Japan Trip 2018: Harajuku, Saitama, Tokyo, Odaiba
Japan Trip 2018: Akihabara, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro
Japan Trip 2016: Akihabara, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku
Japan Trip 2014: Asakusa, Meguro, Odaiba
DAYS SPENT: 1
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Shinjuku was my "base of headquarters" for all my previous Japan trips. This time it was a brief stay as I only wanted to stroll around Kabukicho. As an area, it was as I remembered it in the past -- quite active at night, and many conveniences within walking distance (at least for the hotel I stayed at).
PLACES VISITED:
Ever since playing the Yakuza games, I've always wanted to go back to Japan and walk along the streets of Kabukicho -- the place that was used to create Kamurocho, the main area for the Yakuza games. I'm pretty certain I had walked along the border or the edge in past Japan trips, but always stayed away because it was known as a red-light district (i.e. an area that could have more shady incidences). Well -- not this time!
SHINJUKU
DAYS SPENT: 1
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Shinjuku was my "base of headquarters" for all my previous Japan trips. This time it was a brief stay as I only wanted to stroll around Kabukicho. As an area, it was as I remembered it in the past -- quite active at night, and many conveniences within walking distance (at least for the hotel I stayed at).
PLACES VISITED:
Kabukicho (AKA Kamurocho in the Yakuza games)
Still being cautious, I decided to check it out during the day, when most places would be closed. Even though crime seems to have gone down in Kabukicho in recent years, it'd be best to stay alert and careful when roaming about, especially at night.
Is this Kabukicho? My senses (and those advertisements) say yes.
I see something familiar...
There it is! One of the main entrances to Kabukicho.
OTHER PHOTOS:
If there were this many flavoured drinks in Toronto and at such cheap prices I'd probably drink more frequently (at the time of this post, the LCBO carries some of those soju drinks and they cost about $10 CAD -- such a big difference in price!).
Some neat 3D puzzles in Don Quixote.
A really scenic walkway.
SAITAMA
DAYS SPENT: 1
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I honestly didn't think I would re-visit Saitama this year. The Capcom cafe, the main reason I visited Saitama in past trips, changed locations to Ikebukuro (I would have loved to visit the Capcom cafe if there was time). Never underestimate the "draw" of Aeon Mall... !
PLACES VISITED:
Aeon Malls (RE-VISIT)
As I've said in my previous blogs, Aeon Mall is made up of three malls: The LakeTown Kaze, LakeTown Mori, and LakeTown Outlet. If you get there by transit (like we did), you'd likely enter LakeTown Kaze first and could walk to the other malls.
We went to Aeon Mall mainly for one thing but since transit cost about 524 yen one-way (that's a lot!), we decided to explore about until closing time. We arrived around 11:45 AM and stayed there until 9-ish PM... and we only really explored LakeTown Mori.
If you want to do various shoppings and walk along floors that feel as wide as a roadway and you don't mind the transit time and cost (from Asakusa it took about 50 minutes to get there), the Aeon Malls in Saitama may be worth a visit!
Now I've seen crane games for everything...
This is a coin-operated chair massage. My boyfriend and I tried it out. Let's say I'm not sure if I'd trust a machine to know how much squeezing my legs need.
Some high-end gachapons.
DAYS SPENT: 1
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Aside from checking out a couple places, we didn't find too many things to do in Tokyo. Maybe we were in more business-oriented areas? We went to Nihombashi and then briefly to Tokyo station.
A line to get into Aeon Mall.
A pop-up shop for Pretty Cure's 20th Anniversary.
VS PARK
This was the reason we went to Saitama. My boyfriend likes to do physical activities every now and then so I looked up where we could do that in Japan and found VS PARK. It's an indoor area that has a bunch of light physical activities.
Prices vary depending on the day and which admission type is purchased. We went on a Friday so admission for us was 2900 yen each for 2 hours. We could have purchased a Free Pass for 3200 yen each, which could have given us unlimited time for the day, but we figured we could go through all the activities we wanted within 2 hours.
After paying for our admission, we were given a locker key because we had to store pretty much everything inside, especially any kind of jewelry (in case it got lost, I imagine). A couple of the lockers didn't lock properly so make sure the locker works before starting any activities!
