Tag Archives: Shibuya

12th August 2014: Yokohama & friends {Japan, summer 2014}

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We headed off to Yokohama [横浜] to visit Chinatown.

Our goal was an early lunch and then a division of forces – either temples or Panda shops. I was on Team Temple, as nobody will be surprised to hear – Kwan Tai [関帝廟] and Kanteibyō / Kuan Ti Miao [関帝廟 / 中華会館].

Then we walked around the seaside park, Yamashita Koen [山下公園] and looked at the bay.

After a visit to (yet another) Book Off stop, we headed back to Tokyo [東京], where we had arranged to meet a few Japanese friends in Shibuya [渋谷].

The first plan of the afternoon was meeting at Hachiko’s sculpture in Shibuya, because that is what you do when you meet in Shibuya. Then we headed to Bic Camera to check out the special promo that they had running on the 4K audiovisual set. The promo featured the trailer of the L’Arc~en~Ciel’s concert at the National Stadium earlier in 2014, which will be released in October.

One of our friends had to work that afternoon, but as this was the only day we could see the three of them before they went home for Obon, we decided to surprise her and drop by the cafe she works at to keep her company. This was the day when I discover that Japanese people actually flop on the floor when they are surprised, for real.

The Mr. Happy cafe is located in Shibuya and is something akin a non-profit which is affiliated to a children’s character. We had amazing milk shakes and mini smiling sponge cakes (lemon and caramel) and took pictures of them, of course. As we were leaving, our friend presented us with a mini box of berry sponge cakes per person! They were very kawaii and delicious, too.

For dinner we went for yakiniku again, although this time it was something quite more posh / expensive. We ate a lot, but I felt that there was too much smoke to be completely comfortable there.

11th August 2014: Microwaved bread is a thing {Japan, summer 2014}

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The day started started late due to jet-lag and and on and off night and once again we set off to try and of a tea ceremony in Ginza [銀座]. However, for the second time it did not work out, due to the hotel we had selected had stopped doing it for the summer. Not fun.

We headed out for a late lunch and ended up at a place that tried to be a weird version of a British pub, called “The Ginza Lion” which had some nice set dishes that came with a choice of bread or rice. We both chose bread and we received a baguette piece with butter. Amusingly enough, the bread had been… microwaved. Not toasted but microwaved. I am guilty if having microwaved bread before when I was trying to defrost it. Jokes ensued, and I was there to write a blog post on why microwaved bread is a thing. It is, of course. Will mark trend, I am sure.

Afterwards we headed off to Harajuku [原宿] to cavort idol shops, which are always fun. However, there was an unusual crowd due to the release of Kanjani8 stuff, and some of the shops were too crowded to browse in peace.

From Harajuku we walked down to Shibuya [渋谷] for a couple of hours of karaoke (NEWS version of Weeeek is easier once you have gotten used to the GreeeN one, too). Then we went to The One Hundred Yen Yakiniku to eat barbecued meat and veggies and called it a day.

10th August 2014: Typhoon & Odaiba {Japan, summer 2014}

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One of the things I noticed when landing was the solid thousand-metre column of clouds. The reason for it was Japan’s almost-trademark hot humidity, but aside from that, there was a typhoon in the making. Now, a typhoon is basically he same thing as a hurricane, only that it happens in the Pacific Ocean. Temperature difference between seawater and the air above it create upwards convection currents that rotate around an axis due to the Coriolis force. This causes rain, strong winds and the famous “spiral structure” that we see on weather reports.

Well, on Sunday we were scheduled to have a typhoon passing by Tokyo/Saitama. Our plans for the day were picking up a friend in Odaiba after performing the tea ceremony. However, when we were close to the place where tea ceremony was to be held, it was raining quite strongly, so we decided to go directly to Odaiba [お台場]. The reason for choosing that meeting point was seeing the hanabi (fireworks) in Tokyo Bay, but those were cancelled in the end due to the weather.

Far from being deterred, we decided it make the most of it, rain or no rain. The first stop was at Tower Records, where I got myself a magazine, just because I could. Then we headed off for a kushikatsu restaurant.

Kushikatsu is a typical Kansai food, anything you can imagine covered in mayonnaise, breaded, skewered and deep-fried. This restaurant allowed you to choose your uncooked skewers and fry them at the table. It was an all-you-can-eat for 80 minutes. In Japan it is very typical to have a time-constricted meal deal, during which you can order or eat as much as you want. However, when it ends you get kicked out a bit unceremoniously.

