Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Japan Report: Akihabara

Akihabara Day is the day for Mr. AMW!  Who would have thought the "a couple of hours" visit turned into a half day adventure?  

Akihabara is known as the "Electric Town", when they say Electric Town, they mean every single word!  The place was filled with computers, anime and Otaku goods (Otaku refers to someone who has a devlotion to a subject or hobby.)  In simpler terms, it'll be makeup for us girls! :P

Once we got out of the station, my eyes scanned on the streets right away (as I'm a trained dog! *laughs) I immediately exclaimed "Yodobashi, Akiba!" and Mr. AMW told me it's quite a famous building and he's actually including it as part of his itinerary!



The building is closer to the JR Line but since we're coming from the Metro Hibiya Line, you have to walk a bit to arrive in this building!  Various vending machines are available for you to stop and have a drink!


Now that we're refreshed and ready, we got in to the Yodobashi, Akiba building and scanned on the floor guide!  We do not plan to go for building to buildings and floor per floor but we like taking the elevator ride to the top most floor and scan all the way down!  Trust me, everything is faster that way! :)

My attention was caught from the "battery" area!  I saw a cute display of ENELOOP rechargeable batteries with Mickey and Minnie Mouse designs!


Then there's a Panasonic version with One Piece characters Luffy and Chopper!  We actually went for this! :)  Mr. AMW won big time! :D  


It actually wasn't even a competition at all, I told Mr. AMW that One Piece characters in a rechargeable battery is more unique! 



I've seen a whole lot more gadgets but I guess, my eyes were trained to look into stuff that are interesting  to me and Mr. AMW, just like the Asus super slim laptop in metal pink and black color. 


I also tried the Graphics Tablet which was a bit too difficult to navigate but I'm sure whoever's gifted with drawing skills can use this easily!


Arcade games played by both young and old and the SUPER young! :P

Did you know that I went straight to the Information counter and asked for Sergeant Keroro stuff?  I was told there were NONE at the whole 6-storey building!   I wasn't disappointed though, look at how many other characters that suits your "Kawaii" taste.


Some of the cashiers can speak a bit of English and some, even Mandarin!

One Piece New Merchandise
You get to purchase them in boxes but wouldn't know what's inside!  Mr. AMW and I gave it a try and purchased 2!  Each one of us picked one and I'll tell you what we got at the latter part of the post! :)

More characters

Going Merry and Thousand Sunny


Mr. AMW trying out the PSP Vita

Random PSP casing

Kiddie AND Adult games! *hehehe*

Manga

Casts of Doraemon

Chibi Anime Characters


Sexy anime girls 

Various gunpla


Gundam


Close-up

Very cute display of Doraemon with different expressions

It took us almost 3 full hours inside the building!  Mr. AMW and I separated for an hour because I planned to check out some cosmetics!  Yes girls, the building's 4th floor has personal care and cosmetics!

Ninja shots taken by my iPhone as photography I think isn't allowed? (not sure)

Random flat and curling iron


Shiseido's Integrate Cosmetics


K-Palette


 Esprique Cosmetics

 Random Japanese Made Cosmetics 
some I haven't seen or heard of! :)

As soon as we planned to get out of the building to walk around the street, a strong gust of wind greeted us and it was extremely cold and windy!  We've decided to put our feet to rest and visit the famous Gundam Cafe!  

And it wasn't easy to line up outside the cafe if your legs are extremely tired, you can't feel your ears and face from the cold, and you're hungry!  *laughs*  But of course, the last girl on the lineup was still able to "pose" and give a peace sign for the camera!  *winks* :P


After around 30 minutes of waiting, we finally got in!  You can request for English menu as they have one available.  We went for Matcha Latte.


Frau's Concern - Garlic toast and soup
Granada Lunar Pizza - a crispy-crust pizza created in the image of Granada's Lunar surface. Served with spicy salsa.

This is what you will see at the cashier area!


A flat screen television was there to show the various Gundam History

After our quick snack, we went to the next door "Gundam Store" and purchased freshly made Gundam character custard pie.

I'm not a custard fan but I actually LOVE it!  Mr. AMW *obviously* loved it too!

As our tummy were filled with a bit of "this and that"  *lol* we walked around the streets of Akihabara and see just how many people crosses the street in every 5 minutes?


So  many things to see but so little time!

We reached night time at Akihabara

Overall, we've found a lot of stuff but One Piece items definitely ruled the city!

Speaking about One Piece, we were quite excited with the box we each picked, to our glee, check out how lucky we were!  

We've got Luffy and Boa Hancock!
See?  Even in anime characters, LOVE rules! :P

Random photo of what Mr. AMW does when he visits another country, hoard on unique Coca-Cola bottles!  