The activities inside were a range of fun and just okay. Several of the activities were not monitored so we'd have to figure out how they worked. Sometimes it was very intuitive (like playing ping pong), but other times when all there was was a virtual screen, we wouldn't know how to start it. We'd wave our hands or jump around to see if it would work (which didn't always work). Having more signage on how to start the unmonitored games would be great.
Some activities we enjoyed included:
-Twister (it's like regular Twister, but your hands touch coloured circles on the wall and your feet touch coloured circles on the floor)
-VS Kung Fu (you try to maintain certain poses so the wall doesn't hit you. It's a virtual game)
-VS Archery (it's like real archery with a real bow but foam-tipped arrows and the target is virtual)
-Drop Seasaw (you are leaning your weight on a seesaw to direct the tilting of virtual platforms to try guiding an egg to the bottom. My boyfriend and I cleared all three stages!)
-Humor Ping Pong (it's regular ping pong, but with super oversized and super tiny rackets. It was my first time playing ping pong)
I had an embarrassing moment when we played the Bomber Attack activity (you and your opponent stand on a pedestal surrounded by a large foam confetti pit with a big hanging ball in between. The goal is to push the ball and knock your opponent off the pedestal). I was knocked off the pedestal and fell into the confetti. When I tried to stand up, for some reason my feet couldn't find the floor... so I was stumbling and struggling to get to the edge and get out of the confetti pit. The employee overseeing the Twister activity suggested that I grab onto the mesh walls and pull myself out. I followed his instructions and managed to get myself out. I felt like a tiny kid, haha. ^^;
I think for our enjoyment, it was worth the 2-hour admission. If you decide to check out VS PARK, make sure to read up on the FAQ on the website to see what kind of clothing is acceptable for admission.
The entrance of VS PARK. Please don't mind the finger in the photo.
The pricing, if you can read it.
TOKYO
DAYS SPENT: 1
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Aside from checking out a couple places, we didn't find too many things to do in Tokyo. Maybe we were in more business-oriented areas? We went to Nihombashi and then briefly to Tokyo station.
I do have to say, though... Tokyo station itself has a ton of shopping places. I probably could have stayed there for a whole day and still not explore everything.
PLACES VISITED:
This is similar to the Pokemon Center in Ikebukuro, but it's larger and has more variety. This location had the plushies that were more scarce in Ikebukuro. Next to it is also the Pokemon Cafe. If you decide to dine at the Pokemon Cafe, I'd recommend making reservations online. I am unsure of the reservation process but it seems that reservations can be made 31 days in advance. As of this writing on September 17 9:51 AM EST, I pretended to make reservations for the Pokemon Cafe in Tokyo and all dates up to October 18 were already FULL. So... get on making those reservations as soon as possible!
PLACES VISITED:
Pokemon Center DX Tokyo
This is similar to the Pokemon Center in Ikebukuro, but it's larger and has more variety. This location had the plushies that were more scarce in Ikebukuro. Next to it is also the Pokemon Cafe. If you decide to dine at the Pokemon Cafe, I'd recommend making reservations online. I am unsure of the reservation process but it seems that reservations can be made 31 days in advance. As of this writing on September 17 9:51 AM EST, I pretended to make reservations for the Pokemon Cafe in Tokyo and all dates up to October 18 were already FULL. So... get on making those reservations as soon as possible!
Between the Ikebukuro location and the Tokyo location, the Tokyo location has more variety. However -- something to consider is what else there is to do around the area. The Pokemon Center in Tokyo is located inside a huge department store (Takashimaya), which is great for some, but doesn't really cater to my kind of shopping. The Pokemon Center in Ikebukuro is located inside Sunshine City, a huge shopping mall that has more shops and attractions that pique my interest.
Looking at this makes me want to sleeeeeep... zzz...
A wall of nostalgia.
Tokyo Ramen Street
During the trip, somebody suggested that I check out Tokyo Ramen Street. Being a lover of ramen for myself and my boyfriend, I thought, why not? Then we saw all the lines and dined somewhere else, haha. Maybe another time if we get down there earlier and the lines are not as long.
This is a structure we passed by. It was still in the process of being built.
A vending machine for snacks and meals.
A vending machine for gachapons. It's so random... :)
The finished structure! This pic was taken a few days after the earlier photo.
