Quicky: as you European folk are unused to, ground floor is called 1F, etc. First floor below that is called B1, etc.
Quicky: the Toyota Aygo does not really exist in Japan. On the other hand, there exist almost countless of models in Japan, that do not exist elsewhere.
- IQ
- Spade
- Ractis
- Ist
- Corolla Axio
- bB
- Camry
- Sai
- Allion
- Premio
And the list goes on…
Many models do not carry the Toyota logo on the front…
Quicky: if you ever get the chance to visit Don Quijote (Donki for short), do so. One of such shops is very close to Suehirocho subway station. (between it and Akihabara eki, station actually).
There are arcades, Pachinko & Slot, a maid café (with a waiting line), a whole floor and more dedicated to AKB48, lots of Love Live stuff and everything else you do or do not need.
There’s even a small selection of sex toys for him and even her. I think customs might give me a hard time if I were to bring any of that with me. xD
Quicky: I have spotted almost no homeless people in Japan, I think. But maybe once or twice have I seen some unfortunates here in Tōkyō.
Quicky: so the Japanese girl band AKB48 is pretty popular as well, it seems. They even have their own cafe near Akihabara eki (station).
AKB of course means Akihabara… For different places in the country there are like girl bands with similarly devised names.
Marketing machines are raking in the moneys.
Quicky: if I’m not mistaken, at November 15th an awesome Japanese splatter movie will come out. I have to see that. Somehow…
[edit]
Follow up: it’s As The Gods Will (Kamisama no Iu Toori, 神さまの言うとおり)
Quicky: Subway lines, or rather trains, are a power source for subway stations? (I read this on an advertisement)
Whuh?
Quicky: I may have mentioned this before, but the virtual girl band Love Live is pretty popular, I’d reckon. Lots of merchandise is to be found. If I would like J-Pop, then I’d probably buy some of that music. But I don’t, alas. 😛
(seriously, it sounds omoshiroi, interesting, but at the same time like Alvin and the Chipmunks)
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.