Zach invited David and I to take a day tour of the City of Kamakura. It is located along the coast to the south of Tokyo. We met up at Ikabukaro Station during rush hour and made a 1 hour train ride to the south. Ah rush hour...
Next, we walked to the Kotoku-in Buddhist temple, home of one of the largest Bronze statues of Buddha in the world. David was especially interested in the architecture...how did they build that?
After that, I got the bright idea to follow a random hiking trail named "Diabutsu". I love to hike. Dave, not so much. There may or may not have been random references to My Neighbor Totoro. We exited the woods and visited a few more temples/shrines. Next time I am in Japan and the weather is cooperating, I would like to spend more time hiking.
A little later on, we finally found ourselves at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū, one of the most important Shinto Shrines in Kamakura. This one was quite massive.
We ended the day with a fresh Sushi Dinner before making the train ride back to Tokyo. You know the food in most TV commercials is absolutely fake. Japan takes that a step further with the most detailed collection of plastic foods in most restaurant storefronts. It works...I'm getting hungry right now...
Most of the time when I tell people I am visiting Japan they get the wrong impression that all of Japan is Anime, Video games, and other general weirdness. If I took you off the plane, blindfolded you, and only let you see the following area, you would probably believe it. I am speaking of an area called Akihabara, home of the Akiba Electric Town. I like this place because I do like Anime, Video Games, and Electronics.
When you first step off the JR Yamanote line you are immediately assaulted with lots of noise and color. The area draws a group that identifies as "Otaku". This term for some is negative, for others it is a source of creative pride. On the negative side it represents geeky shut-ins. On the positive side it represents creative collectors and makers. As a lifelong geek (how I make my living too) I am naturally drawn to this location.
I find the figurine shops rather interesting. While I am not interested in collecting, I am fascinated by the scope and design of these chunks of plastic. There are also hundreds of capsule machines with every possible toy you can image. In addition, there are trading card and vintage video game stores too.
The arcades are fun too, yielding some surprising finds. One had a game where you could box a punching bag (hit the bank robber, stop a semi). Another is the Table flip game. You have to see the video to get this one. Also, there are lots of Claw machines (I primarily consider them a ripoff, but had a hilarious experience on this trip).
Watch me lose a few yen
Huh?
So I won...This
.
The Table Flip game is my favorite. It's a game where you are placed in stressful situations (work, family diner, dance club, wedding party). You have about 60 seconds where you can either bang on the table or end the game by flipping the table. The result is hilarious as they do a bunch of replays and give you points based on damage. Depending on when you choose to flip, you get different endings.
There are dozens of computer and parts stores. I really like to explore a physical PC model before I purchase. With my recent interest in thin gaming laptops. The MSI, Gigabyte, and Asus models are very promising.
As the day passes, this part of town lights up to rival that of New York's Time's Square.
Before I left this area after a long day of exploring, I had one last experience. I went to a Cat Cafe! Originating from Taipei, many people like cats but can not keep one due to apartment rules. This place lets you pay a small fee and then play with the kitty cats.
Warnings-
There are a few things I do not like about this district. Please don't let it dissuade you from visiting, just be careful if the following items offend you.
First, there are quite a few porn shops here. Culturally, Japan seems to be more accepting of nudity and pornography. If you are not paying attention it is very easy to walk into an area and see things you don't want to see. For example, the first floor of a shop might have common manga, go up 2 floors and the content goes xxx.
Next, there are Maid Cafes, or CosPlay cafes. I find the concept kind of sexist and degrading to women so I tend to avoid them.
I spent my first 3 days alone in my usual spot. Asakusa is a district in the Taito ward of the Metropolis of Tokyo. I discovered a few good hostels here during a trip in 2009. Hotels in Tokyo are expensive, usually around $300 a night. While I can budget, save, and afford such accommodations, I prefer staying at Hostels for 1/10th the price and avoid the opportunity cost. Less money spent on lodging means more money for exploring and experiences.
My first stop, a bit of a tourist trap, is almost always the Sensō-ji(金龍山浅草寺) temple, one of the oldest ones in Tokyo. Why this place? It is really beautiful architecture as well as some fun history and shopping.
After walking around the temple for a little while, I continued down to the Sumida river.
I'd already made contact with Zach, a friend who works as a Missionary in Japan. In a few more days my next friend, artist David, would arrive. My hope was to get over Jet Lag as soon as possible so I could better guide David on his first time in a very foreign place.
