Walking to the station affords the opportunity to check out the neighborhood, and scope the location of the nearest cafes, convenience stores etc. Spotted a shop which I would have translated as 'fuck off', however my girlfriend assures me its selling eyewear!
PASCO Card
I highly recommend getting a PASCO card ... its a prepaid train card, and automatically charges you the correct fare as you swipe in and out from the stations. Makes life a lot quicker and easier than working out each fare and buying the ticket, which is what I did on my first trip to Tokyo. And believe me, in some of the outer stations where there is no English translation, its a godsend.
Anyway, this week I'm staying on the East side of Tokyo, so I've scheduled a few nearby attractions for while I'm staying close by. Right now its off to Akihabara, which is only a short train ride away ...
Akihabara aka Akiba
This is where its at for anyone with an interest in electronics, computers, games, anime etc. Teh streets are lined with shops crammed with tech and toys ... which is why its known as the geek district of Tokyo. The Yodobashi store, situated right at the Akihabara train station is approx 10 levels worth ... one level for computers, one for mobile phones, one for toys, one for TVs ... you get the drift. There's really nothing remotely on this scale where I come from and the variety is amazing.
The other thing Akihabara is famous for is its Maid Cafes. This is where young Japanese women wearing French Maid outfits serve coffee and lunch, in total obeisance to the customer. They even address you as 'Master' and will play cute silly games with you. of course you'll pay for the privilege! I haven't visited one of these yet, due to a slight embarassment to be honest, although I do feel it should be experienced at least once.
Consequently, you'll see many 'French maids' standing on the streets of Akihabara handing out flyers and drumming up business. I didn't want to be a total 'Gaijin' (foreigner) and take a photo of them close-up, after all they're just girls earning their paycheck ... but if you look closely in the photo below you'll see a couple doing the flyer thing.
As a big fan of Japanese cinema, I of course had to check out what obscure DVDs I could find. Unfortunately DVDs in Japan are heinously expensive - around 3-4 times the cost of other countries, and to hell with mortgaging your house for a Blu-ray! So I trawled some of the many 2nd hand DVD shops where bargains are to be had.
I picked up mint sealed copies of the deluxe collector's editions of The Matrix and Kill Bill for the paltry sum of around 1500 yen each (approx $USD15) ... which certainly compares favourably with paying the $200 or so I've seen them for from greedy Amazon Sellers! I also found a few nice editions of Japanese films such as Casshern and Ghost in the Shell :)
So much to see in Akiba ... I'm here until it gets dark, and the shops start closing around 10pm. Time to head back to the Hotel and prepare for tomorrow's adventure ... Kamakura!
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