Electric Town

Time is running out on our trip which means we need to make sure we finalize gifts and tix off anything left on the list of things to do and see. So to do this we are heading to Electric town in Akihabara, mostly just anime (similar to the one in Osaka) but way bigger. We need to finish some Christmas shopping both for people at home and for secret Santa which is happening on the 7th.

I’m not sure what else to add that’s different from the one in Osaka other than maybe there are more toys and less sex stuff. But we didn’t really go to the floors this time with all the sex stuff. I would estimate maybe 50% is sex-related things there the other is gaming or anime. Not my vibe but I was there to help the others look for gifts. I was with Nat and Christian as the rest of the group wanted to do something else and Jo was sick (mostly drained).

Nat ended up finding a figurine for her sister which was pretty decent quality, I had no idea who the character was but seems to be popular. And we spent some time in the arcade using the claw machines to try and win prizes. After spending about $30+ and calling the assistant over to re-position it so it could be grabbed, I finally won something! Nothing much but honest work.

I was so tired so I headed back to the BnB and crashed for about an hour. I didn’t get any sleep last night and was wrecked, so this was much needed. When I woke up I rushed out for dinner with Jo and Crispy to go to Dandadan (gyoza) as they hadn’t been and I was craving it. It was so good for the second time. After that, I met up with Gwu and Seijun for draft beer and small food which included friend baby shrimp and some edamame. I again had poor sleep having to get up at about 2:30 am and go for a walk to try to rest my mind. Think I am getting Japan’d out and want to be back at home in my own place. 2 weeks is my limit for holidays I think unless I am with fewer people I think.

Look Mum, I’m On TV

Third last day in Japan now. And boy I think everyone is ready for the trip to finish. There is more irritability and just exhaustion, so people have been splitting up more. Gwu, Wenu, and I went out for some Turkish food as apparently, it’s really good here. It was nice but was missing a few things that we do back in Aus like tabouli, onion, and bbq sauce. Plus it wasn’t toasted. But was still nice and good to mix up the food.

Everyone wanted to go knife shopping early so most people were in Asakusa where Kappabashi Street is. This is a famous place to get professional Japanese knives. The girls also went early to do Kimono, as they had booked it earlier this year. We ended up getting there a little later and Gwu went back since he wasn’t keen to travel and go look at knives. He came all the way to Ueno which is like 40min before heading back to Ikebukuro, which was kinda funny. We met up with Nat and did some shopping got some things and took some photos of Nat as she needed some for her family.

After we had to head back to drop off the Kimono but were picked up by a TV crew! Was wild and got asked to do an interview. So Nat, and I said yes and then had to sign some stuff and then were prepped for the shot. So for background, it was for the 3000th episode of a morning show in Japan. They do a segment where a famous Panda and a Highschool boy learn English. So they learn a new phrase each day. They wanted to interview some foreigners and noticed Nat beautifully dressed up and my white, foreign-looking ass. It airs next week and I’ll be sure to post it.

They just asked us questions like; What brought you to Japan? What food do you like? What do you like to drink? Is this your first time here? Do you like the Panda? Was kinda wild the Panda is animatronic and kinda creepy but was fun to be part of it. Something you don’t get to do every day. Nat was gonna say no to it but she is glad we went to do it.

Secret Santa

After all that excitement we regrouped with everyone and headed to the sky tree and did some final shopping before heading back to do secret Santa. It was cute and we all met back at the BnB most of us are staying in. Everyone brought some snacks and also drinks and we played some board games while we waited for the stragglers.

Once we were all there we did secret Santa. I handed out the gifts and was very funny watching people’s reactions to some silly gifts. Gwu gave Seijun a massage gun. Seijun gave Wenu a tea warmer and Pepe theme eye mask. Wenu got Nat some Sumikkogurashi stuff from the store here. Nat got Henry some Dragonite (pokemon) themed stuff with some cards and toys. Henry got Gwu a jumper and gym towel from a nice place here. Jo got Christian some stuff for their dog and Lego. Christian got Vicky some horse oil, Starbucks cups, and sake. And finally, Vicky got Jo a blanket and some cute stuff from the aquarium.

To wrap up the night we all played some board games which unfortunately got loud and a little heated but nothing beyond repair. After everyone left we all crashed and got ready for our final last full day in Japan.