Day 5: (Tokyo) Akihabara, Asakusa, Ueno, Akihabara
it was one of the few days we actually woke up a little later than usual since akihabara, our first stop, only opens around 10am. so we rolled around abit and had some of alvin's baumkuchen while chuu was still tying her hair:
alvin absolutely loved it. i think it's very expensive though.
everyday Bon Bread was our breakfast of choice (i've had enough of konbini onigiri), and once we were done we headed down to akihabara!! i didn't really know which direction to take though, so i passed the tokyo guidebook to the boys and they looked through everything. we decided to cancel on going to the maid cafe (coz it's not cheap and kinda far away) and just walk around.
as we walked my excitement started to bubble over coz i saw Lucky Star and Haruhi Suzumiya EVERYWHERE.
and gachapon EVERYWHERE.
i was positively skipping around behind the boys and i didn't care where they led us to... I WAS JUST DAMN HAPPY. that's when hanbin suddenly glanced at me, laughed at my XD!!! face and said, 'oh no! vivien's inner otaku is coming out!' i just grinned very widely and nodded. :D
ANIME EVERYWHERE!!!!! YAY YAY!!! after hitting 2 stores full of comics and figures and gachapon and... eeyur a badly-lit hentai room right at the back *shudder*shudder*... we walked past a hentai shop - wait, is that... can't be... OMG IT IS!! IT'S A FUDAI!!! (happy bag)
It's funny, probably apt... Han Bin in this pink lights area... hur hur hur... checking out the wares...
---
quick note: a fudai (happy bag) in japan is a bag full of unknown stuff, but the price you pay for the bag is normally about 5 times less than the value of the items inside. so good right?? it's like getting a present for yourself!! :D
---
i've been wanting to get a fudai for so long, and the hentai shop had some not-so-hentai stuff inside, like a shrine maiden costume/sailor fuku costume/ maid costume... :D:D:D so exciting!! the bag so big, only SGD15, what if i get a costume if i'm lucky??!?!? hehehehe. hehehehehe.
so i bought one. heh heh. alvin was all *facepalm* on the sidewalk.
alvin absolutely loved it. i think it's very expensive though.
everyday Bon Bread was our breakfast of choice (i've had enough of konbini onigiri), and once we were done we headed down to akihabara!! i didn't really know which direction to take though, so i passed the tokyo guidebook to the boys and they looked through everything. we decided to cancel on going to the maid cafe (coz it's not cheap and kinda far away) and just walk around.
as we walked my excitement started to bubble over coz i saw Lucky Star and Haruhi Suzumiya EVERYWHERE.
and gachapon EVERYWHERE.
i was positively skipping around behind the boys and i didn't care where they led us to... I WAS JUST DAMN HAPPY. that's when hanbin suddenly glanced at me, laughed at my XD!!! face and said, 'oh no! vivien's inner otaku is coming out!' i just grinned very widely and nodded. :D
ANIME EVERYWHERE!!!!! YAY YAY!!! after hitting 2 stores full of comics and figures and gachapon and... eeyur a badly-lit hentai room right at the back *shudder*shudder*... we walked past a hentai shop - wait, is that... can't be... OMG IT IS!! IT'S A FUDAI!!! (happy bag)
It's funny, probably apt... Han Bin in this pink lights area... hur hur hur... checking out the wares...
---
quick note: a fudai (happy bag) in japan is a bag full of unknown stuff, but the price you pay for the bag is normally about 5 times less than the value of the items inside. so good right?? it's like getting a present for yourself!! :D
---
i've been wanting to get a fudai for so long, and the hentai shop had some not-so-hentai stuff inside, like a shrine maiden costume/sailor fuku costume/ maid costume... :D:D:D so exciting!! the bag so big, only SGD15, what if i get a costume if i'm lucky??!?!? hehehehe. hehehehehe.
so i bought one. heh heh. alvin was all *facepalm* on the sidewalk.
They never listen.
after i explained the concept to chuuling, she got all excited as well. 'OPEN IT! OPEN IT!!' and i agreed coz i really wanted to see what was inside. alvin kept going 'NO NOOOO' coz we were in public and i guess he'd already guessed what was inside...
after i explained the concept to chuuling, she got all excited as well. 'OPEN IT! OPEN IT!!' and i agreed coz i really wanted to see what was inside. alvin kept going 'NO NOOOO' coz we were in public and i guess he'd already guessed what was inside...
