Sylar versus Hasegawa
Sylar wastes no time in trying to find out what makes girls dress like tarts (not that there’s anything wrong with that đ )
Tokyo part #6 â Akihabara
Akihabara, Tokyo
No trip to Japan would be complete without a (rather big) glimpse of what makes the country tick⌠and whirl, and buzz. Electronics! And thereâs no better place to get your geek on than Tokyoâs CPU, Akihabara aka Akiba aka Electric town. Just picture Jaycar or Dick Smith times a million and youâre getting close. Any kind of premade electronic product EVER from radios, to game consoles, to cameras and computers to the components used to make them, replacement parts, capacitors, inductors, circuitry, you name it, if its powered by electricity, youâll find it here⌠somewhere.
The station is only about 1km from Ueno, so itâs an easy walk or a couple minute train ride.
The first obvious places are the larger stores as you walk out of the stationâs west exit (follow the signs to âElectric townâ) being the multiple LAOX and Sofmap stores. These have an army of staff which are helpful and speak quite good English (some stores even have Caucasian staff) and also have duty free. They have similar style layouts, with a level dedicated to a certain type of product eg. Cameras, computers, watches, home goods etc. and a big index sign on the ground level will help you save precious shopping minutes đ
While you will more than likely find what youâre looking for in these shops, nothing can prepare you for the onslaught from the mothership on Akiba stationâs north east, that being the Akihabara Yodobashi Center.
Yodabashi camera store, Akihabara, Tokyo
Eleven floors of every model of every colour of every electronic item release in the last 5years (or there abouts). They even have sporting goods, toys and a floor of restaurants. Iâd say its like Harvey Normal times 1000 but Yodobashi actually has good service and good prices (yea, I went there). Speaking of prices, while they are very competitive to the local AU market, theyâre very similar to online (overseas) prices so you may want to save yourself some import fees when coming back through customs by not going all out on big ticket items. In saying that, being able to handle and eyeball similar products for a hands on, real life comparison, is indispensable.
After we surfaced from a sea of electric razors and toothbrushes, we headed to Super Potato (I know, right!). They specialise in retro gaming. Forget about your wifi enabled, pizza ordering, âIâm in a rap videoâ gaming consoles, its back to the roots with the 3 commandments. Shooting, driving, and jumping and maybe even all three! So basically anything prior to the Playstation 1, wall to floor to ceiling of games and consoles. Since very few cartridge games were reissued, theyâre mostly all originals but are all still in good to mint condition.
Super Potato, Akihabara,Tokyo
Atari, Nintendo, Mega Drive, Master System to the ill fated Saturn, Dreamcast and Game Cube are all covered as well as plenty of domestic market releases that never saw the light on the world stage and a bunch of quirky little handheld games and mini consoles. Just remember when buying any mains powered devices from overseas, that it will work on your local voltage supply, if not you will need to purchase a separate power transformer. Anything powered by batteries is fine since DC current is universal.
Back out on the main drag amongst the cosplay girls handing out flyers, youâll see more âPichinkoâ (or âTaitoâ), no not something Elliot from Scrubs would say, but gaming houses filled with slot machines. Half a block away youâll hear the deafening wave of bells and whistles as the automatic doors open and close. There are also plenty of gaming places dedicated to claw machines, but these are the same the world over. Only enough tension in the claw to give the prize the gentlest nudge of hope so you continue to funnel in your coins. You seriously have more hope getting a prize from a wishing well, so youâre better off just buying one from a toy store.
Whatâs that? Toy store? You thought I forgot didnât you? Not at all! A couple blocks north of the station is another Mandarake store. Multiple levels include buying on the ground floor for those with a bit of buyersâ remorse, cosplay and 2 levels of figures and collectibles. They also have items for the die hard fans, like the actual helmets used in filming Power Rangers and uniforms from local productions.
Mandarake, Akihabara, Tokyo
Over near Yodobashi there is another large toy store called Animate. Unfortunately during another âcanât see the forest for the treesâ slash âdamn you google mapsâ moment we couldnât find it but later discovered it in the background of one of our photos! Anyway, what you need to do is get to this store on a Sunday, when they close off a lane and its filled with performers and cosplayers.
Finally if youâre having withdrawals from sneakers or music, thereâs still a few ABC Marts and a Music Vox to appease that hunger, otherwise its Gashapon time!
About 2 blocks north of Mandarake off the main street in a small side lane is a dirty yellow signed store that houses a ground floor of Gashapon and 2 upper levels of toys, figures and collectibles. What is Gashapon? Youâll know them as the gumball style machines at the exit of supermarkets that you nagged your mum for change so you could get a toy in a capsule when you were little. The difference here is the toys arenât a poorly moulded ring, necklace or keyring, they’re highly detailed and painted quality pvc items. Best thing of all, you no longer need to nag your mum, you can buy as many as you want!
Choose anything from your favourite shows/games like Mario, Star Wars and anime characters to the weird and wonderful of light up poo keyrings, telescopic cat paw pointing wands, tote bags, countless mobile phone trinkets and for the (not so) mature crowd, the X rated figures in various states of undress and positions that will have even Paris Hilton taking notes.
