Ahh... Mmm... I Don't Know.
Jul. 29th, 2010 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
epik_noodlesMy meeting plan was a fail yesterday, mostly on my part for not even checking my stuff on DW. I partially blame my faulty e-mail too. But in this case it was primarily my fault.
I wandered around Hachiko plaza for about two hours and wow did I see interesting sights. Everyone is familiar with the "Tale of Hachiko," right? You know, the dog with extreme loyalty, he escorted his master to Shibuya station every day and even went back to the station to pick up his master. One day his master died at work and Hachiko still waited even though his master would never return. After decades have passed, Hachiko's statue has become a landmark spot for people who want to meet up. Everyone who waits there is usually waiting to meet up with a friend.
While I was sitting on the uncomfortable bench, there were a lot of people waiting for others. I saw a lot of interesting things. There was this old man next to me, he ended up falling asleep while waiting. Now, these benches are a little weird and painful to sit on. Think of a two-tiered railing, one railing you sit on and the other you lean back on. You need to sit upright to balance and even stay on. The old man feel asleep and just completely fell over and landed on his face. The impact woke him up right away. When he woke up, the person he was waiting for just arrived.
I think I also may have spotted "Wakaba Ryuya" walking out of Shibuya station. It's a possibility, he was in a horrible disguise though (he was wearing a nasty wig). There were a lot of screeching girls taking his picture. Maybe it was him afterall...
So... while I continued waiting, there was another Japanese guy sitting next me. He appeared a little older than me with somewhat short red dyed hair. He too was waiting for his friend to show up. When it's uncomfortably hot outside, most people scratch their neck, wipe their foreheads, or fan themselves. I'm not trying to be weird and I WASN'T directly looking at this guy. More like saw it out of the corner of my good eye. While this guy was talking on his phone... he actually reached under his shirt, pulled his shirt up, and started scratching his nipple. That was really weird! I'm slightly disturbed he did that in public. About 15 minutes later his guitarist friend showed up and they crossed the street.
Continuing... I ran out of water at one point. My refusal to leave my spot made me super thirsty and hungry. Now I know how Hachiko felt... Anyways, there was this other Japanese guy. Umm... I forgot what it's called but it's a popular trend in Shibuya for a specific style? Super tan skin and outrageous hair? I know what it's called for girls, but the term for guys is different. He waited by the Hachiko statue to meet up with his friend. So... this guy was REALLY tan!!! The pigment was disturbingly dark! This guy's skintone was equal to a Hershey bar! Not only did his complexion stand out but he wanted to be noticed... He was dark and his hair was bright hot pink!!! Dark skin and pink hair just clash, it screams "look at me!"
I got tired and Miki swung by to take me off to an amazing food wonderland located several meters from where I was waiting. It was an amazing super market. There were foods from all over Japan. All the ingredients were fresh. After being immersed in that beautiful underground paradise of food, we were on a mission to find "Tokyu Hands." Tokyu Hands is a shop that sells almost anything craft related or collectible. There's even random pharmacy stuff too. I went for the toys! There was one floor that had a lot of toys. I bought a robotic nano bug, oh it's so creepy. I bought some chibi Gundam models to build for fun in the hotel room. I also bought some randomized "One Piece" collectible pirate ships. When I opened the boxes, I got everything BUT the "Going Merry."
Let's face it, I will only buy toys, Japan is nothing more than a giant toy trip to me. I love being a kid (from my point of view I'm still 9).
On the way back from Tokyu Hands, which we technically got lost, we found..... what my friends were talking about "MANDARAKE!" It is well hidden on a side street. Mandarake isn't truly a building... We walked and I noticed the sign and I got excited, "WHOA!!! It's Mandarake! My friends were talking about this place! I can't believe we found it!" The sign was small and said "MANDARAKE" on it with an arrow pointing down towards a staircase. At first we were a little skeptical, should we go, should we not? We began to walk down the stairs... then a second flight of stairs... then a third flight of stairs... Then we were greeted by a blacklight lit entrance followed by an enormous windowless utopia of anime goodness. But then I had my crazy thoughts! THIS PLACE IS 3 FLOORS BELOW BASEMENT LEVEL!!! IT LOOKS LIKE AN UNDERGROUND ANIME CLUB!!! HOW BIG IS THIS PLACE?! THERE'S NO WINDOWS DOWN HERE!!! WHAT IF THERE'S A FIRE?! I explored a little the first aisle I checked out had... Zoids... Kid in a candy store... I picked out the ones that weren't sold in the states and when I walked to the back to go check out the display cases before paying. There it was... in the display case... an ultra rare... Japan exclusive... discontinued production since 2005... "Murasame Liger!" It was priced at $170... "Must have..." Am I insane for being a hardcore Zoid collector? I bought it... now I'm super happy and will not buy anything unfood related for my entire trip here!
