A Week in Tokyo 17
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130)
Sat 2008/06/14 10:59
Its that time of the week again where we take a look at life in Tokyo.
First up is Keroro welcoming guests to this restaurant. Have not seen Keroro for ages but this reminds me that I should dig up the stashed away Keroro figures.
First up is Keroro welcoming guests to this restaurant. Have not seen Keroro for ages but this reminds me that I should dig up the stashed away Keroro figures.
Some sections of the highway have these huge walls which curl inwards to reduce the amount of noise for the poor residents that live nearby. I remember a time when I used to live in Earls Court back in London - was right by the highway that leads to Heathrow airport - noisy as hell. Do you live near noisy roads too? Do you throw bags of poo at the cars in anger at the noise?
The latest anime licensed Pachinko games (Whats Pachinko?)
LuLu has been jealous that I always bring Haruhi to lunch with me.
Lemon Chicken spaghetti with some fries. 1,050 yen.
Before you enter a restaurant, you may see signs like this. Dont use your mobile, no pets, no salespeople, no 10,000 yen note exchange, no smoking for the under 20's and no admittance to the under 20's after 10PM. Folks under 20 are considered children here.
The traditional "girl with beer" ad.
At the Korean place again for lunch. 760 yen.
The Mc Dees ice cream increases in size ^^;
At the labs. Server all set up and ready to be slotted in the rack.
Hector at the controls.
Server in slot and a few more to go.
Dont always wear black (^^;) and prefer shorts n t-shirt when its hot. Tokyo has been having a bout of hot n cold weather on n off.
Dont always wear black (^^;) and prefer shorts n t-shirt when its hot. Tokyo has been having a bout of hot n cold weather on n off.
Passmo is a chargeable card that enables you to use the trains, buses and also pay for goods and services. This poster explains that when you go through the ticket barriers, the barriers will bleep at you. The number of bleeps means different things so for example 3 bleeps means that there is less than 1,000 yen left in your card.
Surprisingly enough, the Japan is still very much a cash oriented country which is why many establishments still don't accept credit cards. But more and more establishments are accepting payment by electronic card payment such as Pasmo and Suica. If you are visiting Japan, pick up a Pasmo or Suica from the train station and charge it with 5,000 yen or so. You could go for a Japan Rail Pass which is much cheaper if you are going to travel all over Japan but is a pain because you cant use the ticket barriers - you need to show your pass to the guy at the barriers first.
When I left the UK there was no such technology and I didnt notice any a few years back in Seattle. Is electronic card payment popular in your region? What types of payment are available?
Surprisingly enough, the Japan is still very much a cash oriented country which is why many establishments still don't accept credit cards. But more and more establishments are accepting payment by electronic card payment such as Pasmo and Suica. If you are visiting Japan, pick up a Pasmo or Suica from the train station and charge it with 5,000 yen or so. You could go for a Japan Rail Pass which is much cheaper if you are going to travel all over Japan but is a pain because you cant use the ticket barriers - you need to show your pass to the guy at the barriers first.
When I left the UK there was no such technology and I didnt notice any a few years back in Seattle. Is electronic card payment popular in your region? What types of payment are available?
Seafood Don - this prawn still had all the gooey brown stuff in its head - some people eat it but I just look and then stick it to one side.
Out and about discovering the Senzoku area.
At Senzoku park.
Japan was going to ban these kiddy seats on bikes due to them being dangerous but all the mothers lashed back complaining that it was impossible to go about life looking after kids without them.
Another example but this one has two kiddy seats. I personally wouldn't put my kid in one of these - but thats probably because I'm lousy at riding a bike. Do these exist where you are too? Would you put your kid in one of these?
Remember not to *smell* suspicious looking objects.
Anime ads on the train. I dropped Soul Eater due to lack of time. How is it progressing?
At Mr Donuts. Whenever I'm here I think of Aibu Saki who does the CM's for Mr Donuts. Which also reminds me that I'm very behind on my Zettai Kareshi.
