7/23/2013

RawrKorea in Tokyo Japan

RawrKorea in Tokyo Japan
Akihabara
Shinjuku
Harajuku
Nakano
Shibuya
Ueno

Please be patient, this page will load slower than usual due to the amount of content. ^^


Yes last week I was in Japan visiting all the exciting places in Tokyo! As this was my first time in Japan and I knew nothing about the Metro system or anything else it was quite exciting and I will share my experiences and some advice with you.

Tokyo Metro System and the Skyliner.

The first thing I did once I got to Narita Airport in Tokyo was to get a Skyliner ticket for the city. It takes around 40 minutes to reach the city and there are 2 stops Nippon and Ueno. From there you can transfer to the JR line (or Metro system) if you are staying around the center of Tokyo or transfer to other lines. I was staying in Gotanda on the central green circle line called the Yamanote line which a lot of the famous tourist cities are located on.

The Skyliner will cost around 2,400 Yen or $26 or so dollars. There is a deal where you can buy a Skyliner pass and a Metro pass for one or 2 days at a discount but BEWARE the Metro Pass is for a different Metro system than the central Tokyo system. Yes it gets complicated. There are 2 main Metro systems in Tokyo and there are generally 2 or 3 different Metro maps that you will need to acquire from a Metro station or the Hotel you are staying at. I personally would not recommend buying the Metro pass offered with the Skyliner ticket as I bought one and never used those lines. I stayed within the central Metro system for all of my travels.
 photo IMG_70251_zps3f38d5ab.jpg
 photo IMG_70211_zps004e8cb6.jpg
 photo IMG_70261_zpse9c216bb.jpg
 photo IMG_70281_zpsd9504c86.jpg

A good option is a one day pass if you are going to several different places per day at 730 Yen for a central Tokunai Pass or 1,580 Yen for a Furii Kippu Pass (different lines and distances). If you are more comfortable you can buy tickets for each of your travels and this would be cheaper if you only wanted to visit one place per day. There is a pricing board at the Metro station where you can see the fare to each location by the number next to your destination. E.g. 190 = 190 yen. There are also several other ticketing options which you can discuss with your local Metro information office.

 photo IMG_70311_zps3f1a7e9b.jpg
 photo IMG_70301_zps220d986b.jpg
 photo IMG_70231_zps8f3a5b55.jpg
 photo IMG_00591_zps281c39f9.jpg

I stayed at Toko Hotel in Gotanda which is a handy location right next to the Metro station on the Yamanote Line. The room I had was a typical quick stay get out and spend time travelling room. Meaning that it was quite small but great for its purpose.

 photo IMG_5869_zps27be84db.jpg

 photo IMG_58711_zps5a46c246.jpg

 photo IMG_00871_zpsf832f242.jpg

I got out and about right away not to waste any time. I wanted to see if I could find some Pachinko gaming rooms.... well little did I know Pachinko is everywhere! What is Pachinko? It is a game where little steel balls are released into a gaming machine and fall vertically down into loosing or winning holes. As gambling is illegal(?) in Japan gamer's win prizes which they can exchange for cash or something else in a seperate store usually located right next to a Pachinco place. I am not exactly sure how it works but it is a way around gambling for money. I know about Pachinko from one of my favorite Japanese animations called Kaiji (Season 2). Kaiji battles an illegal casino and a Pachinko machine to save his friends and make a fortune!

 photo kaijipachinko1_zps4d4fe99d.jpg

 photo IMG_00951_zps6c77a2ae.jpg

You can see some Pachinko in action in my Shinjuku Walk through video coming up. You wont believe how noisy it is in there!

Akihabara


I had to go to Akihabara as I saw so much about it online. There is a Gungdam Cafe and AK4B8 Cafe also. There are also hundreds of Otaku stores and maid Cafe's as well as electronic stores and gaming stores.

Maids, maids, maids,maids, maids, maids, maids......

 photo IMG_59111_zps707ad1ec.jpg

 photo IMG_59061_zps994bd1dd.jpg

 photo IMG_59031_zps2f7a6cc0.jpg

 photo IMG_58991_zps972618fc.jpg

 photo IMG_58941_zps472ae582.jpg

 photo IMG_58931_zpsd7c56d76.jpg

 photo IMG_58861_zps77773d62.jpg

 photo IMG_59141_zps05a5e6d2.jpg

 photo IMG_70191_zps8d738d10.jpg

I thought I might be lucky and see a Maid Cafe maybe... well there were literally hundreds of maids all over the streets offering potential customers pamphlets and showing the way to their cafe. As it got later there were troops of maids literally groups of 10 or more just setting themselves up on the street or going to work.
Amongst all the maids were the Otaku stores. These stores cater to the anime or similar enthusiast and usually have T-shirts, dolls and collectible cards of anime stars or AK4B8 stars. There are also stores for collectible toys and I saw a lot of old Star Wars toys from the 70's and 80's. (I like old Star Wars collectibles ^^).

 photo IMG_01211_zps7a310015.jpg

Have a look at the full walk through here:



Shinjuku


I was off to Shinjuku next to see if I could find the Robot Restaurant http://www.shinjuku-robot.com/pc/
I could not pass up the opportunity for this unique experience. It took me a while of walking around to find but I will give you some directions:
Shinjuku Station > West Exit > Walk down to the main intersection (You may see JUMBO Pachinko on the left side of the street as you walk down) > Cross the street straight ahead > Turn right and walk to the 3rd street on your left and walk down it. About 100 meters you will see robots and bright lights. The Ticket office is on your left the restaurant is on your right.

The Robot Restaurant is in the "Red Light" District so if you are alone you may be approached by foreign men (Nigerians or similar) and asked if you would like to drink with some Japanese ladies. I have heard stories about this so I avoided there proposals. You can check out some stories online if you like but usually its a ploy to clean out your credit card.