Yes, I'd guessed. Should have seen the shopkeeper's face when she walked in happily.
chuu: what's this?
me: shrug
alvin: oh no it's starting...
chuu: this?
me: dunno?
alvin: WHY WHY ARE YOU OPENING THIS NAOOOO
i saw something i didn't want to see.
me: ok this is getting embarrassing.
chuu: *rummage*rummage*
OKAY. NEVER A FUDAI FROM A HENTAI SHOP AGAIN.
after a few hours of lugging the hentai load around akihabara, we separated everything into male/female and left them in the akihabara subway toilet. someone else can have happy time i guess. HAHAHA!
that was kinda fun actually. :D
and yes, my secret ambition is to dress up like a maid. i bet alvin's really happy about this.
It was pretty ok, iirc it was kinda cold? But it was chock full of stuff. Imagine the amount in 3 boxes of takopachi in Singapore squeezed into 1 ball of the same size.
check out the boxful of tentacles:
the two girls we'd seen previously:
alvin had this, which was not very nice:
It was tough. At least she heated it up :)
then we spotted an aunty playing a shrine festival game: catching little fish!
chuu: what's this?
me: shrug
alvin: oh no it's starting...
chuu: this?
me: dunno?
alvin: WHY WHY ARE YOU OPENING THIS NAOOOO
i saw something i didn't want to see.
me: ok this is getting embarrassing.
chuu: *rummage*rummage*
OKAY. NEVER A FUDAI FROM A HENTAI SHOP AGAIN.
after a few hours of lugging the hentai load around akihabara, we separated everything into male/female and left them in the akihabara subway toilet. someone else can have happy time i guess. HAHAHA!
Yep, we are now urban legend for lonely people who need help - and can now find assistance in the otoire. (Please Japanese police-sama, don't ban us from Japan.)
that was kinda fun actually. :D
and yes, my secret ambition is to dress up like a maid. i bet alvin's really happy about this.
Does it come with house-cleaning?
maybe if you buy me the costume.
we continued on! we went into this building that was so full of awesome i started to hyperventilate. good grief, the toys are so well done, and CHEAP(er than singapore)!!! here's one shelf:
i'm absolutely loving this. it's like, 8 floors of anime related EVERYTHING *yells* THIS IS MY HAPPY PLACE ARGH ARGH!!!!!!! we left after we walked the first few floors because we still had to look for the tokyo anime center and then leave for asakusa! by the time we left the building i had my haruhi model, my set of lucky star models and quite a number of gachapons. :D
well, on to the tokyo anime centre which was such a let down. it's just one corner of huge anime figures... and that's all. zzz.
maybe if you buy me the costume.
we continued on! we went into this building that was so full of awesome i started to hyperventilate. good grief, the toys are so well done, and CHEAP(er than singapore)!!! here's one shelf:
i'm absolutely loving this. it's like, 8 floors of anime related EVERYTHING *yells* THIS IS MY HAPPY PLACE ARGH ARGH!!!!!!! we left after we walked the first few floors because we still had to look for the tokyo anime center and then leave for asakusa! by the time we left the building i had my haruhi model, my set of lucky star models and quite a number of gachapons. :D
well, on to the tokyo anime centre which was such a let down. it's just one corner of huge anime figures... and that's all. zzz.
Everybody now, in Shinji's voice: "AYANAMI REEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!"
Mo Ichido Itte Kudasai! "AYANAMI REEEEIIIIIIIIIIII"
ok there. you don't have go to the tokyo anime centre anymore since you've pretty much seen everything they have to offer. (i actually wanted to leave some of the... fudai stuff at the toilets there BUT THE TOILET ATTENDANT SPOTTED ME BEHAVING FURTIVELY! GAH.)
we headed off to asakusa since it was almost 1pm and time for the parade during the Sanja matsuri... too bad we didn't watch the moving of the shrines though - we had to wake up at 4am on sunday!! no thanks!!
