong but it matters not. I was just saying how hot it was since we had been walking for hours and it had been a while since we last saw shades.

But I did get to see something interesting before coming back:



Another day over, another adventure complete.
Tomorrow awaits, see you soon.

Ueno Zoo

A day at the zoo is always nice.
Since we have but a few remaining destinations to visit, we have the choice for the time left here. Ueno is a place where you can do just about everything. There are museums, parks, shops, restaurants and a zoo. We figured visiting the zoo might be swell so we went there for the day. The zoo isn't too pricey, it's only 600 yen for the entrance.
But since Ueno is a big city (located somewhere between Asakusa and Jimbocho) we had to find it first.







But once we got there, we could finally envoy the main dish (the zoo):

(since I took a lot of pictures in the zoo and since it's not directly related to the theme of being in Japan, I made a winrar-compressed file if you want to see the pictures and videos. It's pretty much all of the day's worth so there is nothing else besides the zoo. The blog can't upload winrar files so ask it from me if you want a peek at it)

Of all the animals available in the zoo, we only missed 2: the tigers and the gorillas.
All others were withstood (note that I couldn't take pictures and videos of ALL of 'em because some were out of camera-range or half-hidden or in dark places).

Then, when the zoo closed, we went back to the station.





Then we went back to Jimbocho to have dinner.

That's it for today.
See you.

Harajuku revisited

Okay! Since it's Saturday and the usual cosplay fashion in Harajuku is of honor, we decided to go there hoping there would be cosplays as opposed to last Sunday...
UNFORTUNATELY, again today there wasn't anything going on on the Harajuku Bridge :(
But! the day was just starting so we decided to go in the public park and played frisbee for a while.
It was really sunny and hot outside so we got tired after some time in the park where shades are rare. So we went in the main streets of Harajuku in order to find a refreshment but nothing was enough to suit our taste. We went back to Jimbocho and found something there instead, then we headed back to the hotel.

I didn't forget my camera today but since nothing was happening on the bridge I didn't get to take pictures. Then again, since the park is much like a common park I didn't have to take pictures while playing frisbee and I've already taken plenty of pictures in Harajuku last week.
Sorry but no pictures today.

Hot baths:
We checked for a place with a typical Japanese hot bath but the thing is, since all these places are far away, it's insanely pricey to get there.
Since it's so far and since we need endless transfers to get there, only a one-way trip is 5000 yen, plus the way back, another 5000 yen; and the place isn't free either. Most of these places charge for the hour and the prices usually go around 5000 yen an hour. So for 1 hour of hot bath, the price rises to about 15000 yen, which is equivalent to 150$, 2 hour, 20000 yen and so on.
Therefore, let's just skip the hot baths. Besides, it's already pretty hot outside so, too bad so sad.

PS: something happened while playing frisbee (for those interrested, ask me personally)
Note: フリスビーを再 生しながらの方法では、何かが、詳細については、MSN上の私に尋ねるが起こったと私は個人的に教えてあげる

Koishikawa Park

The day started sunny but it got cloudy pretty fast around 2. We went to the Koishikawa Park hoping to see some paradise-ish sight but we were a little disappointed to see a plain-looking park. Lucky in my bad luck if I may say: I forgot to bring my camera today so the fact that the park wasn't as appealing as the previous one is somewhat of a relief since if it would have been amazing, I wouldn't have had any pictures of it...

I still think 300 yen for that level of park is a rip-off but.
Well anyways, we spent a few hours walking through the park since it was kinda huge (even though it was common). The evening was a little better. We walked a bit in Jimbocho, looking for a place to eat (there are so many restaurants). We did eventually and went back to the hotel.

Let's hope tomorrow will be more dazzling. It's Saturday tomorrow so we'll be heading back to Harajuku hoping to see some cosplayed people. If you remember, we went last Sunday but there wasn't anybody wearing cosplays.

I'll let you know how it went tomorrow.
'Till then, take care.