PG Tips (tea), Mr Donuts and some light reading on a sunny afternoon.
At the Shotengai that i discovered last week. (Whats a Shotengai?)
The cloth you see hanging above the door is called a Noren. I remember buying one on a visit to Japan and hanging it in my kitchen back in the UK ^^;
The Mc Dees getting bigger.
If you want to discover this Shotengai too then get off at Togoshi Ginza.
Plenty to eat and shop but the shopping is more of the grocery variety.
Did notice many gaijin in the area though.
Renkon beef and Mikuru - 990 yen.
Mikuru and Maguro Don - 680 yen.
Haruhi and two salads - 990 yen.
Folks who visited Japan may have wondered about these things set outside an optician - its a device to clean your glasses using ultrasound or something - cant remember as I find that they don't work for me but seem to be popular with many.
Once upon a time I got fedup of wearing glasses and wanted to have Lasik lazer surgery but have heard so many horror stories from people I know. One chap had blurry vision, vision that looked like he was underwater etc etc. These stories then made me realize that I should be happy with what I have. Have you had or considered surgery to improve your vision?
Once upon a time I got fedup of wearing glasses and wanted to have Lasik lazer surgery but have heard so many horror stories from people I know. One chap had blurry vision, vision that looked like he was underwater etc etc. These stories then made me realize that I should be happy with what I have. Have you had or considered surgery to improve your vision?
Sour pork noodles with a frog on the side - 700 yen.
Its been 135 days since I used the Wii Fit ^^;
Anyone here who got one and gave up on it too?
Anyone here who got one and gave up on it too?
My Mii that my wife made ^^;
Driving on a sunny evening listening to some lounge music. If you are after some smooth lounge music while you work then try SmoothLounge.com.
At Ikea looking for some bits n pieces.
Detlof - I know many figure collectors own this but am interested in how much they cost in your region - here its 6,990 yen.
The new Ikea lights in the office.
Another busy week running around Tokyo. Starting off with one of my favorite pastimes - ...(more)
Thu 06/05 13:42 comments (90)
Thought I'd better upload these pics before...(more)
Wed 05/28 11:51 comments (92)
Its been just over week since I got back fr...(more)
Fri 05/23 12:13 comments (120)
Hmm, Detolf in Malaysia cost about 6567yen (MYR 99)
(ID #212835) Posted on 2008/06/14 11:13
Gamer/Lecturer
It costs 99SGD here so roughly 7,761 yen :|
(ID #212859) Posted on 2008/06/14 11:50
In the us it cost about $59 for the last one I bought, which was close to 6 months ago. So it's comparable I guess.
(ID #212875) Posted on 2008/06/14 12:14
ughh! ive been looking for one for my gashapon/trading figures!! where do i get on.
(ID #212927) Posted on 2008/06/14 14:20
urgh. if Ikea's website is to be trusted, Detolf costs AUSD 179 here in Australia. dammit i cant believe its that cheap in M'sia >.<
(ID #212934) Posted on 2008/06/14 14:31
website designer (currently assist. graphic designer)
It was on special last year, even then it was more expensive at $99 >.<;;
(ID #212990) Posted on 2008/06/14 16:02
Writer/Academic/Code Monkey
Yeah should have got it on special, I walked out with 6 Detolfs that day, everyone was looking at me.
(ID #213032) Posted on 2008/06/14 17:28
Director/代表取締役
6! I would have taken a photo of you.
(ID #213037) Posted on 2008/06/14 17:39
I wouldn't be surprised to see that as many shops in my region do use Detolfs to display their products for sale. I 2 guys taking like 5 Detolfs with them when I went to Ikea today ^^.
