Asia Trip Day 10: Akihabara and Asakusa (12/28/17)

I'm like a sick ninja

The next morning I woke up and had some whiteheads on my philtrum and lip. I rarely get outbreaks so severe, so there was definitely something in Japan that my body wasn’t liking. Thankfully Xuezhu had bought some flu masks, which serve to both cover my gross acne and also to prevent anything bad coming in or out. An added bonus was that I was able to experience an unmentioned part of Asian culture: wearing flu masks as a courtesy to others to prevent spread of illness. Due to high population density, it was a very common sight, especially in Japan.

Since we were staying the night at the same hotel, we didn’t need to worry about our luggage. Having to drag a heavy suitcase through crowded and tight spaces was a real burden, and made it difficult to “pull-over” to check anything out on the street.

In the morning we visited Akihabara, which is known as the electronic city. This is historically known as the location where many electronics were sold on the black market. Now it is still full of electronics, hobbyist stores (anime posters, figurines, costumes), and arcades.

Die! DIE! DIEE!

We visited the Taito Game Station, which is a 6-floor arcade. The first three floors are usually claw machines, and the prizes are figurines or stuffed dolls. The prices for these games are quite steep: 100 yen (~$1 USD) per play for the cheaper dolls, and 300 yen (~$3 USD) for the more expensive figurines. I suppose the value of the figurines would balance out if you get lucky enough. However, it is like the gambler’s fallacy, and I saw many people dumping in a bunch of coins because each attempt looks like they almost won prize. Other common machines they had there were the gachapon. They were vending machines with little toys or figures inside them. However the catch is that the toy you get is random from the selection. So if you want to complete the set, it is very likely that you’ll get some duplicates. Aside from these toy gambles, there was literal gambling through pachinko machines, which were very popular.

On the upper floors were the more traditional arcade games (shooting, racing, rhythm, fighting). There were also many game cabinets with mahjong. Because Japan has a greater market for arcades, newer and exclusive games are designed for them. These looked pretty complex, and would useda card device for players to save their data. These types of games were fighting games (DBZ, Gundam) or strategy games. They were super flashy and in Japanese, so I had no hopes of understanding them, let alone attempt playing them. Each credit for the machines was a standard 100 yen, which is pretty expensive considering it is standardized $0.25 in the US. Lastly, smoking was allowed in the arcade, so it could pretty smoky when crowded.

We then went to Asakusa, which is a more traditional area of Tokyo. Like “Narrow Alley” in Chengdu, it is a tourist attraction filled with traditional architecture and shops. We snacked on street food: fried pork and melon bread (not together). The fried pork was crispy and juicy, however it was becoming a trend for most of the Japanese food to be very fatty and rich. This was not exactly what I wanted when I was still feeling sick. I wasn’t too hungry, so I was just sipping on a can of coffee from a vending machine (100 yen, not bad). The melon bread without the matcha ice cream still was nice. It had a light sweetness to it and the dough wasn't to dense.

Xuezhu visited a place for kimono rentals for the novel and traditional experience. They wrapped her layers underneath the kimino to keep her warm, since it was a little chilly and kimonos are usually thin silk. The operators of the rental place were Chinese, which made things a lot easier for Xuezhu as they were getting her dressed. They also braided her hair into a traditional style, which was like three french braids wrapped around the head. We walked around Asakusa and I took many photos of her.

After returning the kimono, we moved on to Shibuya. For dinner, we went to Genki Sushi, which is a franchise restaurant for conveyor belt sushi. There was a short line outside the restaurant, but was only about 15 minutes. The capacity of the restaurant was only about 20 and it was about dinner time. However, contrast to Sushi Dai, conveyor belt sushi is designed for efficiency and the line moved quickly. We were seated bar-style again (I suppose this just means on stools), and each seat had an iPad-type device. This would have the menu for anything to be ordered. This included all types of sushi, as well as noodles, soups, drinks, desserts, and even sides like french fries. An order of any size can be made at any time. Once it was ordered, it would take a few minutes until it would be served out on the conveyor belt. The order would stop right in front of my seat, and after taking it I would need to confirm the order on the iPad. 

Salmon, red clam, and tuna sushi

Tuna tartar sushi?

The sushi itself was quite nice, however the temperatures weren’t controlled as well as in Sushi Dai. However the portion of tuna was generous and it tasted very delicious. I really liked the melon soda, which was a radioactive green color, but very refreshing. In Vermont, I remember going to Sakura’s with Michelle and Dad, and often getting the melon soda. Melon flavor is very popular in Japan, which makes sense considering the prestige put into them. After ordering a certain amount of sushi, you get to play a game on the iPad. The game was just a roulette, and Xuezhu was able to win. A waiter brought over a token to her, which was used for the special gachapon machines they had. She ended up getting a tuna sushi stamp. 

After eating a satisfying amount of sushi, we finished our order. To pay, we would bring our iPad to the front. The price for the dinner turned out to be around 1000 yen each, which was surprisingly low. They also had a really nice toilet (bidet, warmed seat). To keep things tasteful, I don’t want to discuss the bathroom experience too much, but bidets are quite the luxury. This is hugest difference between the dirty, smelly holes that are the toilets in older Chinese facilities. However, not all Japanese toilets were bidets, and not all Chinese toilets were holes. In fact, some Japanese bathrooms didn’t have soap or towels are for some reason.

We then took the Yamanote line up to Harajuku, which is just one stop north from Shibuya. Many of the shops there were franchises, featuring the same fashion as in US or China. There actually weren’t too many stores that had anything that was super novel, except for a toy store called Kiddy Land. They sold toys, stationary, and various items with Pokemon, Dragonball, and other cartoons on them. The mainstream appeal for anime and cartoons in Japan makes it easier to purchase more unique souvenirs. Aside from shopping, the area also had many restaurants and snack shops that were featured in travel videos. We tried the seasoned french fries, crepe, and cotton candy. While they were good, I don’t think they were anything culturally significant or exclusive to Japan.

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