As rain seemed to have stopped somehow and the girls humoured my wanting to go to the Fuji TV shop to search for a Galileo phone strap that I had regretted not buying the previous year. On our way we walked into a “Hero” (drama by Kimura Takuya which is getting a new season) mini event. It had a mini museum with items from the series and shootings, and a small background for you to take pictures in.

After that we headed out to Shibuya [渋谷] and cavorted Tsutaya and once againお台場 (another branch, though).

(Zoom on the Tackey & Tsubasa billboard up there because… unexpected for JE)

3rd July 2013: Tsutaya, Manatsu and Odaiba (yes, again) {Japan, summer 2013}

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Being the fanby I am, I wanted GACKT’s Best of the Best CD set, the special pack, and I headed for Shibuya [渋谷] first thing in the morning for it. After a successful buying, I headed off for TOHO Cinemas to watch the Galileo movie, Manatsu no Houteishiki. Fortunately enough, it was not Suspect X, so not depressing at all (don’t get me wrong, Suspect X was awesome, but it still left me heart-wrenched XDDD)

galileo-manatsu_poster

After that there was an Odaiba trip, changing into the yukata and attending the VAMPS Tanabata festival. The idea of the Tanabata Event was to make a sort of “summer festival” and you had to attend in yukata – I bought one I did not feel comfortable in, and I got quite a few stares and felt the most unwelcome I’ve ever felt in anything related to J-rock. It was most a talk show than anything else and after the event was over I did get to meet very nice fans… so it was a bit on the strange side, all things considered.

After that there was purikura and exhaustion XD. Very, very fanbying day, right? XD At first I felt a bit bad that there was nothing “cultural” to be done that day, but after all everything I did could only be done in Japan so I figured out that it was all right ^^

24th June 2013: Less-known Tokyo Shrines {Japan, summer 2013}

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Most of Monday was spent wandering around Tokyo [東京] trying to find my way between shrines, since as you might have suspected, I like those. Akasaka [赤坂] was the first stop of the day to visit Nogi Jinja [乃木神社], which I managed to find even if I had missed all the landmarks that should have led me there.

As I headed towards Roppongi [六本木] for my next stop something went wrong. The station I was supposed to find was wrongly marked on Google maps, or another exit was marked or… I am not sure (looking back, probably a signal disruptor). My route ended up being a bit meandering. I crossed Tokyo Midtown [東京ミッドタウン]’s Hinokicho Kōen [檜町公園].

Once in Roppongi I took another detour (this time it was my own fault though XD) to Hikawa Jinja [氷川神社], which is one of the most creepy places on this earth. I liked it, but it did give off one hell of an eerie feeling.

After this I headed down the Minato Ward where the Tokyo Tower can be found. There I was to explore around for a few things, including Atago Jinja [愛宕神社], which was having a matsuri and thus crowded.

On my to-find list was, among other things, this mini-Inari shrine:

Then I headed down to Shiba Koen [芝大公園], Zojo-ji [増上寺] and the Tokyo Tower [東京タワー], just because I could.

I was to meet D****e back at Roppongi [六本木] to go up to the observatory in Roppongi Hills [六本木ヒルズ], but it did not pan out due to weird closing hours. However, we did manage a cool shoot or two of the Tokyo Tower lit up and the supermoon next to it.

We walked to Shibuya [渋谷], where we made a stop at Book Off. Money was spent XD

15th July 2012: A very Japanese Sunday {Japan, summer 2012}

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The 15th started with a visit to Inokashira Kōen [井の頭恩賜公園] and the temple in it, Inokashira Benzaiten [井の頭弁財天] overlooking Inokashira Ike [井の頭池]. I still find it amazing how the parks in Tokyo can completely drown everything that is going on around them, especially train and car noises. It’s like going to the country or something, within a few minutes of a train station. Inokashira Park was full of people walking, a drawing class and a small flea market.

A bright red shrine at the end of an equally bright bridge

However, the respite did not take long and we threw ourselves back into the busy streets of Tokyo, heading out to Shibuya for all you can eat shabu-shabu. No words, really. Just on nom nom nom nom.

Shabu-shabu restaurant. A broth pot stands in the middle of a table with two services, and two trays of meat are on the side

After lunch and a not-so-quick trip to Mandarake, we headed off for Nakano Broadway to burn the credit card, snoop around idol shops, and buy a lot of stuff.

A shopping gallery

We had a a sushi dinner a sushi dinner (here, fyi, sushi is fish with rice, not rice with fish on top), at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, where you could also order. And when you did, your sushi came in a mini-Shinkansen (Sushinkansen!)

