The heart of Tokyo city
(Friday, June 27, 2008/11:13 PM)
Whew... Back from Yuling's farewell party at Jamie's place... It's been a long day since waking up at 8 AM and travelling to BBDC for my driving lesson, then returning home briefly to change up and have my lunch before meeting KC to buy the BBQ stuff. But KC is definitely more shacked than me. Nasty night shifts for his job lol!
I truly enjoyed myself thoroughly today. And I mean really really. Sometimes, I can't wait to leave certain gatherings but have to put on a false front and stay put and act as if I'm enjoying. But this time, I feel that it's really fruitful cos' Yuling will be leaving us soon, and this was the least we could do for her. I also got to meet up with old faces such as Desmond and Weijie and did some catching up. The atmosphere was natural and fun altho' we've not seen each other for months and even years! Yuling, pls know that the whole of W429 will miss u alot and pls take gd care of urself! Stay in contact thru email and MSN, okay? =)
Alright, back to business, we're still at Tokyo, aren't we? I forgot to introduce 2 shopping districts which I feel would be ideal for ppl having similar interests as me. And u've guessed it right, I'm gonna talk abt the land of otakus, Akihabara or affectionately called Akiba.
This place seriously has tons of anime stuff, so if u're an anime fan, u'll go crazy in this place for sure. There's alot of cheap electrical appliances and computer stuff for sale too, so if u've prepared cash to splurge, do look around. I bought a 8 GB thumbdrive for KC at only abt SGD$38. It's also famous for their maid cafes, so I was a little ecstatic *lol* to see girls dressed in their maid costumes advertising for their stores for the first time ever. But I never went in one, cos' it costs a bomb. Great place and worth the hype. Just felt abit creepy and cautious cos' of the recent massacre at that very place.
Harajuku is also great for youth fashion, but that's not what it's famous for. Takeshita-dori, a shopping district in Harajuku, is famous for housing many stores selling idol merchandise. If u're looking for ur latest idol's posters, look no further. I think I'd make it my pilgrimage to get to Harajuku everytime I drop by Japan to update myself on my favourite and cutest Jpop singer idol, Ai Otsuka. ^^ Oh yeah, shucks, I didn't manage to trek to Omotesando Hills to shop at their new shopping complex due to time constraint. What a waste. =(
Alright, on to overhyped places. Shinjuku and Shibuya seem overhyped to me. I've not really have a deep impression of these places the last time I went, and this time, I gave them another chance and still wasn't too impressed. The fashion boutiques there are really impressive, but their prices are equally as impressive. I can easily find a SGD$300 shirt over there, and almost nothing goes below 4000 Yen. The crowd is also horrendous, as it's a popular haunt for schoolkids and cos' it's situated near the city center, salarymen will be in numbers as well. The upside is that alot of good-looking ppl will be there, but u shouldn't have any mood at all to do any 'sight-seeing', with the insane crowd coming ur way.
Shinjuku is slightly more interesting cos' of Kabuki-cho, their red-light district *lol*. I didn't manage to find the main sleazy district but even in other sideroads, my friend and I got approached by sleazy old men who tried to tout for business. "Live show, massage, sex?". I almost *lol*ed in his face. =) I didn't manage to meet any Yakuza too, which I heard would be present in Kabuki-cho to oversee their brothel business. Yawnzzz... Overall, nothing really that great. I got no idea why ppl keep hyping these places as if it's some kind of shopping heaven. Maybe I didn't manage to find the correct places to shop? Oh well...
In the night, we went to Roponggi with the intentions to observe their nightlife. We expected to see pretty girls dressed up for the occasion, but instead, we got severely pestered by black guys along the streets to enter their pub/club establishments. And we only spotted a handful of girls dressed to club! I guess maybe we went on a wrong day since it was a Tuesday. But still, it's rather disappointing and there aren't many interesting shops around.
Our hotel is at Ikebukuro and that place seriously rocks! It has everything from arcades to eateries, fashion boutiques to anime shops. It's also convenient sandwiched in between the popular shopping districts of Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku etc. so taking the Yamanote Line from Ikebukuro makes travelling and shopping a breeze in Tokyo. I highly recommend travelers to stay in this area for easy subway access, as well as convenience and nearby amenity.
