Robot Claw

For reasons not known to any man, Burger King’s full menu here seems to be always available. So my breakfast was a Whopper Jr meal! This was during a walk to Ueno, where I was heading to check out a toy store.

I saw the above sign (it’s about a foot square) outside a building. It reads ‘Kanda Fire Department‘. Imagine a fire department using such a sign in the USA or Australia!

I didn’t find much at the toy store I hadn’t already seen elsewhere, but in the building next door where I went to check for stuff for KLS I saw these fruit tarts at a small booth. They were big and about $25 each. I bet they’re tasty!

That’s me playing Kamen Rider Ganba Legends and yes, I brought my cards and ‘Rider License’ with me from home so I could update my records and raise my level. I sat and played this for a while and dreamt of a world where the USA had games like this in arcades.

Returning to Akihabara it was – finally! – time for some extremely focused shopping. I had specific things on my list to search for, and now was the time. The crowds seemed thinner today – possibly due to the heat – and I was in rare form.

When I’m by myself shopping – either here or NYC or Australia – I try and be as efficient as possible, covering the most space in the shortest time and minimizing breaks. Here in Japan where crowds can get silly, it’s like I’m playing a bullet hell shooter as I navigate through all the people. I know my ‘hitbox’ down to the millimeter and as I contort myself at high speed to avoid touching or inconveniencing anyone else I probably look like this to an observer:

But I’m ok with that since it means I can get from A to B faster than humanly possible. That was especially true today because if there’s one thing you always find in Akiba these days it’s slooooooow tourists.

So I shopped and shopped, and played some video games and through money into crane games with nothing (yet!) to show. I bought many cool things, but didn’t find any grails. Not that I expected to, but a man can hope. Besides, I hit a jackpot already in Osaka 😉

The above photo is taken in Mandarake’s new third Akihabara store. They have an entire floor dedicated to ‘keshi’, which are those little figurines made of rubber. I love that there’s enough of a collector community to warrant such a thing. That store is at least half-museum and I spent a fair amount of time today flicking through their VHS tapes, Laserdiscs and shitajiki fondly remember anime from 30+ years ago.

This lemon ice is my new favourite snack, and I’m trying to eat as many as possible these last few days I’m here. My body is entirely ruined and only sugar is keeping me going, so this thing – which is great agains the heat and (I’m sure) loaded with sugar – is a miracle!

Tomorrow I’ve got a mad plan. Will I go through with it? Wait and see…

Today KLS and I went cosmetics shopping together. We’ve done this before: I text her photos and she responds indicating what she wants! It was a big success and she’ll collect a bounty of stuff when I return.

I was in Shibuya and Shinjuku and aside from the photos I sent KLS the only other shot I took is the above, so maybe now is a good time to show off some pics from earlier this trip.

The above pic was taken in Osaka, and is a masterful example of an Ita Bag. These are the bags with built in compartments used to display items, usually badges. Here’s a closer look at her collection:

That’s 73 badges of the same character, which would have been quite expensive since these badges are usually $5 and up apiece. Note also that the bag colours – and indeed her outfit – match the character as well. She’s obviously a true fan!

And who is this character? I have no idea, but I’d guess he’s from a gacha or otome game (a romance game for women). If you recognize him, please let me know who he is!

The above are four public information/education posters I’ve photographed in various places during this trip. I’ve shown such things before; I like the thought and execution that goes into them. Clockwise from top left we have an anti-bullying message, a poster warning about electronic equipment that issues unauthorized radio waves, an ad for a college (I think) and a warning not to call an Ambulance unless it’s a true emergency.

These are often put up in or near stations or supermarkets, and I’ve already many others on this trip alone. These are a good idea, but I think you all know why we don’t see them much in the west.

Shortly before 8 pm I was in Yodobashi Camera – an always-busy giant shop near my hotel – and at the same instant everyone’s phone beeped. It’s because we all got the above alert, although it arrived only moments before the shaking began so I read it after the building had begun to move.

What followed was the strongest and longest quake I’ve ever felt. The background music in the store stopped and was replaced with a repeating alert saying more or less the same thing as our phones. I stood next to a cabinet in the shop and watched assembled Gundam kits shaking and wondered when it would stop. I’ve experienced several quakes in Japan now but this was the first time I was indoors with other people and this made it eerier.

For instance when the last quake happened (for me) I was on street level in Osaka and I was struck by how little the shaking seemed to affect others. By comparison everyone stopped today when the phones went off – even employees – and I could see a lot of nervous faces when the shaking continued just a bit longer than was comfortable.

And then, as with the other quakes I’ve felt, it passed and life very quickly returned to normal. A memorable experience, and not one I hope to repeat!