Sushi moving in a conveyor belt-like structure

sushi being delivered in a small train-like structure that moves on the conveyor belt

Close up of prawn sushi and green tea

Finally, the day ended in a karaoke place.

A karaoke screen reading Passing by like Lady Godiva. On the bottom-right corner, there's someone's hand holding a microphone

5th July 2012: Gods of Old {Japan, summer 2012}

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Yesterday morning started with a much dreaded headache so I decided to try and take it easy, get some morning rest and fill the blog up. Later on I headed off to Asakusa – after a small adventure charging the Suica train card – and had a typical me moment getting lost around the building I had to walk around. Yep, turned the wrong way around said building.

Asakusa [浅草] hosts Sensō-ji [金龍山浅草寺], a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon and it is particularly famous for its giant lanterns (chōchin, [提灯]). Some drama actor I have a tiiiiiny bit of a soft spot has been… well… filming around here a couple of times. And I did not try to reproduce any camera angles *coughs*. Behold the main entrance, the main building and a close-up of the chōchin.

The entrance to a Buddhist temple. There is a huge (taller than a person) red paper lamp hanging with the kanji 雷門 on it, two demon statues stand on its sides

Another entrance gate, with another huge red lantern. The building is decorated with red, white and green

A close-up of the lantern, with 小舟町 written on it

I bought a Temple charm from one of the maiko, a mini lantern and a daruma. The sellers were very nice once they had no more option but to acknowledge my present and we got by in Japanese with calculator showing of totals. In one of the stands I was given an origami crane, which was really cute. I had been recommended a tayaki (sweet) stand but unluckily that they they had cleaning day and they were not serving.

“Close” (in Tokyo terms) to Asakusa is the Tokyo Skytree [東京スカイツリー], which has taken over television broadcasting functions from Tokyo Tower and it is about twice as high. Since I was “in the area” I decided to drop by, although I did not feel like climbing it. Although it has been recently opened, going up is super expensive and… is not Tokyo Tower XD Excuse the funny picture format.

Tokyo Skytree - a tower seemingly made out of grey scaffolding

Getting there I crossed in front of the Asahi Beer Group Building Complex, so have a picture too:

The Asahi building, with horns like a bull

And a system of floodgates, just because I’m biased:

A canal with a flooding gate system

I got something to eat from a Family Mart under the Skytree, and that included dorayaki, because I was starting to feel brave about interactions!

A pancake-like sweet, about the half the size of my hand

Then, I headed to Shibuya [渋谷] because I was getting tired and there was a nice, long, metro ride in the Ginza line. Guess what was the first thing I looked for? The Shibuya 109 building. Unfortunately, if there is an aquarium up there, it is restricted area. Sales day, too. Was crazy, so root me with the Angels for this one XD (X Clamp reference, for those who are hanya’ing right now).

Shibuya 109 building. It is a regular mall with a round tower full of advertisements

Since I had the time I stalked the infamous Shibuya Crossing, which serves about 3,000 people per green pedestrian crossing:

Shibuya crossing, empty of people and cars

Shibuya crossing as people flock into it

Then I did what one does in Shibuya… roam around and spend money OTZ. Though I was banned from Mandarake yet, there were many interesting stores, among them the equivalent to a FNAC / Virgin Media or similar with a HUGE Fukuyama Masaharu DVD promo poster; for the good of my wallet I forbade myself to walk into it. The funny anecdote of the day came when I was listening to KAT-TUN’s Peak and suddenly I heard Kame speaking. I was surprised because I do not have Peak live on my mp3. Then I realised that it had been Shibuya’s giant screen with their new car CM. D****e helped me find a few bargains in Book Off after we met.

A shopping street in Shibuya. One of the billboards on the right reads Book Off

And speaking of meeting, I kind-of was thrown into a nomikai [飲み会] with her volunteering partners that she met in Tohoku. A nomikai is a… typical Japanese drinking party with real Japanese people and at first I was a bit 0_0 about the whole thing. After all my Japanese is… more basic than basic. Surprisingly it turned out very enjoyable with me… making up Japanese as I went along and D****e helping me out most of the time. My random vocab was very surprising at some point for one of the girls because… yeah, I can’t ask for my food to be heated but I know how to say “typical Japanese paper screen”. The downside was coming home past midnight. The upside, was lots of fun.

And guys, romantic dorama weird plots happen in real life. There was a married couple there to prove it.