DAYS SPENT: 1
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Since the last time I visited Odaiba and enjoying certain areas immensely, I'd sometimes dream about staying in Odaiba for a few days to spend more time there. After re-visiting it, I think as long as you get to Odaiba early enough, 1 day will be enough if you plan to stick around DiverCity, Aqua City, and DECKS. Maybe 2 days tops.
You go to B1F to get closer to Tokyo Ramen Street.
We made it! The lines turned us off from trying.
Instructions on how to order ramen.
OTHER PHOTOS:
We thought about dining here for lunch and then decided not to after looking at the menu prices.
ODAIBA
DAYS SPENT: 1
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Since the last time I visited Odaiba and enjoying certain areas immensely, I'd sometimes dream about staying in Odaiba for a few days to spend more time there. After re-visiting it, I think as long as you get to Odaiba early enough, 1 day will be enough if you plan to stick around DiverCity, Aqua City, and DECKS. Maybe 2 days tops.
We accidentally got off one stop after Daiba station (the station closest to DiverCity), so we tried checking out The National Museum of Science and Innovation -- only to find it was closed that day. The walk to DiverCity was very interesting -- there was barely anybody there! It's quite rare for any tourist area to be... without people, haha.
PLACES VISITED:
DiverCity is still the same as before -- a huge shopping mall with a large gundam outside and a large shopping area for gundam fans. There also seems to be a huge entertainment area but my boyfriend and I didn't check it out.
PLACES VISITED:
DiverCity (RE-VISIT) + the Gundams
DiverCity is still the same as before -- a huge shopping mall with a large gundam outside and a large shopping area for gundam fans. There also seems to be a huge entertainment area but my boyfriend and I didn't check it out.
We checked out various shops, spending lots of time in Daiso (a 100-yen shop) and at random souvenir shops.
The iced sugar cookies look pretty yummy.
Tons of Gudetama merchandise.
This used to be called Gundam Front. I'm still not that big a gundam fan but my boyfriend wanted to check it out so we did. Before you get to the shopping area, there are mini displays chronicling the Gundam series in order. It was quite neat. Inside were tons and tons of gunpla and other displays re-enacting scenes from the newest series, The Witch from Mercury.
The gundam after transformation. If you go to Odaiba just to witness this,
do your research to find out at what times the transformation happens.
Look at the prices on these cereal boxes! O_O
If you could only buy one thing from the Hello Kitty Store, I'd suggest the bite-sized Hello Kitty sponge cakes, or some other snack.
The Gundam Base Tokyo
This used to be called Gundam Front. I'm still not that big a gundam fan but my boyfriend wanted to check it out so we did. Before you get to the shopping area, there are mini displays chronicling the Gundam series in order. It was quite neat. Inside were tons and tons of gunpla and other displays re-enacting scenes from the newest series, The Witch from Mercury.
If you are a gundam fan, totally check this place out.
DECKS hasn't changed one bit. It is still very vibrant, full of life, and fun. If I could, I would have spent hours looking at some of the shops, especially the candy shops.
That's it for Part 2. Part 3 will cover the rest of the areas I visited in Tokyo, but before I get to it, I will take a slight detour and blog about an anime convention I attended a couple weekends ago. Please bear with me, hahaha ^^;
The first figure you see. The base rotates.
The Gundam series I'm most familiar with, despite only having watched a few episodes and the movie.
Character standees for The Witch From Mercury series.
This is a fun display.
DECKS Tokyo Beach (RE-VISIT)
DECKS hasn't changed one bit. It is still very vibrant, full of life, and fun. If I could, I would have spent hours looking at some of the shops, especially the candy shops.
If I could spend the day in only one place in Odaiba, this would be it! :)
One of the colourful shops.
This is some kind of gacha for katanuki, an activity similar to the dalgona challenge in Squid Game.
A workstation for doing the katanuki.
OTHER PHOTOS:
It's quite a nice view.
Another nice view.
I finally get a decent shot of this!
That's it for Part 2. Part 3 will cover the rest of the areas I visited in Tokyo, but before I get to it, I will take a slight detour and blog about an anime convention I attended a couple weekends ago. Please bear with me, hahaha ^^;
Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or comments about any of these places I visited, feel free to say something in the comments box! :)
