Akasaka Sacas
So we've already taken a look at a few "City within a city" areas so far - Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown and Shin Marunouchi Building. Today we take a walk around another one that just opened - Akasaka Sacas.
Akasaka Sacas is situated right in the middle of Akasaka. Part of the Sacas grounds is the broadcasting station TBS which is why there were many characters walking about like these two Ultraman's. According to Ultraman expert One, I'm not allowed to call them "Ultramen."
Dont even think about coming here by car or you will spend half a day waiting for a space - we went by train.
The Sacas grounds.
Sacas just opened and they are having some sort of celebration fair.
Fair = loads of people lining up.
A few stalls with goodies on display here n there.
More people lazing around on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Dont bother eating before you visit as Sacas has a ton of food to choose from.
And during the celebration period which ends on the 6th of April, they have many stalls outside selling grub.
Shuttle bus that goes between Tokyo Midtown and Sacas.
I used to walk past this spot every day when I was working at the Akazaka Microsoft offices and was surprised at how much changed in just over a year.
This pratt says to me "no photos" even though theres not much to see. Pratt.
Is that a Kermit clone? Or is that Kermit-the-later-years ?
They were giving out Geass and Gundam 00 postcards. Hmmm. No Shirley...
Two words to sum up the Akasaka area - "offices" + "restaurants."
A building in the Sacas grounds houses a load of restaurants too.
Some pub type place.
More people relaxing doing not much.
Folks queuing up for 30 mins just to take a pee.
Was trying to figure out why this Thai restaurant was empty apart from a single couple. We guessed because it was they way the menu was un-descriptive while the other restaurants had loud menus with more pictures and large writing.
The bottom floor of the Sacas building has a load of food shops.
More queuing for the toilet.
Example of some of the restaurants available.
Singapore Hainan Chicken Rice - 1,900 yen per meal.
A view from the Sacas grounds into the surrounding town.
More folks queuing up for bread.
A view of the Sacas grounds from the outside.
This old building was right in the middle of everything which looked very very out of place - I guess the owners want to hold on to it as the land in that area must be worth quite a bit.
The local transport.
Theres a shrine nearby called "Hie" which you may want to visit.
A view from the shrine.
A couple getting married at the shrine.
The shrine grounds.
Relaxing here after an afternoon of walking about is a nice way to end the day.
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Raven, AMV & MAD maker, Otaku
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=last0raven
wow people waiting in line to buy bread , etc. and pee waiting for 30 minutes thats gotta hurt @_@
Hikikomori in the making
http://supermariabros.deviantart.com/
LOL @ the comment on the pratt... What's a pratt anyway?
If I were to go there, I won't be able to go home coz' I'm gonna be 2 times my normal size from eating too much...
Photographer/Night Auditor
http://hillbillyotaku.blogspot.com/
I'm not a line waiter so I think I'd have to skip that area at the moment.
Plus nothing really jumps out at me as interesting in my opinion.
Design Student
http://totoro88.vox.com
Do they not have enough restrooms? Shouldn't there be some kind of restaurant to loo ratio?
銀河帝国五〇一軍团 TK/TD 8316 M.E.P.D. Police Sergeant
http://gordonator.com/
danny was right when he mentioned previously japenese loves to queue. 30 mins for toilet? O_O
Artist/Flash Programmer
http://wcloudxkumo.wordpress.com/
They need more restrooms!! XD
30 mins for a leak is too much for me >_<; Might as well just ride back at home XD
Procrastinator
rofl. 1,900 yen for chicken rice.
I expect it to be served on a golden plate.
Student and Miku Guardian
http://kyourankyodai.com
Wow.. It's a shopping haven.. Though I pity the people queueing for 30 mins for the toilet..
This will be recorded down in my what-to-do list when I have the money to visit Japan..
Gunpla Enthusiast
is it just me or does the Kermit clone look like a slightly fatter version of the Grinch? those Japanese do love the queues, i personally can't stand waiting in line for 30 minutes to use the washroom, what if i have an emergency? also, congrats to the couple getting married, upon closer examination, its an interracial couple, good for them. no pictures of food Danny? this isn't like you!
Student
http://bakaaaa.wordpress.com
woah. seems fun. I would love to visit that place some day. =S
anime/cosplay events organizer
http://www.cosplay.ph
wow! is that a shopping mall? more like a food center with all the restaurant
and i lol'd at toilet queue XDDD
that place needs more toilets XD
NEET
http://hobbyjapan.blogspot.com/
It looks quite peaceful. Beautiful scenery too, def on my visit list.
But, those lines to the toilet, damn.
Student and full-time otaku
Nice, it's new, shiny and seems very relaxed. Hope it'll still be whenever I visit ^^
Combat Engineer For Australian Defence Force
If I Fail at my next job..
im going to teach English in Taiwan or Japan
i gotta go Japan and like.. live there (even if bad quality)
this place will sort of remind me of Sydney City.. many Asian restaruants..(then again , most of Sydney City is all Asian , walk passed the CBD and play "Spot the Aussie")
by golly it should be good
Link Cosplayer, Video Gamer, Amatuer Programmer, and Artist
http://demacrez.blogspot.com
Well that goes on my list on "Where to go in Japan!"
I plan on visiting next summer when I saved up enough money to go. Plan on 5 weeks staying there, tops.
=.=!
http://hihi123.wordpress.com
lol 30 mins for a toilet break, it remind me of the 1 hrs wait at tokyo big sight lol..
Animation Student
http://kazenomise.net/
Nice tour again danny! It's interesting!! xD Well i planned to visit all over Japan if i have the money and time too... xD But definitely Akihabara is the first one! This can be considered as an option too, looks fun.