before we reached the place, we met an elderly man selling maps for 100Y to asakusa shrine (not senso-ji temple which is nearby) and i got an english version from him. i thought he was kinda cute coz he was trying to help us understand where we were but we were miscommunicating so much HAHAHA. i just gave him 100Y for his efforts and an english map. thank goodness i bought the map, otherwise we might've gotten LOST man!
the definitive and gigantic red lantern that was folded up for the day to allow more people through its gates leading into the compound that houses both senso-ji temple and asakusa shrine:
nakamise street where we bought knick knacks and many boxes of goodies:
wah damn pretty man:
eh aunty! :)
senso-ji temple:
rows and rows of kappa:
we tried to figure out where the parade was starting out from, and thanks to an elderly guide sitting in a sheltered booth right next to the temple, we started to run after the parade since it's already started - on the way we saw a shrine! :D
we were running blind until we heard the tok-tok-tok sounds... we burst through the alley, into the sunlight and what luck! we're watching right at the start of the parade! :D
ooh... yakuza?
love his knot:
ok there. you don't have go to the tokyo anime centre anymore since you've pretty much seen everything they have to offer. (i actually wanted to leave some of the... fudai stuff at the toilets there BUT THE TOILET ATTENDANT SPOTTED ME BEHAVING FURTIVELY! GAH.)
we headed off to asakusa since it was almost 1pm and time for the parade during the Sanja matsuri... too bad we didn't watch the moving of the shrines though - we had to wake up at 4am on sunday!! no thanks!!
before we reached the place, we met an elderly man selling maps for 100Y to asakusa shrine (not senso-ji temple which is nearby) and i got an english version from him. i thought he was kinda cute coz he was trying to help us understand where we were but we were miscommunicating so much HAHAHA. i just gave him 100Y for his efforts and an english map. thank goodness i bought the map, otherwise we might've gotten LOST man!
the definitive and gigantic red lantern that was folded up for the day to allow more people through its gates leading into the compound that houses both senso-ji temple and asakusa shrine:
nakamise street where we bought knick knacks and many boxes of goodies:
wah damn pretty man:
eh aunty! :)
senso-ji temple:
rows and rows of kappa:
we tried to figure out where the parade was starting out from, and thanks to an elderly guide sitting in a sheltered booth right next to the temple, we started to run after the parade since it's already started - on the way we saw a shrine! :D
we were running blind until we heard the tok-tok-tok sounds... we burst through the alley, into the sunlight and what luck! we're watching right at the start of the parade! :D
ooh... yakuza?
love his knot:
He's playing the instrument I wanted to get for Pete, but... I could never find it. So he got Megatron instead. So win right?
geishas!! alvin it's geishas!! :D:D:D
but of course these aren't actual geishas. real geishas do not parade themselves at all.
heave-ho!
there's a shrine right at the top of the building:
after the parade we tried to get back to nakamise street but we got lost. there was a little old man who saw us taking a picture of this and offered to explain the rich history behind these two raccoons.
BUT IT WAS ALL IN JAPANESE!!! T_T
hanbin kept repeating 'wakarimasennnnnnnnn~' (i don't understand!!) but the little old man kept going on, insisting we know the history. damn, that made me sad. i should try to pick up the japanese language.
we saw a shrine which we thought was our shrine... but it's another one! gah they all look the same.
we somehow managed to orientate ourselves and found nakamise street just parallel of the street we were on. time for lunch though - tempura!:
hanbin's:
mine:
alvin's:
we're really enjoying our HUGE prawns. oishi.
ingrid, we couldn't find the sesame oil one though! i smelt it as we were running after the parade but then i couldn't find my way back. *sob*
geishas!! alvin it's geishas!! :D:D:D
but of course these aren't actual geishas. real geishas do not parade themselves at all.
heave-ho!
there's a shrine right at the top of the building:
after the parade we tried to get back to nakamise street but we got lost. there was a little old man who saw us taking a picture of this and offered to explain the rich history behind these two raccoons.