G-G-G-Going to Shiba ! The adventure continues

I even found the Tokyo University of Science on my way back...



Then I got back to the Hotel and we headed out for today's new adventure...




You have to understand, not only was I excited to be there because I had imagined myself going there a gazillion times but actually being! there felt like a personal accomplishment.
Besides, I'd seen it hundreds of times in one of my favorite series (Air Gear), so just seeing it there was making me even more attracted to this place. But I didn't jump from the top though (as seen in AG), I'm not that crazy and! I don't have my ATs with me :P

We didn't get to the top because just going there (in Shiba) took a lot of subway transfers (lots of money) and just to get to the main observatory is 800 yen, which is located at 150 m above ground level, 600 extra yen if you want to head to the special observatory, which is located at 250 m above ground level. The tower itself is 333 m high. But we get to have a very good look at the metropolis from the main observatory.





Yeah I know, the view is amazing !! Irl it's a thousand times better (trust me).





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Did I mention it is possible to see the famous Tokyo Bridge from up there ?



And the view of the ground from 150 m high is thrilling (and frightening):



Then we went back down and I gazed a little bit more at the tower before leaving.





Gorgeous isn't she?

Well I'm off for tonight.
Good bye folks.

Otaku Paradise

As a previously posted, I had visited the sides of Akihabara, but today, sunny sky called for a visit to the core of this lively city. The thing about Akihabara is that it's not too far from Jimbocho so traveling there doesn't take much time.
Akihabara is a lot like Shibuya except for a few details:
-first, the people there a much friendlier
-second, the prices are much cheaper
-third, the products are a bit different
In Akihabara, there are a lot of arcades (just like Shibuya) but most of the stores are meant for otakus (anime-fans). Again, a lot of stores are expended in whole buildings so to see everything you have to climb a lot of stairs. The other thing about this city is that pornography is very much common. 3X comics are found easily in all stores. I thought these places would be sausage-fests but apparently, a lot of girls check it out...

The sad part is that cameras aren't allowed inside and there are a lot of surveillance cameras to make sure this rule applies :(

But in the streets cameras are okay.











In short, we spent the whole day looking up stores for any stuff and trying various arcades, taking a look at new games which aren't yet overseas.

There is also this place called Crazy Crèpes where you have a huge variety of pancakes filled with ice-cream, sugar, fruits and fudge.



And here's mine: Banana and chocolate Double Ice :) yummy!



It tastes great and it's not really expensive either.
Let's hope a chain opens in Canada. You guys gotta try this...

Tomorrow awaits.
See you soon.

Shibuya

I gotta say: of all the places in the world, Shibuya is awesome !!
Even though it was rainy, the day spent there was great !
Shibuya holds most of the malls and places to shop quality items such as electronics, music, DVDs, clothes, shoes and more. The city is like one big mall, where you can buy and eat as much as the heart wishes. It also holds the most numerous arcade stations in Japan, if not in the world. . .



Did I mention Shibuya is THE place if you wanna see lots of people?; although they won't be as friendly as other places since the city attracts mostly snobbish stuck-up girls and dirty rich kids. So the place is filled with young people but they don't talk much and only mind their own business. The good thing about the mood of this place is that there are speakers on the buildings playing music throughout the streets, so at least there is something to listen to. And, a big part of the city is ''foreign-focused'', which means it's not much different from what we buy in Canada.





Inside the city, one store can occupy a whole building. Like there was this one building with 8 floors only selling mangas and coffee. Someone could spend an entire day inside. but there are other things to look at. The part that really sucks is that cameras are not allowed inside most places (if not all places).



And since there are tons of restaurants, we had no trouble finding a nice place to eat. Ordering in a Japanese food-chain restaurant is SO easy. Just a few key-words and everything gets done quick and simply. Konnichiwa (just to be polite) you point what you want, you get it, Ittadakimasu, enjoy the meal, Sumimasen, motto mizu onegaishimasu, there you have an additional glass of water ('cause I drink a lot), Sumimasen and you pay the guy, then you leave. Simple. And the food is SO good !



