New Tokyo: Akihabara, Electric City

Posted: March 30th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Sushi + Sake + Shoji | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Next, I visited Akihabara, the “Electric City”. Wow. Akihabara is really the place you want to go if you’d like to build your own Cylon Centurion from scratch. I’m not joking – I really think you could make one, if you were determined enough, had enough Yen and could speak enough Japanese.

There were gaming and comic stores there that made Toronto’s flagship Silver Snail look like a shack. The insane amount of toys, statues, manga and anime on sale in just one of the hundreds of shops that cater to fanboys and fangirls of all stripes was astonishing. There is a clear division between the “old style” stores that specialize in one item, like LED lights, or electrical outlets, or cables, or illuminated buttons, or switches, and “new style” stores that sell mostly pre-assembled electronics, like laptops, TVs, mp3 players, etc.

In terms of general technology, I was amused to find that unlike in Canada where the coolest cell phones are getting smaller and smaller, until they become virtually invisible (see: Derek Zoolander’s mobile), the models in Japan are getting bigger and bigger. Some of the most expensive ones are huge, like bricks! To be fair, they are also 8 megapixel cameras, hi-def televisions and mini-computers, all in one. They may also make toast for you, I’m not sure.

I was very moderate in my purchases: although there were laptops from the future, with cool English/Japanese keyboards and probably lasers and anti-gravity switches, all I bought (on this pass at least; I will be back in Tokyo in 2 weeks) was a second rechargeable battery for my camera, two 8GB microSD memory cards with adapters for my cell at home and maybe my camera in a pinch, and a hilarious novelty digital photo-frame keychain which has zero English on the packaging and I have no clue how to use. Just going to wing it when I get a minute to open it and plug it in.

Currency-wise I’m not doing very well at the moment. The exchange rate for Yen to Canadian dollars has been about 100 Yen = $1.30 CDN since before I left. I’ve decided that to maintain my sanity about how much I’m spending on this trip, I’m going to pretend I’m changing Yen to American dollars (which is closer to 100 Yen = $1 US) and just move the decimal point over two places to the left. It’s less painful that way.

Akihabara isn’t just about conspicuous consumption of electronic goods; it’s also about gaming and play. There are millions of capsule toy machines lining the streets, fighting for space with food and beverage vending machines. And lots of game centers, especially Sega Centers, with arcades and many “claw” games where you pay between 100 and 500 Yen to try and maneuver items into the dispensing hole.

I watched this guy feed 200 yen coins into this machine for nearly a quarter of an hour, and he never won the toy. Seriously, he could have just bought the stupid doll for the amount of money he threw in there. And he wasn’t even playing to impress his girlfriend with his claw-handling skill and prowess. I don’t get it… I amused myself by quietly whispering “The claaaawwww!” under my breath, and giggling as I had flashbacks of the movie Monsters Inc.

Old Tokyo: Harajuku, Meiji Jingu

Posted: March 29th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Sushi + Sake + Shoji | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

I decided to split my first full day in Tokyo into two parts: old Japan and new Japan. Initially, the plan was to head south on the Yamanote line to Harajuku, leave the station and walk west towards Meiji Jingu (Meiji Shrine), do a circuit of the park and then cross over the train tracks to the commercial fashion district to see the kids in their crazy gothic lolita, visual kei, and cosplay styles. As it happened, the battery on my camera conveniently died in the middle of my walk through Meiji Jingu, giving me a pressing reason / convenient excuse for a shopping mission to Akihabara (Electric Town). More on that next post.

Meiji Jingu is beautiful – a peaceful oasis of tall trees, lush green undergrowth, wide gravel walkways, picturesque stone bridges and massive torii (wooden gates) in the middle of bustling Tokyo. As soon as you pass through the wooden beams of the entrance, the city seems to fade away.

Originally built in the 1920s, the shrine was destroyed in World War II and rebuilt in 1958. The forest is incredibly diverse, containing over 350 different species of trees, donated by loyal Japanese from all over the country when the shrine was established. I can only imagine citizens of Hokkaido trying to transport native specimens down to Tokyo in the early 1920s. It must have been an amazing spectacle, and a huge effort.

My walk took me all around the inner precinct or “Naien”, past colourful commemorative sake barrels and a Treasure Museum housing items that belonged to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken. At the shrine, there was a wedding procession moving through the courtyard, and a bride and groom outside having their photos taken in traditional Japanese wedding dress. A few international tourists were milling about, as well as some local tourists stopping by to pray.

The ritual for Shinto prayer is to pick up a ladle from the stone fountain, dip and wash your left hand first, then your right, put the ladle under the running tap and pour water into your hand to wash your mouth, then proceed to the altar. You throw a coin into the grated money receptacle, bow twice (full bend at the waist; your back should be parallel to the ground), clap twice with hands near your stomach, then make your supplication to the enshrined God or Goddess, and bow again before leaving.

Useful tip: the 5 yen coin is said to be the best or most effective coin to throw in the prayer bucket (“offertory box” / sei-sen bako). Stephen tells me it’s sort of a pun or homonym; a play on words. “Go-en” means 5 yen, but “en-musubi” means a binding connection, with “en” being “connection”. “Go” is a prefix you can put on things that means “sacred”. So you’re asking for a “sacred connection”. Neat!

After my walk through the dappled spring sunshine and cool leafy breezes, it was a strange transition from all that peaceful emptiness and quiet greenery to the hectic crowds in Shinjuku station at rush hour…

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