NIL
I guess I'll wait awhile longer to visit it when it is less crowded. Or does it never gets less crowded?????
Techie
http://squeejunkyard.blogspot.com/
1900 yen can get me 10 plates of chicken rice here -_-;
IT-Architect, SysAdmin, WebDesign and Coding, Virtualization (VMware + NetApp)
http://www.milkdrop.de/
hmm interesting area... somehow... would be nice for a sunday walk but not more i supose. o.-
University Student.
http://www.hirito.blogspot.com/
That's some expensive Hainan chicken rice!! Looks like an interesting place to visit. *adds to visit list*
Student
Here in Vancouver, Canada buildings like that are often designated as "heritage building" and the owner is allowed to keep it like the way it is (or I think they're even required to once they got that status). Then again maybe japan got lot those kind of buildings in some other areas of Tokyo? We dont have much here ourself so gotta keep what we have =)
Non-profit org. volunteering work addict
A nice place to go as well...
I will also comment on the toilet line... thirty minutes?! Better not be in a rush, if you see what I mean.
It's nice you gave it as information so if one of us in the DC community decides to go there, he/she will have the chance to manage self so this kind of infortune does not happen. ^^;
ひきこもり/Hikikomori. Suits my current state more than a 大学生/University Student. ^^
Hmm... might visit this place if time allocation allows.
By the way 1,900 yen for a hainan chicken rice is just silly.. >_<
Your local Otaku Cashier.
Looks like a nice place to check out. Maybe, in a couple years, I'll check it out.
part time illustrationist, doll clothing seamstress
http://puppy52art.com/
gold plated chicken rice? LOL I dunno if I want to queue up 30 minutes to go to the toilet tho o_o
Online Shop
http://wildarms.egloos.com
So Akasaka Sacas is more like a good hang-out place than otaku city I assume. Maybe next time I visit Japan, I need to go to places like this since all my past trips revolved around otaku things @_@
オタク all day long
http://www.nekomagic.com
Interesting place. Just looks like the downtown area in my region. I think I'll die if I need to lineup for washroom for 30min. (@@.
Non-profit org. volunteering work addict
Oh and a newb's random comment here... On your Ultramen picture, looks like the one on the left did hit the gym on an much extensive way. ^^;
Software Engineer
http://www.neilduckett.com
Looks like a good spot to spend a Sunday.
http://yuuwaku.wordpress.com
japan's got such great places
student
that local transport is so cool >_<, compare to bajaj we got here -_-
Student
http://zeroblade.dasaku.net
Is it just me, or do just about all your picture have some degree of tilt to them? My photography teacher told us once that when you get into that habit (tilting the camera for a more dynamic angle), it's really hard to get out of.
Education specialist, IT content developer, crosscutural trainer, freelance translator / interpreter
http://smart.fm/users/xaky
Danny,
It looks like you there exactly the same day I was with my son Leo! We might have even been there at the same time! As a Frenchman, I was a bit disgusted by the long line in front of the bakery, the security guard, and the ridiculous prices. Bread is supposed to be affordable and for the masses, not treated like expensive jewelry or something...
.NET/Web Developer
http://scrumptious.animeblogger.net
Looks like a nice place to stroll around on a weekend. Prices are a bit pricey don't ya think? and the long lines are insane. >_> I hope it won't be like that all the time. And their transpo are nice...way nice to the ones compared here. :D
How about a post on how marriages in japan go about next time danny? I've always wondered about that. ^^
Student
http://www.fotografer.net/isi/anggota/profil.php?id=98782
not much on my interest...but kinda good 4 couples :)
http://www.nekoguchi.com
Thanks for the information and pictures. Think I'll check it out after the celebration. Otherwise it's gonna be real crowded.
Polytechnic Junior, Bronze Lifesaving Trainee, Mech Designer In-training.
http://thehangerbay.wordpress.com/
I wanna go there just for the food alone :3 And 1900 yen (Singapore dollar $26) for A plate of chicken rice?!?! I could probably get as much with ONE dollar (Japanese Yen 72+)!!
IT analyst
http://skillster.blogspot.com
something wrong with your camera danny? all your shots are slanted!
Undergraduate
what a rip-off for Hainanese chicken rice....
You can get superb ones for less than 2 USD all around Singapore
Nameless company executive
http://www.hendane.com
Eesh. That place is too crowded. For a good place to eat without as many people, I like Ikebukuro's Sunshine City building. It's older (which might explain lack of people compared to Akasaka Sacas) but a good choice of restaurants. And it is convenient for doujinshi events and the local shops for guys and gals.
For slightly ritzier, the mall next to JR Kawasaki station is also pretty cool. It also houses a California Pizza Kitchen for all you expats that miss the stuff...or something.
Costume Talent, Stormtrooper, Student, Writer
http://akxd.wordpress.com/
ZOMFG. SGD$26 for a plate of chicken rice. While you can buy it at just SGD$3 (215 yen) here...
Dropping computers, starting all over again at Journalism
http://xspblog.com
Looks like a very nice place... lines apart (hate them! Though in Japan, things are so organized I think I wouldn't mind that much).
Didn't get to know Akasaka... I really wanted to stop in every little city within a city in Tokyo, but I would have to spend more than a month in Tokyo only to see that.
Shure hope someday I'll be able to do that though!
Digital animation
That old house looks pretty cool. It's sometimes nice to see such relics from days long past. They kind of break of the monotony of commercialism.
Producer
I went there on March 10th. I thought it was a bit small and rubbish compared to Tokyo Midtown which I visited the same day. The wife thought the same.