A Week in Tokyo 17
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.
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.
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?
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?
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?
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.
