Tumbleroo ate my post (it’s a crappy client) so it’ll just be dot points.

• Went to Ikebukero to check out Bic Camera (themesong now firmly stuck in my head), Book-off and Tokyu Hands. It was raining and I bought an umbrella from the combini. We checked out the robo toliet set conversion kits. (Most are made by Panasonic). • At Tokyu hands Jen started stocking up on Japanese stationery. They had a pretty awesome craft / DIY section. • The top floor of Tokyu hands is Nekobukuro (a little scale town inhabited by cats). • Had a quick poke around Akihabara. Got lost in the Akihabara Radio City labryinth.

• Ghibli museum was just awesome. Beautifully put together. It’s specifically designed not to have a single path so you are forced to explore. The zeotropes and film process area was great. The little shop was packed full like a Japanese train. We climbed a thin spiral staircase (which was really awkward when a small child freaked out halfway and had to squeeze past to get back down). There was an unofficial system for taking photos at the Laputa robot on the roof - you’d offer to take the photo of the people in front of you and the people behind you would do the same for you. • Not many cosplayers at Harajuku (we’ve seen more in Akiba). The Meiji shrine itself didn’t move me much but the park it’s in and the giant torii you walk through was spectacular. There were at least two weddings going on at the shrine. • K-books and Mandarake. Picked up a few bits and pieces. • Akihabara’s main drag is closed on Sundays for pedestrian traffic but we only saw a couple of guys dressed up as maids. • M’s Pop Life department store was a let-down. Very little different from a SexyLand back home, except that it was more cramped. • The ramen shop we stumbled into for dinner seemed to specialise in spicy ramen. Delicious, though.

• Pokémon centre in the morning. Jen was bouncing off the walls. We’re now about due to send a souvenirs package home. • More exploring of Harajuku. We somehow missed the main drag and did most of the streets around it before finding it. • Spent money at a sock shop, one of the fashionable outlets and Body Line. • Got a second key for the room so Jen could go to more book shops while I went for another tour of electronics shops. • Tempura for dinner.

  1. nicmuses posted this