Day 2 – Feet and folly [5th April 2009]
I opened my eyes around six in the morning and made the mistake of going to the toilet and fetching something to drink which meant I was fully awake rather than just bleary eyed and partially comatose. After getting showered and dressed, I tried to drill some Japanese into my brain (mostly to do with ordering food and asking for a table) then wandered down to the hotel restaurant around seven. Even at such an uncivilised hour the place was packed, including a group of noisy, middle-aged women sitting opposite me. Using a breakfast voucher obtained from the front desk, I munched on some sort of fish (potentially salmon though it could have been anything), broth and a pair of very neatly fried eggs. After eating and helping myself to some odd tasting fruit juice, I sauntered back up to my room – unsure as to the etiquette of leaving when I didn’t have to pay. The hotel lobby sported a couple of Dell Vostro 1000 laptops which let me post an update to Facebook and also bash out a blog post; part of the way through writing the post I managed to switch the keyboard into Japanese mode which took and embarrassing amount of jiggery pokery to switch off. Handy hint: aim for the key that has purely Japanese writing on it and is in a position you don’t recognise.
The plan for the day involved heading to Akihabara and visiting an authentic video-game arcade and then heading into Harajuku to spot some interestingly dressed youths. I had made the mistake in my previous trip to Japan of using the metro to visit Akiba and not being able to locate the main strip – using the overland train more or less puts you at ground zero for the interesting shops. Aware of this, I used my ever faithful (and ever weighty) Lonely Planet guide book to see how far from Akihabara subway stop the main drag is, and set off with high hopes.
A quick change of line and a short walk later and my hopes were dampened somewhat with the realisation it was only just after nine in the morning on a Sunday and few, if any shops were open. Making the best of the deserted streets, I located the Taito arcade and made a mental note of other interesting stores without the hassle of the crowds of people sure to flock here later. Spotting a secluded coffee shop, I purchased a potent cup of coffee and people watched out of the large shop window – mostly of a small group of smokers outside in the chilly morning air who all carried their own belt holstered ash trays.
Waiting until five minutes past ten so that I didn’t look like an arcade junkie, I slipped into the red building and ascended to the fourth floor. Each floor was easy to get the measure of with crane games (UFO catchers) on the first and photo / sticker machines on the second and third, this just left the fourth floor for actual video game machines. Being so early meant not only was the acrid smell of cigarettes just a nuisance rather than overbearing, but many of the machines were unoccupied including my target machine: Blaz Blue. Decked out with a beautifully clear, high definition screen, I spent a good half to three quarters of an hour fiddling and button mashing my way through the game. Mostly playing as Litchi I attempted to figure out the fighting system and was thankful that no one was watching me flummox about. After my time with BlazBlue I spent a short spell on a Street Fighter IV machine as Chun-Li, getting thoroughly hammered by the computer. Emasculated, I exited from the Taito arcade and visited the nearby Club Sega which was similar in layout but far more pungent. After a short time on a Guilty Gear XX (which flavour I’m not entirely sure) I made the mistake of visiting the nearby toilet which was less than pristine. On the same floor was a huge, multi-machine Gundam game which was seeing a lot of usage and subsequently a lot of cigarettes being smoked.
Tiring of the constant noise of the arcades, I scoped out some of the stores which were now beginning to see more intense patronage. I was determined not to purchase anything given I would have to lug it all around Japan with me, however after visiting Animate, AsoBitCity, Sofmap and Gamers, it was becoming more difficult to hold back. One also has to watch for signs of the more adult sections of these stores; a suffusion of flesh tones is usually a good indicator, more than once I found myself wondering “Is she…? Oh right.” and heading swiftly for the next floor.
The only set of shoes I had brought to Japan were a pair of go-with-everything leather ones I had purchased a week prior. I attempted to wear both them and my feet in with little success, which meant now my heels were blistering and pain while walking was beginning. Happy that I had soaked in enough of Akihabara for now, I made my way back to the subway and towards Harajuku.