I was busy for the rest of the night because we met up with Arata later. We ate. We did each others' nails (excluding me, I hate nail polish). We watched a Taiwanese drama which was on a Japanese channel? I think it was called, "Miss No Good" or something like that.
Well, today, we woke up early and went to the "Tsukiji Fish Market!" Its the largest fresh fish market / tuna auction in Japan. They had so many live fish!!! Thanks to the kind fish monger at the market, he let me film him paralyzing the fish in very violent ways. There was blood everywhere. I had a lot of fun! We then went to another section which also sold seafood and produce. There was another kind man that sold us a cut open / ready-to-eat sea urchin. He was happy to take pictures with us. We bought some fresh oysters from his place too. He poured soy sauce into the shells for us to eat right away. Obviously I'm an American, so I ate my oyster American style... which is to practically inhale them like shots or chucking them, as to Arata who slowly nibbled at the oyster. I quickly slurped the oyster whole, that oyster was gone in the blink of an eye. The guy who sold it to us was amazed and yelled, "SUGOI!!!" I'm guessing that oyster chucking is uncommon here.
We then got on the train and went to Harajuku. We found "Kiddy Land" an awesome toy store! They had a lot of Pullips. I bought a giant plush Ghibli cat, more One Piece ships, a Final Fantasy figurine, and two Bey-Blades. I was so excited over the Bey-Blades. They discontinued in the States a long time ago, the tournament leagues were disbanded all together. But the sport is still going strong and continues in Japan. I didn't know that Japan had new seasons of the anime and they even modified the overall designs of the Bey-Blades themselves. It used to be full plastic with a small metal weight ring to keep it balanced while spinning. Now, the center is full metal and the balancing weight ring has now become the main attack ring. Before, the top plastic panel was primarily used for attacks. Now, the full metal center is used for attacking instead.
Look at me going on about toys.
The main highlight was the Tsukiji Fish Market!
I hope Arata's house has internet.
I'll write soon.
I wandered around Hachiko plaza for about two hours and wow did I see interesting sights. Everyone is familiar with the "Tale of Hachiko," right? You know, the dog with extreme loyalty, he escorted his master to Shibuya station every day and even went back to the station to pick up his master. One day his master died at work and Hachiko still waited even though his master would never return. After decades have passed, Hachiko's statue has become a landmark spot for people who want to meet up. Everyone who waits there is usually waiting to meet up with a friend.
While I was sitting on the uncomfortable bench, there were a lot of people waiting for others. I saw a lot of interesting things. There was this old man next to me, he ended up falling asleep while waiting. Now, these benches are a little weird and painful to sit on. Think of a two-tiered railing, one railing you sit on and the other you lean back on. You need to sit upright to balance and even stay on. The old man feel asleep and just completely fell over and landed on his face. The impact woke him up right away. When he woke up, the person he was waiting for just arrived.
I think I also may have spotted "Wakaba Ryuya" walking out of Shibuya station. It's a possibility, he was in a horrible disguise though (he was wearing a nasty wig). There were a lot of screeching girls taking his picture. Maybe it was him afterall...
So... while I continued waiting, there was another Japanese guy sitting next me. He appeared a little older than me with somewhat short red dyed hair. He too was waiting for his friend to show up. When it's uncomfortably hot outside, most people scratch their neck, wipe their foreheads, or fan themselves. I'm not trying to be weird and I WASN'T directly looking at this guy. More like saw it out of the corner of my good eye. While this guy was talking on his phone... he actually reached under his shirt, pulled his shirt up, and started scratching his nipple. That was really weird! I'm slightly disturbed he did that in public. About 15 minutes later his guitarist friend showed up and they crossed the street.
Continuing... I ran out of water at one point. My refusal to leave my spot made me super thirsty and hungry. Now I know how Hachiko felt... Anyways, there was this other Japanese guy. Umm... I forgot what it's called but it's a popular trend in Shibuya for a specific style? Super tan skin and outrageous hair? I know what it's called for girls, but the term for guys is different. He waited by the Hachiko statue to meet up with his friend. So... this guy was REALLY tan!!! The pigment was disturbingly dark! This guy's skintone was equal to a Hershey bar! Not only did his complexion stand out but he wanted to be noticed... He was dark and his hair was bright hot pink!!! Dark skin and pink hair just clash, it screams "look at me!"
