After fantastic weather for the first week of our trip to Japan, our final days in Japan were marred by heavy, heavy rains. In fact, it was the effects of Typhoon Phanfone, which had just got done pummeling Southeast Asia.
Despite the heavy rains, since we technically had another full day left in Tokyo, we decided to brave the weather for one more outing. Our destination of choice on this day was actually not listed particularly high as a tourist spot, though it is a very heavily trafficked local district. Instead it was featured heavily in the 2009 Nintendo DS game,
The World Ends with You. Of course, this location is none other than Shibuya! This awesome game really gave us Westerner's a contemporary glimpse into life in modern Tokyo, ranging from hipster styles to local eats, all the while progressing through one of the more unique video game plots and combat systems we've ever seen!
But most importantly, for purposes of today's travelogue post, it gave me an inspiration to see the real Shibuya!
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| Shibuya's famous "Scramble Crossing", as seen in the mobile version of "The World Ends With You... |
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| ... and as seen from the lens of my Moto X on a very rainy day, after some Auto Awesome treatment! |
Due to the heavy rains, we were not able to properly explore Shibuya much outside of the Shibuya Station. However, the Shibuya Station itself has another famous story - one that's much older than The World Ends With You, though, once again, if it weren't for seeing this spot in the game, I would not have known to look for it in real life!
But of course I am talking about the Statue of
Hachiko! Hachiko was a Japanese Akita dog that belonged to a professor who lived in Shibuya in the 1920s. Every day, Hachiko (who's name means "Eighth", indicating his birth position in his litter) would come to Shibuya Station to wait for his master until one day, the good professor passed away. however, Hachiko would continue his loyal practice of waiting for the professor for nearly a decade until his own death! His loyalty was an inspiration for the Japanese and thus this statue was erected in his honor!
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| The Statue of Hachiko as seen on the DS version of "The World Ends With You"... |
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| Hachiko with Fifi |
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| I had to go back and get a shot with him m'self! |
Due to the rains, we retreated to the hotel for the remainder of the day in hopes that it would clear up later. It didn't - but in retrospect, we needed the rest too - instead I went out and did a little exploring around Akasaka:
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| Arming myself with fuel for the walk - this is Peach Nectar |
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| I had a ton of this stuff in Japan - Orange flavored water! |
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| I wish we'd spent more time in this huge toy store that was right down the street! |
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| Dragonball dolls! |
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| Disney and Nintendo characters! |
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| One Piece Models! |
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| 3DS!!! |
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| Nintendo Games! |
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| A Shrimp burger from McDonald's! |
Japan Observation #12: Food in Japan, like transportation, is quite expensive. The magazine,
The Economist, runs an annual feature called the "Big Mac Index", where they attempt to gauge the purchasing power parity in various countries around the world by using the cost of a Big Mac in said country. In theory, Big Macs would cost more in countries with higher cost of living. For the most part, in China, it seems to be fairly priced, as a Big Mac will run you around 20 RMB (around $3.50 USD), meaning that the cost of living is somewhat on par with that of the U.S. (though the cost of housing in China usually blows that of the U.S. out of the water). In Japan, the cost of a Big Mac is around 700 Yen - or almost SEVEN DOLLARS! Which would usually get you a burger at a mid-tier sports bar and grill in Florida! I learned that this is largely attributed to the high cost of fresh food - especially vegetables - in Japan. In fact, through our whole trip in Japan, I nary had any vegetables at all - it seems that most Japanese live on a diet of large quantities of rice, Ramen, or Udon, paired with small quantities of picked vegetables and beef, as well the occasional squid ball (Takoyaki)... Mostly tasty stuff, but it would take some getting used to no doubt!
On our last day in Tokyo, we were scheduled originally to depart from Narita International at about 2 in the afternoon, so we took the shuttle bus from the nearby Tokyu Excel hotel at around 10 AM to account for the 90 minute bus ride. However, due to Typoon-induced delays, we ended up hanging out in the airport until around 6 PM - giving us some time to catch a last (but rather poor) meal in the Tokyo. On the plus side, we got to see the famous Tokyo Tower from the bus! The Tokyo Tower is also a tourist destination that is somewhat near and dear to the Otaku part of my heart... it was prominently featured in the full length Tenchi Muyo feature film, "Tenchi Muyo in Love" back in the 90s!
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| Trudging through the rain with our luggage in tow to get to the shuttle bus. Fortunately, the Japanese hotel staff were helpful as always, and they helped us pull some of our luggage all the way to the bus! |
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| We could use these in China... |
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| Tokyo Tower from the bus, during a typhoon |
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| Narita International! |
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| Our last meal in Japan - some Sobu, curry, and really, really bad sushi... |
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| Sparkling peach beer at the First Class Lounge... |
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| Twilight |
Up Next - Taiwan!
