Quicky: my previous hosts called me a professional tourist. (AirBnB review)
Squee! :3
Quicky: it’s been a relatively short night for me. But it’s been worth it: I got the seats I want and can travel back to the Netherlands. Again, via Hong Kong. Yesh, I’m checked in now for my return flights.
Quicky: I’m not ready sure, but it’s either “Japanese”, “elderly” or “Japanese elderly”. But some folks apparently require little sleep.
For the record, I’m not talking about myself because I’m neither. xD
Quicky: I just realized I missed this in Kōbe:
Darn…
Quicky: arcades are almost as loud as those joints for Pachinko & Slot.
Also, there still is a Sega Rally Championship game from 1998 here. Amazing!
And no, I don’t think that a motorcycle arcade game, where you actually need to shift body weight, works. Unless there also is simulated force (centrifugal) in the form of added friction when shifting.
Quicky: another thing I do not like here. It’s already Christmas time apparently, so where I’m at they play loungy Christmas music. Ack!
Quicky: Gundam statuettes are massively cool. But maybe one of Lego will do… xD
Edit: this is what I’m talking about.
(and yes, this one is life size, not what you would call a statuette or figurine)
Quicky: it turns out that a boatload of Russian (speaking) school children also like Lego. Crowds, I haz dem.
Quickly: deductions are not listed as 20-50% off, but as 50-20% off. That’s a fact.
Quicky: many Japanese do most walk properly, I (literally) hear. But I may now know why: they do not wear their shoes properly.
That must be because they are used to wearing easy access sandals and slippers. (You know how they never ever wear shoes in their homes, right?) Putting on shoes properly all of the time is just too much of a hassle, as I have personally found out as well.
Bonus: many folks here wear Crocks-type shoes.
Thursday 6th November
This morning I overslept, badly. xD Apparently my alarm was not working so I woke up around 11:00h. Felt great though. 🙂
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Quicky: you know how everything is backwards (reversed, I mean) in Japan. Well, in Tōkyō they like to yet again reverse things. That is, they still drive on the left side of the road, but escalators and walking paths along stairways are “on the right” oriented. So, the opposite direction will pass you on the left. It will be indicated clearly.
Quicky: also on chikatetsu (subway trains) and such, station names will be displayed in both kanji / kana and romaji / English. There are electronic signs on the densha (trains).
Quicky: am I the only one here wearing sunglasses on this sunny day? It looks like Japanese don’t use sunglasses…
Quicky: when you keep your pocket WiFi in one of your pockets, where you also keep a wallet full of coins, this will hurt the cell reception. Lots.
Quicky: cashiers have it easy at the supā (supermarket). They just throw all the cash you hand them into the cash register and it will automatically return the correct amount of change. Convenient!
Quicky: a proper ōkonomiyaki waves at you. Like so:
Quicky: over here in Kanda, a surprising lot of girls are trying to lure people into something. But they are not alone: sharply dressed guys over here as well. I suspect they may be proppers. Unsuccessful ones, from what I gather.
Bonus: here’s one advantage to not many Japanese speaking English. I’m obviously the gaijin (foreign) tourist who is not supposed to understand any Japanese. So far I’m relatively unbothered.
Quicky: there are train lines that run in a loop in Ōsaka and in Tōkyō. Although the subway network appears more useful in the latter, you cannot travel with that for free with a JR pass.
Quicky: if people are not using an iPhone or some other kind of smart phone (preferably Japanese brand, I suspect), they use a flip phone. You hardly see that kind of phones anymore in the Netherlands (where everybody and their mother have a Samsung smartphone).
Quicky: another reason to not stay in certain depāto (department stores) are the hideous tunes (either related to the store or not) that are on repeat everywhere.
Quicky: densha or chikatetsu (trains and subway trains) appear to always arrive at the same platform. Ever.
Quicky: afraid of pick pocketing on a crowded densha (train)? Don’t be. Everybody is too busy either with their phone or book or is sleeping.
Quicky: I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but if so, it cannot hurt to reiterate the following.
When you shop for non-perishable goods (that is, non-food, for example), you are eligible for a tax refund or deduction on those items. That is, only if you are a tourist not living in Japan.
In some stores in the more touristic places, signs (or other methods) in the stores will indicate this as well.
Elmira (my host in Nagoya) mentioned that it is also possible to get a refund at some designated location at the airport. I might check that out, if there is enough time before departure.
Quicky: Labi Shinjuku (another depāto, department store) is also loud. That is all.
Quicky: as everywhere I go in popular districts of cities in Japan, lots of folks are trying to hand out flyers and such. I have no idea for what, except when I got that one for a Maid Cafe, which was in English.
But here in Shinjuku it seems particularly prevalent. Guys are actually prowling after the girls and standing in bunches at the center of intersections of low traffic areas.
I believe to be in Kabukichō, where my hostess advised me not to go. I’ll have a quick look around and be on my way again. I have no interest in meeting Chinese maffia, who are said to roam here as well. And in fact do like to target lone tourists, as apposed to Japanese maffia. Nice going!
Quicky: presently I’m having a pizza in Papa Milano, an Italian restaurant near Shinjuku eki (station). They are playing (modern) western style ongaku (music) in the background.
- Daft Punk ft Kanye West – Harder Faster Better Stronger
- Eminem – Sing for the moment
- Jay Z & Linkin Park – Encore / What are you waiting for?
- Pink – You and your hand
So much frickin’ win!
Quicky: Tokyu Hands is another depāto (department store) but is definitely more pleasant to be in. It’s a bit more classy and not so screamy and loud as Sofmap and Bic Camera, for example. But then again, they did not have a large electronics department, if I’m not mistaken.
Wednesday 6th November – Alright, I’m in Tōkyō, birches!
This morning I said goodbye to Juan and Elmira and took a bus for Nagoya station. There I quickly found the right platform for the Shinkansen towards Tōkyō, which came pretty soon after. There are lots of these bad boys speeding across the country. Yeah!
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Quicky: it’s been a long day. Tired and worn… More news will follow after the sleeping part.