BUT IT WAS ALL IN JAPANESE!!! T_T
hanbin kept repeating 'wakarimasennnnnnnnn~' (i don't understand!!) but the little old man kept going on, insisting we know the history. damn, that made me sad. i should try to pick up the japanese language.
we saw a shrine which we thought was our shrine... but it's another one! gah they all look the same.
we somehow managed to orientate ourselves and found nakamise street just parallel of the street we were on. time for lunch though - tempura!:
hanbin's:
mine:
alvin's:
we're really enjoying our HUGE prawns. oishi.
ingrid, we couldn't find the sesame oil one though! i smelt it as we were running after the parade but then i couldn't find my way back. *sob*
I have never thought that one could be so full after just 3 tempura prawns. It is magic for the tummy.
more shrine preparation for sunday:
a very interesting coca cola map:
hmm someone's looking funky!
chuu didn't have tempura because she says she doesn't like it, and she wanted this giant takopachi instead! :D
more shrine preparation for sunday:
a very interesting coca cola map:
hmm someone's looking funky!
chuu didn't have tempura because she says she doesn't like it, and she wanted this giant takopachi instead! :D
It was pretty ok, iirc it was kinda cold? But it was chock full of stuff. Imagine the amount in 3 boxes of takopachi in Singapore squeezed into 1 ball of the same size.
check out the boxful of tentacles:
the two girls we'd seen previously:
alvin had this, which was not very nice:
It was tough. At least she heated it up :)
then we spotted an aunty playing a shrine festival game: catching little fish!
She managed to catch quite a few before her wax paper tore. Looked like she was having lots of fun!
as we walked away from asakusa shrine, we strolled back down nakamise street and bought finger food and gift foods. man, it was crowded and pretty darn fun. :D
sesame ice cream:
red bean ice cream:
as we walked away from asakusa shrine, we strolled back down nakamise street and bought finger food and gift foods. man, it was crowded and pretty darn fun. :D
sesame ice cream:
red bean ice cream:
Is this photo repeated? I'm not sure...
hmm not bad... *muse*
NINJA??!?!?! eh hanbin your favourite character!! wow japan's full of these crazy people in costume. i kinda like that. i'd so totally buy costumes if i live in japan. *love*
we still had ueno to go to, so we made a beeline for the main gate... and saw this TOTALLY CUTE dog just flopped on the sidewalk. :D
i quite like this one; it reminds me of neil gaiman's dog, cabal.
leaving the shrine now... WOW THESE MEN ARE BRAVELY WEARING EITHER VERY SHORT SHORTS OF NONE AT ALL. WOAH.
cute ad on the way to ueno:
YAY AMEYAYOKOCHO! and the subway station's exit has lockers!! GREAT!!! we were unlucky with this place though. right at the centre of the street it forks into 2 streets. we took the left one (i was distracted by the strawberries). should've gone right to where all the shops were. *glum*
where the fork starts:
MAN THESE ARE HUGE TAKOPACHI BALLS OH MY GOODNESS i want them.
hmm not bad... *muse*
NINJA??!?!?! eh hanbin your favourite character!! wow japan's full of these crazy people in costume. i kinda like that. i'd so totally buy costumes if i live in japan. *love*
we still had ueno to go to, so we made a beeline for the main gate... and saw this TOTALLY CUTE dog just flopped on the sidewalk. :D
i quite like this one; it reminds me of neil gaiman's dog, cabal.
leaving the shrine now... WOW THESE MEN ARE BRAVELY WEARING EITHER VERY SHORT SHORTS OF NONE AT ALL. WOAH.
cute ad on the way to ueno:
YAY AMEYAYOKOCHO! and the subway station's exit has lockers!! GREAT!!! we were unlucky with this place though. right at the centre of the street it forks into 2 streets. we took the left one (i was distracted by the strawberries). should've gone right to where all the shops were. *glum*
where the fork starts:
MAN THESE ARE HUGE TAKOPACHI BALLS OH MY GOODNESS i want them.
Yes, that is ONE BALL IN ONE CUP. Good thing there is a drink below, which is an awesome way to walk and drink and eat at the same time. We had Qoo, which tasted like Pepsi, which was Qoo. It's a long story, and I'm not sure what drink we actually got. We did ask for Qoo tho.
sundries:
every shop sells the same thing (sundries) and at the same price. oh well, not our kinda thing though.
until i saw...