Ummm... Above is a picture of ppl queuing up on a Wednesday morning at 9+ AM to enter a newly established pachinko parlour. I mean, seriously, dun they have to work or sumthin'!? Tokyo's culture amazes me. On one hand, I observed dedicated salarymen rushing for the morning trains and enduring the crowds. On the other hand, I see these people dressed casually and relaxing on a supposedly busy working day. Truly mind-boggling. =S
Hmmm... I love to type alot... Shucks, I always make my posts sound lengthy. So much so that I can't cover Hakone on this post. I'll leave that for my next post! Maybe later, maybe tml! :)
I truly enjoyed myself thoroughly today. And I mean really really. Sometimes, I can't wait to leave certain gatherings but have to put on a false front and stay put and act as if I'm enjoying. But this time, I feel that it's really fruitful cos' Yuling will be leaving us soon, and this was the least we could do for her. I also got to meet up with old faces such as Desmond and Weijie and did some catching up. The atmosphere was natural and fun altho' we've not seen each other for months and even years! Yuling, pls know that the whole of W429 will miss u alot and pls take gd care of urself! Stay in contact thru email and MSN, okay? =)
Alright, back to business, we're still at Tokyo, aren't we? I forgot to introduce 2 shopping districts which I feel would be ideal for ppl having similar interests as me. And u've guessed it right, I'm gonna talk abt the land of otakus, Akihabara or affectionately called Akiba.
This place seriously has tons of anime stuff, so if u're an anime fan, u'll go crazy in this place for sure. There's alot of cheap electrical appliances and computer stuff for sale too, so if u've prepared cash to splurge, do look around. I bought a 8 GB thumbdrive for KC at only abt SGD$38. It's also famous for their maid cafes, so I was a little ecstatic *lol* to see girls dressed in their maid costumes advertising for their stores for the first time ever. But I never went in one, cos' it costs a bomb. Great place and worth the hype. Just felt abit creepy and cautious cos' of the recent massacre at that very place.Harajuku is also great for youth fashion, but that's not what it's famous for. Takeshita-dori, a shopping district in Harajuku, is famous for housing many stores selling idol merchandise. If u're looking for ur latest idol's posters, look no further. I think I'd make it my pilgrimage to get to Harajuku everytime I drop by Japan to update myself on my favourite and cutest Jpop singer idol, Ai Otsuka. ^^ Oh yeah, shucks, I didn't manage to trek to Omotesando Hills to shop at their new shopping complex due to time constraint. What a waste. =(
Alright, on to overhyped places. Shinjuku and Shibuya seem overhyped to me. I've not really have a deep impression of these places the last time I went, and this time, I gave them another chance and still wasn't too impressed. The fashion boutiques there are really impressive, but their prices are equally as impressive. I can easily find a SGD$300 shirt over there, and almost nothing goes below 4000 Yen. The crowd is also horrendous, as it's a popular haunt for schoolkids and cos' it's situated near the city center, salarymen will be in numbers as well. The upside is that alot of good-looking ppl will be there, but u shouldn't have any mood at all to do any 'sight-seeing', with the insane crowd coming ur way.
Shinjuku is slightly more interesting cos' of Kabuki-cho, their red-light district *lol*. I didn't manage to find the main sleazy district but even in other sideroads, my friend and I got approached by sleazy old men who tried to tout for business. "Live show, massage, sex?". I almost *lol*ed in his face. =) I didn't manage to meet any Yakuza too, which I heard would be present in Kabuki-cho to oversee their brothel business. Yawnzzz... Overall, nothing really that great. I got no idea why ppl keep hyping these places as if it's some kind of shopping heaven. Maybe I didn't manage to find the correct places to shop? Oh well...
In the night, we went to Roponggi with the intentions to observe their nightlife. We expected to see pretty girls dressed up for the occasion, but instead, we got severely pestered by black guys along the streets to enter their pub/club establishments. And we only spotted a handful of girls dressed to club! I guess maybe we went on a wrong day since it was a Tuesday. But still, it's rather disappointing and there aren't many interesting shops around.
Our hotel is at Ikebukuro and that place seriously rocks! It has everything from arcades to eateries, fashion boutiques to anime shops. It's also convenient sandwiched in between the popular shopping districts of Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku etc. so taking the Yamanote Line from Ikebukuro makes travelling and shopping a breeze in Tokyo. I highly recommend travelers to stay in this area for easy subway access, as well as convenience and nearby amenity.
Ummm... Above is a picture of ppl queuing up on a Wednesday morning at 9+ AM to enter a newly established pachinko parlour. I mean, seriously, dun they have to work or sumthin'!? Tokyo's culture amazes me. On one hand, I observed dedicated salarymen rushing for the morning trains and enduring the crowds. On the other hand, I see these people dressed casually and relaxing on a supposedly busy working day. Truly mind-boggling. =S
Hmmm... I love to type alot... Shucks, I always make my posts sound lengthy. So much so that I can't cover Hakone on this post. I'll leave that for my next post! Maybe later, maybe tml! :)
posted by MightyFlameboy. shoot me? | 0 shot me.