(ID #213169) Posted on 2008/06/14 23:01
Oops missed something out *I saw*
(ID #213170) Posted on 2008/06/14 23:01
499SKR here (around 81USD / 8 840 yen) and big server is big ^^;
(ID #213059) Posted on 2008/06/14 18:30
It should be MYR 199 in Malaysia. Typo there? Cuz Malaysia's currency is not that strong.
(ID #213168) Posted on 2008/06/14 22:59
ひきこもり/Hikikomori. Suits my current state more than a 大学生/University Student. ^^
Yes.. seems like it. http://www.google.com/search?q=99+myr+in+jpy&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
(ID #213340) Posted on 2008/06/15 04:07
study
no people post comment haha
(ID #212837) Posted on 2008/06/14 11:16
I used the Suica card when I was in Tokyo. Very convenient. Used it a couple of times at kombini near my hotel. Never got a chance to use it on vending machines because there weren't that many at the time.
(ID #212844) Posted on 2008/06/14 11:22
want that wiifit... don't have the money to buy it. the price is indo is almost 2 times the original price. if i'm not mistaken the wiifit in japan is around 8.000 yen. in here it becomes 1.900.000 yen and i still have my debt
(ID #212846) Posted on 2008/06/14 11:24
My god!!!!!! HUGE SERVER... I wonder how much that all that cost. It seems that McD's seems to be cheap...adding an egg to their burgers and saying it's a new type of burger... Once again...nice week in Tokyo...
(ID #212850) Posted on 2008/06/14 11:29
There's bacon in there too ^^;;;;.
(ID #213445) Posted on 2008/06/15 10:06
Ah, so thats what those wierd walls on the expressway are for! I used to get annoyed with them as they blocked my view coming into Tokyo when i was most excited! That Mii that your wife made looks just like you! Did you feel the quake today?
(ID #212851) Posted on 2008/06/14 11:33
Director/代表取締役
Sure did.
(ID #213079) Posted on 2008/06/14 19:40
As usual Danny is like a Otaku Gourmet. Loved the Saburi (Saber/Haruhi). And about having laser surgery, I almost had it about 2 years back, but ended up not having it because just like you I heard some very bad stories. And I don't care much about me using glasses anyway.
(ID #212855) Posted on 2008/06/14 11:40
i too have used the glasses cleaner outside glasses shops when i visited japan, very surprised the first time i saw them. as for me, contacts or glasses...whatever i feel like.
(ID #212867) Posted on 2008/06/14 12:06
There are some charge cards available here for buses and trains. But the way its used is like a debit card - u still have to take a printout of a ticket from a vending machine with the card on a scanner. On buses the attendant records the transaction on some electronic device and gives the ticket. No Ikea here. So no detolf.
(ID #212870) Posted on 2008/06/14 12:08
Dropping computers, starting all over again at Journalism
Too many things to comment, head ASPLODE! :P Nice pics Danny! Shotengai makes me remember Abenobashi Mahou Shotengai... which was lots of fun. Rechargeable credit cards are not very popular in Brazil, but regular Credit Cards are increasingly becoming popular. Probably because of robberies. I mean, in Japan I'd have no problem carrying money around, but here in Brazil, my wallet only have like emergency money and my credit card. Every Week Danny brings me stuff I should've seen on my trip to Japan but didn't... even though I don't regret any bit of my trip. I only have to make more.. like 10 other trips or something. Wish I had the money for that... so many sights, so many interesting stuff to see...
(ID #212874) Posted on 2008/06/14 12:13
I guess maybe the "smell" signs are due to the '95 sarin thing? By the way, thanks for the netradio suggestion, SmoothLounge makes for happy time. And as usual I'm hungry after reading this feature. What are the things with the holes in them in that melange in the one photo?
(ID #212880) Posted on 2008/06/14 12:17
I have only 1 question! IS THAT KERORO REAL? OH MY GOD.