The majority of Gashapon cost between 100-500Y, with dedicated stores like this one having a change machine and recycle bin for used capsules. Depending on how many you buy, itâs a good idea to bin the capsules to save luggage space.
FYI, âGashaponâ refers to âGashaâ as in the crank machine that holds the toys and âponâ the sound the capsule makes when it drops. A lot easier to say than click tic tic tac click tacka!
Gashapon
Tokyo part #1 – Ueno for a day
Tokyo part #2 – Getting round Tokyo, Ueno Sakura at night
Tokyo part #3 – Harajuku
Tokyo part #4 – Shibuya
Tokyo part #5 – Kichijoji and Shinjuku
Tokyo part #7 – Odaiba and Leaving Tokyo
Photo Gallery Here
Tokyo part #4 – Shibuya
Shibuya crosswalk, Tokyo
Just one stop from Harajuku, less than a kilometre down a gentle hill, so if youre not carrying too much shopping, its an easy walk, just follow the train line south. If you see Tower Records youâre heading in the right direction.
Coming by train to Shibuya, which lets face it, is one of those Tokyo âmustsâ, you get to witnessed one of the worldâs busiest stations in full stride. But donât let photos from above fool you, while yes it is busy ALL the time, once youâre in the midst of it, its no different than any other major train station round the world, even if its comparative to Grand Central, Paddington or Guangzhou Rail. Likewise for when you step out of the station and into the infamous Shibuya crosswalk aka Tokyoâs Time Square. From above it looks like ants before a storm but in reality its no different than jaywalking cross Adelaide and Edward streets in Brisbane (though if youâre going to jaywalk here, do so at your own peril!). Just get to the front before the walk signal goes then skew off on the road of the direction you want to go, sorted. A bit of extra pep in your step to keep ahead of the surging masses doesnât go astray either.
Shibuya, Tokyo
Shibuya could very well be Japanese for department store since the place is littered with them. Shibuya 109 (buildings 1, 2 and 3), Parco (buildings 1 and 2), Tokyu and OIOI Marui City are the notable mentions, though the whole âsuburbâ is pretty much one department store with a huge variety of stores.
Some of our faves were Bic camera their website says it all, electronics galore, one of the more well known stores with English speaking staff on hand; the Disney store with its Alice in Wonderland staircase and across the road is the 500th KFC (has a plaque n all :p ).
Sneaker-wise thereâs another Adidas store, the usual scattering of ABC martâs and THE KiksTYO, not a large range of sneakers but a few rarer models and of course their famed apparel and tees. There are also a few smaller independent sneaker stores near Parco (and a TGI Fridays đ ).
How do you know you bought a genuine KiksTYO tee? It comes in a box đ
For toys youâll want to try and find Mandarake. The building isnât very well signed but it is called BEAM, head up 3-4 blocks on the main street from the Shibuya cross walk in a north west direction and you should stumble on it. Depending on the direction you come from you might catch a glimpse of the “BEAM” on a cyclinder structure on a corner. Its in the same building as RECOfan if that helps!
Mandarake is def. targeted to an older market, mainly because of the vintage collectibles. Wall to wall glass cabinets housing vinyls and figures that either were clearly someoneâs fave childhood toy or the yellowing plastic of a original sealed toy from a child with some serious self control, all sporting hefty price tags to match. On the plus side, since they do deal with a lot of used items, you can pick up current stock at a fraction of the price, if the box has been opened. Most are still in mint condition and have all their parts. There are also shelves and bins of bits and pieces and clearance items for those that donât mind a rummage.
I walked out with a bunch of Revoltech figures, a model kit Space Cruiser Yamato aka Starblazers (one of my childhood favourites!) and of course the obligatory Transformer (and random Gashapon :p).
As mentioned RECOfan is in the same building, one of the larger music stores that also do used items and records. Roughly about 5 times the size of Rockinghorse Records in Brisbane you could easily spend a day crate digging. Good thing is the sections are well labelled in English and are alphabetically broken down into genre and artist with a fair serving of rarities and country only releases. If you donât get your fill here, thereâs also Disk Union and “Dance music records” stores with a block or so.
For some sightseeing novelty check out âLove hotel hillâ, basically a small lane dedicated to the oldest profession in the world. Good for a laugh or a quickie.
If youâre hanging around into the evening and want to get your boogie on then Shibuya is also home to Womb one of Tokyoâs biggest nightclubs with matching exuberant entry fee and drink prices. Check the “Womb cruise” party in May 2010 on a boat that looks like its come straight out of the Thunderbirds!
Tokyo part #1 – Ueno for a day
Tokyo part #2 – Getting round Tokyo, Ueno Sakura at night
Tokyo part #3 – Harajuku
Tokyo part #5 – Kichijoji and Shinjuku
Tokyo part #6 – Akihabara
Tokyo part #7 – Odaiba and Leaving Tokyo
Photo Gallery Here
Toys toys toys!
With the call of Xmas and all the consumerism, especially of the moulded plastic kind, that it has to offer, we thought we’d give tribute to the little things that some how make us smile no matter what (:
Here are some of ours Gallery here
