I'm Going To Japan

bmwracer wrote:
A little blurry, but I think it's a Ferrari California.

You would be correct, sir. Also saw a Rolls. All three high-end European cars I saw that night (the Rolls, Ferrari and Lamborghini) were white. I wonder if it's a trend.

^ yes, white is the most popular car color in Japan, and apparently has been for decades. And since most people tend to copy each other out of concern to stick out, I guess it's really noticeable.

Before coming to Japan I had never known anybody who privately owned a white car, so I was very surprised too.

EstherM wrote:^ yes, white is the most popular car color in Japan, and apparently has been for decades. And since most people tend to copy each other out of concern to stick out, I guess it's really noticeable.

Before coming to Japan I had never known anybody who privately owned a white car, so I was very surprised too.

Ah. That didn't occur to me, as I see a lot of white cars here in the South. It gets very warm here, and dark-colored cars (like my dark green Jag) turn into ovens in a parking lot. But most of the Ferraris here are red, and most of the Lamborghinis are yellow, orange, or matte black. Don't know about the Rolls. Too few of the new ones around to speculate.

EstherM wrote:^ yes, white is the most popular car color in Japan, and apparently has been for decades. And since most people tend to copy each other out of concern to stick out, I guess it's really noticeable.

Before coming to Japan I had never known anybody who privately owned a white car, so I was very surprised too.

My new Beemer is white... But only because red wasn't available anymore. :crazy:

Time to do a bit of shopping!

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First, the area around Nippori Station. I've heard why people put these bottles of water out. Don't know if it really works, but I never see any cats around them.

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No water bottles in front of this shop. ;)

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This is Yanaka Shotengai. It's a shopping street that runs the border between Yanaka and Nishinippori. It's not commonly known to foreign tourists, but it's well worth a visit. I've circled it below in a Google Maps capture:

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It's an easy walk from Nippori Station, and we visited it several times during my stay. Like any shopping street, it looks even cooler at night. Probably more pre-war buildings on this shotengai than any other I saw during my visit.

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This September was turning out to be very warm, and very humid. It seems summer was hanging on longer than expected. So I bought a proper fan to help cope.

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We're gonna need a bigger water bottle. ;)

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These pretty ladies were enjoying a beer break. To avoid being rude, I pointed at my camera and asked "‚±‚ê‚Í‘åä•v‚©Hh They seemed pretty happy to have a tourist take their photo. I like seeing people have a good time, and these ladies certainly seemed to be enjoying each other's company.

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This flower shop had some beautiful arrangements.

Back on the trains and off to our main destination for the day: Akihabara.

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I've seen the LABI building with its funky stairs (escalators?) in pictures many times, but it was still a surprise to see it as soon as I walked out of the station.

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I found out later that you're not supposed to take pictures of the girls advertising the maid cafes. Oops. Still, she didn't see me, so I guess this one's okay. :sweat:

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Now this is where I have to come clean on something. I haven't watched an anime or read a manga in ages. You might have guessed by my screen name that I watched/read ‘ß•ß‚µ‚©‚Ó‚¼ (You're Under Arrest) back in its day. And I've seen the Ghost in the Shell and Cowboy Bebop movies. But that's about it. So why did I want to see Akihabara? Well, I'm not into maid cafes, if that's what you're thinking. :mrgreen:

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One of those cool automated parking garages. Saw a bunch of these, including one that looked just like the one in F&F:TD.

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Okay, this is why I wanted to visit Akihabara: I've become a bit of a watch junkie. It started with an old Citizen that I inherited from my grandfather many years ago. And Akihabara has a number of watch shops. Yodobashi Akiba was my main destination, and I spent quite a bit of time there drooling over Grand Seikos that cost more than I make in a year. This stand had some great deals on Casios, including the classic digitals for about US$20. Seriously thought about that, and if I had revisited the stand later in my trip, I probably would have bought one, just to say that I bought a watch in Japan. As for the rest of my watch shopping, the exchange rate prevented me from buying anything. Even at the duty-free shops, getting a 5% break doesn't make up for losing 30% on the exchange rate.

:shamefulcry:

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I took this picture because I thought the building looked cool in the light. Then my friend told me that her husband used to work there (when it was a regular office building). I looked at him and said "I can't see you working in a maid cafe". He defiantly stuck out his jaw, pointed his thumb at himself, and said "Very pretty." HAHAHAHAHA!!!

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This guy saw me taking a picture of his bike and stopped long enough for me to do so. I gave him a thumbs-up and said "Cool bike!" He gave a nod of thanks and went on his way. Gotta love the Japanese.

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After dehydrating over the Grand Seikos in Yodobashi Akiba, we went to another floor for a bit of dessert. We would need the energy spike for the next leg of our shopping day.

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Most crowded train I had been on yet. But, it was worth it...

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... because we were going to hit Uenookachimachi and Ameyoko next!

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Ameyoko!

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One of my favorite pictures from the trip. A slice of Showa-era Tokyo.

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WhiteHawk wrote:Back on the trains and off to our main destination for the day: Akihabara.

An electronics geek's heaven. :victory:

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bmwracer wrote:
An electronics geek's heaven. :victory:

So true!

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More people relaxing and having a good time. This time, it's a street for such cafes. A "drinking street", if you will.

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We made our way to one of my friends' favorite hangouts, a Brazilian-themed club called Que Bom. Great food, great music, and lots of beautiful Japanese women dancing to said music. I'm definitely going back! :sweat:

WhiteHawk wrote:[image]

This guy saw me taking a picture of his bike and stopped long enough for me to do so. I gave him a thumbs-up and said "Cool bike!" He gave a nod of thanks and went on his way.

Yamaha. :)

Gotta love the Japanese.

Absolutely. :victory:

WhiteHawk wrote:[image]

I found out later that you're not supposed to take pictures of the girls advertising the maid cafes. Oops. Still, she didn't see me, so I guess this one's okay. :sweat:

You can't take one once you're IN the cafe, either. Believe me, I tried. :beaten:

She's in the back streets of Akihabara. They're really strict about photos. Sometimes there are maids in the main streets. Those are more willing to take photos with tourists. :)

Hopefully I'll get to update in a couple of days. Three of my jobs have been very busy lately. :sweat:

great photos of Japan - Akihabara and vicitinty :applaud: