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Day 9 & 10

Had back-to-back days in Akihabara on Friday and Saturday. Knocked out all my retro game hunting and found the two systems I had been looking for: a Japanese Dreamcast and a Japanese PS2. Got a good number of games for both as well as for what I have back at home. I even found a rare gold Punch-Out cartridge for the Famicom/NES. Saw plenty of other attractive finds, but I was able to restrain myself (mostly) and wait for next time.

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Day 8 pics

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Day 8

Got to explore around Shinjuku, so not much time on the trains today. First stop was the Anime Manga Museum: a small but thorough museum that covers the history of anime. Given how vast the history of the medium is both past and present, it was impressive fitting so much history into such a small space. Up next was the Samurai Museum. Saw a lot of artifacts from the samurai eras and witnessed a demo of some of the sword moves used by samurai. There was also a dress-up part, but we had kids in our tour group and I let them have that honor. 

After a a brief rest at the hotel, I had dinner at the Robot Restaurant. It’s a dinner and show experience, only the show felt more like the Macy’s Parade, Mardi Gras, and the Disney Main Street Electrical Parade all rolled into one. Very crazy, but also very fun.

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Day 6 & 7 pics

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Day 6 & 7

Guide was feeling a little under the weather yesterday, so we made it a short day. Went to Tokyo Tower and went up in it. Even though most of the buildings in Tokyo have outgrown it (it was built in 1958), it still provides a beautiful view of the city. You could even see Mt Fuji from there. Sent a postcard to my friend’s daughter from the top, did some shopping, and called it a day.

Thankfully, my guide was feeling better today. Went to Nakano Broadway: an indoor mall with stores that specialize in old collectible toys, manga, and games. Found some Saturn games that didn’t come out in the states. After that was more shopping at the Pokemon Center to pick up souvenirs for Melissa and the gang. Kind of surprised they didn’t have a plush of Greninja for the Z-man. Hopefully, he’ll be happy with the choice of substitutes I got him.

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Day 4 & 5 pics

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Day 5

Started the day at Asakusa. Place has a pretty old-world vibe to it, thanks mainly to the Senso-Ji Temple and neighboring shops. Despite being mostly destroyed during WW2, the area’s been rebuilt to almost match the area as it was before. Knocked out a lot of souvenir shopping while I was there.

Got a good view of Tokyo Skytree just before lunch. After a bowl of ramen, we headed to Mitaka to visit the Studio Ghibli Museum. Despite having reservations late in the day, it was still awesome to see the area dedicated to some of the greatest animated movies of the past 35 years. Plenty of references to the older Ghibli movies and reference materials from which Hayao Miyazaki pulled inspiration to create these classics.

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Day 4

First of three days in Akihabara today! Akihabara is essentially a haven for electronics, video games, and anime. In other words: a home away from home for nerds like me.

Visited the famous Super Potato first and did some used game shopping. In short, it lives up to its reputation. Got a game of Street Fighter 2 in while I was there. After visiting a few surrounding game shops, I went to an anime cafe fir lunch. This particular one was dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Cowboy Bebop: one of the few anime to become a classic both in Japan and the US.

After lunch, I went browsing at Yodobashi Camera: the biggest electronics store in Akihabara. Basically, think Best Buy in a seven story department store. It was funny seeing Nintendo have a lot of shelf space and virtually none dedicated to the Microsoft Xbox. In the States, it’s usually the other way around.

Thank goodness I’ve got more than one day in this part of town. There is definitely more to see there that I didn’t get to.

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Day 3 pics

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Day 3

 Took a train ride out to Odiaba today. Odaiba is a very modern looking manmade island out on the edges of Metro Tokyo. Got a good look at the Rainbow Bridge to cross to the island, even though it was daytime and there were no lights on it. First stop was the Miriakan Museum. Instead of most museums which focus on past exhibits, this one focused of futuristic ones. Saw the Asimo robot. Honda definitely has the right idea of having robots among humans: usefulness while not looking like something out of Westworld.

After lunch at a Japanese mall food court, saw the life sized Gundam statue. That is one big robot. Walked around Odaiba a bit and saw a Nintendo exhibit before calling it a day and heading back to Shinjuku.

I can certainly see why Tokyo wants to use Odaiba for the Olympics next year: it’s modern, roomy, and guest-friendly. Plus, I smile at the prospect of the marathon route passing by a giant robot from an anime.

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Day 2

Pretty simple day today. Rest all morning and go to the Tokyo Dome for Wrestle Kingdom 13 at night. It was a rough night for the champions, but the show itself was good and I’m definitely glad I got to experience New Japan at its best.

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Meiji Shrine and Shibuya

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Day 1 Night

Meant to update sooner, but took a nap after getting back only to wake up and it was 11pm. Man, 4 hours of walking and jet lag make for a killer team. Anyways...

Met up with my guide around 9am. Today, we went to Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, and Shibuya to see the Hachiko statue and that crazy crosswalk. First the shrine. It was still set up from New Year’s (which apparently is a big deal for shrines and temples around here). Getting past the New Year’s crowd, it was a very beautiful place. Lots of trees and beautiful architecture.

After that, we walked around Harajuku. Lots of clothing shops, both new and secondhand. I’ve never been one for the trends, but it was still interesting to see.

Up next was Shibuya. Right outside the train station is the famous Hachiko dog statue and the Shibuya Scramble crosswalk. Despite looking chaotic from above, it’s pretty well coordinated. Walked around a little more before heading back across the Scramble and calling it a day.

Staying in all morning tomorrow before heading for the Tokyo Dome for Wrestle Kingdom 13.

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Around the hotel

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Day 1 Morning

First morning in Tokyo. I’m staying in the Prince Hotel Shinjuku. Hotel room’s a little tight, but it’s no worse than a cruise ship cabin. Definitely a little overwhelmed right now not just by all the new sights around me, but by me getting thrown off my meds due to the jet lag. Good thing I’ve got a day to get the ground under my feet before heading to the Tokyo Dome tomorrow for Wrestle Kingdom 13: my main goal this trip.

And yes, the toilets have buttons.

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It begins

Just got into my hotel for the night. Planned on doing a vlog update, but LAX baggage claim was a little trickier than I thought. Between that and still being on the mend from a sinus cold, I figured it could wait. Right now, I’m doing what I always do for New Years: go to bed ASAP.

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Two water bottle holders? I like this new bag already!