YES MY LIFE IS COMPLETE WITH ALL THE ACCESSORIES I GOT FROM CLAIRE'S. i spent 6000Y at claire's, good grief.
after seeing hanbin's extremely tortured face we decided to go back to akihabara. well, actually we ALL wanted to go back there. it's so full of fun. :D
during the day we were searching for this place called hobby lobby for soooooooo long, but to no avail, so we tried again. slowly... slowly... look for landmarks, back track, go forward... go behind that building that we've been to. then we realized, HOBBY LOBBY IS INSIDE THE SAME BUILDING WE WERE AT! ON THE 4TH FLOOR!! -___-"'
here we are again! evangelion!!
sundries:
every shop sells the same thing (sundries) and at the same price. oh well, not our kinda thing though.
until i saw...
YES MY LIFE IS COMPLETE WITH ALL THE ACCESSORIES I GOT FROM CLAIRE'S. i spent 6000Y at claire's, good grief.
after seeing hanbin's extremely tortured face we decided to go back to akihabara. well, actually we ALL wanted to go back there. it's so full of fun. :D
during the day we were searching for this place called hobby lobby for soooooooo long, but to no avail, so we tried again. slowly... slowly... look for landmarks, back track, go forward... go behind that building that we've been to. then we realized, HOBBY LOBBY IS INSIDE THE SAME BUILDING WE WERE AT! ON THE 4TH FLOOR!! -___-"'
here we are again! evangelion!!
OH OH... MO ICHIDO ITTE KUDASAI MINNA-SAN!!!! "AYANAMI REEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEIIIEIIE!!!!111!111one1!!111!!11eleventyeleven!!!!1!11!"
LOLcat boxes that made all of us LOL:
i was desperately looking for a konata handphone strap that i could hang on my handphone but i looked through all the gachapon and there were NONE!! until chuuling suddenly called me and brought me up to the 8th floor.
HERE, HERE!! but only got abit left since lucky star's so popular and i knew it'd be very difficult to get konata since she's super popular. :(
i took out my coins and took her hand, and told her: IF WE GET KONATA AND KAGAMI, OUR FRIENDSHIP IS MEANT TO BE. OK?
she nodded.
i stared at the gachapon machine. i put in my coins. i turned, turned and reached for the capsule dispensed and peered through the plastic. i saw a pink pom pom and one part of 2 pony tails.
'CHUU!! IT'S KAGAMI!!!' she was so happy, both of us were just squatting there and flapping our hands excitedly. then i passed her my coins.
'now your turn!! maybe YOU'LL get konata!!'
'huh... what if i get the weird white man...'
'never mind just try!!'
i waited in anticipation while chuu retrieved her capsule. then she wailed, 'WAH LAU I REALLY GOT THE WEIRD WHITE MAN!!!'
'WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ok ok i'll do it.'
*zhuan*zhuan*zhuan*
i took it out. BLUE HAIR. i hyperventilated. 'CHUU IT'S KONATATATATATATA!!!'
chuuling shrieked and both of us were absolutely hopping on the spot and hugging and jumping and yelling all at the same time. nobody cared though, this occurence must be common. hehe.
here we are with our super duper heng spoils:
wah kao damn happy la. seriously happy!!! :D:D:D
here's hanbin trying his luck as well:
ok let me explain this lucky star thing: konata and kagami are kinda weird pals, coz konata LOVES disturbing kagami so she loves teasing kagami until she snaps. WHICH IS WHAT I DO TO CHUULING. also, i do the same coronet thing as konata and all the stupid questions she asks in the series - I CAN TOTALLY IDENTIFY. meanwhile chuu is just like kagami, keeping up with appearance, the ace student and has violent tendencies.
IT'S MEANT TO BE!!!
after our tiny episode, alvin bought 5? 6? tachichomas at one shot, thereby beating me as the highest spender of the day (i spent everything on figures and gachaponing all the way). awesome dear! let's line our house with shelves full of toys and figurines. :D
LOLcat boxes that made all of us LOL:
i was desperately looking for a konata handphone strap that i could hang on my handphone but i looked through all the gachapon and there were NONE!! until chuuling suddenly called me and brought me up to the 8th floor.