(ID #212884) Posted on 2008/06/14 12:49
Yup, we have the Ez-link in Singapore which is the equivalent of your Suica. Mainly for bus / train usage for now. You can pay for your purchase at Macs using Ez-link. Credit / Debit cards are also popular in Singapore. Reason being they usually have tons of discounts / promotions associated with the cards. Heard credit cards not very popular in Japan and people carry wads of cash instead? I want to do Lasik. Specs are a little irritating when it keeps sliding down. Contacts make my eyes very tired. There's a new Lasik outlet in Singapore from Japan. Shinagawa Lasik Centre. Costs bout SGD 2000+ to get both eyes done. Think that's quite reasonable. Will do it when the technology is even better and safer.
(ID #212899) Posted on 2008/06/14 13:23
That server looks amazing.... And I love your poster of the Mayu and Reika (I know you posted about it a while ago but still, I like it a lot..). I have considered the laser surgery but I'm still undecided. My main concern is that only one of my eyes has had problems for a long time. This has caused that all "far seeing" work is done by just one and even if I ever had the surgery the other eye will keep doing most of the work. I'll have to retrain my eyes and I don't know how well will this work. Oh well, I'll keep thinking about it.
(ID #212906) Posted on 2008/06/14 13:35
Excellent Week in Tokyo as always Danny. I myself and much too scared to get lasik eye surgery. Why, I just have this neurotic feeling when it comes to my eyes. I scared that the doctor will slip, and damage my vision. I'll just stick to glasses and contacts.
(ID #212910) Posted on 2008/06/14 13:47
What a handsome fellow!
(ID #212919) Posted on 2008/06/14 14:10
Danny.... you still wear blackish gray (^^!) Try PINK he..he... (Actually, more and more men wear pink these days, at least in the city where I live... my girl even bought me one ^^ I rarely wear it though ^^) anyway, the servers surely take a lot of your space, don't they?
(ID #212922) Posted on 2008/06/14 14:15
Horror☆Star
@Danny: I got the exact same halogen celling light that u'd bought in my living room ;-) (cost~equalvalent to 4500yen). The glass display shelf is (6000yen). About the childseat on bicycle, I had a snap 1 with 4 seats on a particularly small bike......Will be posting up on Member News soon. @Danny: Do you mind to create a new category for us to post Intersting Findings, or maybe title it as "Others" ^^?
(ID #212928) Posted on 2008/06/14 14:21
Director/代表取締役
Just stick it in "otaku" for now ^^
(ID #213080) Posted on 2008/06/14 19:43
i heard that if you have a student id in japan, you can get like 60% discount when you charge your pasmo or suica.. is this true? that would save alot of money..
(ID #212929) Posted on 2008/06/14 14:24
The detolf here in Canada is 69,00$ can, that something around 6900Y, so pretty much similar price. Also, I'm not aware we really have those kind of card except for cell time but on the other hand, I alway or almost alway use by debit card to buy thing, they're accepted almost every where and such carry little to no cash on me. Do they accept debit card more commonly in Japan? ^^;
(ID #212951) Posted on 2008/06/14 15:02
Boston has a electronic card for their subway system now. It was installed over the last couple years. Does Togoshi Ginza have any good arcades? I'll be living near there for the summer. A reason why you see many gaijin in the shotengai might be because there's a gaijin house in Togoshi.
(ID #212956) Posted on 2008/06/14 15:08
Student/Part-timer
Like the previous poster said Detolfs here in Canada are $69...so I guess roughly the same as Japan Ikea's price, couple bucks cheaper even (69cdn = 7200 yen) I live about 1.5km from a freeway. Its not a busy one during non peak hours, but late night, theres a lot of street racing on it which even though Im over a kilo away, I can hear pretty clear from my house. Then of course the races attract the cops and every so often you get the helicopters hovering the area as well. And those rather loud >.> Not the mention those rude truckers who use engine brakes/ratarders and wake up the entire city.