My only previous experience with Harajuku was a brief side-swipe on the way to the nearby Meiji-jingu, it was surprising to find a whole shopping area only one street over. Still determined to visit restaurants solo, I went to a fourth floor Pizza Express for lunch and ordered some overpriced but very fulfilling pasta. Looking down onto the main shopping street I spotted a number of familiar brands including a sizable Top Shop opposite. Post lunch I wandered the streets, eventually finding Takeshita-dori with its plethora of smaller, crazier stores. With names like “The Mighty Soxer” and “One for herb” it was hard not be enthralled, especially when some of the hats on display had phrases like “Unicorns are awesome” and “Trucker mesh hat” on them. Towards the end of the street where it joined Omotesando, the crowds became locked and for a few minutes I moved very little, yet still people around me were courteous and thankfully refrained from elbow barging through. My right foot by now felt about two sizes too big for my leg so I made for the subway station and headed back to the hotel.
Still early in the afternoon, I munched on some Pocky and deliberated on what to do for the rest of the day. My foot throbbed from the angry looking blisters on the heel, but after some ice and rest was applied, it began to look a little more flesh coloured. After much scrutinising of maps I decided to visit Hie-jinja; fresh blister plaster applied and, in a moment of inspiration, a square of padding from my camera case slipped into my sock, I was heading back to the now familiar subway station. With better planning in the morning I could have avoided the pang of guilt I felt taking yet another subway journey, especially as the station to visit the shrine (Tameike-sanno) was on the Ginza line – the same one the hotel is on; however this was only of minor concern.
Arriving just after four in the afternoon, the area outside the station was strangely deserted, and after a short walk I was standing on an outdoor escalator heading towards the shrine. Nearby was, bizarrely enough, a Swiss Airlines building replete with a bright red and white sign and silent fountains. The shrine itself was incredibly peaceful with shrine maidens (miko) shuffling wordlessly about and restrained cherry blossoms set against tall skyscrapers. In the main courtyard were a set of stone seats covered in red padding, one of them completely taken up by a gentleman snoozing and occasionally snoring; next to him was a drinks bottle encased in a green camouflage holder. As I was studying this, a woman I hadn’t noticed before reached brazenly over the man and nabbed the drinks bottle, holder and all, and headed off out of the shrine! I pontificated waking the man up and telling him (or trying to) but when he woke up a few minutes later, he seemed nonplussed about the location of his drink. Inwardly I figured the woman must have been someone he knew, crime was rare enough in Japan and this act seemed innocuous enough.
Once I had my quota of photos, I once again headed back to the hotel, spotting a group of western looking tourists on the subway back. While writing in my journal I watched television which consisted mostly of adverts, most of which had some sort of jingle to accompany the corporate logo. The most prominent of these was Kirin, a conglomerate drinks company whose adverts mostly consisted of beer – certainly odd seeing adverts for alcohol with them being rare enough in the UK. It was the first night of the tour proper which meant a meal and meeting up in the lobby. Arriving early, I chatted with some of the other members, my instant reaction was that they were older than I had expected. Tom arrived with some odd seaweed based sweets and talked us through some basics of the tour including tidbits about himself – my respect for him rocketed when he mentioned he had attained the highest level of Japanese language proficiency, no mean feat by any measure.
A short walk later and all fourteen of us were sitting in an izayaka, waiting for the first round of food to arrive. A large number of the group had arrived the day before like myself, Wendy and Tara; however the tiredness in everybody from the journey was palpable. Small talk was rife as everybody got the measure of each other; there was an interesting mix of English, Canadian and American members as well a Belgian and various locales in between. The food arrived in waves and included eel, raw octopus and wasabi, salad, okonomiyaki and much more, all of it varied and all of it spectacularly tasty. A couple of beers later and we all adjourned shortly after half past nine and I shot straight to bed.