tokyo's blue sky greets you in this second edition of my journey in japan. i went there during autumn season 2010 around mid october. the air was cool and when it's windy, the wind sends some chills down on you. but it was lovely weather. there are times the sun shines that makes the air temperature just fine. okay.. now let's start the second edition of awesome japan travel diary ^^
last time i stopped at embarking the train from tsuchiura to tokyo. the whole journey was about 45 to 50 mins. this is ueno station where i can take the yamanote line and chuo line and many2 more lines to get around tokyo. the station is always full of people moving and running around. i love this scene. i love train hopping in tokyo ^^
trains in tokyo are clean and in terms of timing, they come and go as per schedule. delays are rare unless due to natural disaster like earthquakes or heavy snow or anything else tahat is under major category.
bought this drink from the vending machine and it tasted great! cc lemon was definitely under my favorite drink list at that time. it’s refreshing and soothing.
another lookie at the train platform in japan. how i miss tokyo seeing this picture. and all the rest of the pictures.. they all bring back memories of tokyo back to me. i wanna go back there someday. oh yes, before i forget, another thing you can obviously see in tokyo is how the people overthere take the escalator – they do not stand blocking people’s way on the escalator. those who are not in a hurry will automatically take the left side of the escalator leaving the right side of the escalator free for people who have to dash around in a hurry. this culture is practiced at all train stations escalators. this shows just how efficient and disciplined they are overthere. cool..
changing stations and more walking to do. not troublesome at all. as a matter of fact i enjoy it so very much. the train in this picture in on the yamanote line. platform number three.
つぎはあきはばら. next station – akihabara. okay folks, welcome to the electrical and electronic city akihabara. this is a place where your electrical and electronic dreams come true. and for otakus, there are loads of anime stuff and maid cafes. this is the scene just when the train arrives at akihabara station. excited!!
the station has two entrance/exit and i suppose i was on the other side of the other entrance/exit.. hahaha. i should have remembered whether this is the east/west entrance/exit truthfully ^^ . by the way, ain’t this glass stairs look familiar? i saw this place only through other people’s pictures/tv.. but now i get to see it with my very own eyes! happy!
another view of akihabara from where the train station is. ahead is one of akihabara’s main street. by the way, the weather was good and the sky was blue up until sunset. tokyo is blessed with fine blue sky, just when it does not get cloudy or rainy.
shops selling figures and anime related stuff can be found in akihabara. this one contains more shops on the upper levels. there are 6 levels altogether! just to check out this one building takes a few serious hours.
the intersection in akihabara in which on the right side will be kanda just across the bridge. this intersection is one of many in akihabara actually.
crossing the intersection can also be fun hahaha. you see.. this guy on the edge of this pic is also smiling. crossing the road happily. that’s just awesome! すごい!
let us have alook at the tokyo sky again. i must tell you this, i love tokyo’s sky. the sky in tokyo (and japan generally) can be a wonder to see especially when you take the picture including the building, trees and roads like this. will also show you the evening sky in the next entries. just splendid.
aha! this bus stops just in front of me when i was waiting for the pedestrian lights turning green. this guy was in deep slumber and he didn’t care just what happened outside or if anybody was looking. sleeping in public transport in japan is a skill most japanese have. they are pros! ^^
my shadow from the afternoon sun and people crossing the road. this was after i snapped the sleeping dude picture hahaha..
i bet that you recognized what this is. do you know what this is? i wrote about it in my past entries. anyhow.. i’ve been seeing lots of this but never had a chance to actually try one. sad
the sidewalks of akihabara. i could not stop from looking around in excitement while walking around here. there are too many things to see!
decided to buy this one as a gift for my lil’ bro. he’s also into japan culture and anime. this one is around 1000 yen.
this is a ticket issued when you pre-order a meal from a shop. eating in tokyo is a very fun thing to do. let’s go through how it works..
you see the machine there? well, this machine takes your orders. you get to refer to the menu from the sample provided. the samples are so real that you feel hungry just by looking at it. didn’t have the pic here. maybe i’ll include the food sample picture in the next entries. so, once you have chosen the menu from the samples, then you proceed with this machine. slot in coins/notes and press the number in accordance to the food samples. a ticket will then be issued.
this is the tempura udon noodle i ordered. tasted yummy!. eating experience in tokyo is one of a kind for me. it was a really nice experience. by the way, this one costs 480 yen.
oh noes.. i forgot to tell you what to do once you acquired a ticket. okay, here it is. just enter the shop and hand the ticket to the men on the back of the counter/kitchen. they’ll greet you and say “please have a seat and we’ll call your order when it’s ready..” you wait for a few minutes and then they will call your order. take the food from the counter and eat. that simple. as for drinks, just take the plain water – it’s free. you finish the food and before going out, bring all the bowls and utensils to the counter. don’t leave your bowls/utensils on the table. that’s just wrong. one thing that i notice eating in any of japanese shop like this is the energy level of the workers. all of them – even the chefs, greets you when you come in and say goodbye and thanks to you when you leave – non stop to all patrons. energetic right? ^^
cables and stuff related to electronics. wires and what’s not. just the normal chaos of what an electronical store should look like.
again, i found myself crossing the road. there are too many places to go to but daylight was kinda short during autumn. by 5pm it would be dark. so plan your trip wisely and take heed of the season as it effects daylight period.
ehh? did i cross this road? why do the sega building still on the opposite side of the road? what a mystery… a mystery…^^
akihabara main road and the evening sky. driving in japan is quite something. i had a chance to drive while i was in japan and i’ll tell you more of it later on.
sales! sales! sales! this one goes out for less than 1000 yen. since 100 yen is the lowest japanese 1 unit of currency, i always convert 100 yen as equal to 1 japanese dollar (sounds stupid right? just bear with me), so this jacket is around 9.90 japanese dollar. cheap!
you can see bicycles parked everywhere alongside the road or in front of the stores. bicycles aare one of the most important transportation means in japan. to park a car will cost you lots of yen, so the best way is to ride a bicycle and then take the trains/busses.
the sidewalks of akihabara where all kinds of people walkes by minding their own businesses and purposes. i remembered seeing one creepy guy loafing around this building on the right (the one this guy in suit looking and peering into the glass windows). that creepy guy looked like a homeless and he had this very dark gaze upon all people walking by. but that was all he did.. gazing and looking. he didn't do any harm though ^^
i even snapped the japanese people on the go and they just didn’t care. hahah. by the way, a bicycle is called as jitensha (じてんしゃ) in japanese language.
still in akihabara and we come to the last picture for this entry. i hope you can see the surrounding areas in akihabara from this entry. being there itself is a very pleasant feeling. i feel like wanting to be there right now as i uploaded all these pictures in this entry. tokyo is a nice place to visit. hoping to be there soonest possible. can’t wait being there again ^^. okay, until we meet again in awesome japan 3.. bye for now. see you again! じゃまたね…
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