(ID #212971) Posted on 2008/06/14 15:32
Where in Edmonton do you live, if you don't mind me asking? >_>
(ID #212985) Posted on 2008/06/14 15:53
So are you by the Anthony Henday or Yellowhead Trail? I'm in the Blue Quill area and that helicopter is around here frequently. I wave at the thing and a lot of the time they'll come by for a second pass.
(ID #212998) Posted on 2008/06/14 16:16
nice photos, danny! want the big keroro, will put him on a chair and have breakfast together every morning.
(ID #212976) Posted on 2008/06/14 15:42
I live maybe a slightly shorter distance from the freeway than euphoria, but I am with him on the street races/helicopters/trucks. On hot summer nights it means either leave the window open and not sleep 'cause of the noise, or leave the window closed and not sleep 'cause of the heat.
(ID #212981) Posted on 2008/06/14 15:50
Man, that's a MickeyD's supersized week in Tokyo. So much to cover... First, I'm sorry but if that Keroro isn't bolted down I'm stealing him. I'm a Keroro criminal. Rechargeable cards are not popular here, but debit cards and credit cards are with the old magnetic strip. I miss the octopus card in HK. So damn convenient I wish it were here. I am curious about that double big mac bacon egg burger w/cheese. Although the real thing probably doesn't look anything like that, I wanna try it. Surprised they have such a big burger in Japan. I've thought about having Lasik if my eyesight degrades, but my eyesight ain't too bad as I don't have to wear glasses except at night. Couple of friends had Lasik, and it turned out okay. However, they say the effect doesn't last and you'll see your eyesight degrade again, but not to the original level (and terrible for night time). Was initially gonna get Wiifit, but didn't bother. At least not till its got more game apps.
(ID #213001) Posted on 2008/06/14 16:26
Doll Customiser, Web Designer, Shop Owner
Detolf costs AUD$179.00 or around Y17900. What a rip off!
(ID #213003) Posted on 2008/06/14 16:32
Doll Customiser, Web Designer, Shop Owner
oh it's here: http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/10119206
(ID #213004) Posted on 2008/06/14 16:33
part time illustrationist, doll clothing seamstress
Thanks for sharing your week with us again ^^ Good that you put the pricing up, I should try to do that next time ^^; I also read about lasik horror stories before and I think I'll stick to glasses ^^; it's too risky since I depend on my eye sight to work and it is not permanent anyways ^^; Cute Mii your wife made of you :D
(ID #213009) Posted on 2008/06/14 16:52
part time illustrationist, doll clothing seamstress
and that Ikea case you were talking about was on sale the last time we saw it at ikea (sale might already be over by now) for 65CAD + taxes for a bit, before price if I did not remember wrong was either 75 or 79 CAD ^^;
(ID #213011) Posted on 2008/06/14 16:54
Seems like with Lasik you have to get qualified to have the operation done. A lot of people who have horror stories usually get recommended not to have it done, but go ahead an get it done by someone else. Though I'm still a little bit afraid to have it done.
(ID #213267) Posted on 2008/06/15 01:40
Full-time student へへ
is there a t-shirt and shorts version of the trooper armour? i'm sure they wear something else during summer ^^
(ID #213012) Posted on 2008/06/14 17:00
we use plastic money everyday, almost everywhere, in portugal. we use debit cards on almost everyshop, restaurant, gas station, some taxis, newspaper stands, tolls at the highways, ... some time ago we had a card that sounded like the ones you mention, where you charge them with a certain amount. they called it 'electronic walet', but seemed a bit silly, since everyone has the other kind. again, thanks you for these 'week' posts, i have a blast learning all these things about japan. and, final, what about those shorts ? brand, please... ?? they look super cool...
(ID #213013) Posted on 2008/06/14 17:02
lover of games, artist
For the kids and the bikes, here in America some bikes have the baby seat on the back of the bike or sometimes if the kid is a little older (toddler) they have a little carriage the kid can sit in that rides on the ground on the back of the bike.
(ID #213020) Posted on 2008/06/14 17:15