Friday, May 11, 2007
April 20, Last day…of shopping!
Slept in again, we were on vacation. We set the alarm for 6:00, then reset it for 7:00, then just turned it off and slept until 8:30. I think I got the tiniest cold in the world in Japan, going right from sore throat right to runny nose with neither aches nor pains to speak of. Yay for that and for warm lemon tea available in vending machines. Really nice on the throat.
On the way to the metro we stopped at a shrine we had walked by a couple of times. It turns out it was a shrine for travelers, and was generally visited by people who would be traveling soon, like us! So we offered some small coins and I burned some incense. I’ve always really liked the idea of burning a whole bundle of incense all at once. I’ve seen it a couple of times on video and always wanted to just grab a handful of incense and set it all on fire at once, so here was my chance! A small thing, but I liked it. Smelled nice, too.
Akehabra! It was nice to goof off there again, and we walked around checking out lots of different stores. Eventually, though, we realized the stores all pretty much fell into one of several categories.
1) Model shop: actually these are pretty impressive. There are lots of really pretty models and collections of things you can get from vending machines, like tiny little figurines and key chains. In fact, most of the gifts we got for people back here came from those vending machines, just cause they’re so ubiquitous and so very, very Japanese. So we hung out in a few of these places and went crazy buying little capsules with figurines and key chains and cell-phone accessories. As I write this, I have a couple of adorable little Gundam critters sitting on my desk. Really cute. After a while, though, all the model stores start to look the same.
2) Game shop. Lots of neat video games that either: a) are in America already or b) require too much Japanese to really understand, so I really couldn’t justify buying anything. It’s neat to see stuff that will be coming out in America soon, though, and most of the really good stuff does. After a while, though, all the game stores start to look the same.
3) Book stores. I could spend a fortune (I love books!), but it would all be a waste: I can’t read Japanese. After a while, though, all the book stores start to look the same.
4) Tech stores: Neat stuff. Cell phones that do more than I need and wouldn’t (probably) work in the US, personal organizers and PC stuff. I did see some HUGE monitors, though. Those looked amazing. Some places sold audio gear, too. Fun to browse through, but After a while…
5) Home appliance stores…nah.
6) Tech components…pass.
I could have spent more time in Akehabra, but the stores actually started repeating themselves pretty quickly. Not, therefore, perhaps that different from America.
Had some *tasty* curry, and miso soup feels good on a rough throat.
I got a trick box, which is a neat little device that requires 12 steps to open. It’s a neat souvenir, but I haven’t thought of anything to put inside it yet. :)
Also, did some video-gaming at a couple of arcades. The ‘Sega’ arcade was a little booring. I walked around and it was all games I’d played before, just a *lot* of them. Jess let me check out another one, though, (she’s so good to me!) where I got to play some fun stuff. Smaller, random games and a fighting game called “Melty Blood” that I had to play just for the name. ‘How’s your blood?’ ‘Mine? It’s a little melty.’ I just like that phrase. So yeah, even if I didn’t spend tons of money on any crazy souvenirs, at least I got to play some awesome games.
Anyway, we left Akehabra so we could do some more gift shopping in Asakusa, which Jess finally figured out how to pronounce. (a-sa-ku-sa, not a-su-casa. That’s Spanish popping up right there. Oh, and on a side note…when we first got to Japan, people would ask us questions and Jess instantly reverted to her most comfortable ‘foreign language.’ “Ah, you have customs form filled out?” “Si!”) Got some neat stuff (and neat wrapping jobs), and then called it a day.
Back at the hostel, for the *last time*, watching wacky Japanese TV (pet tricks, Quiz shows, and strange Anime). We’ll pack up tonight and get ready to head home. I say, glad to have gone, and glad to go back.
-N
Slept in again, we were on vacation. We set the alarm for 6:00, then reset it for 7:00, then just turned it off and slept until 8:30. I think I got the tiniest cold in the world in Japan, going right from sore throat right to runny nose with neither aches nor pains to speak of. Yay for that and for warm lemon tea available in vending machines. Really nice on the throat.
On the way to the metro we stopped at a shrine we had walked by a couple of times. It turns out it was a shrine for travelers, and was generally visited by people who would be traveling soon, like us! So we offered some small coins and I burned some incense. I’ve always really liked the idea of burning a whole bundle of incense all at once. I’ve seen it a couple of times on video and always wanted to just grab a handful of incense and set it all on fire at once, so here was my chance! A small thing, but I liked it. Smelled nice, too.
Akehabra! It was nice to goof off there again, and we walked around checking out lots of different stores. Eventually, though, we realized the stores all pretty much fell into one of several categories.
1) Model shop: actually these are pretty impressive. There are lots of really pretty models and collections of things you can get from vending machines, like tiny little figurines and key chains. In fact, most of the gifts we got for people back here came from those vending machines, just cause they’re so ubiquitous and so very, very Japanese. So we hung out in a few of these places and went crazy buying little capsules with figurines and key chains and cell-phone accessories. As I write this, I have a couple of adorable little Gundam critters sitting on my desk. Really cute. After a while, though, all the model stores start to look the same.
2) Game shop. Lots of neat video games that either: a) are in America already or b) require too much Japanese to really understand, so I really couldn’t justify buying anything. It’s neat to see stuff that will be coming out in America soon, though, and most of the really good stuff does. After a while, though, all the game stores start to look the same.
3) Book stores. I could spend a fortune (I love books!), but it would all be a waste: I can’t read Japanese. After a while, though, all the book stores start to look the same.
4) Tech stores: Neat stuff. Cell phones that do more than I need and wouldn’t (probably) work in the US, personal organizers and PC stuff. I did see some HUGE monitors, though. Those looked amazing. Some places sold audio gear, too. Fun to browse through, but After a while…
5) Home appliance stores…nah.
6) Tech components…pass.
I could have spent more time in Akehabra, but the stores actually started repeating themselves pretty quickly. Not, therefore, perhaps that different from America.
Had some *tasty* curry, and miso soup feels good on a rough throat.
I got a trick box, which is a neat little device that requires 12 steps to open. It’s a neat souvenir, but I haven’t thought of anything to put inside it yet. :)
Also, did some video-gaming at a couple of arcades. The ‘Sega’ arcade was a little booring. I walked around and it was all games I’d played before, just a *lot* of them. Jess let me check out another one, though, (she’s so good to me!) where I got to play some fun stuff. Smaller, random games and a fighting game called “Melty Blood” that I had to play just for the name. ‘How’s your blood?’ ‘Mine? It’s a little melty.’ I just like that phrase. So yeah, even if I didn’t spend tons of money on any crazy souvenirs, at least I got to play some awesome games.
Anyway, we left Akehabra so we could do some more gift shopping in Asakusa, which Jess finally figured out how to pronounce. (a-sa-ku-sa, not a-su-casa. That’s Spanish popping up right there. Oh, and on a side note…when we first got to Japan, people would ask us questions and Jess instantly reverted to her most comfortable ‘foreign language.’ “Ah, you have customs form filled out?” “Si!”) Got some neat stuff (and neat wrapping jobs), and then called it a day.
Back at the hostel, for the *last time*, watching wacky Japanese TV (pet tricks, Quiz shows, and strange Anime). We’ll pack up tonight and get ready to head home. I say, glad to have gone, and glad to go back.
-N
Labels: Akehabra, Arcades, Asakusa, Japan, Tokyo
Comments:
Post a Comment