HERE, HERE!! but only got abit left since lucky star's so popular and i knew it'd be very difficult to get konata since she's super popular. :(
i took out my coins and took her hand, and told her: IF WE GET KONATA AND KAGAMI, OUR FRIENDSHIP IS MEANT TO BE. OK?
she nodded.
i stared at the gachapon machine. i put in my coins. i turned, turned and reached for the capsule dispensed and peered through the plastic. i saw a pink pom pom and one part of 2 pony tails.
'CHUU!! IT'S KAGAMI!!!' she was so happy, both of us were just squatting there and flapping our hands excitedly. then i passed her my coins.
'now your turn!! maybe YOU'LL get konata!!'
'huh... what if i get the weird white man...'
'never mind just try!!'
i waited in anticipation while chuu retrieved her capsule. then she wailed, 'WAH LAU I REALLY GOT THE WEIRD WHITE MAN!!!'
'WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ok ok i'll do it.'
*zhuan*zhuan*zhuan*
i took it out. BLUE HAIR. i hyperventilated. 'CHUU IT'S KONATATATATATATA!!!'
chuuling shrieked and both of us were absolutely hopping on the spot and hugging and jumping and yelling all at the same time. nobody cared though, this occurence must be common. hehe.
here we are with our super duper heng spoils:
wah kao damn happy la. seriously happy!!! :D:D:D
here's hanbin trying his luck as well:
ok let me explain this lucky star thing: konata and kagami are kinda weird pals, coz konata LOVES disturbing kagami so she loves teasing kagami until she snaps. WHICH IS WHAT I DO TO CHUULING. also, i do the same coronet thing as konata and all the stupid questions she asks in the series - I CAN TOTALLY IDENTIFY. meanwhile chuu is just like kagami, keeping up with appearance, the ace student and has violent tendencies.
IT'S MEANT TO BE!!!
after our tiny episode, alvin bought 5? 6? tachichomas at one shot, thereby beating me as the highest spender of the day (i spent everything on figures and gachaponing all the way). awesome dear! let's line our house with shelves full of toys and figurines. :D
It was only 5...
we headed for dinner but alas! the izakaya we wanted to go to was FULL. we went to this other one instead... i think we entered through a back door and it seemed like it was a higher class izakaya than their rowdier floor downstairs. oops. what to do man, we got lost. again!
the tiny staircase we sneaked up on:
they've got branches everywhere:
Actually the main entrance of the restaurant is on the 3rd floor, but we used the stairs instead of the lift and since the 3rd floor was locked, we walked into the 4th floor - right into the private rooms. Eh heh heh heh... If we had done things the proper way (by understanding Japanese) we wouldn't have the (half) private room... So there's a good thing about just bashing into places. Kinda.
our green tea vodka (we wanted green tea but apparently no such thing. sigh. we bo liao gai again.)
hehehe so cute.
hanbin's:
alvin's:
after dinner (shared a table with 3 smoking men *hacks*) we left for nakano. i'd really wanted to go to this building that displayed a VERY VERY pretty maid costume, but we were going to tsukiji the next day which means waking up super early in the morning. so i passed, though everyone still wanted to go.
nah, 4am in the morning the next day - we've got to go home NOWWWWW.
we headed for dinner but alas! the izakaya we wanted to go to was FULL. we went to this other one instead... i think we entered through a back door and it seemed like it was a higher class izakaya than their rowdier floor downstairs. oops. what to do man, we got lost. again!
the tiny staircase we sneaked up on:
they've got branches everywhere:
Actually the main entrance of the restaurant is on the 3rd floor, but we used the stairs instead of the lift and since the 3rd floor was locked, we walked into the 4th floor - right into the private rooms. Eh heh heh heh... If we had done things the proper way (by understanding Japanese) we wouldn't have the (half) private room... So there's a good thing about just bashing into places. Kinda.
our green tea vodka (we wanted green tea but apparently no such thing. sigh. we bo liao gai again.)
hehehe so cute.
hanbin's:
alvin's:
after dinner (shared a table with 3 smoking men *hacks*) we left for nakano. i'd really wanted to go to this building that displayed a VERY VERY pretty maid costume, but we were going to tsukiji the next day which means waking up super early in the morning. so i passed, though everyone still wanted to go.
nah, 4am in the morning the next day - we've got to go home NOWWWWW.
posted by feline @ 8:44 AM
