Japan Day 2: Shibuya, Ginza and Akihabara

Nicole and I braved the subway systems and made our way to Shibuya Wednesday morning (Day 2) in Japan. The stairs leading out to the streets did not exit near the famous intersection, but we spotted a shrine nearby and decided to visit it: 

We walked over to the well-known Shibuya intersection and took a photo with Hachiko, the dog famous for waiting faithfully in the same spot for his master despite him passing away.

We left the hotel without eating any breakfast and planned to eat at a restaurant in Shibuya. Nicole spotted a McDonalds and was curious as to how it compared to one in the US. The breakfasts are pretty similar. I didn’t see anything that was extremely different from what we would have ordered in the US compared to the first time I visited when I was in high school – I remember there being a melon shake on the menu.

The heat was getting to us as we walked around Shibuya since none of the shops were open, so we entered the lobby/waiting area of a department store. A lot of elderly women came in right before the store opened, and I gave up my seat to one of them. At first she was telling me it was ok in Japanese, but then was grateful. A seat opened up next to her and she beckoned for me to sit down. She then asked me what I was and I answered America jin desu. I then mentioned I was sightseeing with my sister and she would be studying at Chuo University. It was fun practicing my Japanese and it was nice that the old lady thanked me again as she got up to walk into the Department Store.

We entered a store that sold electronics and we were looking for a ethernet adapted for Nicole’s Surface Pro. Our hotel had free internet, but was available only through a Lan connection. It was an interesting experience asking for something so specific. We were directed to the 3rd floor, since we were on the floor for cell phones. We found what we were looking for and made our purchase.

Nicole and I kept walking around and spotted a yummy display of shaved ice. It looked too good to resist so we popped in to the Nishimura cafe and ordered 2 shaved ice frappes. This cafe was near the station and we left Shibuya to make our way over to Ginza.

We did get off on the wrong stop and had to pay for another ticket to get to the Ginza district. We googled where the nearest Louis Vuitton shop would be as that seemed to be one of the stores I remember to be located there. We arrived and the shops were amazing! It is equivalent to walking down 5th Avenue or Rodeo Drive. The prices in the shops were expensive compared to the other department stores we had visited, so needless to say it was more about window shopping more than anything else. Most of Japan is a shopaholics worst nightmare since there is a department store almost every other block.

We were starting to get hungry and decided to eat once we arrived at Akihabara. Right when we arrived to Akihabara, we were enticed by a girl dressed in a maid costume to visit the Maidreamin café – a maid café. We were starving so it did not take much to convince us. It was an interesting cultural experience, especially since our Japanese was not up to par. The food is made to look cute, and the maids play games with you and have you sing songs as you wait for your food. We paid for photos with a maid and somehow Nicole won a lighter through their raffle and it had the café’s name on it. We were also given passports for a discount that can be applied for our next visit.  It was a bit pricey, but a very cute experience. I wanted a Maid Costume by the end of the meal because all of the girls looked so adorable in them! I couldn’t take any photos with my own camera.

I could tell Nicole was having a blast in Akihabara because it was full of stores that sold Anime Merchandise, Video Games, and Arcade games. The crane games in Japan are on a whole other level. It almost seems impossible to win any of the prizes. I know I did the first time I visited Akihabara, but I don’t remember how long, or much, it took me to walk away with two toys. I added a video to show just how difficult it was for Nicole, the pro at crane games, to win a stuffed animal:

One of Nicole’s purchases included a 3 DS game that was only released in Japan. It is so amazing to me how skilled she is at games and while she doesn’t understand everything that was being said in her initial tries at the game (of which she made considerable progress) I don’t doubt that she will be so much more fluent in Japanese by the end of the year.

 My last stop in Akihabara was at a food stand with me purchasing a Fish Bread that I had seen before in Anime and travel shows. The bread was good, but it was stuffed with red bean paste, something I quickly discovered I disliked. I ate most of this snack and was glad I did not buy a bunch of them thinking I would be able to eat them later.

This concludes Day 2. Stay tuned for Day 3 which will feature our day at Tokyo Disneyland!