Walk in Akihabara -7-

This is the 7th posting on Akihabara. I think there are other places in Tokyo where you could see interesting things and good scenery, like Shinjuku, Shibuya, but those places are not for me since I don't like fashionable clothing shops and stuff so much. I tend to wear the same jeans when I go out, and I think people could wear the same favorite pants as long as they're clean. But then again I'd like to introduce those areas too when I have chances to visit them.

Some of you might know Gundam Cafe finally opened in Akihabara on April 24. There are several series of Gundam like V, W, X, and Seed, but when I read an article on this cafe, it seemed to put emphasis on the first series of Gundam.

A Gundam cafe staffer was announcing you should wait for 3 hours before you could take a seat at the table. As far as I saw, there were many young people in line who seemed to be in their teens. I also wanted to go in, but it was so hot that I couldn't have stood the heat.

When I was on my way to Doutor, I saw this girl giving out AKIBA maps to passers-by. Apparently she seemed to be very familiar with the streets of Akihabara. 

A bus was advertising a video game called "Shin Koi-hime Musou Moeshouden", which is playable on computer and due out on July 23. This game will be released for people over 18, so I guess there are some lewd expressions in it.

I introduced this shop called "Akibaoo" before and this time a girl dressed as Miku Hatsune was standing on the balcony. When I aimed my camera at her, she formed that love sign and smiled at me. The left maid is a doll.

For those who want to donate money, there are vending machines in Akihabara that accept your charity. When you donate money to this Akai Hane (red feather) campaign, normally you would get a red feather in exchange for your 10 or 100 yen coin, but this machine just takes in your money.

There is a jeans company called "Jeans Mate" and we can see its outlets throughout Japan. This shop in Akihabara seemed to sell things that would satisfy the need of geeky people in Akihabara. 

At the Jeans Mate. I'm not so familiar with the anime "One Piece", but I bet this guy should be "Sanji". You can see other T-shirts of the anime in the shelf on the right.

This snack is called "Ichigo no Kuni no Ii-tan" or "Ii-tan from the strawberry land" You know, we say "-chan" when we call female friends amicably, and "tan" off the "Ii-tan" is a childish expression of "chan". The small words above her head say " I'd like to work 'berry' hard for the strawberry land".

This train is called "The Keihin-Tohoku Line". This line connects Tokyo and Saitama or Kanagawa. If you want to come from Tokyo station to Akihabara, you can take advantage of the Yamanote Line or this.  

-to be continued-

Dandelion (Cake shop)

In my city there is a cake shop called "Dandelion" where you can have tea, coffee and cake. I don't know when it started its business, but there are several good cake shops in my city, and since each piece of cake isn't so expensive, people in my city seem to keep buying some even when the economy is so bad as this. And as I said before, people in Japan now prefer to buy things that can be enjoyed at home, so, most of the cake shops in my city have been still in business.

Please take a look at the orange sign on top of the blue rectangular sign. I think you can recognize a white dandelion. As in other countries, dandelions bloom in spring, so I thought my visit was in accordance with the season.

Probably you didn't recognize by seeing the first photo, but the ceiling was so high. Most of the houses in Japan are really small, and their ceilings tend to be very low.

How popular a madeleine is in your country? When I was small there weren't so many kinds of sweets available in Japan, but I used to have this often even during my childhood.

I found these cute figurines. I personally like jazz music as well, like Curtis Fuller, Art Blakey and Miles Davis. Heavy metal is also my favorite, but it wouldn't go well with cake.

You can take a seat at those tables, and it seemed you'd be allowed to smoke there. As you can see there was a puddle beyond the right table, and yes, it was rainy on this day. The weather in spring is so changeable in Japan, but we could have more sunny days this spring. 

This is Matcha cake. You can see some sweet azuki beans in the white cream. I think this is the second or third time that I show you Matcha, but it does taste good for me and I think foreign people would like it too, especially when they like something sweet and bitter. 

We Japanese often see on TV celebrities called "Sweets guys". They are a kind of guys who like something sweet like cake, and such feminine guys are said to be on the increase in Japan. I wouldn't say whether those guys are good or bad, but I think there have always been such guys and that they didn't pop out of nowhere all of a sudden.  

McDonald's in Japan

It goes against the grain to introduce something very American, as this blog is supposed to introduce things in Japan, but Mcdonald's in Japan has some things that can be only seen in Japan. I don't visit a hamburger shop so often, but I sometimes drop in at Mcdonald's to have some coffee, or to try a new hamburger.

Japan is where you can buy Mcdonald's hamburgers the most cheaply. The poster in the center says you can buy a hamburger called "McChicken" for about a dollar.

There was a section called "Mac de DS" in this Mcdonald's where you can download software for your Nintendo DS.

There were instruction brochures available for those who don't know much about Mac de DS. For instance, you can download the trial version of a game made by Mcdonald's. And you can also get coupons for hamburgers that you can get via Wi-Fi connection. 

I had "Goma Ebi Filet-O", or Sesame Shrimp burger.

The hamburger buns included some ground sesame, and of course the patty had some shrimps. But honestly I couldn't taste the sesame flavor.

Japanese people like to have salad even at Mcdonald's. Those who order a "happy set" can choose to have this sweet corn. 

We're now in Golden Week, when most people have one week vacation starting on April 29. During this period my city has less people because most people go back to their hometown to see their parents. And also in Tokyo you would see less people because the capital is a place where people from rural areas live. But you would still see lots of people in some hot areas in Tokyo like Akihabara.

Tokyo Anime Center

On the 4th floor of Akihabara UDX building, there is "Tokyo Anime Center" where you can see lots of anime-related stuff. Of course you can buy any anime things at other anime shops in Akihabara, but this center seemed to be meant for those who don't know much about such shops, and for people who are not so familiar with anime.

The admission fee is free, and when I came here I just saw some people.

Those who saw the first series of Gundam must be very familiar with this Mobil Suit called "Char Zaku". Probably you wouldn't see how big it is, but it was a bit shorter than a human.

Pikachu. Even those who don't know much about anime should know this mouse. I think there is two kinds of anime, namely one for ordinary people, and the other for hard-core anime fans. And I think the latter would give you Moe vibes.

This anime center seemed to be meant also for ordinary tourists. You can get those brochures on Akihabara or Tokyo for free, and as far as I saw there were some in English.

A life-size Ayanami from Evangelion. I just wondered if she was so popular enough to be recognized by lots of people. When it was broadcast in '95, it was known to a handful of anime fans, and it gradually started to be more popular as years passed by. 

You know, the left is an SOS Brigade mug. As far as I know the Haruhi movie is still showed at some movie theaters in Japan. And it was reported a new episode of the Haruhi light novel started for the first time in 3 years on April 30. It's called "Suzumiya Haruhi no Kyougaku"."Kyougaku" means consternation. Here's a link to the cover picture.

K-ON! Zippo lighters. I'd love to have one, but I think anime fans including me are basically non-smokers. What do you think of the price 90 us dollars?

I think this is an Ayanami T-shirt. You can choose a different size and this was an L size. The kanji on the yellow paper says, "Everybody loves Rei Ayanami !!" 

Evangelion canned coffees made by UCC. UCC is a coffee company that mainly sells coffee beans to coffee shops, but it also manufactures canned coffee as well. And the ones you see are the most popular UCC coffee. Maybe Aska would make it taste more delicious for you. 

This Tokyo Anime center is mainly a place where you can see and buy anime-related stuff, but it also holds anime events, and for example it holds "Day of Seiyuu" event on May 5, when Saori Goto shows up. She is the Seiyuu for Bara Suishou from Rozen Maiden Traeumend.