My feet are soooooo sore!!! Barely sat down at all today from about 11 until around 6; I'm unconvinced that they fully healed from yesterday, either.
We have spent quite a bit of money today, but that is why we saved up and exchanged a lot! We want lots of stuff we can't get back at home. What would be the point otherwise? Akihabara is absolutely stuffed to the brim with collectable rubbish and games and toys and stuff people want but don't necessarily need. So obviously we bought things that are pertinant to our interests and enjoyment.
It can be hard to find particular stores if you are looking for them - the GPS signal didn't work properly on the map app, which is part of the reason that my feet hurt - we spent a good 30-40 minutes looking for a well-hidden but well-known shop full of rare stuff, which happened to be only around the corner. The opposite corner to where we were being pointed by the GPS... I blame all the tall buildings. Makes things trickier!
The other reason our feet hurt was that we spent a good 2 hours in a 10-floor apartment store. Imagine a MCM convention or comic con, but spread out over several floors and you get the idea.
There were loads of things that I really wanted purely because of how beautiful they were - hand-carved and painted models of the Peanuts gangand Disney characters or scenes... absolutely stunning. Expensive but so aesthetically pleasing and unique! There were loads of signs saying "No photos" which I heeded ( :( , even if others didn't!) so I don't have a picture to show you.
Here's our haul:
From top left to right, row by row:
Him: Dragonball 30th Anniversary bumper book of art and interviews; Catherine art book; a graphic novel to practise his Japanese with
Mine: Moomin figurines + house accessories for my Moomin house
Him: Slime plush; Dragon Quest hero and slime nanoblock kits; Catherine OST
Mine: Ace Attorney 1,2,3 OST cds; phone charms of Ghibli characters from various fims (in the sale) for my car rear-view mirror; white totoro plush
Him: Boxed Megamen Zero 2 for GBA
Mine: Plush hamster version of Yubaba's baby from Spirited away <3 font="">
Him: Boxed Dragon Quest Monsters 2 for GBC and a volume of Dragon Ball Super Deformed.
Unfortunately, he still had a bit of a jippy tummy, but we happened across a VERY helpful set of pharmacists in a random corner shop who gave me some nasal spray for the horrendous hayfever I'm having, miracle cream for insect bites and some dissolvable ant-acids which seemed to do him a lot of good. I forced him to nibble on some plain rice and promised to cook but by 5.45, he was starting to feel peckish enough to look around with me at other places. We also weren't ready to go home yet, so we thought we'd head to "Denny's" which is apparently American food. That is, it is Japanese American food... they are good at making food from Western countries that look right but there's always something not quite right about it... We found the Denny's and opposite was a "Charcoal Grill" place. We looked at the menu and decided to go there instead. Thank goodness! It was way fancier, nicer and more intimate than the Denny's looked! And more authentic!
We were seated in a little booth with sliding door - so we were cut off (apart from through cut-pattern holes in the wall) from other customers and the staff. It was really nice in there. Only issue was that we only got 5 out of the 6 dishes we ordered and were billed for all 6 and had no way of telling them... so that irritated me a bit. Nothing we can do about it, really.
Anyhoo. The food was really nice! And for some reason, the pork was purple!
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| Tofu, roe and pickle |
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| Bubble seaweed |
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Back: Pork in seaweed, deep fried - inside is in along side photo
Front: Deep fried battered chicken with tartare sauce
Very delicious!! Would eat again. The seaweed was crunchy and it did feel kind of bubbly. Really enjoyable. I didn't get to try the Tofu, he forgot to cut it in two - I had even said to him to share but he just shoved it all in his mouth when I asked where my half had gone, he grinned sheepishly. The roe we ate on "crackers" made out of what I suspect to be Asian raddish, like a turnip or something.
The pork balls were gorgeous. As was the tartare sauce.
After we paid, we went out into the night and enjoyed the "Electric City"'s lights - every shop had musc blasting, plus there were loads of idols singing in music videos above shop and arcade doors. But it wasn't a deafening carcophony - it was bearable.
Since about 10am, the temperature had been about 33 degrees and very sunny, so it was a pleasant, breezy evening to walk about in. We did have to get the train back with the second rush of commutors though - they're the hoard of people in white shirts, photographed from above.
And on our way home, we found a cicada on the ground, so it was perfect for a real close up pic. Their wings are beautiful!
Tomorrow we plan to do something cultural and apparently I get to pick. I'm thinking a temple or two! Should be beautiful - it'll be 32+ until next week!
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