Tag Archives: Tokyo

Travel

kyoto to tokyo to kyoto

Feeling a bit deflated after purveying an allegedly anime & cosplay shop (I would have loved to pick up a Susumu Kodai (Derek Wildstar) jacket) in Akiba which actually sold what looked more like p*rn, we thought we’d head to see Tokyo from above so wandered towards Shinjuku and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

We would have liked to have seen the Shibuya intersection, one of the ‘must see’ destinations in Tokyo for being a famously busy intersection with people coming from all angles. Time restricted our choices and we started to get a feeling of general voyeristic unease at the Shinjuku underground.

We were fortunate to have not felt any major quakes or aftershocks in our brief time in Japan, but the eerieness of the lack of crowds, the turned off and roped shut escalators and travelators, and the dimmed lights contributed to our heightened nervousness of being underground and possibly in trouble should the ground start to move.

The Government offices are a particularly good vantage point to view the city from all angles. They were unfortunately all closed due to the earthquake and pending ok from the powers-that-be to reopen. The nearby Sumitomo building’s observation deck was open, so another (creepy, for being bereft of people) visit over there ensued.

The day over, we bulleted back to Kyoto.

Travel

Tokyo 2

Another Japanese city, another camera store! We happened upon the multi-storied Yodabashi Camera in Akiba and spent an hour or so wandering the floors of camera & electronic goodness. At least, Anna & Sarah were wandering; I was on a caffeinated high darting from one display to the next, rapidly calculating conversion rates and excess luggage capacity, and generally trying not to drool on things.

Much like Bic Camera, Yodabashi just blew the mind for its breadth & depth of stuff compared with what gets retailed in Australia. The contrast too of the modern digital age compared with our last trip in 1998 was also apparent.

What was also becomming apparent was the distinct lack of foreigners (white people) in Tokyo itself, most having been evacuated by their respective governments, or concerned parents as the case may be.

A destination visit to the Ginza district was in order to view the Leica Gallery. After a fruitless hour or so of searching (starting to miss my iphone maps functionality) we finally came across the store only to discover that it was closed Mondays. Today was Monday. Curses!

I remember Ginza from our previous trip as having a great buzz which was understandably not there. The mood was similar to Hawaii a few months after September 11; much of the local population still in shock dealing with the new reality.

 

Travel

Tokyo

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We spent part of the Takayama trip agoinising over our inability to use our JR tickets fully and explore Tokyo. Having kept an eye on radiation levels in the Daily Yumiuri, we decided that we’d have a day trip to Tokyo. The trip on the slow bullet takes  almost two and a half hours to cover 500km. Roughly the same time it takes us back in Melbourne to get Camperdown (half the distance) on VLine. Still, it’s not fair comparing gold rush era infrastructure to 1970s infrastructure, or Japan’s can-do mentality to our own she’ll-be-right one. Or is it?…

We thought we’d get a look at Mt Fuji as the bullet sped past but ended up with a lot of blurry images which sort of look like clouds or fuzzy buildings but could be the famous mountain.

I was keen to check out Akiba (the local nickname for Akihabara) at least, having missed out on the 10th annual Anime Fair (cancelled due to the earthquake/tsunami). The local train network was still picking itself up after the disaster, and electronic bulletins informed passengers that whatever scheduled train had been cancelled or delayed reason being earthquake. In Melbourne we have similar notices where the 8.47 from Broadmeadows has been cancelled due to a kitten crossing the tracks.

My memory of Akihabara from 1998 was of an exciting place with lots of exciting things happening. People, colors, lights, noises (sadly, I came down with a migraine from hell that time which could explain the colors, lights & noises), and wild & weird electronics as far as the eye could see. Post earthquake reports were unfortunately accurate. There were no thronging masses. Electronics shops and department stores had their power dimmed and all their displays turned off with signs indicating they’d gladly demo them for you if requested. And the tip of the Tokyo tower was as reported, slightly bent.