Since Shibuya is a lot like the Carrefour Laval in terms of mood, it is always better not to go there alone or it might be boring.



After a good time walking and visiting the different stores, we decided to try the arcades. I know we see a lot of Asians on Youtube owning the DDR, but I'm glad to say that it's not always the case. I saw a couple play and they weren't much better than what you generally find in Canada... BUT! you have no idea all the games these guys have. Some games are not only very recent, they are also very 'Japan-exclusive', meaning you won't find them anywhere else on Earth. The variety is amazing and the fun is endless.

I came to stumble across a very familiar machine. The goal is to punch the target as hard as you can to get the highest score. We have those in Canada. But guess who's got the highest score in Japan... XD



I know I'm not supposed to take pictures inside but I just fkn owned the game so, to hell with it...

We stayed in a bit trying a few games which we had never seen but we also tried the good old classics: That's Mak (Ken) getting his butt kicked by Blanka (latest Street Fighter soon to show in Canada):



I know I'm not supposed to film either but that much pwning deserves to be archived :)

And that's all about what happened today.

One week is now gone (time goes by so fast when you're having fun...) so I'll be seeing you in 2 weeks :)
'Till then keep replying (it warms my heart) and take care.

PS: the national sumo championship has started (just thought I'd let you know)

Cya

Kamakura Town - Lost in Translation

The day started with heavy clouds, always a bad omen.
We were first supposed to go to Shibuya but since rain was announced tomorrow we decided to spend the day outside instead. A far corner city in Tokyo called Kamakura Town is said to be a strong historical ground which attracts tourists. So we decided to go there and save Shibuya for later. Okay, just to make you understand how far it is, usually, we take the subway to a surrounding city, and the ticket usually tops 190 yen, this time, we had to take the train for an hour, buying a 1200 yen ticket (pricey).

Once we got there we had to choose a site since the whole place is filled with historical temples, or shrines, or cemeteries, etc. . .

We didn't have the time to cover them all of course, since the first temple on the map was located to a modest 36 mins of walk site !!

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Then we decided to go check out another site and we crossed through the town, going through an endless boulevard with a path in the middle filled with trees:

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But instead of getting to the next site, we got lost in the town's labyrinth-like streets.
As we walked through the town, we came across the museum of literature; unfortunately, it was closed. All we saw from it was its entrance:



As we traveled through the town a little more, we found another attraction site (some garden), but this time it was open (for 300 yen):



































Did I mention there was a cave in the garden to visit ? It was kinda small though:




After the garden, we got lost in the town again. . .
Yeah, it was painful and tiring to get back on the main road (which we never did btw).
Here's a view of the town from the garden:



To paint it, the town was lifeless, nothing in sight, only small tight houses and nothing more; a resident evil-ish looking place.
Oh and did I mention, in this town, among the countless small streets hidden by the trees, lies the picture of a gawd ? (they call him Boss apparently):



But we westerners know him better as Tommy Lee Jones.

Anyway. We found a train station in the remote part of the town and figured we were 4 stations ! away from our original destination !!

Note that in Tokyo, train stations aren't as close to one another as they are in Montreal. Actually, we were almost in the next city !!

After a bit of waiting, the two-wagoned train got us back to the station of Kamakura.
We decided to have lunch on the main street in a meat restaurent. We took the special from the house, serving an extra 32cm-long sausage; which was excellent btw.

Oh here's a view of Kamakura's main street, which is filled with shops and restaurants:



After lunch, we went back to the train station and headed back for Jimbocho... BUT !!
We took the wrong line heading for our stopover (Tokyo-to station) instead ending up in some far off station I can't recall. . .

So we had to come back all the way to transfer in the subway and finally get home. . .
To celebrate the return I bought some sushi at the family mart next door for only 500 yen:



And that's about it for today.
See you next time!