Photos from First Day in Tokyo

To make up for the fact that I didn't get around to posting last night (and since I "splurged" and bought a 10-in-1 memory card reader at the biggest store in Akihabara yesterday) I'm posting some photos to illustrate the story of my first full day in Tokyo. I'm also spending a morning inside, trying to get the last bit of my cold out of my body... I'm feeling fine, just sick of the runny nose and my hacking cough. Argh. Anyhoo.

I arose bright and early (see the "4:45 AM" previous entry) and decided to give myself extra time getting to Akihabara, where I was meeting Jason and his flatmate Chet for a morning of shopping. Akihabara is the tech/gadgets/gamer-geek mecca district of Tokyo, with both huge technology/electronics superstores and market stalls selling the stuff at more competitive prices. Jason wanted to buy a digital camera, so I figured I'd accompany him and see just how the whole thing worked.

I got to Akihabara quickly (taking two subway lines on the Tokyo Metro) with a rumbly tummy, and decided to stop for breakfast. It's pretty simple ordering in Japan at restaurants with the picture menu, and so I found a little fast-food type joint that featured a Japanese style breakfast. Here's what I got:

Hmm, what's possibly awkward about this meal? I *thought* the photo menu had a cooked egg in the bowl, but turned out to be a raw egg... and I wasn't sure whether to use the miso soup to cook it or the bowl of rice. And I had no clue was the stuff in the wrapped cup was. I ended up having to ask a guy sitting near me who in turn asked the woman at the counter to demonstrate. Ends up that you mix the fermented beans in the wrapped cup with hot mustard and soy sauce, mix those in with the raw egg, and then mix that with the rice. By the time it was explained to me and I did it, the rice wasn't hot enough to fully cook the egg. Figuring that maybe it wasn't supposed to be fully cooked, I took a few hesitant bites before deciding that going hungry or not getting my money's worth was much better than salmonella.

Then met up with Jason and Chet, who had never had this type of breakfast before either. We three went for donuts at Mister Donut instead.

A photo from the inside of Yodobashi, the largest tech store in Akihabara. Take that, Fry's. Multi-floors and HUGE... with well-dressed or costumed staff on bullhorns hawking items. I bought a USB-memory card reader, and some souvenirs.

After checking out some other stalls and shops, we decided to go for it and get Jason's camera. In Japan, it's not proper etiquette to bargain at such stalls, but you may tactfully ask for a "discount". Which is what we did - standard discount is 10%.

Jason's been craving burgers, so we scouted around Akihabara a bit for a place that he'd read about in Tokyo's English language/gaijin (foreigner) magazine, "Chelsea Market". It serves "gourmet New York fare" - I had a mild BBQ chicken burger with jack cheese.

Jason had to leave for work after lunch, but Chet agreed to come with me to see the Imperial Palace's gardens, right in the middle of Tokyo. The Imperial Palace itself is generally closed to the public (you can take the "official tour" but it requires very advance reservations, passport verification and tickets) so most folks just visit the gardens:

Fountains near the Palace

View of the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, from the foundation of an older Palace on the grounds

The best part about this was that it was Free to See... a plus! We walked around the gardens for about an hour, and then headed to Ginza (another shopping mecca), south of the Palace.

The Sony Building, in Ginza -- that's actually a TV screen that plays continuously outside the store. There's not really too much to gawk at inside, save the BMW car on the second floor (it turns slowly on a large platform) or the super super super high resolution flat screen plasma televisions.

We rounded out the day by taking the train up to the Tokyo Dome in Suidobashi, to see if there was a Yoimiuri Giants game going on. The Giants are the Yankees (boo) of Japan, seemingly, as the other major league ballparks here raise their ticket prices whenever the Giants come to town. There was no game going on, but I managed to get a 2300 yen upper-deck ticket for Saturday's evening game against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Friday's games were sold out, save for standing room!) The Tokyo Dome is surrounded by an entertainment complex called "La Qua", featuring a rollercoaster, a ferris wheel, an onsen spa, four floors of shopping, and other attractions.

Tokyo is indeed overstimulating.

Returned back to the apartment, quite exhausted, picking up some dinner at a deli on the walk back from the station.

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Here are some other tidbits from my day that're amusing:

Not the hamburger place that we went to, but a place called "Vicky's" by the Tokyo Dome. I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing how English is used here in Japan.


The "controls" on the toilet seat at Yodobashi... I found the flushing sound particularly useful.

A snapshot of a clip from the "One Minute English Lesson" advertisements run on the trains. English schools are HUGE in Japan, as every student takes compulsory English exams. These commercials (which run on TV screens in the JR trains) advertise particular schools, and also provide handy tips about English vocabulary.

And now... time for me to be out and about again!