For a beauty lover, would you go to Akihabara?
I am surprised I squealed with delight with all the cute anime characters I've seen!  

For me, yes it's definitely a must visit!

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!


Monday, April 9, 2012

Japan Report: Asakusa + Senso-ji Temple

Happy Monday everyone!  To my Philippine-based readers, how was the long holiday?  I'm still in Tokyo today, but it's my last day! *inserts sad face here*  Mr. AMW and myself are enjoying the Japanese culture, the weather, food, etc.. it feels like we've been here forever!  

We were quite professional with our navigation skills and because of that, I was asked several times by strangers for directions!  hahaha  

Speaking about professionalism, I will be reporting about my Tokyo trip differently, I used to blog on a daily basis and share to everyone the things I did in a day, it will not be the case in this travel post because, I love you guys so much I don't want you to take a look at this post for your future Tokyo plans and experience the numbness of legs we've been experiencing at this very moment!  *laughs*

Dora, The Explorer, you've got a competition here!  *ME!*

Because a lot of you shared your interest about this trip, I will be writing a post base on the each area!  Today, I'll share the place closest to our hearts --- ASAKUSA!

As you all know, I picked the hotel at Asakusa area because I am for the Old Town feel!  It doesn't hurt that the hotel we are staying have these as our view....

Cherry Blossoms at Sumida River Park
Plus the famous Sumida River is just around the corner!

Tokyo Sky Tree 
Lucky us that we do not need to get off our hotel room, we see this view day and night right at the balcony of our hotel room!  Tokyo Sky Tree is a radio tower constructed July 14, 2008 and recently completed on February 29, 2012!

The Asahi Flame
The golden flame  which we saw immediately on the night we got off the train station is known as "Flamme d'Or" which means flame of gold.  This is actually represent Asahi Beer! This too, is very much visible at the hotel room! 


Random old men and women playing "golf" at the park! :) 


 Cute Vending Machines

 Cute and unique merchandise being sold at tourist spots
Price points aren't bad!

 Random dogs, big and small roaming around the streets of Asakusa!


We were quite lucky that the day we left the hotel a bit later than usual, we heard loud drums from our hotel room, as we took a peek at the park, there were a lot of people and tourists at the park!  There was a festival of sorts and thank God we caught the drum performance!


 It was a drum with a bit of dance number!

Very cool old Japanese men holding their high-tech cameras sharing photos and tips on taking good shots! :)


Gorgeous women in Kimonos

 A quick demonstration on how to wear Kimono

Cherry Blossoms up close and personal!

Now, if you visit Asakusa, a must visit place is the Senso-ji Temple!  Senso-ji Temple is 10 minutes walk away from the Dormy Inn Hotel, Asakusa, after asking the hotel concierge the direction to the temple, we were given a detailed map of the temple!  Quick tip?  If you're lost, just follow tour buses and tour groups!  We did that and we were guided to the right direction!!! *laughs*


Senso-ji Temple is Tokyo's oldest temple found during the 7th century dedicated to Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy.  According to my research, this temple was founded by 2 fishermen who were able to pull out a golden statue of Kannon from the sea, from there people flock to pay their respect!

You will immediately see the entrance of the temple with a massive paper lantern.


A traditional Japanese slippers but this was in "giant" version!  You'll see a pair of these on both sides of the entrance.



Five storey Pagoda

We did what the locals do! :)  
Even Chinese does this so it's not unusual for us!

The temple has a street leading from the Thunder Gate (front gate) to the temple itself, Nakamise-Dori is the name and here you will see various shops selling souvenirs and food!


Random food stalls and souvenir shops

Banana Chocolate is quite famous here

 Cute trinkets

Mini Games to play

Yoyo Balloon

Yokitori sticks

 Erm, I'm not really sure what this is?
Help?

Nearing the main temple entrance, it is time to do this!  Each visitor who plans to visit any temples in Japan must follow this...


 I did, eventhough the water was dead cold! hehehe

Inside the main hall
This opens 6:00am to 5:00pm

I played it by the ear and said a silent prayer and threw a coin and make as loud sound as possible!

The detail of the huge lantern


Overall, Senso-Ji Temple is a must visit, the temple ground (except main hall) is always open!  To prove a point, we went there around 11:00pm to take photos at night and it was even better at night as there wasn't much people around and the temple is well lit!

If you plan to visit Senso-ji Temple,  ADMISSION IS FREE and it is just a few steps away from Asakusa Station.  It doesn't hurt that the night view of the Tokyo Sky Tree...





 and the Asahi Flame is there to guide you and you won't get lost! 



Do you like to visit Asakusa and Senso-ji Temple after reading this post?

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!