The first night it was closed early due to it being a holiday but i managed to go to the early show the next day.

 photo IMG_00521_zps677d6941.jpg

 photo IMG_60581_zpsf7cff24e.jpg

 photo IMG_60601_zps3cf9e8fa.jpg

You can choose from a simple menu and the show is 5,000 Yen about $55 or so.
Here is the full show if you are curious:


Shinjuku Walk Through



After a long first day it was time to go back to my Hotel and have a snack and watch some TV.

 photo IMG_00051_zps2da7f126.jpg

 photo IMG_00911_zps93d4102c.jpg

 photo IMG_00061_zpsb0267d99.jpg

 photo IMG_00581_zps80bdd041.jpg

Harajuku


 photo IMG_59181_zps4e5163b9.jpg

 photo IMG_59201_zpsa426b3e6.jpg

Next Day I was off to Harajuku. Another famous tourist destination. A great place to buy clothes and toys. One thing I did notice about Japan is how quiet it is. I was there early morning and there were many people going to work but the only noise was the traffic! Also Japanese people use their cell phones less (You may have seen in the Metro picture above only a few people have their phones out).

A great place to visit for toys like Hello Kitty, Snoopy, Lego and all other sorts is Kiddy Land (Walk out of the station cross the road walk down the street with McDonalds on it until you reach the next intersection > Cross the street turn right and head to the next intersection > Cross the street and turn left > walk about 2 - 300 meters).

You might see this store on the right side as you cross the last street before turning left.

 photo IMG_59221_zps643a5ba5.jpg

 photo IMG_60521_zpsd7d48a20.jpg

In here you will find all sorts of toys on 4 - 5 levels! (You can also follow me there by a different route in my Walk through video).

 photo IMG_60511_zps41ca39b0.jpg

 photo IMG_60501_zpsee52cf8e.jpg

 photo IMG_60491_zpsf3bbb13d.jpg

My favorite tune being played in the shop. ^^



Another hidden jem of a shop you can see at the end of my walk through video. Cross the street at the station and turn right. Walk about 2 - 300 meters  and you will see a shop down some stairs. They have lots of cool t-shirts and hats and things!

 photo IMG_60471_zpse326115f.jpg

 photo IMG_60461_zps9b7b7746.jpg

A view of Harajuku Station and street.

  photo IMG_60341_zps6e13817a.jpg



 photo IMG_59261_zps98ebfc78.jpg
To Find this store head straight out of the station until the next crossing > Cross the street and turn left and head down a street/alley going off to the right and paralleling the main road.

Harajuku Park


Right behind Harajuku Station is a large park where you can walk and see a temple or Kiyomasa - Ido Well.

There are also some strange animals that you can see in the park just lying around under a bush or out in the open. I saw them on TV the night before and I was hoping to see one in the park the next day and I did!

 photo IMG_59911_zps5c11a568.jpg

I'm not sure what it is called...?

 photo IMG_60121_zps12e58b3b.jpg

 photo IMG_60071_zps142068e4.jpg

 photo IMG_60281_zpsf226ceae.jpg

Here are some photos of the park:




Nakano


Next Stop Nakano. Right outside nakano Station is Nakano Broadway shopping mall. The first floor is rather plian and normal looking however the next three floors 2 - 4 have hundreds of shops dedicated to toys and anime and the like collectors. Another "Otaku" friendly area there are literally too many things to look at in one day without missing something. Again there were some fantastic stores with very old toys and even a Games Workshop store there too!

Check out the walk through. I have time coded the video for each floor so you just need to click on the time and you will be there. ^^ The first floor is a little boring.



There is one store here that has awesome T-shirts and many old TV or Movie / Culture T-shirts Look for the time code 18:46 Awesome T-Shirt Store.

After a long time there I went to:

Shibuya


 photo IMG_60571_zps616a25ff.jpg

Just for a walk around to see what was there. At this stage my feet were hurting so I didn't stay too long and I went home for a rest before going to Shinjuku to visit the Robot Restaurant (Above).



Ueno Zoo


The last and final day I was going to go to Tokyo Station but for some reason the TV was showing Ueno trains. So I looked at Ueno and found out that there is a Zoo there. So off I went to the Zoo for my final hours in Tokyo.

Very close to the station is the Ueno Zoo. Taking a walk out of the main entrance and turning right the park leading to the Zoo is hard to miss. The great thing is is that the Skyliner train station is right next to the park so its not too difficult to have a quick look at the Zoo before catching the train to the Airport.

 photo IMG_62491_zps59f6d47b.jpg

 photo IMG_63561_zps5dcfcbb3.jpg

 photo IMG_64451_zps0834b998.jpg

 photo IMG_65431_zpsb07eeace.jpg

Ueno Zoo has 2 Pandas, Tigers, Polar Bears, Gorillas, Lions, Giant Tortoises and many other exciting birds, reptiles and animals. Well worth a visit!

Take a look:



And that was my trip!

Here is some bonus footage of the Skyliner Journey and a Journey on a Metro train in Tokyo Japan if you wondered about the sights and sounds of travelling by train. ^^

 photo IMG_01011_zps8a3831fd.jpg

 photo IMG_01281_zps735ced1b.jpg







Well until next week have a great time and I will see you again soon! ^^





1 comment:

  1. As reported by Stanford Medical, It's in fact the ONLY reason women in this country get to live 10 years longer and weigh on average 42 pounds less than we do.

    (Just so you know, it has absoloutely NOTHING to do with genetics or some hard exercise and really, EVERYTHING to around "how" they eat.)

    P.S, What I said is "HOW", and not "what"...

    Click on this link to uncover if this easy questionnaire can help you decipher your true weight loss possibility

    ReplyDelete