I got tired and Miki swung by to take me off to an amazing food wonderland located several meters from where I was waiting. It was an amazing super market. There were foods from all over Japan. All the ingredients were fresh. After being immersed in that beautiful underground paradise of food, we were on a mission to find "Tokyu Hands." Tokyu Hands is a shop that sells almost anything craft related or collectible. There's even random pharmacy stuff too. I went for the toys! There was one floor that had a lot of toys. I bought a robotic nano bug, oh it's so creepy. I bought some chibi Gundam models to build for fun in the hotel room. I also bought some randomized "One Piece" collectible pirate ships. When I opened the boxes, I got everything BUT the "Going Merry."
Let's face it, I will only buy toys, Japan is nothing more than a giant toy trip to me. I love being a kid (from my point of view I'm still 9).
On the way back from Tokyu Hands, which we technically got lost, we found..... what my friends were talking about "MANDARAKE!" It is well hidden on a side street. Mandarake isn't truly a building... We walked and I noticed the sign and I got excited, "WHOA!!! It's Mandarake! My friends were talking about this place! I can't believe we found it!" The sign was small and said "MANDARAKE" on it with an arrow pointing down towards a staircase. At first we were a little skeptical, should we go, should we not? We began to walk down the stairs... then a second flight of stairs... then a third flight of stairs... Then we were greeted by a blacklight lit entrance followed by an enormous windowless utopia of anime goodness. But then I had my crazy thoughts! THIS PLACE IS 3 FLOORS BELOW BASEMENT LEVEL!!! IT LOOKS LIKE AN UNDERGROUND ANIME CLUB!!! HOW BIG IS THIS PLACE?! THERE'S NO WINDOWS DOWN HERE!!! WHAT IF THERE'S A FIRE?! I explored a little the first aisle I checked out had... Zoids... Kid in a candy store... I picked out the ones that weren't sold in the states and when I walked to the back to go check out the display cases before paying. There it was... in the display case... an ultra rare... Japan exclusive... discontinued production since 2005... "Murasame Liger!" It was priced at $170... "Must have..." Am I insane for being a hardcore Zoid collector? I bought it... now I'm super happy and will not buy anything unfood related for my entire trip here!
I was busy for the rest of the night because we met up with Arata later. We ate. We did each others' nails (excluding me, I hate nail polish). We watched a Taiwanese drama which was on a Japanese channel? I think it was called, "Miss No Good" or something like that.
Well, today, we woke up early and went to the "Tsukiji Fish Market!" Its the largest fresh fish market / tuna auction in Japan. They had so many live fish!!! Thanks to the kind fish monger at the market, he let me film him paralyzing the fish in very violent ways. There was blood everywhere. I had a lot of fun! We then went to another section which also sold seafood and produce. There was another kind man that sold us a cut open / ready-to-eat sea urchin. He was happy to take pictures with us. We bought some fresh oysters from his place too. He poured soy sauce into the shells for us to eat right away. Obviously I'm an American, so I ate my oyster American style... which is to practically inhale them like shots or chucking them, as to Arata who slowly nibbled at the oyster. I quickly slurped the oyster whole, that oyster was gone in the blink of an eye. The guy who sold it to us was amazed and yelled, "SUGOI!!!" I'm guessing that oyster chucking is uncommon here.
We then got on the train and went to Harajuku. We found "Kiddy Land" an awesome toy store! They had a lot of Pullips. I bought a giant plush Ghibli cat, more One Piece ships, a Final Fantasy figurine, and two Bey-Blades. I was so excited over the Bey-Blades. They discontinued in the States a long time ago, the tournament leagues were disbanded all together. But the sport is still going strong and continues in Japan. I didn't know that Japan had new seasons of the anime and they even modified the overall designs of the Bey-Blades themselves. It used to be full plastic with a small metal weight ring to keep it balanced while spinning. Now, the center is full metal and the balancing weight ring has now become the main attack ring. Before, the top plastic panel was primarily used for attacks. Now, the full metal center is used for attacking instead.
Look at me going on about toys.
The main highlight was the Tsukiji Fish Market!
I hope Arata's house has internet.
I'll write soon.
